Over the weekend I attended the Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo in San Diego, Ca which is the largest expo of its kind in the US. This expo moves around the country and features vendor expositions, educational sessions, and online resources.
Not only do I love attending expos because I get to meet people and try new products… but hello goodie bag! I left with a large bag filled with products, coupons, informational brochures and more! There are a lot of great products I learned about at the expo, however I’m going to share 5 of my top favorites with you!
5 Favorite Products from the GF & AF Expo:
1. La Brea Bakery Gluten Free Artisan Sliced Sandwich Bread
If you’re gluten free, then you know most sandwich bread you find in the freezer section is dense and not always the best (if I do say so). Needless to say I was beyond excited to try this sandwich bread from La Brea Bakery and let me tell you… it did not disappoint! I took a double take of the package to make sure it was gluten free because it was so light and fluffy! Their rep informed me that this bread is sold in the bakery section not the freezer section! I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for this at my local grocery store.
2. Brazi Bites
When I saw the Brazi Bites booth I knew I had to stop by. Have you tried these? They’re one of my favorite gluten free products! I buy them at Costco in a big bag, but my store only has the original and the Pizza flavored. At the expo I tried the Pepper Jack ones and they were amazing!!
3. Milton’s Craft Bakers- Baked Chips
I’m a big fan of Milton’s Baked Crackers (once again I buy the big bag at Costco), so I was excited to try their new baked chips. They come in six different flavors, but the Red Chili Salsa was my favorite! I love that they’re all certified gluten free, Non GMO Project Verified and Baked, Not Fried. These are the perfect healthier choice when I’m craving a bag of chips!
I’m not a big drinker, but do enjoy a drink every now and then. I often find flavored beverages to be too sweet, so I was pleasantly surprised when I tried these White Claw Hard Seltzer because they were REALLY good! These are the perfect drink to enjoy by the pool or even add wine to make a spritzer. They have 5% alcohol, are all natural, gluten free and only 110 calories per serving!
5. Nima Sensor
I knew about the Nima sensor, but after speaking to their rep I’m sold! Basically how the Nima Sensor works is you put a small sample of your food into a one-time use capsule and in about 3 minutes it will tell you if the item is gluten free (less than 20 parts per million) or if it has gluten. I think this is perfect for trying new products, eating at restaurants and for traveling. Imagine the piece of mind knowing you won’t get sick because your food actually is gluten free!
If you have a favorite gluten free product that I need to try, please let me know!
Great post; I will definitely see if I can find the bread somewhere. It looks amazing. I have been buying Canyon Bakehouse’s Heritage brand, and it’s really good, but I am always open for anything that says gluten free and soft! I stumbled on your site after it was mentioned elsewhere, and I love it. I have been gluten free for twenty five years, but I have learned a lot reading your site. I have bookmarked several posts, and I just subscribed a few weeks ago.
Thanks for all the great, helpful information.
Wow 25 years?! That must have been really hard to find gluten free food. I have been gluten free 5 years and feel like it was more challenging even 5 years ago. Thanks for reading my site and I hope you continue to learn from it! 🙂
I love they have these things where you can see & try the latest foods. SO nice!!!
Yes it’s great being able to try new foods and not have to ask “is this gluten free?”!
SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! The last time we were in the US, Canyon Bakehouse sent us a whole heap of bread – only it arrived two days AFTER we got back to Australia so I never got to try it! Womp womp.
I need to seek out some of these products when we’re back in the US this year!
Canyon Bakehouse is really good too! What a bummer you couldn’t try it! I’ll tell you what you need to try when you’re here! 🙂
I was able to order the La Brea gluten free bread through Amazon Fresh. It is tasty. Almost as good as Canyon, and more affordable. The downside is that on the side of the bag it says made in a facility that uses wheat. This is not good for those of us who are really sensitive. I will let my husband and son eat the loaves that I bought, and I will not eat it again. I had a very good sandwich and started getting a terrible headache and stomach ache . I wish I had read the label first, but I thought if it was at Gluten Free Expo it should be safe. If you can eat food processed in a facility that uses gluten this is a good bread and you will like it. I have alka seltzer gold in the house, which I find helpful in these situations. It helps neutralize your system. It does not stop all the problems from being glutened, but if you get it in time, it does make things easier. So again, terrific bread, and it looks and tastes like bread, but be careful. Always read labels.
Thank you SO much for letting me know Mari! This is very interesting you say this, because at the expo I asked them if it’s made in the same facility that uses wheat and they told me their gluten free bread is made in a separate area. I too am very sensitive, so thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am going to contact the company and see what they say about this!
That’s unfortunate because it says on the bag that it was made in a bakery that uses milk, nuts, and wheat. I hope you don’t get a reaction from this too. It wouldn’t be unusual for one batch to contain gluten, and another one not. I guess it would depend on how much regular flour was in the air, and how well the equipment was washed down between runs. So Delicous makes a really delicious cashew milk ice cream and it is made in a facility that uses some wheat products. They claim they wash down the equipment between runs, and test every batch for contamination. It must work, because I have bought their ice cream several times and never had a problem. That isn’t a bakery however, so there probably is less of a problem there. I am glad that they take it seriously, regardless. If La Brea does start making their bread in a dedicated facility, I would buy it by the case. It really is a wonderful product, and is so much more affordable than other brands which are not as good. Thank you so much for checking on this. Last year I tried the disastrous gluten free Cheerios and had to throw the box away because no one else here likes Cheerios. At least my husband and son can eat gluten products with no problems. They just eat gluten free at home for me. They will love this bread, and I probably would buy it for them again if they wanted it. I just wouldn’t eat it! Here’s hoping La Brea does go to separate facilities, because this bread would outsell everything else. The taste and price can’t be beat.
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