Raleigh GFAF Wellness Event: 11 August

Hey everyone in the Triangle area - the annual Raleigh GFAF Event is coming up on Saturday, August 11! Like last year, the event will be at the NC State Fairgrounds, and it starts at 10 am.

I will be speaking at the event to answer your questions about gluten-free breadmaking and sourdough (with samples)...and I will have a sign up sheet for my new baking classes!

As usual, I have some tickets to give away, so if you'd like to join us at the event leave a comment below!

2017 Greensboro GFAF Event

The second Greensboro GFAF Wellness Event just happened a couple weeks ago. I was hoping to get this post up before Thanksgiving due to the many tasty things that would be useful for the holiday, but I spent that week feeling awful with a cold - hopefully you'll still find this report helpful for other upcoming gatherings of the season!

There were a few new-to-me local food makers at the event. One of my favorite finds was these preserves and salsas from Yo Momma's Style (shown below). 

Another good local product I got to try for the first time is Simple Kneads bread (top left in large collage below) - it's exciting to see a GF whole-grain, gum-free, "real bread" sourdough available in the store! 

This is just a selection of some of the vendors at the event:

Pictured from top left: Simple Kneads sourdough; A Garnet Rose body butters and soaps; seasonal and infused honeys from Justin Case Bee Products; Italian olive oil and vinegars from Batistini Farms; elderberry and elderflower products from Norm's Farms; focaccia bread made using Mina's mix; Whole Foods pecan pie; grain-free granolas from PaleoLove, including some that is also nut-free.

My favorite part of these events (that's not so easy to photograph) is getting to meet people - I got to have some really interesting conversations about things like the food system, allergy accommodations in public schools, the current state of gluten-free beer, and a few different perspectives on navigating a gluten-free diet in the pre-internet age. (I am always interested to hear about people's unique experiences with living gluten-free!) 

And, at the end of the day I found plenty of neat treats in my Blogger Bag: a delicious cookie dough brownie from JP's Pastry, lovely peppermint shea butter soap from A Garnet Rose, locally-made mineral makeup from Pure and Light, beeswax lip balm from Justin Case Bee Products, grain-free granola from PaleoLove, cookies from Anne's, the latest issue of Simply Gluten-Free Magazine, a couple bags of Swerve (erythritol), a jar of Wowbutter soy butter, and some merch from Tito's Vodka. A big thank you to all sponsors and vendors!

As always, all these opinions and statements are completely my own; as an event blogger I received the above items provided by vendors and sponsors, but I was not otherwise compensated and I was not obligated to write about or feature any specific product(s) or vendor(s).

  

GFAF Event coming up in Greensboro NC!

Hey North Carolina friends, the 2017 Greensboro GFAF Event is coming up soon: Saturday, November 11th at Guilford Convention Center! I will be speaking about how and why to make your own gluten-free sourdough bread at 1:40 pm! And as always, there will be lots of good food to sample from local bakeries/restaurants as well as larger companies. 

I have 6 tickets to give away, so if you'd like to win a pair of tickets to attend, email me or leave a comment on this post - I just need your name. I will notify winners by November 5th. 

P.S. This is the final GFAF event for 2017, so if you're in the area, be sure to check it out!

GFAF Event recap: Raleigh 2017

Of all the GFAF events I’ve been a part of, I’m pretty sure this was the biggest and busiest! I’m going to do something a little different this time and focus mainly on new (...or at least new-to-me...) vendors and products from this event.  

Local/NC bakeries, restaurants, and other companies

My favorite find of the day was Neomonde, which has been around since long before I moved to the area (1977!) yet somehow I’ve never tried their food before. This is not a dedicated GF restaurant, but their mediterranean menu includes plenty of traditionally-GF options. Their hummus was so good that I gladly ate it by the spoonful (they were serving it up as a sort of savory parfait with the quinoa tabouli!), and the mjadarah - a rice and lentil dish with caramelized onions - was deliciously savory as well. I was very excited to learn there will soon be a new location in downtown Durham in addition to the original Raleigh restaurant! 

Neomonde's hummus: tasty AND pretty!

Some other local highlights:

Top row: Ada’s Cupcakes, located in Garner, bakes treats that are all vegan/dairy- and egg-free in addition to being GF. I was really impressed by the chocolate strawberry cupcake I sampled (as well as the lemon poppyseed muffin, shown below).

Primal, Durham’s dedicated GF restaurant, had some really good pineapple upside-down cake muffins. (I really must check out their brunch sometime if these muffins are any indication!)

I have mentioned JP’s Pastry plenty of times, but this was the first time I’ve gotten to try their doughnuts - which were quite good, and also happen to be vegan.

Bottom row: A Garnet Rose Soap Co always has a lovely assortment of handmade soaps, lotions, etc.

Justin Case Bee Products, who I met last year in Greensboro, brought some new types of honey.

Patton’s Pride was sampling some catfish bites made with their GF breading mix.

National products

Whole Foods Bakehouse had some truly tasty layer cakes, cheesecake, and even cherry pie to sample. I had never seen some of these products before in my local stores, so I didn’t know about the fancy cakes - they told me any of these items can be ordered through any of their locations. 

