Gluten Free Day at Rainbow Foods Part 1

 

Rainbow Foods Gluten Free Day

Wow…. its been a long time since I wrote anything for the “Travelling Tastebud”section of this blog… and it looks like the next few weeks are going to definitely re-populate it … So, the first of a bunch of travelling around started off atRainbow Foods yesterday, for their Gluten Free Day.

I walked in kinda nervous, to be honest.  I have no problemo blogging about recipes.  Events? Thats a bit new to me.  I kinda stammered around awkwardly for a bit… and then got into the swing of things.

Everyone was super friendly and the day was really well organized.  I’ll give you a bit of a run down of the different products that were on display and all the samples available…

There was alot of variety – its kinda amazing what you can put together that’s gluten free-  many of the samples tasted exactly like or better than the wheat based alternatives.

One caveat – almost all the baked goods had xantham gum, eggs, or dairy in them for binding agent… my gut was a bit mad at me later… ok. more than a bit… but I’ll consider myself a martyr for the cause and spend today recovering. :)

Anyhow, on to the nice folks and interesting stuff I saw!

Ottawa Chapter Celiac Association

Coming through the door, first thing you see is the display for the Ottawa Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association.  They also have a fan page on Facebook, join!

Carol was a lovely host, and filled me in on all the interesting events coming up for them.  The Sept 29 meeting will be special as it features local chefs offering cooking tips and restaurant tips- how neat! I’m totally going!

They also have a meeting Sept 22 for the newly diagnosed.  They are also looking for volunteers for the May 2011 National Celiac Convention in Ottawa- Contact June Williams for more info (June-williams@sympatico.ca).

Samples of Gluten Free Products

Next up, was a long table of goodies to sample…  in the photo you’ll note that already it had been eaten down pretty fast!

Here’s a few snapshots of the goodies:

 

Gluten Free Brownies (Fudgy and deep chocolatey taste, great icing)

 

 

Gluten Free Macaroons (Springy and soft… looked delicious)

Here are a couple of the producers….  I didn’t catch everyone, but I think this will give you a good idea…

This is Rob Duncan, the President of  Purest Natural Products.  I had to mention him first, because his company is SUPER local- they are in Perth!

Purest Natural Products is gluten free, dairy free, and corn free.  Their gluten-free grains are grown in Ontario (yay!).  I have a soft spot for our local farmers, I gotta say.  And Rob is one down to earth, straight up kind of guy to talk to.  These guys are a brand new company and certainly one to check out… They have gravy mixes, brownie mixes,  deep frying batter mixes, chocolate pudding mixes, pancakes and more… All dairy free, gluten free, and corn free.

Purest Natural Products Brownies and Shortbread- the shortbread was almost all gone!

 

Judy’s Magic Mixes

This is Peter from Judy’s Magic Mixes. If you can do dairy, egg, and xantham gum, then this is your guy.  I *really* wanted to try all his samples but I didn’t want to push my luck.  The chocolate cake was unbelievably fluffy, I will say.  And the breads were super light and springy – and the muffins were going like hotcakes.
Here’s a cool thing- they are based right out of Orleans! Yup- office on Des Epinettes.  Ok, you can’t get much more local than that.   Peter is a super enthusiastic guy-  he’ll get you to convert to Judy’s Judy-ism if its the last thing he does :)

 

 

 

 

Judy’s muffins and cake…  and check out how high that bread is….

Enerjive Food

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Doctor Joel Lee Villeneuve

This is Natural Doctor Joel Lee Villeneuve from ReviveLife  Clinic,  who created Enerjive Food.  She brought with her some fun “Crunchy Breads”-  I really love the Apple Cinnamon. It was like a cross between an energy bar and a cookie-  no gluten, no dairy, no eggs, no sugar, and no nuts.  She’s  joined up with several local schools to offer this super healthy product as an alternative snack for part of their  meal program.   They also have protein bosted granolas, pasta, and other products.

  

Apple Cinnamon Crunchy Bread

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 of Gluten Free Day- more gluten free goodies and a  quick store tour… and that will wrap up Gluten Free Day at Rainbow Foods!