When I host gatherings at my house I always look over the guest list and make a mental note of any guests I may have that have certain food preferences. I can’t say others always return the favor, but I’m always appreciative for the folks who do! It’s with this in mind that I put together this segment for Tampa’s Morning Blend on ABC.
Here’s some more information on the products I featured:
SunButter makes US grown sunflower butter, free of the top eight food allergens (including peanuts, tree nuts and soy). It packs as much protein and more micro nutrients, like magnesium, Vitamin E, zinc and iron, than traditional nut butters, and contains less saturated fat.
Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery sandwich breads have the same taste, look, and soft and fluffy feel of traditional breads. The breads are made using high-quality, non-GMO and natural ingredients. For more information, visit rudisbakery.com, and don’t forget to look for Rudi’s Gluten Free bread at your local Publix store
GeeFree is hands down one of the best gluten-free products I’ve ever had. Beloved family recipes sacrificed due to health concerns can now be recreated with these gluten-free puffpastry sheets. Make things like pies, empanadas, potato puffs, brie and raspberry rolls. Ready-made appetizers include Spanakopita, Franks in a Blanket, and Cheeseburger Bites and the chicken pot pie is a great main dish. Find GeeFree in the frozen food section of Nutrition Smart, Richard’s Food Emporium and Rollin’ Oats or online at geefree.com
Garden of Eatin’® Original Blue Chips are made to bring color to any occasion. The blue color and hearty texture of our Garden of Eatin’® Blue Corn Chips are made from organic blue corn, simple non-GMO garden ingredients and contain no artificial flavors or preservatives. These gluten-free chips pack enough flavor and crunch to liven up any party – bringing out the snack connoisseur in all of us. Garden of Eatin is the original non-GMO blue corn tortilla chip brand. For over 40 years it has crafted great tasting snack options made with organic, garden-inspired ingredients. Garden of Eatin® corn tortilla chips offer many other flavors and do not settle for anything less than a quality crunch. www.facebook.com/gardenofeatin.com
PowerBar Plant Protein Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt is one of the New PowerBar Plant Protein Bars. This is the first plant-based snack bar released by the brand as part of its Clean Start, which is an ongoing effort to evolve the product portfolio with cleaner ingredient labels and great tasting products. These bars are a delicious, flavorful and better tasting option not typically seen in the plant protein category. The PowerBar Plant Protein Bars are certified non-GMO, too! Made with 10-11g of protein, they are perfect for the active consumer in need of an on-the-go wholesome protein snack. Visit PowerBar.com.
Premier Protein Clear Tropical Punch. As you start making healthy choices for Spring, Premier Protein CLEAR is the perfect light and refreshing beverage to keep you fueled all day long. With 20g of protein, 0g of sugar and 90 calories, this gluten free drink is sure to give you sustained energy through all your warm weather activities. Where to buy: Sam’s Club
Remedy Organics is a new amazing line of 100% plant-based protein beverages. They use the finest Superfoods, Ayurvedics, Botanical Herbs and Probiotics with functional benefits that go well beyond hydration and general nutrition. Organic Protein Blends are certified USDA organic, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. Each bottle contains Probiotics that provide strong functional health benefits in the areas of immune health, digestive health and protein utilization. Order from remedyorganics.com.
Whole Foods is my go to for vegan and vegetarian food. No other store has the selection they have. I always stock my fridge with their 365 Everyday Value Veggie Dogs. My kids love them and so do I. I also love the new Beyond Burger that are sold exclusively at Whole Foods. They are honestly the best store bought veggie burger I’ve head. While you are there check out their freshly made vegetarian and vegan foods too. You won’t be sorry!
