Episode 45: Natural Products Expo East Gluten-Free Products Review

In this episode, Jules has little to no voice but is powering through her duties as a podcast co-host. The ladies review their favorite gluten-free products from 2023 Natural Products Expo East (RIP Expo East).

RESOURCES:
Upcycled Food Association
Blue Circle Foods
Bake Me Healthy
Shroomeats
Peak State Coffee
Apricot Power mushroom coffee (Please don’t get cyanide poisoning)
Nona Lim heat-and-eat entrees coming soon
Dream Pops candy
Elmhurst 1925 RTD lattes
Goodie Girl Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies
Cappello’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Primal Kitchen dairy-free Buffalo Sauce
Lakanto sugar-free sauces
Coco Caye coconut sugar
18 Chestnuts soup
I Eat My Greens soup
Barlow’s maple syrups
Tru Earth plastic free cleaners
HiBar plastic free shampoo and conditioner
Better with Buckwheat and Maine crisp
Artisan Tropic new crackers
Every Body Eat
Surthrival Black Walnut protein powder
Date Better Snacks
Caulipower Dill Chicken Bites coming soon
Good Planet Olive Oil cheese

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Transcript

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Erica [00:00:13]:

Hey, I'm erica.

Jules [00:00:14]:

And I'm Jules. Most people have at least one thing that they can't or won't eat.

Erica [00:00:19]:

Yeah, we're definitely like that. We started this podcast to talk about the gluten free food industry, like new products and some of the stories behind your favorite brands and living life with.

Jules [00:00:30]:

A specialty diet and also some important.

Erica [00:00:32]:

Healthcare topics since we're basically both broken inside.

Jules [00:00:36]:

You had me at eat.

Erica [00:00:45]:

Hey, and welcome to another episode of You Had Me and Eat. I'm Erica.

Jules [00:00:51]:

And I'm Jules. Although it doesn't sound like I'm Jules today.

Erica [00:00:55]:

Oh, dear God. So we have delayed this episode because Jules basically has been six months Expo East and has lost her voice.

Jules [00:01:07]:

Thanks.

Erica [00:01:07]:

Expo east or just life. And she's had a lot on her plate. And honestly, I don't know how she's managing because I am a train wreck. I think this is my second day without showering. At least it's not my third, but yeah, it's been super busy for us and Jules, not only has she been super busy, but she's also been navigating this lingering laryngitis. And this is the first day she's able to talk. And I don't know how I'm going to put her on the spot because it seems like she's got a good two minutes or three minutes, and then it's all downhill from there.

Jules [00:01:43]:

Maybe we'll let you do most of the talking. No. Today is the first day you can actually hear me. Before, it was like yeah, it was just like air coming out wisps of jewels.

Erica [00:02:00]:

So she sounds horrible. Matt also sounds horrible. Who is also on antibiotics for some sort of sinus upper respiratory infection. And I'm just praying that I keep solid until I return back from Vancouver, Canada, at the end of October. And then November, you can take me for a world, man. Like, if I can just hold out until then because I just don't want to be sick for the next three events because they're really yeah, we're leaving tomorrow. You're leaving tomorrow? I'm leaving on Thursday for the Salt Lake City Expo. And then the next weekend I have Denver, and then the next weekend I have Vancouver.

Erica [00:02:41]:

So I just want to just don't breathe on me.

Jules [00:02:44]:

Yeah.

Erica [00:02:44]:

I will not breathe on to I may wear a mask the whole time. I'm just like, I really can't handle this. I just need to be safe and clean and pristine for Canada.

Jules [00:02:57]:

What makes you feel any better? Like whatever I have is it's long gone. Yeah. Oh. I'm on antibiotics and I haven't gotten anyone around me know? I don't know how I came back from Expo with whatever this is and no one else got it, but I do tend to get sinus infections pretty easily. That's what this turned in.

Erica [00:03:19]:

So do I. And then I had that sinus surgery thing, and then honestly, it's been pretty good since then. I'm not oh, but that was it's a lot to just go through a sinus surgery just to deal with. Yeah, yeah. I am just using saline nasal spray and just doing a lot of so. But if you hear hacking in the background, that's Matt. If you hear dry cough, that's want to if you're only listening and you can't see we'll have an easy guide to who's making upper respiratory noises on this.

Jules [00:04:00]:

And I will let you do most of the talking, but I will say that between east last weekend's Baltimore gluten free expo next or this coming weekend's Salt Lake Expo, I swear I don't know even know which end is up. So there's a lot going on.

Erica [00:04:24]:

Yeah. Thankfully, she'll have me to boss her around in person. We're so lucky. We only had two weeks separating our hang on.

Jules [00:04:35]:

It was so funny. I got the list of influencers who were coming around our booth for the special influencer event on Thursday night, and I saw you on the list and I was like, haven't I already influenced Erica enough?

Erica [00:04:47]:

You need a bit more. I just need a bit more influence.

Jules [00:04:50]:

I just need to influence Erica more. Yeah. I say you come by my booth and pretend like you don't know me.

Erica [00:04:56]:

Oh, my God, this is so good.

Jules [00:04:59]:

What is this magical flower blend?

