• Recipes
    • Search my Recipes
    • Recipe Categories
  • Lifestyle
  • Fitness
  • Nutrition
  • |
  • About
  • Work With Me
    • Brand partnerships
    • Nutrition Coaching

Home » Lifestyle » Travel

October 20, 2016 (Updated March 29, 2023)

FNCE 2016 Recap

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

24 comments
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Email

Hey guys! I’m back to share my recap from FNCE, the huge annual conference for Registered Dietitians around the country.

FNCE 2016 recap

Want to save this post?

Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I'll send you great content every week!

Save Recipe

As in previous years, I attended the event as press, which meant I received free registration for the conference in exchange for writing about it. If you also have a blog or are a journalist and would like to attend FNCE as press in the future, here are the details! I paid for my flights/meals/accommodations on my own.

This was my fourth time attending FNCE and as always one of the best things about it was all the networking. I also loved the opportunity to see a bunch of my RD buddies! I booked a big Airbnb (<- affiliate link for $35 off if you want to try it) apartment for me and 5 of my dietitian friends: Kylie, Rachael, Alex, Robyn, and Alexis. I would definitely do this again in the future – it was great to have a whole apartment and to have some good quality time with a few of my faves. 🙂

bloggers at FNCE

My roommates and I (minus Alexis, who arrived Saturday) got into town on Friday night and went out to dinner at a spot called Row 34 near our place. (Not sure why Robyn’s cheeks are lit up in the photo below, btw – we were cracking up over that! We think it was maybe her shimmery blush picking up the flash from the camera?!)

row 43 boston

We all shared some appetizers (calamari and deviled crab toast) and then I had the salmon with beets and farro for my entrée. Delicious!

salmon farro beets

On Saturday the conference madness began! I usually go to FNCE mostly for the networking events put on by PR firms and brands; they host dinners and cocktail receptions throughout the weekend for media/blogger dietitians like myself. This year my agenda was so jam packed with those events and meetings that I didn’t make it to any of the educational sessions. Bummer! There are a couple I am planning to read up on online after the fact since I wasn’t able to be there in person; I really wanted to go to the “Hidden Faces of Eating Disorders” talk and the “Orthorexia” talk but unfortunately I flew out on Monday afternoon and missed both of them.

Anyway – after some meetings during the day, on Saturday night, the first event on my agenda was a reception with Unilever recognizing their new 2016 Registered Dietitian Agents of Change! As you guys know, I’m proud to be recognized as one of their Agents of Change this year. This is the second year of the program, which recognizes dietitians that are making positive changes in the nutrition field, and like last year they highlighted their Agents of Change with a beautiful magazine handed out at FNCE. It includes profiles of all 11 Agents of Change for 2016!

PA160032

Here’s my profile. 🙂 I’m really happy with how the write up came out!

IMG_0396

It was great to meet everyone at the reception (it included both new and alumni Agents of Change, plus their guests), and I loved the Lipton cocktail they served, too! It was gin + Lipton tea syrup + fresh lemon. Delicious!

PA150021

After the reception, I headed across town where a small group of RDs were treated to a wonderful dinner at Lucca Back Bay courtesy of KIND Snacks.

lucca back bay dinner

This was a great dinner – delicious and good company, too! I really enjoyed meeting the KIND team and catching up with RD friends like my buddy Julie. 🙂

On Sunday, I spent most of the day in the FNCE expo! In addition to educational sessions, FNCE also has a large expo hall where brands exhibit, sharing samples and providing information about their products. It’s always fun to see old favorites there, and to learn about cool new brands, too!

fnce 2016 expo

I had a bunch of meetings throughout the day and also attended a fun cooking demo lunch hosted by my friends at McCormick. The golden turmeric milk they demo-ed was so delicious – must recreate this at home! Also, I learned that black pepper will enhance the potency of turmeric, nutrition-wise – very cool! I see some black pepper/turmeric recipes in my future. 🙂 I also had fun catching up with my friend Kara at the event!

golden turmeric milk 
Sunday evening was spent popping around between receptions! I had fun hanging out with Meme, Rachael, and Tara at the cocktail party hosted by the Food and Nutrition Magazine (LOVE that magazine)!

food nutrition mag tweet up

From there, we enjoyed some cocktails with the Avocado Board – this margarita actually had avocado and cilantro pureed into it – SO delicious!

avocado margarita

Don’t worry, we did have some actual food on Sunday night – there were appetizers at all the parties and a big group of us walked to nearby Legal Harborside for dinner after the events for a proper meal. I forgot to snag a photo but I had a crab cake – yum!

