I just got back from the 2014 International Food Bloggers Conference from Seattle with a nasty cold. However, I also brought back with me a lot of products that I think you’d be interested in too. While I plan on several other posts about what I learned at IFBC, this post is just about products and a giveaway (but you have to read it all to get to the giveaway at the end, no cheating and skipping ahead).

**DISCLOSURE: I am a blogger and therefore get a discounted rate to attend IFBC every year. In return, I am required to write three posts about the event. However, it doesn’t matter what is in them – which I think is awesome because that doesn’t mean that just because I get in for a discounted rate, I am required to LOVE everything about the conference, because I don’t. Just like any conference there are hits and misses. However, I’m here to tell you about the cool products I found, because I think that’s why you come to Celiac and the Beast afterall!**

Like most bloggers, I had tears well up in my eyes when I saw a personalized apron swag made just for me. Aneto is a foodie broth brand from Spain, and they managed to win the hearts of bloggers everywhere with monogrammed aprons for every attendee. My biggest regret of the conference was to not grab some of their liters of broth (all of which are gluten-free). You should check out their ingredients of their paella broth (including rabbit, duck, pork, and chicken). A foodie’s dream!

It wouldn’t be IFBC if there wasn’t a wine tasting session. I learned mostly squat from this session (I did jot down a few notes) – the opposite of what happened last year. However, some scallywags from last year in their drunken messiness, ruined it for everyone. Instead of pouring our own wine and comparing tasting notes with an awesome teacher, everything was regulated down to people who were pouring our tasting samples for us (our very very small tasting samples), which threw off the whole tasting event and hindered us from comparing tasting notes. To make the session worse, we were pinned against each other on a game of who had the best nose as we had to endure a “what’s that smell” challenge. I understand that the purpose of this event was to craft our senses and help us smell wine better. I just considered it :30 minutes out of my life where I had to smell weird crap in a glass of wine stone sober. Where’s the fun in that? It seemed that this year was more of a “let’s see who knows their shit about wine” more than last year’s “let’s teach you thinks about the wine and the different senses using the wine while we all taste it together and have a jovial time.” I should have known that this part of the conference was going to be different from last year, as one blogger wrote ahead of time in the conference group that we should make sure to use the spit buckets so we don’t do harm to our brand. Excuse me, my brand is built on a glass of wine. Most of my book was written a few glasses of wine in. I love wine – but I don’t think that you have to be an expert in it to enjoy wine, and I don’t think it should always be a game of who knows best. It should be a game of “who is the coolest person after three glasses of wine without getting too handsy.” I would win that game.

But enough about wine. Let’s move onto non-alcoholic beverages that are slightly less dramatic.

During our Sunday morning session, I smiled seeing the little “gluten free” line on Bigelow teas! I was excited to learn about teas and their new product line of high-caffeine teas which are not quite as high as coffee, but 50% more than avg. black tea. Plus they have a new Airstream trailer full of tea. For those of you who know my love of all things vintage trailers, I can really get behind any company who has a mobile trailer full of gluten-free anything.

At the Gourmet Fair/Taste of Seattle Night – Tulalip Resort & Casino killed it. They had the best gluten-free dish, hand’s down. Their veggie sushi roll from Journey’s East was magnificent, and the salty spice of pico de gallo really tied the whole roll together. I think I ate an entire roll just standing at their table. I considered slipping the sushi chef a $20 and asking for a to-go box.

Crisp is a new company with awesome little kitchen gadgets. I was so excited to go home with an avocado multi-tool and a citrus zester! Because gadgets are awesome.

Krusteaz came out with a new line that is certified gluten-free and I was so excited to take all of them home (or huff the dry mixes in my room at 10pm, whatever). However, all of the mixes contain milk or may contain milk. However, if you can do dairy I think these are going to be great alternatives to products that are out there that may be too expensive for some budgets, or readily available at traditional stores (ex. not at a Whole Foods or Sprouts). I’m super tempted to just make them and take a digestive enzyme, but I’ll let you the readers do some taste tests with the products (they are included in the giveaway).

Fair warning, I didn’t try the House Foods Tofu Shirataki at the event. And from what I’ve heard on my social media feed so far, I’m not sure all of you are in love with the product. However, I am always for having alternatives in the market. Plus, it comes in different shapes! I appreciate an item that is certified gluten-free as well as certified non-GMO.

Also always awesome, but not pictured here, is Sante Nuts. These gluten-free nuts are in a peanut-free facility and I dished about how much I loved them on my Expo West post from this year.

So here’s a picture of my final haul (some from the KitchenAid/Sur La Table party I went to as well). Yes, this means removing everything I’m giving away to you guys!

And here’s the picture of what all I’m giving away to YOU my loyal readers!

This also includes items from my Sur La Table fieldtrip including a Kerrygold cookbook, King Arthur Almond Flour, and a Lekue microwave steamer. The giveaway is hosted on Rafflecopter, so make sure that you read the terms and conditions for the giveaway on the widget below. There will be two US winners drawn on October 14th 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tagged: giveaway, Gluten Free Travel, IFBC 2014, International Food Bloggers Conference, International Food Bloggers Conference 2014