Erica [00:05:01]:

I don't understand. Well, I will tell you, Matt went crazy. I was just trying to get through all of your flour that I have in my cabinet and I had your breakfast blend, breakfast flour blend. And so I made it into muffins. And Matt was like, these are so good. You're going to have to tell Jules that I think that they're so good. Unprompted. He goes, what is this? And I go, oh, let me tell you, it's made by our friend.

Jules [00:05:34]:

Uh, what kind of muffins?

Erica [00:05:36]:

Just chocolate chip muffins. I had all these grandiose plans to do all these scones and muffins and have this, like, crazy bake before I went to Salt Lake City, and then I ended up just doing muffins, and then I gave didn't I have stuff all around the kitchen being like, I'm going to make this? No, I'm not.

Jules [00:05:53]:

I'm so glad to hear it. Yeah. So that's another you should have Matt leave a review. There's like, hardly any reviews since the product is so brand new. Yeah, there's no reviews on Amazon.

Erica [00:06:08]:

Well, I will tell you, the Arizona Humane Society that I volunteer at, I always make baked goods for our Bottle Baby techs, the Bottle Baby Kitten ICU techs. And I was like, making all these great things for them. And then one time I tried this cookie mix that I received and I'm like, this is truly the most horrible thing on the planet. There is no way I will eat even one. And then I gave it to the bottle. Baby text like, these are delicious. What do you mean? I'm like, you do not have a refined palate. This is what you consider delicious.

Erica [00:06:43]:

And I'm actually very upset because you've called my other things delicious. Because I always bring cupcakes and all these things. Yeah, right. It was so bad.

Jules [00:06:51]:

And they're really being kind before.

Erica [00:06:54]:

Yeah. And now I'm a little worried about they were always my rating system for normal people that can eat normal things and what they enjoy but got a little skewed on.

Jules [00:07:08]:

They're just like the new desperate, working late at night people.

Erica [00:07:11]:

Literally. She's like, I was going to call you earlier to see if you can bring over some treats. I'm like, oh, I already brought over some treats. So it's really sad. But hey, at least I have someone to feed with things that we don't eat in this house.

Jules [00:07:26]:

I always feel guilty when brands send me stuff that I don't like. I mean, I never bag on them and I don't say anything bad about them, but who do I give these to? I don't want to give them to other people if I think they're bad.

Erica [00:07:39]:

Yeah, I have thrown away a lot, but when it's at least edible, but it's not my thing, I'll give it to them. They seem excited because my neighbors are like, no more, no more.

Jules [00:07:49]:

Yeah, it's funny because at the Baltimore Expo, people are like, it's so great because now there's all these gluten free options out now. Yeah, it's a double edged sword because there's so many gluten free options out now. But it's harder to weed through them to find things that are truly safe and actually good.

Erica [00:08:11]:

Yeah. You end up spending $20 on something you're like, oh, this is horrible. Awesome.

Jules [00:08:16]:

Yeah, exactly. And then when you say that, people are like, oh, yeah, I walked through.

Erica [00:08:21]:

Sprouts yesterday and I saw some stuff that we had seen on the show floor. Because Sprouts is always like, one of the first to market. Their buyer is really great, but holy Lord, some of the stuff they pulled, I'm like, you can't be serious. You can't expect anyone to purchase this. I've tasted that and that is horrible. I don't know what buyer did this, but I kind of want to talk to them personally because I'm kind of offended that they chose this out of all the other things that they could have tasted.

Jules [00:08:48]:

They pick some esoteric stuff sometimes I'm like, not only did it taste bad, but what market are you serving?

Erica [00:08:55]:

Yeah, and doing a lot of weird keto things and just I'm like, guys, hasn't that died down yet?

Jules [00:09:03]:

Like just ship sail.

Erica [00:09:04]:

Yeah, it's wild.

Jules [00:09:06]:

Speaking of which, let's talk about Expo East because I think our listeners will probably like to hear what the latest and greatest trends are. This is the last Expo East, which is super sad.

Erica [00:09:26]:

It is. They're shifting, though, Jules. We don't know what it's going to be like. I don't want to judge it too hard before we actually see what it's going to be like, but it seems to be not as much consumer and influencer friendly as past and previous expo.

Jules [00:09:41]:

It doesn't really seem like there's a place for influencers or media at all.

Erica [00:09:48]:

Yeah, and we'll see. I, again, don't want to judge it too harshly. They have a year to figure it out. At least we have Expo West, which is like the Super Bowl, and they haven't messed with that. Please don't mess with that. But we'll mean, I like that other events and options are happening, like the Salt Lake Expo, so we can actually have consumer feedback and sampling it shows. But when it comes to the industry, I would like to see this continue with something on the East Coast, but who knows? Oh well, rest in peace, Expo East.

Jules [00:10:22]:

You've been going for 2008. For 15 years, I've been going to Expo East. Wow, that's so sad.

Erica [00:10:31]:

Okay, well, don't cry because you're going to waste the remaining voice that you have. What are some key trends that you saw?

Jules [00:10:39]:

Okay, so some of the things that I saw were that well, continuing on the theme from Expo West, upcycled.

