Food is a major influencer in almost every aspect of our lives. For those that choose to eat right, indulging in a delicious meal offers an intense connection to the natural world. Unfortunately, many times even the purest of products are masked in preservatives, food colorings, and unhealthy processing that strips the food of its nutrients.
After years of extensive research, Sharon Rose Cryan knew that there was something that had to be done about this mounting problem. “I started to realize that as a country, we were focusing on making food more shelf-stable as opposed to nutrient-dense,” Cryan commented. “Truthfully, I started to not feel comfortable eating the foods available to me.”
And so, Foodnerd was born- a plant based meal prep business promoting shelf-stable, nutrient-dense products. Much of Cryan’s knowledge of food comes from her own research and development. She started creating vegan and whole food goods that made people feel better upon eating them. Word traveled quickly, and before she knew it, she has a full-fledge business on her hands.
With the business and clientele growing, Cryan left the firm she was working at, to dive even deeper into all-consuming world of Foodnerd. At that point, she also decided to move from Long Island to Buffalo, in January of 2018.
Among the top 25 food manufacturers, 86% of food products are considered ULTRA-PROCESSED.
After discovering that Western New York had the highest number of chronic diseases in the state, she saw a need to demonstrate the potential of her business. “We wanted to try to get Buffalo onboard to be as healthy of a city as possible,” Cryan stated.
When starting Foodnerd, the goal was to create a product that was not only delicious, it would reflect what people’s taste palates truly desired, without all of the yucky preservatives. With the help of food scientists from four different universities, Cryan was able to introduce a product that was vegan, sugar free, gluten free, artificial free, soy free, and 100% natural – a superfood for the super human in all of us.
What sets Foodnerd apart from other super food contributors is the processing procedure. Most food processors strip foods of all nutrients, and add preservatives in order to make them more shelf-stable. Contrary to this, Foodnerds’ production technique focuses on maintaining “bioavailability” – the amount of nutrients that can be absorbed. All of the offerings have been “positively processed” to make sure these nutrients are kept intact.
For example, the main product – sprouted Overnights – is anywhere from 50-60% fiber. Just one meal can fulfill all the fiber requirements for the day.
Foodnerd doesn’t expect everyone to learn everything that there is to know about nutritional values in all of their foods. People are living busy lives, and don’t always have time to do the research and make all of the right choices. “We want to meet people where they are at. You don’t have to be an education expert to focus on nutrition density,” explained Cryan who has developed an education platform with blogs, podcasts, and simple recipes to help just about anyone wherever they are along their health journey.
Sprouting increases the bioavailability – how well you absorb an assortment of nutrients.
For Foodnerd, it’s all about striking the balance- people don’t have to change their entire diets and/or lifestyle. It’s important to realize that even one smart, nutrient-dense meal a day can make a huge difference in the way the body processes these nutrients.
“This isn’t about taking something away, but rather adding something to your life.”
Visit foodnerdinc.com to shop from a variety of Overnights to complete your day and kickstart your health journey.
Foodnerd uses fully recyclable packaging! When you’re done with your OverNights, please rinse and recycle