You may ask why I blog? Why does Allergic Traveler have a need to blog? Well a lot of it is for selfish reasons! I am always looking for products that I can pack for my travels. Spending a lot of time sightseeing, means that I don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of time eating or at the grocery store when I am away.  Blogging has also given me the ability to meet some remarkable people in the food allergy industry. Enough with the why, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this blog!

Food allergy show in the triad

During this time of the summer, when the weather is steaming, and most people are out by the pool or the beach, I am indoors missing the food allergy community advocates. Typically, at the onset of summer, Allergic Traveler attends the Gluten Free and Allergy Free show in the triad. Then we have the glorious weather and activities that make summer fly by. And just when the season is coming to an end, we wrap it up with another Gluten Free and Allergy Free event in Raleigh. It’s the in between show time that makes me miss those that are making such a difference in the food allergy world. Luckily, I have lots of their products from the show to hold me through the dry spell. Allow me to tell you a little bit about them.

What I love most about these shows is that there are more and more products for me to try. There was a time when I could never buy anything pre-made that was allergy friendly. Times have changed! Here are some of the products and what this Allergic Traveler thought.

Who was there?

Dolci di Maria – At this show, they introduced their unicorn biscottis. They were so pretty and whimsical. These biscottis were gluten free. They had eggs in them though, so I could not try them. I did make their mint chocolate chip brownie mix. It was divine, not too much mint and just the right amount of chocolate.

Gluten Free Biscotti

Enjoy Life – They were missed at the show however they sent lots of samples. I love their new packaging. The teal blue makes it super easy to find in the grocery stores. Their chewy coco loco bars are ideal for travel. They don’t melt!

Enjoy Life’s Cocoa Loco bars

JPs Pastries – These guys are the kings in the gluten free world. Their products are so fresh and moist. They offer gluten free products, dairy free, egg free and many more varieties. You can find more and more of their product at retailers across the south east. I challenge you to find one you don’t like!

 

 

 

 

Naturally Me – I tried heir lemongrass oatmeal soap. It is made with gluten free oatmeal. The scent was heavenly and provide a nice lather. Their products specialize in skin care for sensitive and eczema prone skin, aka me!

Nutrimom – Tracy with Nutrimom is a self- professed food geek. Her son is allergic to peanuts, which is her motivation behind all that she does. She blogs, shares recipes and introduces us to many allergy friendly products. Tracy is always willing to take the time to give her thoughts on what is going on in the food allergy world.

Scented Balance – It is not all about food either! There were other products at the show that focused on clean living for the home. Scented Balance had a beautiful light room deodorizer mist. It was heavenly. I am very leery of these products as I believe scents are very subjective. However, their product was perfect! It was nice, clean and crisp.

Scout & Cellar – Can I tell you about wine? I have met lots of allergy folks that will not consume wine because they do not know how it is processed or with what. Scout & Cellar have spent years researching to find those wines that are Clean Crafted. This means they have no sugar added, no chemicals added, not manufactured in a lab and so many other characteristics. Of course, I was excited to try their product. It reminded me a lot of the wines you find in Europe with no headache the next day!

Scout & Cellar wine

SunButter – Tracy from Nutrimom was giving out samples of this. What I love best about it, is the size. It is nice and compact, so it is great for travel or to fit in your purse for that mid-afternoon snack.

The Greater Knead – Imagine this if you will, gluten free raisin bagel chips! They do exist! The chips were nice and crunchy. They were filling and not too sweet.

There were so many other vendors there. I am still working my way through all the products I picked up at the show. Luckily the next Gluten Free & Allergy Free Event is a month away. The samples should hold me over until then. I will be able to re-stock and catch up with the food allergy vendors at the next event.

Even more vendors!

Samples from the Gluten Free Event

Here are some of the other vendors that were there:

Gigi’s cupcakes, Herbalife, Greensboro Chiropractic & Wellness, Healthy Home 1-2-3, Norwex, Pure Heaven, Zilis, Therapeutiks , Norm’s Farms, Tummydrops and many more.

If you have never been, then you are missing out! This industry is expanding. There is more and more product available to those of us with food allergies and food intolerances. Want a chance to win tickets to the next event? Simply leave a comment and share this on any social media page. Winners will be announced on August 9th. Good luck!