Monday kicked off at 7 a.m. with a delicious breakfast courtesy of Kura (love their grass-fed protein powder (affiliate link) – great nutrient profile and actually tastes good) and co-hosted by my RD friend Carlene. We had smoothies and a fun egg and veggie scramble! I was kind of full from the night before still and mostly just thirsty so I was really excited about the smoothies. Hit the spot!

kura smoothie recipe

After breakfast, I headed back over to the expo to get ready for my big live recipe demo debut sponsored by Lipton! As part of my participation in this year’s Unilever Agents of Change program, I partnered with Lipton to develop a fun Mediterranean Green Tea Quinoa Salad recipe that I shared on the blog last week and then demo-ed live at their FNCE expo booth on Monday. 🙂

PA170037

PA170039

I was pretty nervous because I’ve never done a live recipe demo before, but once we got going it was a lot of fun and totally not scary at all. 🙂 People seemed really into the recipe – all 100 recipe print outs got taken, so that was a good sign it was a hit! Most of the people that came to see the demo hadn’t tried cooking with tea before, so I hope I inspired them to give it a shot. 🙂

Lipton Demo 6

As you know, the quinoa in the recipe is cooked with some Lipton Pure Green Tea bags in the pot with it, and there’s also brewed green tea in the salad dressing (olive oil + lemon juice + green tea in equal parts – try it for your next salad!). Attendees got to sample this dish paired with some Lipton® Cold Brew unsweetened iced tea – a personal fave of mine because it makes it easy to make your own iced black tea at home. Hydrating and delicious!

Lipton Demo 4

Lipton Demo 7

Thank you so much to those of you who came to see the demo – I loved meeting you and really appreciated the support and friendly faces! I hoped you enjoyed the recipe samples. 🙂

Lipton Demo 3

After the demo, I finished off my FNCE trip by grabbing lunch and exploring the city a bit with Alexis, who was one of my roomies for the weekend.

IMG_2424

We had about an hour and a half before needing to leave for the airport – perfect opportunity to walk around! We grabbed lunch at Flour, then strolled a bit soaking up the sunshine before getting green juice and some snack balls from Squeeze Juice Bar. 🙂

squeeze juice bar boston

Such an action packed weekend! As always, I left FNCE feeling completely exhausted but also inspired and wonderfully nourished by all the time spent with so many passionate, smart, and motivated fellow RDs. I miss them all already. Until next time, FNCE!

fnce boston

- anne
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Email

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

you might also like:

best immunity boosting foods

10 Foods that Can Boost Your Immune System

stretching on a tree on a hike

How Much Protein Should You Eat?

foods with omega-3 fatty acids

Foods With Omega-3 Fatty Acids (+ Why You Should Eat Them!)