Erica [00:10:56]:

Oh, for sure.

Jules [00:10:57]:

Everything upcycled, right?

Erica [00:10:59]:

We even visited the Upcycled Food Association. They had a whole area of just upcycled food, which is awesome.

Jules [00:11:08]:

Yeah, I mean, the thing about Upcycled food that's so great is that it's taking what would have been either food waste or something that would have gone to the pet food industry or whatever. Food that isn't pretty, like the ugly vegetables and stuff like that, that we've all seen in advertisements, taking that and using it for other things. But it's also so great for these companies because they're able to spend way less on the foods that they're buying to utilize for these products and make it into something that is just as appealing, just as nutritionally wholesome, just as delicious, and have a lower cost of goods. And so it's a great business model for these companies, too. So for the small businesses that you often see starting out in natural products, it's a win win because they're able to talk to the millennials who are all looking for a message, right. They all want the feel good message and they're able to save some of this food waste and they're able to have a lower cost of goods. So it's like, why not use upcycled ingredients if you can? And so we saw it sort of expanding into some other areas, which was kind of fun.

Erica [00:12:33]:

Yeah. Actually, let me tell the story about a few of these because I think we had the same exciting experience. So the first one is what? Fish. Jules was talking about fish. So it's a blue Circle foods. And what's interesting is I was like, I'm sorry, upcycled salmon? What the hell does that mean? And it was really interesting. They were talking about salmon. When you make a piece of salmon, it's just like the cuts of a butcher and use, like, salmon collar or the salmon belly or whatever.

Erica [00:13:04]:

There are certain cuts, but then there's a lot of waste products that go after whatever circular is cutting. And she made a point like humans don't all look the same, cows don't all look the same. So you have different sizes and shapes of some of these fish. And so there's like extra leftover because it doesn't fit in the typical molds that you have when cutting salmon. So this leftover salmon is then put together, and it could normally go to a pet food because it's still super high quality salmon. It then goes into their salmon burgers, and they also have a thing called happy fish, where it's basically salmon compressed as tiny little fish that you can just pop in the air, fryer. And it's great quality, like Regenerative Farmed or whatever, like responsibly harvested salmon. And I thought it was really good, and I thought it was awesome what they were doing with it.

Erica [00:13:55]:

And it made me kind of second guess fisheries and how they process fish.

Jules [00:13:59]:

Which is the whole point of beautiful picture because they're from Norway, wasn't it.

Erica [00:14:04]:

Where the fish were up near the Arctic?

Jules [00:14:09]:

Yeah. So they had that beautiful picture of what the farms look like. And you kind of think farms have this stigma, like fish farms. Oh, it's farmed. It's not wild.

Erica [00:14:17]:

No, it's out there in the right.

Jules [00:14:21]:

It's not like it's in someone's pool. It's actually, like, in the real water. And the way she was describing it, how the channel moved and the water moved, it actually kept the fish from getting any latent, any of the bacteria and anything, getting the water stagnating or anything, so they didn't have to treat the fish with antibiotics or anything like that. So it was kind of a really story. Yeah. I really enjoyed that booth.

Erica [00:14:53]:

The other one that I saw is Bake Me Healthy, and they use upcycled sunflower protein flour on all their products. And then they also have a banana bread, which, of course, they're using ugly bananas and Upcycled bananas, which is like the fruit that we don't want to see once it's past its prime on store shelves. And what I think is really interesting is they also use upcycled coffee cherries, so the actual fruiting body of a coffee bean, and they use that in their dark chocolate fudgy brownie. So they're using upcycled product, but it's also a premium gluten free, food allergy friendly product and a baking mix.

Jules [00:15:29]:

And then the one that we got in our press box, I don't know if you had a chance to try it.

Erica [00:15:36]:

I didn't get a press box. Yeah, I don't want to talk about it.

Jules [00:15:41]:

Did you go to the press room, Bitter?

Erica [00:15:43]:

I did.

Jules [00:15:44]:

You got it at the press room? Or maybe you just at least tried it at their booth.

Erica [00:15:48]:

But this one oh, I didn't like it.

Jules [00:15:51]:

I didn't like it.

Erica [00:15:51]:

Jules, I'm so sorry. I didn't like it.

Jules [00:15:54]:

Okay, well, I have made it at home, and maybe you didn't like what they made there at the booth, but I made it at home, and everyone here really liked.

Erica [00:16:02]:

By the way, Jules is pointing to a box of shroomeats, which is a mushroom, like, ground beef style mushroom. And it is interesting and upcycled, but interesting. I tried it, and I'm like, what.

Jules [00:16:19]:

Did you not like about it?

Erica [00:16:21]:

It just wasn't flavorful, I guess. Maybe they have a bunch of spices. This is more like a DIY yourself kind of thing.

Jules [00:16:29]:

This has no taste, and you're supposed to add your flavors to it. And so maybe whatever they made at the booth was, like, lacking. I don't know. I'm not even sure I tasted it at the booth. I'm not sure. But they sent this to me in my press box.

Erica [00:16:44]:

Fuck you.

