Gluten Free & Allergen Expo Highlights

The Gluten Free and Allergen Expo took place in Glendale, AZ this pass weekend and Travel Far Gluten Free was in attendance as an official blogger of the expo. We ate our way through the entire expo looking for the latest and greatest gluten free foods. Here was our top picks from the expo… 

Best Gluten Free Pizzas
Smart Flour Foods and Spinatos
​Gluten free pizza is making incredible strides. There were a few vendors featuring their pizzas and they were all delicious. However, Smart Flour Foods and Spinatos lead the pack for exceptional pizzas. Smart Flour Foods crust was thin and had the right crispiness. Spinatos excelled in the sauce, seasoning, and toppings. Their tomato, basil, and garlic pizza was to die for. 

Most Improved Product
Daiya
Daiya sampled their improved formula at the GFAF expo which you can be eaten cold. Yes you read that right! For all you die heart Daiya fans (me included), you know that Daiya was best melted. However, this new and improved formula can be on your next cold sandwich, and it tastes delicious and the texture is on point. 

Best Variety of Gluten Free Cookies
Aleia's
This was my first time experiencing Aleia's and I'm so glad they were at the expo. They had so many different cookies, and they were all delicious. My favorite was the chocolate chunk cookies, because I'm a chocolate fanatic. They also had  chocolate chip,  ginger snap , oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, vanilla bean sugar, almond horns, coconut macaroons, and chocolate macaroons, with the last three being dairy free. They also have breadcrumbs, stuffing, crotons, and their own version of shake and bake. 

Coolest Food Innovation
Thrive Food
Delicious isn't the first thing you would associate with freeze dried food. When I first approached the Thrive Food booth I was put off by the concept. They offered me samples of the mango, strawberry, green bean, broccoli, and vanilla bean yogurt. I tried the green bean and was pleasantly surprised of how "fresh" the taste was once it hit the saliva in my mouth. The strawberry was the same way. I tried the rest of the sample offerings and was hooked. I couldn't believe it. It was not just good, but delicious. The booth lady told me that it's great for quickly cooking meals. You can take the chicken and green beans , throw it into a sauce pan with water and seasoning and dinner is done. Once the cans are opened, the shelf life is about a year, and it sits in your pantry instead of taking up precious space in your already way too small and stuffed freezer. With the convenience and the fact that this process locks in the flavor, freshness, and nutrition, I think this is really the future of food. 

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Still the Delicious
​and with More Flavors!
Brazi Bites
Brazi Bites is a crowd favorite for gluten free-ers and non-gluten free-ers alike. They're morsels of cheesy, soft, fluffy goodness that you can't just have one of. Usually their cheddar and parmesan is what you would find in their stores, but at the show they were also serving up 3 cheese pizza, zesty pepper jack, and garlic asiago. The 3 cheese is the newest, and I think, the best flavor. The Italian seasoning they used was spot on, and of course the cheese was delightful.