Saturday

Gluten Free Expo Toronto 2012

Awesome swag bag

Last Sunday, September 30th I attended the Gluten Free Expo in Toronto with my husband and our three year old son. I was super excited for this event and I hope to see another one next year. While it was a great experience, there were definitely a few hiccups. I don't want to focus too much on the negative as I'm sure that this was a monstrous event to put together and the packed to the walls turn out can only mean good things.

Lets start with the positives

Amazing turn out - I was seriously surprised by how many people turned up for the event. Hopefully this kind of enthusiasm will lead to more awareness and more variety on the store shelves.

Awesome variety of vendors - There were the known favourites such as Kinnikinnick, Udis, and Pamelas. And there were so many companies that I had never heard of until I tried a sample or spoke to them at their booths. The vendors ranged from food companies and catering to restaurants and magazines. There was also a vendor representing the Chicago Centre for Celiac Disease! Awesome possum.

great items available for purchase - Wow. Just wow. I probably could have purchased several weeks worth of groceries here. Some vendors had pretty great deals as well.

Everyone was in good spirits - This says it all I think

My little guy managed the 2 hours we were there without a melt down! Woohoo! He also enjoyed all of the yummy Gluten Free samples that he tried.

Loads of yummy samples. Seriously yummy And nothing beats a sample of something to encourage a purchase

Gluten Free Samples and Coupons

Easy to gain entrance with pre-purchased tickets - That itself was a great option! Hope to see this again.

Jax and Myself

Had the opportunity to meet Jax! Had to save the best for last on my list of positives. She is truly a Gluten Free inspiration and I recommend having a regular peak at her website Gluten Free Ontario

Alright, on to the not so fun stuff

We arrived at 9:50 am and waited a good ten minutes to turn into the parking lot. We entered the venue at about 10:10am and it was packed. By 11:30 it was so crowded that vendors were hard to gain access to. Just walking through the crowd was tough. It seemed like there was not enough space for people to line up at the vendors without causing a blockage to the people who just wanted to pass by.

Paid $9.00 for parking. I had no idea until we got there that parking would not be free. My fault for not looking into it but I figured $18 on 2 tickets would qualify for free parking or at least some sort of a discount for attending the expo.

When we left it was very chaotic as there is only one exit from the parking lot. We sat in a lineup of cars for 35 minutes before a second ticket booth was opened and someone came out to direct the flow of vehicles. My dad works by the Toronto Airport and apparently this is a common logistics issue at this particular venue. All in all, I'm happy nobody freaked out and eventually (35 minutes later) traffic got flowing at a somewhat fair pace.

No time to really get to know vendors or learn about the products. We ended up leaving when things got to the point of not being able to get to the booths and see what products were there. Although we strolled by most tables, there were some like the Chicago Center for Celiac Disease where I could only squeeze in enough to snag a pamphlet. Really wish I could have been able to have a chat with them. Everything just felt so rushed.

I heard that a few vendors were eating non GF foods at their booths. Thats a big no no. Also, I feel as though any vendor that had GF oats in a product should have had a disclaimer saying so as many Celiacs, including myself get ill from even Gluten Free oats.

Would I attend a future event?

Hubby & little man in parking lot

Yes, but I would attend with a different frame of mind. Perhaps taking turns navigating the Expo with hubby. This way one of us can keep the little man happy and out of the crowds. It was too difficult to navigate a stroller through the tight space and much too hard for my little guy to walk without getting tripped over.

Next time I will be expecting some big crowds. I will also buy products as I visit the booths instead of attempting to go back at the end of our rounds.

NEW products that caught my eye at the Gluten Free Expo

Forno Mina Cheese Rolls from Brazil

At $4.00 they come already made and you just pop em in the oven. Talk about convenient I have made my own version of these cheese buns for several years and Forno Mina is so authentic. Nothing compares to the airiness and texture they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Boring Porridge
I was skeptical at first but HOLY MOLY was it great. Add this to Vanilla yogurt and bam, you have a healthy and easy to make snack. I am such a fan now will have to order this online for sure. Shipping across Canada is only $2.00!

Monday

Gluten Free Kid Friendly Recipes

Have a little one with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance?

Creating healthy gluten free meals, that appeal to kids can be tough. So many things are off limits as Celiac often goes hand in hand with other intolerance's or allergies.

The search for gluten free recipes to please little pallet's just got easier. Check out 30 Blogs with Gluten Free Recipes for Kids . Here you will find recipes for all of the days meals, plus sweet snacks, savory snacks AND dessert.

