Winter Fancy Foods Show 2016: Best Noms

Winter Fancy Foods Show – San Francisco, CA January 2016

I was official press at the Winter Fancy Foods Show 2016 put on by the Specialty Food Association. I posted a ton of photos on Instagram, but in case you missed it, I’m posting my favorite foods in the category of sweets, drinks, and more. To avoid a ton of questions, EACH PRODUCT IS DIFFERENT: SOME PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC AND WILL BE ON A SHELF NEAR YOU SOON. SOME PRODUCTS ARE STILL IN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AND WON’T BE OUT TO THE PUBLIC FOR MONTHS. SOME MIGHT BE DEVELOPED MORE BEFORE THEY HIT A GROCERY STORE NEAR YOU. This is up to the brand, and I don’t have much detail other than what I post about the product. Please inquire with the individual brand if you have questions. THIS INCLUDES QUESTIONS ABOUT INGREDIENTS – chances are I do not have details about all of the ingredients or manufacturing process yet. When the product is released to the public, you’ll probably see it on my Instagram! Hope this helps inspire you and get excited about the products coming down the pipeline for gluten-free living! Thanks for reading!

Al Dente Pasta Company makes a line of gluten-free pasta spirals that are out of this world. My favorite is the garlic parsley variety. I need more of this in my life – too bad my store only sells their gluten kind.

Al Fresco uncured chicken bacon is pretty legit. This fully-cooked bacon is fully cooked so you can take it on the go and just have to refrigerate after opening. These are pretty yummy and I’ll definitely buy these when I see them at my store.

Arnel’s Original baking mixes was a delightful surprise to see amongst large well-known brands. I had a chance to actually meet owner and creator of the mixes. They’re pretty exciting to see – a buckwheat-centric bread mix and a cake “your way” mix that can be modified to make several different types of cake (no worries having to decide between buying a vanilla or chocolate mix again – this can do both, and lemon, spice cake, and red velvet too).

Bacon. Bacon bacon bacon bacon.Oink. Bacon bacon bacon. Chef’s Cut Jerky. Very exciting stuff.

Full of dairy and eggs, this won’t be part of my holiday – but it should be part of yours! Every year I hear people asking for a gluten-free panettone and this year it can be a reality. Out for holiday 2016, you’ll want to check into Bauli’s panettone holiday collection.

Birch Benders makes two skus of gluten-free pancakes that are certified GF – gluten-free (with dairy and eggs) and paleo (grain free, dairy-free and soy free – contains eggs and tree nuts). Check out Birch Benders here. Just add water to these easy mixes.

Bob’s Red Mill has several new skus out for gluten-free items – including oatmeal in a cup, and a few gluten-free protein powders (including chai!), along with their bevy of flours, mixes, oats, and more.

Get VERY excited about what’s coming out of Explore Asian. So many new things – including lentil-based pastas and a name change + rebranding.

I haven’t had Kettel Krakkers (they’re Danish in case you’re wondering about the name) in years since I’ve seen them at the Celiac Disease Foundation show when they first launched. These crackers are pretty amazing and vegan too. I love the branding and I really hope that they do well.

Kusina is a new – to me at least – filipino food line from Ramnar Foods with several certified gluten-free products including these spring rolls. They were pretty legit and only need to be baked.

We love our Le Veneziane pasta – and we found two new (to us) products like potato gnocchi and mini breadsticks. They’re free from dairy as well and should definitely be added to your grocery list when they launch near you.

Modern Oats (certified gluten-free) launched several new flavors recently – including Vermont Maple and Coconut Almond. These oat cups are easy to make and easy to take on-the-go.

You might be familiar with The Gluten Free Bar, but the newest product from The Gluten Free Bar are the bagged Bites. Might I recommend the Dark Chocolate Hazelnut.

There’s a thousand gluten-free safe granola companies out there. But Viki’s definitely stands out as one of the best. I’ve sampled all of their flavors through Gluten Free & More magazine, but they just launched two new ones including banana walnut and apple cinnamon. I cannot recommend the Banana Walnut Viki’s Granola enough – it’s delicious.

So, these are like air-y onion-y potato chips – except, wait for it – they’re actually just onions. What a strange direction for Dang to go into after making killer coconut chips, but hey…there doesn’t seem to be any competition for what they’re doing, and I definitely will be sprinkling these over my green bean casserole this year for the holidays.

I love Vermont Smoke & Cure – even if they have a ton of beef products. Luckily, they make meat sticks and logs from other adorable animals too (ones that I can eat).  I always carry a turkey stick or two with me during long show hours for expos, events, and conferences. They just launched several new sticks – including a spicy Italian pork stick, and a few new chicken sticks (rosemary thyme and teriyaki).

It was great to see the certified gluten-free symbol on Perky Jerky. Previously, a few gluten-free people I know had run-ins with a variety of this jerky that had gluten in it. Looks like they reformulated! I checked out the Brewmaster’s Pale Ale jerky and was happy to see that it was just hops that was flavoring this turkey. Always check to make sure the jerky is certified gluten-free, but Perky Jerky has definitely won me back!

Purely Elizabeth has been an up-and-coming celebrity in our little gluten-free world and it’s great to see her doing so well after years of persistence. She just released her book – Eating Purely – which was on our holiday list for Gluten Free & More magazine. Now  it looks like we can expect some grain-free granola from her too!

Beets. Into chip. Rhythm Superfood has been known to play with their veggies – with broccoli bites and kale chips on their roster. But now they’ve got beet chips too. Listen, to be fair, they’re pretty awesome for beets, but you’ve got to like beets to begin with. I don’t think these will win any beet haters over, even with cinnamon and sugar, but I think this is an innovating product that will make a lot of beet fans happy.

I met The New Primal last year and loved the brand and everything they stood for. They are a clean products – some of the cleanest jerky you can get. And thank god, they’re making STICKS! I had their turkey stick at the show and I can’t wait until they launch into my Sprouts (although I just bought a whole bunch of them off their website).

LOTS of exciting things from Tolerant Foods. I took home a couple boxes of their newest green lentil pasta. But, I can’t wait for their new products to come out – in different shapes and sizes – but also different pulses! I feel like this brand is close to exploding!

Whole Me used to make grain-free bars before everyone started making grain-free everything. I sampled them at Expo West and really enjoyed them. This time, they slimmed down their line and just have three paleo-friendly grain-free granolas. The Lemon Berry Chia was the best one!

Rarely do I get excited about things in cans. But this? I actually wanted to take cans home. What is it from Wild Planet Foods? Not tuna, but chicken. That’s right, cooked, roasted chicken in a can – perfect for last-minute additions to salads and pastas.

Paleo is all the rage, and there are so many companies out there – but there are a few that stand out and Wildway is one of them. Their products are grain-free gluten-free and free from artificial flavoring and extract. They make hot cereal and granola. It’s certified GFCO and made in a dedicated gluten-free facility. The ingredients are so simple – this is the kind of product that’s needed in the marketplace today.

Want to win samples from the show floor? Just follow the instructions and terms & conditions in the Rafflecopter below in order to gain entries into the sweepstakes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway