On June 3-4, 2023, the Nourished Festival was back in Secaucus, NJ for its spring show! As an official blogger, I was able to attend the first day of the show, as well as its virtual component that was also happening that weekend for those who didn't live in the New York/New Jersey area.
This was the show's first time back in person since Covid-19 started, so it was really exciting to return to the Meadowlands Exhibition Center because there's just nothing like sampling gluten-free goodies in person and lugging around a bunch of bags of stuff you've purchased!
So, what did I find at the show that I'd recommend to you? What things about the show were different this year? Let's get into it!
Favorite New Finds
While some of my usual faves were not exhibiting (either in-person or virtually), that just left room for some brand-new brands to grab my attention. One of my new favorites is Crispy Green. They have a variety of freeze-dried fruit that is yummy and healthy! Because of my dietary restrictions, the only one I sampled was mango, and it was very good! They weren't selling at the show, but Crispy Green is available at my local grocery store chain, so I'll have to look for it the next time I need a healthy and easy on-the-go snack.
BadAF drew a lot of attention at the show, and with good reason. Their linzer tarts were to die for, but I took home a raspberry oatmeal bar and an oatmeal raisin cookie that were both top 9 allergen-free and vegan! My husband was mad that I didn't bring him home an oatmeal raisin cookie, so I think I'll need to place an order!
Petit Pot is a returning brand, but until this year, their rice puddings have all contained milk. Now they have introduced plant-based versions! The only one available to sample was a dark chocolate flavor, which I can't have, but they do have plant-based vanilla. These are not available yet at my grocery store, but ShopRite does sell Petit Pot, so I'm hopeful that the plant-based flavors will find their way onto the shelf.
One of the show's sponsors this year is Aleia's, a brand that has exhibited at the show before and is easy to find in my local grocery store. You might know them because of their gluten-free bread crumbs, but now they have introduced a gluten-free and dairy-free Coat & Crunch. This is a breading for chicken, pork, fish, and veggies. They were handing out single-pouch samples at the show, so I grabbed one of the Extra Crispy variety (Spicy Crispy and Lemon Herb are also available). I haven't made it yet, but a friend who was also at the show made it for her daughters, and they both loved it! So I'm optimistic that this will work for my family, too.
What I Purchased
Jovial was there selling its new gluten-free mac and cheese and gluten-free/dairy-free mac and cheese. I picked up a box of the GF/DF version, and of course, as soon as I got home and showed it to my family, my picky eater child said, "Ew." We'll see how the adults fare with this new boxed pasta. I am a fan of Jovial's regular gluten-free pasta.
Because I am about all things fall - even in the summertime - I purchased a gluten-free Gingerbread Cookie Mix and a gluten-free Pumpkin Muffin & Bread Mix from White Gold. I've used their gluten-free flour before, so I definitely trust their mixes. And the mixes can be made dairy-free. (Plus, when I purchased it, I got a free chocolate cake mix from them! Not bad, right?)
The Greater Knead has been at these gluten-free expos before, but this is the first time I purchased anything from them. I like their New York-style bagels, so I bought a bag of top 9 allergen-free plain bagels. And they also have top 9 allergen-free soft pretzel bites that you heat up in your oven. So I got a bag of those! The bagels are also sold at my local grocery store chain!
Superseedz is another company that has exhibited at the show in the past, and I just love grabbing samples of their flavored pumpkin seeds. What a healthy snack! I wasn't a huge fan of the maple flavor this year, so I stuck with an oldie but a goodie - pink Himalayan salt!
How the Show Was Different This Year
The show was different for me because I now have additional dietary restrictions that weren't addressed at a show like this. Yes, everything was gluten-free, but not everything was dairy-free (including a lot of the samples), and I also have to stay away from citrus, tomatoes, alcohol, chocolate, onions, and garlic. So this made finding foods that I could eat a little tricky. Because of this, I made my way through the entire show within two hours.
Something else I noticed was that booths no longer had little cards stating which allergens were not present. Those cards were used to make it easy to know what I could and could not eat. However, they were absent this year.
In general, however, the show was a bit smaller than in past years, which is to be expected for the first time back after a pandemic. I thought there was much more room to walk around, which was nice.
I did miss having the in-person classes. This year's classes were all virtual, which was fine for the people participating virtually, but if you were there in person, you had to wait until you got home to rewatch the content.
The samples and coupons in the goodie bags were great, and I appreciate everyone who put this show together - both the exhibitors and the Nourished Festival staff! It's so nice to have a show like this for people with Celiac Disease and other food allergies because it provides a safe space for learning, sampling, shopping, and connecting with others who are in the same boat!
Did you attend the show? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
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