Jules [00:16:45]:

I know. Anyway, but I picked up another one at the booth, I think, or maybe in the press room. Anyway, whatever. I made it at home, and I added my own spices, and it was banging. It was really good. And I do a lot of tofu because we don't eat meat. So I'm always looking for other stuff to add to various stir fries and things like that. And I thought this was really good.

Jules [00:17:11]:

And it just comes in a packet, and you just dump it in your stir fry or whatever. And I love spice, so I spiced the heck out of it. And it was delicious, and I'm sorry, but my very picky, very judgmental son is my bellwether, and he ate his entire bowl and never asked a question about what the heck was in his bowl. And if he had known it was upcycled mushrooms, I dare say he probably would not have eaten it. Just saying.

Erica [00:17:42]:

Great.

Jules [00:17:42]:

There you go. That's my two cent.

Erica [00:17:46]:

Well, good luck with that. I think that's perfect. I thought it was not good. Then again, I don't know. I'm sure it's great. I'm sure it was just a spice thing. I just also didn't like the texture. Maybe I just don't maybe I'm just out.

Erica [00:18:02]:

Maybe I'm mushroomed out. Maybe I've reached peak mushroom.

Jules [00:18:09]:

Don'T go there, because then that's going to lead me to another rant about mushrooms. Do you want me to talk about another mushroom product?

Erica [00:18:17]:

I do want you to talk about another mushroom product.

Jules [00:18:19]:

Okay. So there's a product called Peak State, which is mushroom coffee, which is good and I drink very impressed with. Yeah. Okay, then. There you go. So you're not mushroomed out.

Erica [00:18:31]:

I take rishi every day now because of you like a psychopath. Because you've turned me on to mushrooms. So I'm not mushroomed out. I just think that maybe I want it in a different way, like not having mushroom crumble burgers or whatever.

Jules [00:18:43]:

Okay, so did you like the coffee that had mushroom powder in it. The peak state.

Erica [00:18:49]:

I mean, you couldn't taste it, right?

Jules [00:18:51]:

Exactly.

Erica [00:18:51]:

Yeah. I like that it's added benefits. They're a great brand. Yeah, they're out of Boulder.

Jules [00:18:57]:

So that's another theme that I saw was not just the whole mushroom thing. Just like the adaptogens are making their way into everything. Not just coffee, but like, everything. So there's peak state was one. Another one was Apricot Power, which is ground apricot seeds, and they add that to coffee. And that was another did you make it to their booth? No, they have just apricot seeds that you can do that.

Erica [00:19:33]:

Aren't apricot seeds poisonous?

Jules [00:19:36]:

Yeah, well, apparently if you cook them properly, then they're fine. I didn't die. I did not die. Yeah, I know. Well, apparently there's like a way. And also they have mushroom coffee too, because this is a thing now. Everyone's doing it. Get on the mushroom coffee train.

Erica [00:20:00]:

I'm more concerned that you're going to get cyanide poisoning, but that's okay.

Jules [00:20:04]:

Yeah, I kind of doubt that they'd be selling it, but anyway, I forget literally, I talked to them for a very long time and my brain is like, not working well.

Erica [00:20:16]:

Is it because do you have nausea, fever, headaches, insomnia, thirst, lethargy, nervousness, joint and muscle aches, pains, falling blood pressure, or are you dead?

Jules [00:20:25]:

No.

Erica [00:20:26]:

Cyanide poisoning?

Jules [00:20:28]:

No. Okay, we're on the same page.

Erica [00:20:32]:

Okay. No, I'd rather have you drink mushroom coffee than cyanide. But like, whatever.

Jules [00:20:42]:

There's options, though. You could try different things and see which way is the best way to go.

Erica [00:20:54]:

I found some return to comfort foods. That whole thing happening again. But also in a way I don't want to say convenience, but more comfort in a more convenient so, like nona lims. That makes pad Thai and some tofu dishes and some noodle dishes. She just launched a ready to eat Singapore chicken curry that's almost like a microwave or just throw it in your saucepan. And it was so good. It wasn't just good because it's ready to eat, which I've had several of those. They currently have them at Whole Foods.

Erica [00:21:37]:

I'm like, this is good because it's ready to eat good. But this was like, oh, my gosh, so good on that trend. Also, Dream Pops launched like, crunchy candy that has like a whopper like texture without the malt, obviously. That would be an helpful yeah, a gluten containing one. So that's Dream Pops first kind of foray into candy versus just being ice cream company. And then we have ready to drink lattes from Elmhurst. They're fantastic. They're pistachio milk, walnut milk, almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, all the milks.

Erica [00:22:19]:

And then also goody girl. Pumpkin pie just launched pumpkin pie cookies that are incredibly tasty. So delicious.

Jules [00:22:28]:

They were very good. Another one about did you have the veggie meal? Back to the comfort foods. Did you try the veggie meal? They were sampling their doll. No, it was really good. Really? V-E-G-G-I-M-E-A-L veggie meal.

Erica [00:22:45]:

Oh, I think I saw them at one of the other shows I was at. I feel like I have a sheet from them.

Jules [00:22:53]:

Jeff went and found a real bowl instead of those little cups. Went back and was like, Fill this up. Yeah, it was really good.

