All-Natural Cactus Soda
Determined to hydrate her three young children during hot Arizona summers, Lauren Robson set out to find a sugarless solution that was more exciting to them than plain water. She discovered that prickly pear growing in the local desert had plant-based electrolytes that help maintain hydration. “I felt like I’d won the lottery,” she says. Robson quit her corporate job and developed Lauro ($3.99 per can), a pleasing blend of carbonated water, prickly pear purée, organic blue agave nectar and key lime. A 12-ounce can of Lauro boasts healthy levels of potassium, calcium, magnesium and vitamin C and only has 50 calories. The hot pink hydrator also makes a great skinny margarita. Find Lauro at Whole Foods and AJ’s Fine Foods.
Lauro Sparkling Cactus Water
Protein-Packed Coffee Creamer
Nick Boggs started drinking his coffee black after reading the list of unnatural ingredients in sweetened coffee creamers. Missing his favorite flavors, he then cycled through all the “healthy” alternatives on the market. Ultimately, he mixed in flavored protein powder to enhance the taste and get a power boost, but the powder didn’t dissolve well. That led him to formulate Urby, a vanilla-flavored coffee creamer with 5 grams of organic pea protein per 11-gram scoop ($25.99, 10-ounce container). Urby (a pseudo-acronym for “Your Best You”) has no sugar, artificial sweeteners, partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives or color additives. Some folks sprinkle the protein-enhanced creamer over oatmeal and others blend into shakes, Boggs says. Added bonus: For every canister purchased, Urby donates one meal to Rise Against Hunger.
Urby Modern Creamer
Personal-Size Cakes
Five years ago, Perry Hilton won a bet with a friend that he could make a better butter cake than a certain restaurant in town. He started baking them for friends and giving them as gifts. The cakes became so popular, he opened a Scottsdale storefront, where he sells single-bite-size ($2.50), 4-inch ($12) and 6-inch cakes ($14) in more than 25 flavors, including red velvet, key lime, carrot cake and s’mores. Hilton’s dreamy cakes show up at family dinners, weddings, friendly get-togethers and gender reveal parties. “I quit a lucrative job to bake cakes because it makes people happy,” he says. They certainly don’t make us sad.
Butta Cakes
20801 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale
480-938-8343, buttacakes.com