Not to be missed on this website :

Gluten-Free, Dairy Free Poptarts
Easy Kid's Lunchboxes
Crispy Seasoned Chicken
A Gluten Free Crustless Apple Pie
Butter Cookies
Reconstructing Goldfish Crackers: Gluten Free Style

I'm looking forward to trying several of these recipes myself!

Happy cooking!

Thursday

Gluten Free Expo Toronto

Come out to the Gluten Free Expo in Toronto Septemeber 30th! There will be vendors, coupons, samples and more!

Here are the event details :

Gluten Free Expo - TORONTO
September 30, 2012
10am - 5pm

655 Dixon Rd, Toronto, ON (DoubleTree by Hilton)

Tickets are $12 at the door or save money by purchasing online for $9 each.

Buy tickets here!

Friday

On The Hunt For A Cookbook? Here is my advice...

What do you look for in a great cook book? I look for a lot of key things. After years of buying cookbooks, trial and error finally paid off and I know know what I really need to look for in one.

Let's start with what I am on alert to avoid

First of all, if an entire cook book requires a specific custom flour blend that you have to make yourself, it's out. Numerous different flour blends - blacklisted! Sorry, although it may taste great it's simply too much of an effort for me. At least at this stage in my home cooking.
Extremely time consuming recipes - No thank you.
Too many ingredients - Enough said.
Recipes that are too fancy schmancy- Not a chance.
No pictures- I prefer to know what my masterpiece should look like

Don't be afraid to spend some time reading through a cookbook before you buy it! I can't begin to tell you how many cookbooks I have purchased only to try a few recipes and realize, it's just not for my family. Sometimes even the simplest looking recipes can be challenging or not what you expect.

I recommend recipes that use "all purpose" gluten free flours. Less fuss the better.

Here is what I look for in a cookbook

Clear, direct and simple directions
Accurate prep and finish times (within reason as appliances vary)
Noted skill level (novice, intermediate, advance)
Bright pictures of finished dish with step by step photos for more complicated tasks
Easy to source and Affordable ingredients
Tips eg - freezing, storage, ect
Pairing suggestions
Substitution suggestions
Menu plans

Don't be afraid of "regular" cookbooks that are not specifically aimed at those who are Gluten Free. It took me a while to try some out, but I haven't looked back. The only time I stick to traditionally GF recipes is when it comes to sweets.

When it comes to bread products I recommend my personal baker of sorts Kinnikinnick. There is nothing better than their soft bread products!

Eventually, you will know what you can and cannot tackle with a blink of the eye. It just takes practice. Expensive practice.

What do you look for when purchasing a cookbook?

Monday

Back To School Gluten Free Safety

It's that special time of year again. No, not Christmas. It's

almost time for the School year to begin. First day of the year is one week tomorrow where I am.

Sending Gluten Free kids to school can be a scary thought. Although my little guy is not intolerant to anything, I am trying to teach him about not sharing any food at school. Period. Sounds a little harsh I know. But in my opinion its better to be safe than sorry. The last thing I want is for him to share his lunch with someone who may be intolerant to it. There are so many food intolerance's out there and its not reasonable to expect very young children to understand them just yet.

Here are my top tips for back to school Gluten Free safety.

1) Have a sit down meeting with your child's teacher, principal and PTA head. Bring any materials you think will help to clearly get the message across. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

2) Supply both the teacher and office with a letter explaining how medically important remaining Gluten Free is for your child and the details of Celiac Disease.

3) Advise that if there is accidental consumption of Gluten, that your child may need to use the washroom suddenly and possibly for multiple visits. Depending on the age your child and severity of the reaction, you may want to have the school contact you immediately.

4) Go over an action plan with your child and teacher about what to do in case of accidental glutening.

5) Ask the teacher for a list of dates where there will be food brought in for a special occasion such as a child's birthday or a Halloween party. Make note of these dates and send your child to school with a special treat for that day.

6) Make sure teachers know that your child cannot participate in crafts involving regular noodles and play dough. Point out that children often touch their mouth without realizing it and how this would cause accidental ingestion of Gluten. See if you can provide a small craft kit to be kept at the school for your child.

Items that can be included in craft kit : homemade GF playdough , GF noodles , peel and stick stickers, GF finger paint. The kit doesnt have to be huge. Just make sure it includes the GF version of what the other students will be using.

7) Advise that under NO circumstances is your child to be given any food other then what you have sent with them. Not all children are comfortable saying no and some don't understand the severity of their intolerance's until they are older.

8) Suggest that the teacher and or Librarian read a book about Celiac Disease to the students. Some great options are :

The GF Kid: A Celiac Disease Survival Guide