The Celiac Handbook Website is something I’ve been at for about 7 years now. It started out as a hobby and has turned out to be something that takes up a huge part of my daily routine (this is a good thing). I find myself reading a lot of blogs, news sites, and anything else that I can get my hands on pertaining to the gluten-free diet and celiac disease. It’s all information that I love to read and absolutely love to share with all of my readers. I get giddy like a little kid when I find products and recipes that I like and I get even more excited when I get to meet some of the great people that make the gluten-free community so wonderful. This past weekend was filled with all things gluten-free, the people and products that make it all so good.

A few weeks back, I was invited by Udi’s Gluten-Free Foods to attend Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim. I’ve been a long time fan of Udi’s as they make some of my favorite gluten-free products — everything from sandwich bread to bagels to pizza crusts (and many more items). They were also using the Natural Products Expo as an opportunity to announce their new hamburger and hot dog buns. I received a great gift bag from them full of many of their great products as well as the new hamburger and hot dog buns. I’ve been OD’ing on Udi’s this entire week and have had more sandwiches than I’ve known what to do with. I’ve made grilled cheeses (with lots of butter), grilled turkey sandwiches, and I’ve even taken one of their hamburger buns with me to In-N-Out Burger and enjoyed a Double Double without having to have it “Protein Style” (wrapped in lettuce in place of the bun).

A partial view of Udi's line of gluten-free products (photo by Jennifer Brody)

At the Expo, I had the pleasure of meeting some other great bloggers, including Karen Fine of Moms Cook Gluten Free, Marla Meridith of Family Fresh Cooking, Jennifer Brody of Domestic Divas, Rockin’ Mama, Yvonne Condes of Yvonne’s Gluten-Free Goodies, and Nicole Sirote of GlutenFree18. They shared their “why gluten-free” stories as well as some valuable tips for anyone following a gluten-free diet.

(L - R) Marla Meridith, Karen Fine, Rockin' Mama, Jennifer Brody, Yvonne Condes, Nicole Sirote, and Me

Another fantastic part of the Expo was the Nom Nom Truck* that Udi’s sponsored. They served a gluten-free Banh Mi sandwich. Traditionally, this is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette with thinly sliced pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers, mayonnaise, daikon, pâté, and pork (or tofu). While I’m actually a fan of tofu (especially a nice spongy fried tofu), the pork was so much better for this sandwich. The Udi’s bread held up perfectly and in my opinion (I may be a little GF bias), it was as good as the real thing.

Photo courtesy of Marla Meridith

Photo courtesy of Marla Meridith

Photo courtesy of Marla Meridith

Photo courtesy of Marla Meridith

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Brody

Afterward, the folks from Udi’s walked us around the Expo floor and introduced us to a few of their friends, including Kettle Cuisine and Maine Root All-Natural Handcrafted Soda. While I was already familiar with Kettle Cuisine’s great gluten-free soups, I hadn’t tried Maine Root’s soda before, but let me tell you what a wonderful surprise it was. I tried their Root Beer (root beer is one of my all-time favorites) and their Ginger Brew — if I were reviewing them, they’d definitely be on my short list for a best-in-class award. I haven’t seen this product in my local stores, but I’ll definitely be looking now that I know who they are and how great their soda tastes.

While hanging out with Udi’s was a paid gig for me, I would have done it with or without compensation. Their gluten-free bread has been one of my favorites for at least a couple of years and I’m always excited to try anything new that they come up with. All of their products are something that I would happily recommend to anyone looking for a substitute for traditional bread. It’s far superior to so many of the other store-bought breads that are on the market and actually better than some of the dedicated artisan gluten-free bakeries out there.

One question that comes up a lot with the Celiac Handbook readers about Udi’s is their use of corn in their recipes. I was able to talk with them about this and they were very forthcoming in their response. They assured me that they are aware of this concern and are always looking at ways to reformulate their products to appeal to as many of their customers as possible. While this is something that is on their radar and is something that they are looking at as a possibility, it will only be done if it is something that will improve the taste and the quality of their products.

Udi’s has set the bar for store-bought gluten-free products very high — they are the ones that others like to compare themselves to. You’ll see reviews for gluten-free products from many other companies on this site, some of which I’ll give very high marks to, but just know that Udi’s is definitely among the best of the best.

* THE NOM NOM TRUCK DOESN’T TYPICALLY SERVE GLUTEN-FREE BREAD WITH THEIR SANDWICHES — IF YOU HAPPEN TO FIND YOURSELF ORDERING FROM THE NOM NOM TRUCK, DON’T ASSUME THAT IT IS GLUTEN-FREE.  AS WITH ANY RESTAURANT, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ASK AS MANY QUESTIONS AS NECESSARY TO INSURE A SAFE MEAL. NOT ALL SERVERS WILL ALWAYS BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE GLUTEN-FREE DIET AND WITHOUT YOUR DIRECT FEEDBACK, THE CHANCES OF GLUTEN CONTAMINATION WILL INCREASE DRAMATICALLY.

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