Warning...photo heavy post and my apologies for the iphone fluorescent heavy pictures too (my camera battery died while I was at the fair)...
Before I get going on the first part of the day, I will start with the end of the day...
Since the boys loaded up on food at the vendor fair, I was starving at dinner time and they were still full. I put my leftovers to work along with the heirloom tomato I got from the farmer's market on Tuesday...
and a slice of the gluten free bread I made the other day (which makes perfect toast)! I am really happy with this loaf of bread. I want to work on it a little more, but this was my first loaf of gluten free bread made from scratch and it was pretty freakin' good!
I made a little salad of fresh corn cut off the cob and the heirloom tomato, garlic hummus, scrambled egg whites, gluten free toast and hot sauce! Amazing flavor combination and completely satisfying!
Now for the rest of the day....while researching for jobs one day, I came across a Gluten Free Vendor Fair that was being held in Norcross, GA. I have never been to a food show for food allergies or intolerances before. I have attended the Fancy Food Show in Atlanta when I worked in catering, but this was much smaller. It was $5 each for Tony and I to get in (the kids were free since they are under 13). We each got a reusable bag with a bottle of water before we entered the show.
At first, Tony wasn't going to go. He is swamped with work and we both thought it was going to be really small and probably not worth the $10 it would cost to get in. It was only 20 minutes from our house and after talking about it for a little bit, I convinced him to get out for a couple of hours with me. I mean he is the one with "the celiac". We left home at lunch time, so I figured we would have to grab lunch out on the way back...
(This picture does not give this creme brulee justice, it was beautiful and Tony did not stop talking about it!)
While I couldn't eat much there, the boys feasted! PF Chang's had a huge set up there for sampling, along with Outback Steakhouse and Maggiano's! Remember...only $5/adult! There were also tons of baked goods for sampling...
Along with some of our favorite products for tasting, there were tons of coupons!
I haven't tried this flour yet. It was $20 (or $25, I can't remember) for a bag of flour. This is why I am trying to bake my own stuff. Yikes!
This bakery was incredible! They inspired me to get my butt in the kitchen and bake more! You could not tell these were gluten free at all!
The boys left on a really high note...
Since we stayed until the end (we had no idea there would be so many products to learn about and sample), companies started giving things away! The boys actually walked out with chinese take out...
and Tony had a couple more samples of gluten free beer! We all needed a nap after all of this!
Then we got home and started going through our loot!
After looking at everything, I swear we walked out of there with about $40 worth of stuff not including the meals the boys ate between the pizza, Chinese food, Italian food, beer and sweets. We spent $16.50 because we bought the Rudi's bread when we first got there. Just a suggestion, when you go to something like this, don't buy anything until the end! It is good bread though, so worth the purchase. Besides, we wanted to support more companies.
While this one was a Gluten Free Vendor Fair, many items were free of all the major allergens! I will definitely be checking out more food shows like this. I think it is so important to support these organizations and companies! It was a great afternoon and I look forward to the next one!
Have you ever been to a food fair?
Labels: beans, breads, breakfast, dips, gluten free, main course, product reviews, vegetables |
So fun! But $20 for a bag of flour? What are they thinking?!