Erica [00:23:04]:

The last one, I think, for well, I have two more for comfort. But Cappello's launched a whole line of buttermilk biscuits that are frozen. Buttermilk cookies that are frozen, again, contains dairy. Hence the buttermilk. But again, they're all paleo and gluten free, much like the rest of Capello's line. And so that's more of, like, a comfort food, but also like, this convenience factor of just having your mom's homemade good for you. Buttermilk biscuits in your freezer. Then the last one is primal Kitchen remade it dairy free buffalo sauce that they were sampling.

Erica [00:23:39]:

And it was so good, they had it with chicken nuggets. So I know that you didn't try it because it was on chicken, but it was so freaking good, and it's dairy free. And Primal Kitchen is so good with their sauces. And they gave me a whole bottle, and I'm like, oh, my God. So exciting.

Jules [00:23:56]:

Well, and speaking of sauces, did you go to the the one they're the ones that are everybody knows for the monk fruit?

Erica [00:24:05]:

No, because I can't do monk Fruit, so I avoid their booth.

Jules [00:24:09]:

Okay, well, that would be a good reason. They have come out with this whole line of all kinds of other stuff made with monk fruit that you really yes. So Lakanto has come out with Monk Fruit ketchup, monk fruit barbecue sauce.

Erica [00:24:25]:

Oh, I didn't know.

Jules [00:24:27]:

Yeah, like, then they have almost Reese's cups, all kinds of stuff.

Erica [00:24:33]:

Oh, that I knew that they were doing the baking mixes, and then they did the candy. I think that was last year that they did the candy.

Jules [00:24:40]:

Yeah, but the sauces and stuff are all that's cool.

Erica [00:24:43]:

I mean, hey, they obviously have found a market in Monk Fruit. And people who are avoiding traditional cane sugar, coconut sugar, honey, molasses, they'll go more towards that. And it's natural. I think it's gross. And I cannot have monk fruit. But better for you that you can have all these sauces now that are, like, keto friendly or at least low glycemic or sugar free, if that's just more options.

Jules [00:25:10]:

Some people can have some things, and they can't have other things, so it's just more options.

Erica [00:25:13]:

Yeah. Especially if you're not, like, a stevia person. But you can do monk fruit. It's really cool that they've really found a niche within that community.

Jules [00:25:21]:

Yeah. I'm not a huge stevia fan. Monk Fruit seems to taste better. My favorite by far in those is, like, the coconut sugar and the maple sugar.

Erica [00:25:33]:

Yeah. That's like, to me, real sugar. Yeah.

Jules [00:25:36]:

They're so expensive.

Erica [00:25:37]:

Yeah, I love maple sugar. I love coconut sugar. Give that to me. There was a vanilla sugar that was, like, at one of the vanilla booths that was just, like, regular sugar and then had this vanilla flavoring or vanilla beans mixed in. And I'm like, oh, my God. I know.

Jules [00:25:55]:

Vanilla sugar. So I got a new coconut sugar that I'm very excited to try. Did you see this booth?

Erica [00:26:02]:

I saw the booth. I didn't stop by, though.

Jules [00:26:05]:

Okay. So they educated me, called CocoCay, by.

Erica [00:26:09]:

The way, if you are not watching this. She pulled out a giant bag of coconut sugar from the brand CocoCay.

Jules [00:26:16]:

C-A-Y-E-K spelled C A. Yeah. Caye. And they educated me all about how coconut sugar is oftentimes overcooked, and that's why it's so brown. And their coconut sugar is very white, and it's got a caramel taste to it. So I'm very excited to bake with it and see how it compares to some other coconut sugars, because I really love coconut sugars. I will let you know.

Erica [00:26:45]:

Yeah, please do.

Jules [00:26:46]:

How that works out. Yeah. I love meeting those small brands because they're so passionate about what they're doing and why theirs is so different and so much better than someone else's. And they believe in their products so much, and they make you believe in it, too.

Erica [00:27:03]:

I have four more products, and I don't know if they necessarily fit in anything.

Jules [00:27:09]:

Okay, lay it on me.

Erica [00:27:10]:

Well, the first actually, this is a category, it's soups. And we both had these soups, and.

Jules [00:27:15]:

We both really like them.

Erica [00:27:16]:

First is 18 chestnuts, and it's a shelf stable glass jar of soup. They had this roasted cauliflower that was so good. And I really, really like, I used to order these in bulk, like soups that you can just easily heat up that are paleo or really super healthy soups. There's something that draws me to them because oftentimes I don't get enough vegetables in the day. So, like, getting in a veggie soup makes me feel like I've eaten a lot of nutrients. Like, yesterday, I ate nothing but beef or not beef. I made nothing but meat the whole day.

Jules [00:27:54]:

I was going to say, how are you sitting here? If you ate nothing but beef, you would be dead.

Erica [00:28:02]:

I had for lunch, Matt's mom took us out, and I got spare ribs, like, two slices. I felt like a prehistoric, like, Fred Flintstone. So I had one of them for lunch, and I had zero vegetables for, like, 24 hours. And I'm like, this is wild. I don't think I feel great with zero vegetables. I was, like, not feeling perfect, so I went and splurged on vegetables. But that's the kind of stuff I like having around, because making a soup for lunch with veggies is really attractive to me. For some reason.

