Foodie Event: Udi's Brings Gluten Freedom to Natural Products Expo West

Jennifer Brody (center) with Gluten-Free Bloggers

On Saturday, Udi's Gluten Free Foods, one of my favorite gluten-free purveyors, sponsored me to attend the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim.

Right in time for grill season, they're celebrating the launch of their new line of gluten-free hot dog buns and whole grain hamburger buns, a much needed addition to the gluten-free universe.

Udi's has an almost cult-like following amongst gluten-free dieters for their soft, flavorful breads, muffins, pizza crusts, and bagels (yes, gluten-free bagels!). This isn't the dense, hard-as-a-rock bread that most of us had to rely on for years. This stuff tastes like the real deal -- and it's made with fantastic, all natural ingredients.

My day hanging out with Udi's was filled with tons of fun. They assembled a group of gluten-free enthusiast bloggers, including Marla from Family Fresh Cooking and Chris Armstrong from Celiac Handbook. The fabulous Karen Fine of Mom Cooks Gluten Free gave a great presentation about making healthy, gluten-free kids lunches that your kids will actually eat, no small feat.

Nom Nom Food Truck

After the presentation, we gathered around the Nom Nom food truck for delicious Bahn Mi sandwiches served on Udi's new gluten-free buns. These yummy little Vietnamese sandwiches were available with either tofu, the veggie option, or pork for the meat lovers. Of course, I sampled both. They had me going "Nom, Nom!" with pleasure as I scarfed them down.

Gluten-Free Pork Bahn Mi Sandwich

While the nosh was free, we collected donations for the Taylor Foundation's Camp Arroyo, a camp catering to gluten-free youth.

Everybody that I met that day -- from the bloggers, to the Udi's employees, to the other attendees at the expo -- were some of the nicest people that I've ever encountered. Even better, they were as enthusiastic about healthy eating as I am. It truly warmed my little food blogger heart.

Gluten-Free Tofu Bahn Mi Sandwich

I returned home full of inspiration to continue with my blogging mission, and ready to fire up my grill and scarf down some gluten-free buns!

Recipe
These Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches would be fabulous on Udi's Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns

Bloggers in Attendance

Anna Vocino Gluten Free Anna @AnnaVocino

Christopher Armstrong Celiac Handboook @CeliacHandbook

Karina Allrich Gluten Free Goddess @KarinaAllrich

Karen Fine Mom Cooks Gluten Free @MomCooksGF

Marla Meridith Family Fresh Cooking @MarlaMeridith

Nicole Sirote Examiner @GlutenFree18

Siel Ju  Green LA Girl @greenlagirl

Yvonne Condes Yvonne in LA @yvonneinla

Rockin’ Mama @rockinmama

Other articles on the day

Gourmet Gluten Free Living with Udi's by Rockin' Mama 

Udi's Gluten Free Foods at Nom Nom by Family Fresh Cooking

Full Slide Show of the Event
 

Domestic Divas Full Disclosure: I was compensated to attend this event with Udi’s Gluten Free Foods and was provided with a pass to the Expo West. All of the opinions expressed here are my own.