I found out about the GFAF Expo (gluten free allergen friendly expo) when I came across it on living social a few months ago. I thought “what an awesome idea to highlight food brands for people with dietary limitations” – and had to look into it further. In checking out the website, I discovered there would be a lot of national and local brands there with different types of snacks. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out they had an official blogger program! I got in touch with them and became part of this fabulous blogger team, and as such was given a ticket to attend the expo this past weekend in Worcester, Mass. That’s me and the rest of the team in the fun photo above.
Now, I’m not gluten free. {I actually kinda love gluten, haha, and thankfully don’t have any medical issues with it.} But I do have friends/clients that are gluten free, and it’s important for me to stay up to date on what kind of products are out there.
Plus, my son is thought to have several food intolerences (read up on my past posts about cows milk protein intolerance and other trigger foods in this post and this post). Since I’m breastfeeding, right now I’m dairy, soy, egg, and beef free – and will likely have to be that way until he’s 9-12 months. {I was recently able to add back in wheat, nuts, and fish over the last 6 weeks – very exciting and made a huge difference in the number of things I could cook!} So for me personally, I was really excited about the “allergen friendly” portion of the expo.
I got to the GFAF expo before it was officially opened to the public (it was pretty cool to get a blogger press badge) and the day kicked off with a blogger meet & greet hosted by Massel. I actually had never tried any of their products, but they make boullion cubes and seasonings that are vegan and gluten free. I got to try some of their chicken stock and it was seriously delicious.
Side note – Runners, have you ever had chicken noodle soup after a winter race? It’s one of my favorite winter recovery meals. (I know, it’s 90 degrees out now so it’s hard to think about winter). But it’s really great because it warms you up after a cold run, has sodium to replenish your stores after sweating, chicken for protein, and noodles/veggies for carbs. Delicious real food nutrition!
OK, back to the expo – after chatting it up with the Massel folks and the other bloggers, the expo opened to the public. My hubby and son came in at that point and we explored the rest of the expo together. It was a combination of products I’d tried before and enjoyed, new product lines from major vendors, and lots of smaller vendors introducing or showcasing new products.
Here are 3 of my favorite new food finds from the GFAF Expo:
1. Munk Packs
These are basically little squeeze pouches that combine both fruit puree and oatmeal. I loved the simple and short ingredient list. Here’s the ingredients from the blueberry acai:
“Oatmeal (Water, Gluten Free Oats), Blueberry, Apple, Banana, Apple Juice Concentrate, Ground Flax, Acai, Natural Blueberry Flavor, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).”
I could see these being great for part of an on-the-go breakfast or as a snack for the kiddos.
2. 88 Acres Bars
These are granola bars that are free of the top 8 common allergens and that actually taste delicious. The chocolate and sea salt is just what I would want when I was craving a dessert. And it’s another brand with simple ingredients:
“88 acres seed blend (organic sunflower seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, flax seeds), gluten-free certified oats, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, organic dark chocolate (organic cane sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla extract), sea salt.”
Plus, for those of us in Massachusetts, they’re produced locally right out of Dorchester (my old stompin’ ground for some of the schools I worked with).
3. Biena Roasted Chickpeas
Craving a crunchy, salty snack? Roasted chickpeas are a great option! I make roasted chickpeas at home all the time, but love these packaged versions for a quick grab-and-go snack. The BBQ was definitely my favorite – very reminiscent of BBQ potato chips, but with a much better nutritional profile.
The GFAF Expo was definitely a fun experience and if you find one near a city near you, I highly recommend checking it out. Even if you’re not gluten free or you don’t have food allergies, there were a lot of “better for you” brands there with yummy snacks to try out. Plus, tons of coupons and swag!!
Share with me: Have you ever gone to any kind of food expo? Did you enjoy it? What were your favorite snacks that you sampled?
Disclosure: As part of the GFAF blogger team, I was given a free ticket to attend the event. I did not receive any additional compensation for attending or for writing this post.
Chrissy Carroll
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So happy you stopped by our booth! Munk Pack pouches are great for a run too, try it out and let us know what you think!
Yes, they were fabulous! Can’t wait to go grab a few packs from the store this weekend. Super convenient.
gluten free allergen friendly expo sounds indeed quite a cool initiative!
I like the salty snacks!
Yes, it was definitely a fun experience! I’ve got more of a sweet tooth, but definitely enjoy the salty stuff occasionally.