Perfectly Free dairy-free coconut ice cream bites are a fun little treat and come in several flavors.

Lundberg, long known in the GF community as a producer of California-grown rice (and more recently quinoa!), had a variety of snacks made from these ingredients. 

Veggie Fries now has cauliflower and bean rings in addition to their fries and tots. I liked these.

Education

I also got to hear a very informative talk from Dr. Nicole DiNezza about the low FODMAP diet - specifically, why it’s often treating a symptom rather than the underlying cause of these food reactions and so may be more useful as a diagnostic rather than a good long-term solution. I think education like this is really important because I meet so many people who are living with a very restricted diet indefinitely, without being told that addressing underlying things such as issues with gut bacteria may eventually allow them to eat a much wider variety of foods.

Goodies

In my Blogger Bag I found all kinds of good stuff: a vegan lemon poppyseed muffin from Ada’s, a very pretty rose-shaped marbled soap from A Garnet Rose, a bottle of elderberry extract from Norm’s Farms, some bean- and nut-based mixes from Neat (the burger mix has now been reformulated to work without egg - when I get a chance to try it I will let you know how it goes!), beeswax lip balm from Justin Case, free pizza from Zpizza, Wowbutter soy butter, chips and snacks from Lundberg, Loma soy “tuna,” and a hot/cold pack from Verve (...useful after carrying all this around!) I also picked up some other samples from vendors, including a new flavor of Plentils (Thai Chili, yum!) and other snacks from Enjoy Life, Kind bars, Pamela’s, and Lundberg, to name a few. Thank you to all vendors and sponsors!

As always, all these opinions and statements are completely my own; as an event blogger I received the above items provided by vendors and sponsors, but I was not otherwise compensated and I was not obligated to write about or feature any specific product(s) or vendor(s).

Raleigh GFAF Wellness Event 2017

Hi everyone! I know I've been absent lately - it's because I've both been 

1) Hard at work on some big things, and

2) Hardly at home (and thus, without a kitchen) - I've been on the road for basically three weeks out of the past month!

Things will probably continue to be pretty busy for a little while, but I do have a few new posts lined up for the near future. Meanwhile, I'm stopping in to let you know about the upcoming Raleigh, NC GFAF Event! The main event is Saturday, August 12th, starting at 10 a.m. (see here for full details and directions). I will be speaking at 2:20 p.m. on Gluten-Free Sourdough: Recipes, Science, and Nutrition. I will have samples for you to try and you will learn all about how to make your own! I have 4 free tickets to the event to give away - leave a comment below or send me an email with your info and I will notify the winners shortly. Be sure to also join us for the webcast on July 31st at 7:30 p.m. for an intro to all the speakers and their topics (more info here). 

I hope to see some of you there!

Columbia SC GFAF Event

Yesterday I was down in Columbia SC for the GFAF Wellness Event, where I spoke about how and why to make GF sourdough bread. I also got to share some of my homemade GF sourdough, which was a joyful experience. (When was the last time you saw a bunch of celiacs getting genuinely excited over the texture, flavor, and delightful aroma of a loaf of bread?!)

This is the honey-oatmeal sourdough I took to share!

My favorite new-to-me find was the local Puckerbutt Pepper Company. They have a diverse range of hot sauces, from fairly mild all the way up to intensely hot. I’m not afraid of spicy food, but for tasting by itself on a spoon, I stayed on the milder side of things! I especially liked the strawberry hot sauce - the fruitiness of the strawberries really comes through to nicely complement the heat of the peppers without being sweet. They sell dried peppers and seeds for pepper plants, too. 

Simple ingredients: Just vinegar, fruit, and peppers.

Here’s a sampling of the many other sights and tastes from the event! Some of them I’ve mentioned before, but several were new and local too. If you’re in central SC, you especially might want to check out the pasture-raised beef and chicken from Boss Farms. (They were selling some there, but I had a long drive home!)

In my Blogger Bag, I found a chocolate cake mix from Mina’s, some Norm’s Farms elderberry syrup, Wowbutter soy butter, and handmade goat milk soap from A Garnet Rose. (This particular soap has patchouli and lavender - it smells just lovely!)

Thank you to all vendors and sponsors! As always, all these opinions and statements are completely my own; as an event blogger I received the above items provided by vendors and sponsors, but I was not otherwise compensated and I was not obligated to write about or feature any specific product(s) or vendor(s).

Gluten-free sourdough: Sneak peek!

Today I’m at the Columbia SC GFAF Event and I will be giving a talk on gluten-free sourdough at 12:45! We will go over the hows and whys of making and using a gluten-free sourdough starter, including some of the science behind why sourdough makes better GF bread than yeast. If you can’t make it, though, don’t worry - check back this coming week for a brand-new sourdough starter tutorial and an upcoming recipe for BREAD! In the meantime, here are some pictures to pique your interest (and your appetite):

Columbia SC GFAF Wellness Event

The Columbia SC GFAF Wellness Event is coming up on the 29th of April! This is the first time the event has come to Columbia, so I’m excited to meet some new people and discover (and of course share with you) some of this city's GF foods and resources. I’m also very excited to announce I will be speaking at this event - the topic will be Gluten-Free Sourdough: Recipes, Science, and Nutrition! Come find out why sourdough is better than yeast for GF bread and learn about how to make and use your very own sourdough starter.

