I was invited to be a blogger for the Gluten Free/Allergen Friendly Expo in Del Mar, California at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The Expo was awesome! It was great getting to know other bloggers, exhibitors, and listening to some of the speakers. Topics covered were the Paleo Diet, gut health, FODMAP, and more.
Do you know someone who has an allergy to gluten? The Expo has specialty products that you can sample, taste great, and you can learn how to cook and bake with some of these products to meet your or your families’ dietary needs!
What is gluten?
Gluten is a general name for proteins found what such as wheatberries, durum, semolina, spelt, farina, farro, einkorn, barley, and rye. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape acting as a glue that holds them together.
Gluten can be found in many types of foods.
There is so much to share from the Expo! Where to begin?! Here is a recap of the expo with photos!
First stop, the BFree booth for the bloggers’ breakfast. BFree supplied breakfast and goodie bags for the bloggers. We also received a goodie bag full of items from some of the exhibitors.
Stopped by the NIMA booth…The NIMA tests food if it contains gluten
and how much it contains
Next stop was the HealthAde Kombucha booth. I love kombucha. Kombucha is fermented tea, that naturally contains probiotics and healthy organic acids. It has been enjoyed across countless countries for thousands of years as a delicious and refreshing beverage that makes you feel good especially your gut.
Betsy’s
Betsy’s Best has nut and seed butters. Yummy, nut butter with cinnamon and chia seeds. Visit http://betsysbest.com/
SunButter is a healthy alternative to peanut butter for those especially kids with food allergies. Visit http://sunbutter.com/
Love Grown
I tried a sample of the Love Grown oatmeal. Delicious.
Gluten Free Pantry
I have a bad sweet tooth so I stopped by the Gluten Free Pantry booth.
The German Chocolate Cake was simply delicious!
Healthy Breakfast/Snack Alternatives
GoMacro
I first tried a go macro bar at Whole Foods. These bars have organic, gluten free ingredients. Love them! Here is a link to their website: https://gomacro.com/shop/
Rickaroons
These sweet potato snacks can be used to scoop hummus, salsas. etc. Sweetpotato Awesome is a brand new business! Visit http://sweetpotatoawesome.com/
I loved going through the Enjoy Life booth which was set up like a maze. The Enjoy Life chocolate chips are the perfect alternative to the popular store brands. The chocolate chips are dairy-free, soy-free, nut free, and gluten-free. The Plentils are also very good. I am eager to try their other products.
he
At the Namaste booth, sampling their gluten free chocolate cake.
Do you love to bake? Try Ryze Gluten Free Flour Mix.
Chocolate chip cookie and shortbread samples
At the Keli’s Gluten Free Sauces booth. I had a chance to speak with Keli and sample all of her flavors…they all were very good. The Polynesian Sweet ‘n Sour Gluten Free sauce reminds me of being in Hawaii! Try using it to flavor sweet and sour ground turkey balls!
Visit her website: http://www.trykelis.com/
Some gluten-free pastas and pizzas
Jovial
RP Pasta
Pasta was very good…seasoned with sea salt and olive oil
Spinato’s
Sampled pasta with the tomato basil sauce! Delicious!
The gluten free tomato, basil and garlic was the best pizza I’ve tasted! Yummy!
Here is the link to order Spinato’s pizzas, tomato sauces, and salad dressings! http://spinatospizzeria.com/spinatos-retail/
Smart Flour Foods
Gluten-Free Snacks
SuperSeeds
SuperSeedz carries other flavors including Chocolate Covered Pumpkin Seeds
Expo Goodies the bloggers received
Speakers
Chef Amy Fothergill is referred to as the family chef. Check out her cookbook: The Warm Kitchen. Her website: http://amythefamilychef.com/
Dr Ed Madrid, Functional Medicine
Dr. Madrid spoke about gluten and the effects of gluten on gut health.
gluten = inflammation =dysfunction in the intestinal tract = damage to the mucosal lining = Leaky Gut
Tiffany Hinton, the Gluten Free Mom – Her website: http://vphonegirl.blogspot.com/
Sponsors
Exhibitors
Come join us next year! The Gluten-Free/Allergen Friendly Expo has expos throughout the US. The next one is in Illinois. Stay tuned for expos in Georgia, Arizona, and Massachusetts in 2017!
Hugs,
Shaline
Zen Zest Living 