This is my third and final post about the Celiac Disease Foundation Conference and Expo in Pasadena, CA the first weekend of June.
You can read the first two posts here and here.
Now, let’s talk about all the great food and gluten-free stuff we found at the expo portion of the event!
First, I wanted to take a minute and thank all of my expert photographers – this is the first time I’ve actually had other bloggers and press take photos of me during my conference lecture! It’s usually just me taking selfies – so thank you all!
So in my “not sure why this is at a gluten-free food expo, but it is indeed gluten-free and it’s going on my Christmas letter to Santa this year,” pick – it’s the Tower Garden. They range from about $600 to $1600 for this awesome model. But what’s the price of fresh vegetables that you grew yourself and good health? Dear Santa, please send me one that will survive Arizona heat.
YES bar is another great find that I didn’t see at Expo West (even though they were there) so this is my first time talking about them. YES bar is paleo, gluten- dairy- and soy-free and they’re really tasty. I sampled their two flavors – Macadamia Chocolate Chip (my favorite) and Mocha Cayenne (yes, as spicy as it sounds). In a market flooded with bars, these are delicious and I really hope these survive and thrive.
As always, our BFFs Taste Guru were there featuring some of our favorites like Bakery on Main, DANG coconut chips (also at the expo), Plentils and Delallo orzo! Shout out to Jilly Gluten-Free Table photobomb!
I think this is the first time I’ve seen the new Breads from Anna packaging and I dig it much more than their previous packaging. In fact, after seeing their website, I think they’ve done a whole new rebrand – and you know how much I love rebranding.
While I have a hard time finding Shelton’s in real life, it was good to see them at the expo. They mostly do trade shows for the industry, not consumer-facing events, so I’m happy they got to share their gluten-free turkey jerky to the masses. PS did you see them featured in my book?
Frito-Lay is a sponsor of the CDF Expo, so it wasn’t surprising to see them feature Lay’s and Fritos as part of their gluten-free offerings. Sometimes we forget that easy food found at most places (yes, even gas stations in the middle of nowhere) are still safe!
Duh, New Planet Beer. We love them! Check out or video virtual tasting of the New Planet sorghum-based beers.
Another sponsor of the Celiac Disease Foundation Conference and Expo – Blue Diamond nut thins!
Freedom Foods is known in the gluten-free expo circuit as the cereal people…well, the cereal people from Australia.
Virtuous Living is a great certified gluten-free natural spice company that I discovered from G-Free Foodie!
Chebe is a great brand that makes packaged mixes – with their focaccia, cheese bread, and cinnamon rolls being the most talked about IMHO.
The Gratify line by OSEM USA is fantastic – awesome pretzels and pretzel thins that we were officially addicted to after they sent us some to review. The sesame pretzel thins are my favorite. I’ve heard they are readily available at Walmart – which makes this great brand easily accessible to the masses. They showcased their new products – their cookie and cracker line (the next photo).
I rocked Conte’s new INSANELY NEON shirt to the gym during the expo. Their stuffed shells were one of the first frozen items that I purchased when I went gluten free and I was so excited to have a frozen product that was safe for me. I made those shells at least once a week. And then sadly I gave up dairy. PS did you know that the gluten-free pizza “bake in bag” available at Chuck E Cheese is from Conte’s?
Caesar’s is another great gluten-free frozen italian food brand. They just launched several new products including the Manicotti, and the chicken and vegetable lasagna.
I love love love Hugo Naturals – they make great body products ranging from shampoo and condition to soap to lotion. Everything is CSA certified and gluten-free as well as vegan and soy free. I’m so jealous that people got lots of good samples and I missed out!
Sprouts always has a great booth packed full of yummies! I was so happy to see that they were giving away Organicasaurus and BOPS – one of our featured vendors during our Celiac Disease Awareness Month promotion on Celiac and the Beast!
I dare you to find a better brownie mix than King Arthur Flour. It’s still my favorite hands-down even though I reviewed it so long ago. They also have a killer muffin mix. King Arthur Flour is coming out with a new donut mix that I’m hoping to try soon!
I didn’t get a chance to get pictures of the rest of the vendors – but some other awesome vendors that you should know about are: TWO MOMS IN THE RAW, FRENCH MEADOW BAKERY, PASCHA CHOCOLATE, SO DELICIOUS, LOVELY LADY PRODUCTS and others! Check out Michelle from My Gluten-Free Kitchen – she has a great recap of her favorite vendors found here: http://mygluten-freekitchen.com/cdf-conference-expo-2014-recap-part-2/ as well as Charissa from Zest Bakery’s recap here: http://www.zestbakery.com/blog/cdfexpo-2014-recap-part-1.
Once again, this Celiac Disease Foundation Conference and Expo rocked my world – just like last year’s did! I can’t wait for next year and encourage you all to go too!