I have four tickets to give away, so if you’re in the SC area, be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the event! Hope to see you there!

Charlotte 2017 GFAF Event

Here’s a quick recap of the 10th annual Charlotte GFAF Event! There were lots of new (or at least, new-to-me) bakeries, brands, etc., both local and larger, in addition to plenty of familiar faces. 

My favorite new find of the day was Burtons Grill, a local restaurant in Charlotte - I got to try my first ever (!) crab cake, along with some crab soup and beet salad. All three components were tasty, but the crab cakes - which they were cooking fresh at the event - were amazing! This restaurant does serve gluten-full food as well, but they have an extensive GF menu and are able to accommodate sensitivities.

There were lots of cakes and other sweet treats to try, as usual. Corwin Cupcakery brought several creative cupcake flavors. Check out the fun one with pink frosting and sprinkles and a literal cherry on top! JP’s Pastry of Raleigh was sampling cream cheese brownies, brioche, and vegan peanut butter brownies. Also shown: Gigi’s Cupcakes, chocolate bundt cake from Namaste, and bundt cake from Abundtant Love bakery. 

Some other vendors and items included: Norm’s Farms elderberry & elderflower products; I'm a Celiac's t-shirts; veggie tacos from Loma; Healthy Home Market - a locally-owned grocer with four stores in the Charlotte area; Milton’s crackers and chips; Fruitfull frozen fruit bars; Tito’s vodka, which is made from corn; Ripple Creek kombucha juice blends; Mina’s baking blend; Open Season sweet potato butter; and Veggie Fries, one of my favorites from last year.  

Another interesting find: Meal-delivery service from The Good Kitchen. I was impressed by the ingredients and design of these meals: unlike the vast majority of packaged dinners, they don’t contain anything besides what you’d use cooking from scratch, and on the other hand they also do include good stuff you wouldn’t normally find in convenience foods, for instance the turnip mash and pickled onion in the sample shown above. All the ingredients are very “clean”/minimally processed, and all meats are pastured. Their facility is GF. Nearly all of their meals also happen to be grain-free, if that’s important to you. A meal program isn’t exactly within my budget, but if you’re in the market for one, this is definitely one worth considering.

As you might know, I take a lot of interest in the cultural aspects of living with dietary restrictions. As such, I’d also like to highlight some support organizations present at the event. First is Charlotte Celiac Connection, a large celiac support group, and their youth organization CYCLE (Celiac Youth of the Carolinas Life Enrichment). Next is PAK (Parents of Allergic Kids) and their youth counterpart ImPAKt. Both of these groups emphasize support and education for individuals and families, as well as creating opportunities for kids with dietary restrictions and other sensitivities to participate in normal social activities. Check out the groups’ pages for upcoming events if you’re in the Charlotte area.

And, of course, goodies! In my Blogger Bag I found a nice little gift pack from Healthy Home Market with some goji berries, fancy sea salt, and herbal tea, among other things; a cupcake from Corwin Cupcakery; a pasta dinner kit from Namaste; Neat egg replacement (made from just chickpeas and chia); a jar of Wowbutter (nut-free soy butter); elderberry juice from Norm’s Farms; a lot of Kind bars; and a gift card from Blue Apron (I do notice on their site they say they accommodate dietary “preferences” but “don’t recommend ordering if you have a serious food allergy,” so I’ll need to look into this one - do any of you have experience with ordering from them?) I also was generously given some additional products to try out from some of the vendors, including some intriguing-looking meat substitute mixes made of nuts and beans from Neat, and a variety of Milton’s chips and crackers. (I will be posting a review of Milton’s soon! I’ve never done an actual review before, but they asked if I would and I really do like these.) A big thank you to all vendors and sponsors!

The next event will be in Columbia, SC on April 29 - check it out if you are in the area!

As always, all these opinions and statements are completely my own; as an event blogger I received the above items provided by vendors and sponsors, but I was not otherwise compensated and I was not obligated to write about or feature any specific product(s) or vendor(s).

Coming up: 10th annual Charlotte GFAF Event!

It's that time of year again: the first GFAF Event of the season is March 18th - that's just three weeks away! This will be the 10th annual event in Charlotte NC, so I bet there will be some especially cool stuff going on. (Check out my post covering last year's event for a taste of what you might find.) As always, there will be lots of delicious food to sample, all 100% gluten-free and often free of one or more other allergens as well. This is a great way to find out about local allergy-friendly food businesses in the area as well as plenty of larger brands and products, and to meet all sorts of other people who have experience living with food sensitivity. Don't have a ticket yet? Not to worry, I have 6 tickets to give away!  For a chance to win tickets, leave a comment on this post or contact me by email (I will need your name so you can claim your tickets at the door). I hope to see some of you there!