Over the weekend, I had the exciting opportunity to attend the Natural Products Northwest 2010 exhibition! In addition to representing Glutenfreeda Foods Inc., I was able to connect with other wonderful gluten free manufacturers: Udi's Handcrafted Foods, Rudi's Bakery, Hain Celestial Group, Zing Bars, WOW (WithOut Wheat) Baking Company, Happy Baby Organics, and many others.
We first ran into Rachel Carlyle-Gauthier (aka Gluten Free Mama) and her daughter, sampling mini pecan pies, raspberry thumbprints and chocolate cake - all of which were amazing! In addition to creating delicious gluten free baked goods, Gluten Free Mama's baking mixes feature almond and coconut flours, both of which are higher in fiber and protein than other flours. Rachel was generous enough to send us home with a couple of mixes, including a double pie crust! With fresh, local apples available right now, we're excited to take it for a test-run - stay tuned for a product review!
Walking through the expo, we met up with Don Braun of Schar Foods, an Italian-based company which provides gluten free foods to countries across Europe -- and now the U.S.! In addition to a vast selection of pastas in different shapes and grain compositions, Schar also produces cookies and biscuits and par-baked bakery items like crusty dinner rolls and fluffy sandwich buns. Round and airy, these buns can be easily cut in half and used for sandwiches or burgers, no toasting required. 
Our next visit was to Shari Cole with Simply Shari's Gluten Free & Fabulous (formerly Gluten Free & Fabulous) and got a sneak peak at her fantastic new packaging! We were able to sample her melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies and so-good-you-can't-tell-they're-gluten-free individual pizzas (in cheese, pesto & cheese and organic pepperoni & cheese). Keep an eye out for a product review! And check out this article from the San Fernando Valley Business Journal about Shari's success and recent name-change.
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