Erica [00:28:32]:

I've always loved it. I used to get it frozen from a couple of different paleo brands. I stopped doing that, but now they have a bunch of different frozen soups in Sprouts and Whole Foods in my area. But this 18 chestnuts was a great brand. Again, in a glass jar shelf stable. Another one that's frozen is called I eat my greens. And that was a very good brand, and I know that you can get them somewhere. I think it's in sprouts.

Erica [00:29:00]:

It says that I can find it in your Sprouts because I almost ordered a bunch online. And then they're like, oh, it's in your area. And I'm like, I don't know if it is. So I might have to go on one of those Sprout sprees where I go to, like, three different stores and see if they have them in different stores.

Jules [00:29:14]:

But a great you ever just try calling?

Erica [00:29:17]:

No. What's the fun in that? It's not an adventure if you call and know the answer in advance. Okay, another one that is a small brand that you probably won't be able to get it anywhere, but is a great gift guide brand I'm probably going to put it in. My gift guide is a brand called Barlow's, and she makes maple syrups, and she has a sweet potato maple syrup and a peach cobbler maple syrup that will blow your freaking mind. And she was only serving it on, like, biscuits, buttermilk biscuits. And I'm like, Can I just have it in a sample in a pouch.

Jules [00:29:54]:

Or just have it in a cup?

Erica [00:29:56]:

Yeah, it was so good. And she's like, you know what they're also good for is making old fashions. I'm like, oh, my God, I would drink this. I would just pour half and half, half maple syrup, half whiskey, and just go to town. So sounds freaking good.

Jules [00:30:12]:

You know what, that might be good.

Erica [00:30:14]:

For my throat, honestly, I think you need a hot toddy with some peach cobbler maple syrup.

Jules [00:30:20]:

Yeah, peach cobbler maple syrup.

Erica [00:30:23]:

The last kind of thing before my drum roll thing that was my favorite.

Jules [00:30:28]:

Thing, is well, you can't say that yet because I have a few more things before you get to your favorite thing.

Erica [00:30:34]:

Oh, I can't share my favorite thing before your favorite thing?

Jules [00:30:37]:

No, I have a few more things.

Erica [00:30:39]:

Okay. I also wanted to showcase some plastic free items that are more for your household. Tru Earth is a brand that we have talked about because we saw them at Expo West. We see them at every freaking show. But they have now made plastic free dishwasher detergents. So, like, the box is paper. There is no plastic wrapping on anything on the inside. They also have toilet bowl cleaner, which is, I think, awesome.

Erica [00:31:08]:

Okay, so Tru Earth is a great brand. The next plastic free thing I wanted to talk about, because this is becoming super popular, is solid shampoo and conditioner and plastic free deodorant. The brand HiBar was there and they were showing off their solid shampoos and solid conditioners. Need. A bit of a giggle fest now I'm hiccupping, and it's bad. And, like, Jules and I are both crying. We're not crying. We're crying about the state of plastic in our environment, and we terrible.

Erica [00:31:46]:

Really want to stress using solid shampoos and conditioners, use plastic free products. We'll stop crying if you use less plastic. I started using solid shampoo and conditioner bars, and there are some that are great and some that are really horrible. And I've yet to find a solid conditioning bar that I really like. But I'm very excited to try the High Bar brands, and I also use their plastic free deodorant. So it comes in like a paper tube, and I broke it the first time I used it. I got really aggressive and the paper came out and send you their samples.

Jules [00:32:34]:

Before they market these.

Erica [00:32:35]:

The deodorant shot out and then paper inside did it land in your toilet? And then you had to use the tru earth to wipe it off. The paper inside got stuck like this, so I couldn't put it back in, so I had to deconstruct the whole thing. Anyways, it was not as user friendly as plastic, but I like the idea of using less plastic. And if you want, High Bar is a great brand. Their deodorant is really effective, and I like it.

Jules [00:33:10]:

Do it when you're in a Zen moment.

Erica [00:33:13]:

Try not to get aggressive with oh, yeah. So I'll report back on using the shampoo and conditioner bars, but they're currently sold at my Whole Foods. I think they're nationwide. And I just love this trend of using less plastic, and I think that's a great brand that's moving forward in that space, and I'm done. I'm going to save it until my favorite product can't eat anyway. So I guarantee you it's not your favorite product. Okay, perfect.

Jules [00:33:41]:

So I just have a couple more things that I wanted to mention. One is this cracker category, which I'm normally not. Like, I don't really care, but for some reason there were a lot of grain free crackers that were at the show, and they were actually pretty good. One was Better Buckwheat, which has been around a little bit.

Erica [00:34:09]:

Better with Buckwheat.

Jules [00:34:10]:

Better with Buckwheat. Sorry, I had to write it out.

Erica [00:34:14]:

Because I also thought it was Better Buckwheat. Their artistic interpretation of the name on the package looks like Better Buckwheat, but.

