Gluten & Allergy Free Expo Finds

This past weekend I had the pleasure of working The Gluten & Allergy Free Expo at the Meadowlands in Secaucus, NJ for Power Crunch.   Unlike marathon expos where you are bombarded with sneakers, headbands and compression socks, with food expos, everywhere you turned is some (in this case) gluten-free, carb filled goodie to satisfy your appetite for the rest of the day.  Definitely not an easy show to work when attempting a contest prep, but I survived with minimal damage... though I think I may see a little extra cardio in the near future. 

Gluten-Free is not necessary for everyone.  In fact, there are a lot of people who have jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon that really have no reason too.  But that doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate some gluten free products into your diet for a change of pace.

Gluten-Free is the exclusion of everything containing gluten, a protein found in all forms of wheat, barley and rye.  Eliminating gluten is known to be helpful for individuals diagnosed with celiac disease, a genetic autoimmune disorder of the small intestine, and for those with gluten sensitivities.  If you have not been diagnosed with celiac disease nor have pinpointed gluten sensitivity through an elimination diet, then why make yourself sensitive by eliminating if it’s not truly necessary???

With that said, I had a great time exploring some new foods and some new uses for old ones on top of being able to try Power Crunch’s new gluten-free Crisp bars and RTD’s (ready to drink shakes).  The new Crisp bars are different from the Original wafer cookie bars.  They have more of a rice crispy treat texture (minus the rice) while Power Crunch Original's have more of "grandma" sugar wafer cookie taste. 

The Gluten-Free Crisps are available in Sweet Vanilla Dream and Chocolate Brownie Wonder.  I actually think the chocolate brownie bar would be great made into a chocolate piecrust.  Check back on that one.  I am soooo doing it!

The RTD’s are good too.  Some consumers compared them to Muscle Milk in taste, though a completely different product.  Personally, I prefer the powder.  But of course I would, it’s easier to use for baking and I prefer to control the taste. 

Besides our new products, I was excited to try the Cranberry Chia Charger Bites and the Coffee Chia Peanut Butter Moxie, both by New York Superfoods.  Chia, yes Chia as in "Cha-Cha-Cha Chia" pets, are small seeds that are harvested in Mexico and Guatemala from the Salvia Hispanica plant.  History suggests their use dates back to Aztec and Mayan cultures.   They are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fiber and are great in juices and shakes or used as a substitute for eggs; a thickener for soups and gravies and in yogurt.  

I absolutely love how New York Superfoods puts them to use in the moxie and chia charger bites!  The Moxie is full of flavor with a nice crunch.  And the charger bites are like mini PB&Js (minus the bread).  The products are Non GMO, as well as certified Vegan and Gluten Free.  You have to try them!   

Besides the Cranberry Chia Chargers and the Coffee PB Moxie, there is also a Coffee Charger (which I unfortunately did not have the pleasure of trying), a Classic PB Moxie and a Chocolate PB Moxie.  The Moxies were all good (Hey, you can't go wrong with peanut butter), but the coffee was my personal favorite.

My second favorite find was the new uses of quinoa as was presented by several different companies.  Quinoa is a seed that can be used and prepared like whole grains.  I enjoy it mixed with oatmeal for breakfast or as a side in place of brown rice.  The best thing about quinoa is it is a complete protein, featuring all nine essential amino acids.  No vegetarian diet should go without it!

I Heart Keenwah made use of quinoa in a super yummy snack, Quinoa Clusters.  There are four flavors:  Almond, Cranberry Cashew, Chocolate Sea Salt and Ginger Peanut.  I stopped at Almond.  "Dear Santa:  If you could put a few bags of each flavor under the Christmas Tree for me this year, I promise to be a good girl"  ;-)  The texture is like that of peanut butter brittle.  A nice crunch, not overly sweet but quite satisfying.  

Cook Simple used quinoa in a totally different way.  They added black beans to it in their Cowboy Chili to give an additional protein boost along with some added fiber.  It was pretty good, but you know me, I will be perfecting my own homemade quinoa chili recipe soon enough.  But if I wasn't the cooking type, I would definitely consider picking this one up for my family.  They have other healthy meal options as well and can be found in Whole Foods, Targets and ShopRites to name a few.  You can find locations near you by tapping into their online store locator.    

For a meal, I did also enjoy Feel Good Foods Gluten-Free Chicken and Vegetable Egg Rolls.  They were delicious!  Don't believe me?  Try them for yourself!  They will be cooking and handing out samples of their gluten free products next Tuesday, September 17th at the Whole Foods Market in Tribeca from 4-7pm.  You can check their events calendar for other local events.  

By the way, I will be back with Power Crunch this weekend at the Rock and Roll Marathon Expo in Philadelphia is you want to come out and try our new gluten-free line.  Go to my events calendar for more details.

Well, this rounds out my favorite finds from the GFAF Expo.  If you've tried any of these products or have tried some other gluten free products worth mentioning, please leave a comment on this post and I will be sure to give it a try!

*Honorable Mention

SO Delicious Dairy Free Almond Milk

Mocha Almond Fudge Bar

You may actually find this one in my freezer...they were soooooo delicious!