Hey guys! So if you were with me for Gluten Free Day Part 1, we did a quick view of some of the producers at Rainbow Foods for their Gluten Free Day on Saturday. Today is a quick tour of the store, a few other products and then its a wrap-up. (and later I’ll show you a sneak peak of these crazy awesome gingersnap cookies I’m working on for xmas! Best.Yumness. Ever!).
Ok, so after meeting some great folks, I continued to tour the tables and was getting a little tired – must have been the adrenaline rush of forcing myself on complete strangers lol. I met up with Amica, the super friendly and sweet organizer for the event. She was like dude, I need a shot. (hey, I’m all for it but had no idea this was “that” kind of thing! ). Oh wait. She meant a shot of greens. Of course. lol.
Have you guys ever had a shot of greens? So bizzare… It actually gives you this neat little energy boost. But it looks like someone threw Oscar the Grouch in a blender and served him up. Complete with chewy bits. lol. Grossed out yet? Ok it wasn’t that bad, honestly- I just wanted to mess with you lol. Debbie White (marchvale@gmail.com), a Registered Holistic Nutritionist was on hand offering samples of Amazing Grass so I thought I would take the plunge.
Here’s Debbie. (She’s the friendliest, nicest person ever! Kinda makes me want to know what this Holistic Nutrutionist stuff is all about… I think I’d totally give her a call… She was super down to earth- We ended up chatting for quite a bit, and I think I want to make sure I’m eating properly with all these crazy food intolerances… my official list has about 60 (60!!) items on it. ugh. ….)
Here’s the sample.
Its totally Amica’s fault. (I should have taken her picture as evidence!)
You know what the funny thing is? It actually did give me an instant little kick… felt so wierd in a good way lol … and while I tried the ‘hard stuff’ (ha…), they also had great little flavours like Goji Berry and Acai, and Chocolate (both of which were actually quite delicious). uh… I started doing a couple shots, ok? I kinda got hooked on the stuff. I felt like perky perkasaurus rex.
Debbie also had on hand some Kind Bars – by this point I was stuffed from all the samples, but they looked delicious. She also had some Bumble Bars on hand and both bars were going pretty quick.
Next up, I met Eryn Harding, (eryn.harding@gmail.com) also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.
She had samples on hand of Patsy Pie GF cookies and Elevate Me energy bars that have only a few ingredients and a pretty low glycemic index. I didn’t try either but they looked really interesting… Energy bars without soy and wierd processed stuff is up my alley. I really enjoyed chatting with her- she was very helpful.
And finally, time for the store tour of the store’s GF stuff.
I didn’t know this but apparently they do GF tours every Saturday afternoon- so swing by and check it out! Here’s what I saw…. There was a ton of snackfood….
…and cookies (stuff that looked just like the wheat version like oreo cookies!).
Every product that is Gluten Free has a store label on the shelf in case you aren’t sure.
There’s a huge rack of fresh breads to choose from (not the euuuugie frozen stuff!)
I got a little hungry and snuck back to the demo tables to scope out the crackers and cookies…
Mary’s Crackers were by far my favorite- super light and snappy and savoury.
Home made rice crispie squares were crunchy and just perfectly sweet with a hint of almond.
And I couldn’t help but snag something that totally freaked me out- seaweed noodles! Yowza. They were actually squishy inside the package… it made me chuckle every time I squooshed them around a bit… what am I going to do with those….
And that about wraps it up!
The store was crowded with people, there was loads to eat, I met some really great new people, and learned a few things too (Did you know that Canada’s regulations for Gluten Free mean 20 parts per million, but Britain is 200 parts per million, meaning some things that are “gluten free” there like Keloggs Rice Krispies don’t qualify here? And that Australia has the strictest gluten free regulation- only 5 parts per million permitted… see, now we’re all enlightened. I though that was really quite fascinating). I’m totally going to save that info for the perfect Cliff Claven moment. ;)
So guys, hope you found it entertaining… the next Travelling Tastebud entry will be all about my adventures trying to get ready for this Saturday, Polo For Learning… first vendor tent ever! Gluten Free Vegan goodies… augh I’ve been baking to the wee hours it s ridiculous… laters :) I have brownies in the oven!!
Amica- i didn’t know you guys did tours every saturday.. .thats awesome… i’m going ot have to add that in to the post! thanks so much ! :)
Tracy,
I love love the Vega Chocolate Health Optimizer, it’s amazing!
I work at Rainbow, so I can fill you in on the details of the GF tours…
You can call Customer Service 613-726-9200 (dial 0) and ask to make an appointment with Joyce for a Gluten Free product tour.
The tours take place on Saturdays between 1:30 and 4:30. They are generally 30 mins long. You can come on your own or bring friends. Joyce is highly knowledgeable. It’s a great experience.
Have fun!
Amica
Hey Trace— you make an interesting point about cross contamination, although in order for it to be certified gluten free it has to be less than 20 parts per million… maybe the flavourings inthe mix were also troublesome? i know my gut is not a fan of chocolate…
Hi Jamie! How was your big cooking weekend? :) Larabars… love them.. i am going to try and make a home made version cause they seem to be pretty expensive here… i can’t eat more than half a bar though… the sugar (even the natural sugar) makes the room spin… but my gut likes it, so thats a relief :D
What a great event to check out! I’ll definitely be looking into some of these brands, so thank you! Have you ever heard of Larabars? Energy bars, unprocessed with only a few ingredients as well. They have been a LIFESAVER since my diagnosis – easy to digest and DELICIOUS! Check ’em out @ http://www.larabar.com/ !
The Amazing Grass is delicious!!! I bought a container of the chocolate flavour a few months ago and I loved it. The only thing was, I noticed a weird sensation in my gut after drinking it but wasn’t sure what exactly I was reacting to. After some research, I found out that, although drinks containing wheat/barley grass are considered gluten-free, there is always a possibility of cross-contamination with the seeds. I decided to put away my Amazing Grass and Greens+ and switch over to the Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer powder (Protein sourced from hemp, yellow pea, brown rice, flax and chlorella). So far I am having ZERO reactions in my gut and it’s actually pretty yummy… for a grass drink :-)
http://myvega.com/products/whole-food-health-optimizer/features-benefits
I’d love to come to this Gluten-Free Tour at Rainbow Foods ~ When is it??
Thanks, Alea! As always, your blog is a JOY to read.
Love ya!
Trace