Jules [00:34:23]:

You'Ll know, it okay. Everybody listened to Erica. Not me. A new one, though, at this particular show was Artisan Tropic Grain Free, which they were super jazzed about their products. I loved the people at the booth.

Erica [00:34:40]:

They're still doing R and D, by the way. They're like, Tell me what you think about this. And I'm like, okay, it needs more spice. And he's like, My thoughts exactly. He's like, how much spice on a scale? One to five. He brought over as R and D person. I'm like, that's what this show should be.

Jules [00:34:56]:

That's what expo is for.

Erica [00:34:57]:

Yes.

Jules [00:34:58]:

Don't kill expo. I know, I'm off tangent.

Erica [00:35:02]:

Okay.

Jules [00:35:02]:

Anyway, they're really good crackers. Yeah, good crackers, good people. I can't wait to see more from them. And then of course, Every Body Eat, which.

Erica [00:35:11]:

Great, we all love them.

Jules [00:35:13]:

And they also have paleo options, grain free options. And I'm going to play a clip here about their facility and a little bit more about their founder story, which is really cool.

Erica [00:35:25]:

Oh, she's so great. I love them. I love them all. They're such great people. And the way that they work with the Allergy community is fantastic.

Jules [00:35:37]:

I'm here with Matt from Every Body Eat. Hey, Matt. And looking at these awesome crackers and they're vegan and gluten free. Even the cheese one. Yes. And he's telling me this great founder story. But talk to me a little bit more about what you were going to tell me just a second ago about the manufacturing facility.

Matt from Every Body Eat [00:35:55]:

So what jewels our manufacturing facility, because of the fact it's free from the top 14 food allergens plus corn, we had to make our own products. And so we made our own products right in the community of Chicago. And Nicole, our co founder, made a very direct decision to employ and welcome the community of Chicago, the south and Southwest Side. A community that is forgotten. So our team members of 39 team members, 65% of them were previously incarcerated. 100% of them were impacted by gun violence in Chicago. They've survived, they've managed. 80% of them were food insecure and 20%, sadly, were homeless.

Matt from Every Body Eat [00:36:38]:

Today, majority of our team members have been with us for over a year. Some are celebrating over two year anniversaries with us. We are so proud. Nobody, I can tell you, is homeless. Nobody is food insecure. And every one of them has received financial literacy training to really get themselves back on their feet as well as their family.

Jules [00:37:03]:

A couple other things that I found that I thought were really good, one was the octanuts that we mentioned. The last expo we both really love. They were not here. But one of the things we really liked about them is that they're single ingredient nut based protein powders. There was another brand here that was doing the same thing with Black walnuts, and I really liked that. And we'll drop a link to them because walnuts are really good for brain health. So if you're interested in those sort of single ingredient, plant based protein powders, then that's one to look for.

Erica [00:37:45]:

And isn't a guy who made it, isn't he like a survivalist or someone super popular? And we had no idea. And we're like, okay, whatever. Let me just talk to you about your black walnuts.

Jules [00:37:56]:

I know. I was like, hey, so this is your brand. And he's like, I have lots of other stuff too. Okay, whatever. I didn't know. I had no idea who he was. But he was super nice. And I loved his wife.

Jules [00:38:08]:

She and I chatted for a really long time.

Erica [00:38:10]:

Yeah, it's all wild foraged ethically and sustainably harvested, and the only source for CO2 extracted black walnut protein powder, which is interesting. I just love how Jeff smelled the black walnuts and he's like, It just reminds me of home. And I'm like, oh, I wonder if that's what it's like for people who actually have trees, where they mean the smell of, I guess, creosote after a monsoon rain. Smells like home to me. But it's just really interesting. I'm like, I don't even know what the hell a walnut tree looks like. So, yeah, it was cool to see black walnuts. I don't know.

Jules [00:38:44]:

Yeah, and they're wild harvested, literally. People just go and pick up walnuts off the ground and bring them to their facility for packaging. So it's a great story. Really very sustainable, and it's a great product. So definitely one to watch. So I can't wait to I'm going to try to bake with it, too.

Erica [00:39:07]:

Of course.

Jules [00:39:07]:

I try to bake with everything, so that's kind of my jam. But, yeah, I'm excited about that. But there's another brand which I found at Expo, which I thought was really cool. And then lastly, and brands that I found that I really liked, and this is just another like I just had such great time at their booth and this is not something that I would have maybe gravitated to. I knew exactly who you were talking about. Date better.

Erica [00:39:37]:

So cute.

Jules [00:39:38]:

They were the cutest. Date better. And again, it's just like, you meet these brands at Expo and they're so jazzed about their products, they're so excited about their company, they're so enthusiastic and their product was awesome. And I probably wouldn't have stopped and wanted to taste it or whatever, except for the fact that they were so enthusiastic. And then I just wanted to mention a couple of other things in terms of just general takeaways. One was that I found a brand called it was like barley tea or something like that. And you have to be careful about this stuff, even in the world of non alcoholic beverages, because this was a tea made from barley and they said it was gluten free because they added brewers Clarex to it, which is exactly the same thing that they do when they're doing gluten reduced beers. And so this beer, or this tea rather, is gluten removed or gluten reduced.