Women’s Health features Dr. David Neuman’s joint health tips for millennials from his site, Pop-Doc.com
traveling
Bon Appétit Magazine mentions 16 Handles in July issue
ennis McWilliams, about ORBERA weight loss balloons
Teen Vogue features Chef Mark Bailey’s Tomato Basil Breakfast Bowl recipe
16 Handles on Rachael Ray 
atures Dr. Chattoo’s work with gastric balloon weight loss procedure
As for the menu there are a couple of vegetarian or vegan options. I was going to order the Homemade Falafel dinner, but they were out of falafel (sigh). I wasn’t thrilled they were out of something on their first day, BUT since it was their first day I’ll give them a break. I instead opted for a whole wheat wrap with seared portobello mushrooms in a style they call Havana “Vibe.” It came with fresh greens, corn and black bean salsa, avocado, plantain strips and salsa fresca with a cilantro lime vinaigrette. The menu also says it comes with white cheddar cheese, but there wasn’t any cheese on mine (not sure why) so I believe this was vegan. The plantain strips also seemed to be missing from my wrap. All that said this was DELICIOUS. I would definitely get it again. I can’t say I’d get it every day though because it was $16. It’s $11 for a basic wrap and then the protein adds anywhere from $5 – $7. My “protein” was the mushrooms and those were an extra $5. I had read the Allens were trying to do healthy fast food at affordable prices so the $16 price tag on a wrap is rather stunning. It’s even more expensive than the super hot “
Breakfast is also on the menu with smoothies, juices and a couple gluten-free options including blueberry pancakes and muffins (I had the banana one, which is also vegan). I was happy to see an Acai bowl on the menu, but again the $12 price tag is steep. My husband just had one at Acai nation in Los Angeles and it was $9.95. Breakfast options at fast-food spots should definitely not be above $10. Also there is an Egg Ohm-Wich option (love the Ohm part, very clever). You can also order these as an Ohm-let. There are four “vibes” to choose from here and I found it strange that three out of the four include regular old bacon. Not even a turkey bacon for those who avoid pork, but really what I would have liked to see is vegetarian bacon.
10:15am. We were shocked when we got there to see about 500 people (at least) in line to get in. This was an event with kids, so imagine hundreds of kids waiting in a line that long. We asked what was going on and were told that the festival people only had two ticket scanners so buckle in for a long wait. It took about 30 minutes before we got in and then it was a scramble to make it to the venue where Restaurant Impossible’s Robert Irvine was speaking. We snagged one of the last seats and luckily Irvine kept his 45 minute presentation rather entertaining. The other big shocker here though was that even though this was a “food festival,” the food consisted of a McDonald’s booth, a Barilla pasta tent, Kind Bars and a few other offerings. Definitely NOT food festival material, but we let it slide because this was geared toward kids.
long again. Luckily I did have a pass that allowed us to skip the line. Inside the event lines were also already forming (see a pattern here), lots and lots of lines. Since this was Asian I figured there would be a decent offering of vegetarian food, but I was wrong. There were maybe 3 or 4 little bites that I could eat. As for the all the other people there? I couldn’t help but think they paid $150 (some less thanks to Groupon) to stand in line and wait for a one or two bites of something? So that is $300 a couple. The event was sold out so obviously there are lots of people who think this is a great idea, but for $300 they could have feasted at the best restaurants South Beach has to offer. Guess what we actually did leave the event after a short time and went to eat at a restaurant. We were still very hungry!
USA Today features Blossom Du Jour in piece about vegan casual dining
Fox News talks about New Year’s cleansing and Joni Juice with Cindy Kasindorf
CBS New York interview Karena Wu about the right tools to stay fit this year
s, according to Joni Juice’s Cindy Kasindorf
Fox Business interviews CEO Solomon Choi about 16 Handles expanding to the Middle East
CBS New York shares Chef Bailey’s Thanksgiving side dishes
NY1 interviews Dr. Chattoo about his thoughts on meat
Fox & Friends makes “All Things Pumpkin” with Fox & Friends
CBS features Dr. Lager’s work with The Trazer
Fox Extra with Julie Banderas (May 2015):
CBS 2 (January 2015):
Fox and Friends (October 2014):