Guest Post: Why I Love My Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

leave a comment

Cancel reply

24 comments
  • Erin @ Her Heartland Soul
    October 20, 2016 · 9:58AM:
    How fun! You all look beautiful!
    Reply
  • Dietitian Jess
    October 20, 2016 · 11:44AM:
    Sounds like your FNCE was action packed- Sad I didn't run into you even though we were at some of the same events! PS love that purple dress!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 20, 2016 · 11:56AM:
      I know, bummer! Hope you had a great FNCE too!
      Reply
  • Kori
    October 20, 2016 · 11:50AM:
    I loved attending FNCE for the first time last year, and your visit looks like it was incredible!! I wish I could've been present for your demo. Congrats on a great presentation, and I appreciated your recap!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 20, 2016 · 11:56AM:
      Thanks Kori! :)
      Reply
  • Rainie
    October 20, 2016 · 6:34PM:
    Such a great job on the demo! You're a pro:)
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 21, 2016 · 8:29AM:
      Thanks Rainie! :)
      Reply
  • Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life
    October 20, 2016 · 8:35PM:
    I really enjoyed watching you ladies enjoy FNCE - it sounds like you had a busy but worthwhile time at the conference and certainly enjoyed some of the best that Boston has to offer :)
    Reply
  • Jennifer McGurk
    October 21, 2016 · 7:22AM:
    Hi Anne!!! It was so great to meet you too :) I'm so happy you had so much fun in Boston!! Thank you so much for helping to promote our talk!! It was awesome. Rebecca, Julie and I are all about spreading the word on ED treatment so if any dietitians out there want our slides and handout with resources just let me know. We're putting together a follow-up email now for everyone that was there or just interested in ED. You can also get the slides and handout on the FNCE page but I think you have to sign in (which means you have to have a registration). The recording will also be available in a few weeks. Thank you so much again!!! Appreciate it so much.
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 21, 2016 · 8:31AM:
      Thank you Jennifer! I just downloaded those files - would love any other follow up items as well! Wish we'd had more time to chat - next time! :)
      Reply
  • masala girl
    October 21, 2016 · 10:08AM:
    It was great meeting you, Anne! :) and the salad was so good! I actually also went to Flour thaat morning! I got a few scones to bring home with me (because they're so famous ;) ) but actually ate at The Friendly Toast- amazzing (blueberry!) pancakes, so fluffy! Congrats again on being an Agent of Change- you're doing amazing work!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 21, 2016 · 10:25AM:
      Thanks so much! Great meeting you too! :) I wish I'd gotten a scone - I love scones. It was a MADHOUSE when we were at Flour and we were like omg let's order and get the hell out of here ASAP. Hit the lunchtime crush!
      Reply
  • Tara | Treble in the Kitchen
    October 21, 2016 · 11:20AM:
    Loved meeting you in person :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 21, 2016 · 11:20AM:
      You too! :)
      Reply
  • Kris S October 23, 2016 · 5:53AM:
    Looks like you had amazing weather! I'm so jealous! Nice work on the live cooking demo, I would have been insanely nervous! Well done :D
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 23, 2016 · 10:38AM:
      Thank you my friend!
      Reply
  • Julie @ RDelicious Kitchen
    October 23, 2016 · 2:16PM:
    It was SO great to catch up with you! You were a rockstar during your cooking demo! Happy I was able to see it in action!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 24, 2016 · 10:40AM:
      Thank you SO much again for coming to my demo! It meant a lot to me. Loved chatting at the KIND dinner, too! xo
      Reply
  • Roadrunner October 23, 2016 · 8:28PM:
    Looks like a super event! Impressively done....
    Reply
  • Sarah @ BucketListTummy
    October 23, 2016 · 9:52PM:
    This was my first FNCE and I was totally overwhelmed! I wish I could have seen your demo!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 24, 2016 · 10:39AM:
      Yeah, it's such a busy weekend!!
      Reply
  • Miranda October 24, 2016 · 1:56PM:
    Thank you for providing the links to the clinics! I am so glad I read the one on orthorexia. Super informative, so thanks for sharing! It looks like you had a blast :)
    Reply
  • Allyssa October 30, 2016 · 6:51PM:
    Oh my goodness. I went to FNCE in 2002 during my senior year of college (our entire dietetics department went, which was like 10 people. Haha). I have the greatest memories of that conference! We were poor college students and we lived, quite literally, on the sample foods in the expo hall so that we wouldn’t have to buy breakfast or lunch!
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 31, 2016 · 10:41AM:
      That's awesome! :)
      Reply
- next post
previous post -

about Anne

anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
Learn more

fannetastic reads

Top Posts
01

My Top 9 Most Popular Recipes + Posts

02

Why I Don’t Recommend Whole30

03

What Causes Sugar Cravings (+ How to Stop Them!)

04

How I Make Money As a Blogger

05

Blog Recipes We Make Again and Again

06

What to Eat Before and After a Long Run

07

What to Eat During Long Runs

08

7 Common Nutrition Myths

09

How to Love Veggies

connect with Anne

Email me
anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

follow anne:

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

back to top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recent Posts
  • Privacy Policy
  • FAQ

© copyright fannetastic food