Jules [00:40:50]:

It is not gluten free. And so you really have to be on your guard for these types of products in every space and read every label.

Erica [00:41:03]:

So frustrating.

Jules [00:41:05]:

It is. It really is. Because people can be a little fast and loose with the labeling, so just be aware of that. And then speaking of drinks and things, there were mocktails everywhere. That's a big theme that we saw. And erythritol was in absolutely everything.

Erica [00:41:24]:

Poop yourself.

Jules [00:41:26]:

I thought that was really weird. Erythritol was in everything.

Erica [00:41:30]:

Why are we going back to the tall sugars? We know that they cause digestive distress. Why are we doing that?

Jules [00:41:39]:

I thought that was really, like I thought people would be backing out of that, but instead they're adding it to things.

Erica [00:41:44]:

So, Jules, have we gotten to the point where I can tell you my favorite product that I found?

Jules [00:41:50]:

Yeah. And then I'll tell you mine.

Erica [00:41:51]:

Okay. I guarantee you it's not the same one again unless you started eating real meat.

Jules [00:41:57]:

No, sorry, I did not.

Erica [00:41:59]:

I will tell you this is chicken. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry in advance. This is chicken. It is cauliflower Caulipower dill flavored chicken bites. And they're like little tiny chicken nuggets that are dill flavored. And why is this so important? Is anyone that ate at Chickfila before they were gluten free, they know that their breaded chicken sandwich is, like, soaked in dill brine, and it has this really magical taste. I know you're making very weird pescatarian eyes at me, but anyone who ever ate at Chick fil A is going to be like, oh, my God.

Erica [00:42:37]:

Yes. So I have done this before. I have soaked chicken and dill, and I've made it with a coating on it and have fried it before, and it's phenomenal. But this is not fried. It is baked. And you can put it in air fryer. And it is so tasty, and I love it so much. And I went back for, like, three or four samples and then had to walk by the Dandies booth, which is vegan marshmallows, and they're all very vegan, and they're like, hey, Eric.

Erica [00:43:01]:

I'm like, don't look at me. I have chicken. Don't look at me. I'm eating chicken. I have a mouthful of chicken. It's horrible. But I went back so many times, I'm like, this is my favorite item from the entire vegan shamed you. Yeah.

Erica [00:43:13]:

And I will buy so many bags of this. I am so excited. It's very good.

Jules [00:43:21]:

Okay.

Erica [00:43:21]:

That's my favorite.

Jules [00:43:22]:

Yeah. I went to the Cauliflower booth, and there was literally nothing I could eat there.

Erica [00:43:27]:

Everything had dairy, and if it dairy.

Jules [00:43:29]:

And or meat chicken, I was like, thanks for nothing. Okay. You guys are not killing it with the inclusive marketing here, but looks nice.

Erica [00:43:43]:

It's delicious anyway.

Jules [00:43:44]:

Yeah. Okay, fine. What's your favorite? So my favorite was from the good folks at Good Planet Foods. Their new olive oil cheese.

Erica [00:43:55]:

I found it yesterday at Sprouts. It's already out at my Sprouts.

Jules [00:44:02]:

I was in love. I just sort of lingered at the booth multiple days and just kept feeding myself this cheese. It was so good.

Erica [00:44:13]:

They're using all of the olive oil as a base instead of coconut oil now for all their scratch.

Jules [00:44:19]:

Well, I'm not sure if they're using it for all of them. Maybe they are.

Erica [00:44:22]:

I think they said that they were transitioning or something. I don't know. We'll keep you.

Jules [00:44:26]:

Yeah, I know that they are transitioning. I don't know if they're keeping anything or not. But anyway, so the last day I went by because we drove and they were like, here, if you want some of this extra shreds. And I was like, yes, please. And so I took like three or four bags home and then I came home and I made homemade gluten free pizza and I put some on top and it melts people. It actually melts and it tastes so good I can literally just eat it from the bag. It is so good.

Erica [00:44:59]:

I love it.

Jules [00:45:00]:

Loving it. Definitely buy.

Erica [00:45:05]:

So good.

Jules [00:45:06]:

Two thumbs up.

Erica [00:45:08]:

Tomato. They have cubes and they have bites and they have shreds. But the tuscan herb and mozzarella, honestly is like going to be my go to for top and everything. It's so delicious.

Jules [00:45:18]:

Yeah. No, it was very good. I was really impressed.

Erica [00:45:22]:

Yeah. If you live in a sprouts, you got to go get it now because it is mind blowingly good. Cheese. Vegan cheese.

Jules [00:45:27]:

Yeah. Really, really good. Yes.

Erica [00:45:30]:

Awesome. What a good collection of products, Jules. What a good Expo rip, but a good last.

Jules [00:45:38]:

Upset.

Erica [00:45:39]:

I know. Well, thanks for listening to this episode of you had me at Eat find Jewels at the Salt Lake City Expo this weekend in Sandy, Utah. I will be at the gluten free Fun Festival in Denver, Colorado on October 14. So lots of things for us and we'll have some wrap ups next time on You Had Me to Eat.

Jules [00:46:01]:

Yeah, give us a like and a follow and tell all your friends and we will talk to you next time.