A Registered Dietitian’s Perspective at BlogHer Conference (and a giveaway!)

Glam moms, the dominatrix, coupon clippers, and PR companies galore, all with high hopes of being praised in the next big blog. This past weekend I worked at the expo of BlogHer Conference 2011 on the behalf of a client of mine. As my first time attending this event, I found it to be quite intense with surprises lurking around every corner.

Let me tell you, at BlogHer the attendees are not shy about announcing how many Twitter and Facebook followers and web hits they tally up.

L-R: Shelley, Julie, Raisin, Me, Larry

The California Raisins booth served as my home base and the perfect spot to gawk as the madness ensued. This is the team I got to hang out with. We laughed so hard that I think I grew new smile lines.

Thursday proved to be a non-stop day, and nestling in with Manchester Grand Hyatt room service for dinner sounded like a good antidote. I was famished so ordered a cheeseburger with French fries and a glass of cabernet. I consumed half of everything.

I was up early the next morning for steel-cut oatmeal with cinnamon-poached pears, brown sugar, and milk from room service. I ate half.

Fox 5 San Diego taped anchor Erica Fox get “jiggy” with the Pine Sol girls, dancing California Raisin, and Scrubbing Bubbles.

Celebrity Photo Alert!

You’ve probably seen her in the movie Bridesmaids or Reno 911. I rank Wendi McLendon-Covey right up there with Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig for delivering laugh-out-loud humor, so I was thrilled to meet her at the Hillshire Farm Bistro where she made an appearance.

 

Chicken apple sausage salad and turkey wrap

Breaking away from it all for a little quiet in the convention center, I tried this YoCrunch Greek yogurt that contains fruit on the bottom and a granola pouch on top.

Twizzlers, a candy I enjoy on rare occasions, covered this Statue of Liberty.

Friday night I dined at Nobu, and went to heaven with their signature Miso Black Cod. Since I had more courses than I can count, I’ll dedicate an entire post to this meal later this week.

Another celebrity spotting included scoring an interview with Guiliana Rancic, host of E! News,
at the Tropicana Trop50 lounge where she dished on her rules for eating healthy. Stay tuned later this week for the video.

I tend to procrastinate dealing with the aftermath of conferences, like filing away business cards and product info and putting swag to good use. Today I will make an honest attempt to unpack it all. The CalNaturale wine and Glad To Go Lunch containers stand out as my faves at first glance, along with a stack of free product coupons.

Giveaway!
In my hot little hand I hold an envelope of free product coupons from PepsiCo that I can’t wait to send to one lucky, randomly chosen winner. It contains coupons for:

  • Four (4) free 59 ounce Tropicana Trop50 Beverage Product
  • One (1) free bag Stacy’s Pita or Bagel Chips
  • One (1) free bag SunChips, Tostitos, or Lay’s
  • $1.00 off when you buy one (1) pack of Sabra Go Mediterranean Hummus
  • Buy one get one free 20 ounce bottle of 100% Natural Lipton Iced Tea

I buy and love most of these products, so giving them away is my little way of saying thank you for reading my blog.

Think back to all of the swag (free stuff) you’ve ever received. Comment on this post or on my Facebook page and tell me which item excited you the most. Your comment will count as the giveaway entry.

Update (8/17/11): This contest is now closed and the winner has been chosen. Congratulations Mary!

Disclosure: I work closely with Tostitos and SunChips. I did not receive compensation for including anyone or anything in this post.

Estimated Calories: Thursday (dinner 618), Friday (breakfast 354, lunch 433, snack 170)

 

You may also like:

Curried Chicken Salad Recipe

A Nutritionist’s Point of View: World of Coca-Cola Tour

USDA’s New Dietary Guidelines Explained, Sonoran Living, ABC15 Phoenix

20 Comments

  1. Rebecca says:

    Don’t leave me alone by the Statue of Liberty – I have a weakness for licorice! 😉

    1. Rebecca, funny. In college I used to eat a ridiculous amount of it too. Back then I thought, “fat-free” must be good. Not necessarily the case. But when a Twizzler does cross my path, I eat it!
      Michelle

      1. Rebecca says:

        I had a very similar rationale. 🙂 Now if I have the craving, I will either pick up two sticks of twizzlers or an RJ (Australian) licorice log.

        1. Rebecca says:

          My mistake, New Zealand.

        2. Licorice log? Tell me more!

          1. Rebecca says:

            http://www.rjslicorice.co.nz/ – They are fabulous! I can usually find them at speciality food stores (thought I saw them in Whole Foods once) or bulk stores. They are about 150Kcal, so I never consider them too bad of a splurge :).

          2. Rebecca, thanks for the link. I’ll check it out!
            Michelle

  2. Suzanne says:

    Maybe saying that free stuff I won here would bring me luck to win again!! 🙂 I already LOVE Sabra hummus and Stacy’s pita chips. Oooohhh, I hope I win.

    P.S. Your dresses in these pictures were super cute too!

    1. Suzanne,
      I love Sabra hummus too. And thanks for the compliment!
      Michelle

  3. Mary says:

    Hi Michelle! I love your blog! I have to say I have gravitated away from reading Eat Like Me and now read your blog/Facebook page on a regular basis instead.

    In college, I used to get little bags of “swag” at the beginning of each year and it was always REALLY exciting because I was the typical poor, hungry college student. I can’t remember exactly what was in those bags because they disappeared so quickly 🙂

    1. Hi Mary,
      I am so thrilled to hear that you love my blog! That’s the type of feedback that keeps me going with this thing! And, so true about being a college student. Let’s see, when I was in college I remember getting free razors in swag kits at the beginning of the year – so thankful for those.
      Michelle

  4. PLSayrah says:

    Stacey’s pita chips are amazing, so fresh tasting!

    1. Stacey,
      Which flavor do you like best? Have you tried the flavored kind?
      Michelle

  5. Gina Judge says:

    It was great to meet you in person! Thanks for visiting the Trop50 retreat.

    1. Gina,
      The pleasure mine! And thanks for having Giuliana. Very cool.
      Michelle

  6. Shannon says:

    I won a car seat, at the perfect time too! Great swag!

    1. Wow, Shannon, a car seat! That’s a good one.
      Michelle

  7. Tabathia B says:

    the sunchips coupons
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    1. Oh, nevermind, I figured it out:)

  8. heather says:

    I am most excited about the Tropicana items. Thanks for a great giveaway and have a great day.

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