At least that's what I was thinking when I attended the Gluten-Free for Life Expo in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
There were informational sessions at the expo but if you've ever been to one of these, the main attraction is the tables and tables of free stuff to sample. And I found plenty of pizza, all of which was pretty good.
I made the mistake of eating breakfast before I went, not thinking about how much I would eat when I got to the expo. Somehow, I found my way to the pizza tables first and I was stuffed within 20 minutes.
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| Gluten-free for Life Expo |
One of the pizzas is a new frozen offering from Udi's, which has previously been selling pizza crusts but not full pizzas. Udi's is a favorite gluten-free brand for a lot of people, including me, because it's breads and other products are widely available in Publix stores. I haven't seen the new pizzas in my local Publix yet, but the Udi's representative told me that they are rolling them out in Publix stores as we speak.
Three other frozen brands I found were Against the Grain Gourmet (www.againstthegraingourmet.com), Gluten Free by Beverly (glutenfreebybeverly.com) and Bold Organics (bold-organics.com).
I particularly liked the Bold Organics pizzas, which are available in Jacksonville at Native Sun and Whole Foods.
I also enjoyed a pizza made from scratch from a crust mix by Taste of Gluten Free (www.tasteofglutenfree.net), but I'm not likely to make a crust from scratch myself. I'd rather use the pre-made crusts, or some of these frozen pizzas, if I'm going to cook pizza at home.
There were of course other products available, including some wonderful goodies from local bakeries in the Tampa Bay area. But If you've read my blog, you know I'm pizza-obsessed. So I left, again, with pizza on my brain.
I also went to the expo from Sarasota. Was delighted to see my favorite, Gluten Free by Beverly, there. After going gluten-free, pizza was my most missed food -- I tried them all with great disappointment until I tried her products at an expo in West Palm. I recommend her pizza, crusts, and lasagna. I even use her crusts as flat bread with eggs for breakfast and lunch inventions. Located in Sarasota she is selling at many nearby stores and markets as well as out of her kitchen (by appointment, telephone number on web site). The gourmet Italian store on Constitution in Sarasota carries her products -- certainly the best recommendation possible. I think some local restaurants are using her crusts and I think she is expanding her range quickly. I had to hound my health food store to carry it, which finally worked -- try it where you are!
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