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Salad Saga: Taco Salad shell
Food Safety

The Salad Saga: Food Allergy Training Needs to be Mandatory

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But, The Salad is Gluten-Free! Last week a meeting planner (MP) posted a message (below) on my Facebook feed frustrated with the response the director of catering at a large convention center (DC) was providing when she asked if the serving vessel the salad was in was actually gluten-free.  The conversation went something like this: MP: I notice that the salad is labeled gluten-free. Is that cone (vessel) the salad is being served in gluten-free as well? If it is not, then the salad is not gluten-free and the label should be corrected. DC: The salad is gluten-free. You do not have to eat…

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Guide to Celiac Disease
Dietary Needs Medical Conditions

Here’s An Important Guide to Celiac Disease

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With the month of May approaching, it’s time to take a moment and focus on an auto-immune disorder that does not get much attention. This illness, while not always terminal, does change the everyday lives of those affected. That means Celiac affects the person afflicted as well as the expectation that loved ones, friends, schools, grocery stores, restaurants, workplaces, event planners and others will be involved. That’s because it is not the sole responsibility of the those with Celiac Disease to look out for their well-being and safety. Thank you for reading my guide to Celiac Disease and for sharing…

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National Soy Foods Month
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events

National Soy Foods Month – Get to Know the New Soy!

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National Soy Foods Month – Celebrate! It’s National Soy Foods Month (#SoyFoodMonth)It is important first to note that soy is one of the “Big Eight” allergens, that group of food allergens that causes over 90% of allergic reactions in people with food allergies. While soy is a big eight allergen and should be taken seriously, statistics suggest that soy may not be as equally dangerous or consequential as other allergens, such as milk, which accounts for 80% of food allergies and intolerances, worldwide. Remember to Treat Soy as an Allergen – Because it is one The Soyfoods Association of America…

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What's in your broth?
Dietary Needs

What’s in Your Broth?

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Kosher and food allergic individuals want to know what’s in your broth Barbara and I were done for the day. Although it was a short day, it was a still another long day at the Washington Auto Show. We wanted to get something good to eat. Something to contrast the convention center food we’d been eating for days. D.C. is now a hotbed for new restaurants. I’m amazed by all the options available compared to when I was living there in my 20’s. I’ve known Barbara is Jewish for as long as I’ve known her, but I don’t remember ever going…

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Public-Health-Week-iStock-531518027
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events

Public Health Week 2017 – Celebrate Our Opportunity to Make America Healthy

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If you know me, you know I’m all about promoting healthier, safer, and more inclusive food service habits for everyone. That’s why I love National Public Health Week (@NPHW), a movement that celebrates prevention, advocates for healthy and fair policies, and champions the role of a strong public health system to become the healthiest nation by 2030 (the U.S. is currently ranked LAST). Public health is important because when we’re all healthier, we save money and we’re happier, too. Plus, with all the meetings we hold annually, we actually have an important role in helping the country reach this goal.…

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National Nutrition Month
Food & Beverage

National Nutrition Month: March is the Time to Evaluate Nutrition and Taste

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Nutrition is a big part of our everyday lives. We continue to learn ways to improve our lifestyles, respond to medical challenges, and share in the growing awareness that nutrition and taste are not mutually exclusive. March is National Nutrition Month, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to evaluate the foods we serve our attendees. National Nutrition Month Every year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics sponsors National Nutrition Month. It’s meant as a campaign to help bring focus to the importance of making informed choices and develop healthy eating habits. They also place importance on the right amount and…

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Swirls of cooked noodle on a fork - National Eat Your Noodles day
Food & Beverage

It’s National Eat Your Noodles Day

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Noodles: A Food Staple of Many Forms It’s National Eat Your Noodles Day (#NationalEatYourNoodlesDay). Who comes up with these specialty days, I do not know, but I’m going to go with it today. Especially since what you think of as noodles might be different than the guy next to you. According to the Oxford dictionary, noodles are made from flour paste into very thin, long strips of pasta. Once cooked, they can be eaten in soup or with sauce. When you take my friend Chef Gloria Smiley’s pasta making class, you learn that pasta is simply white flour and egg. From…

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a Delicious Global Movement
Thrive! in the News

A Delicious Global Movement

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Terra Madre Salone del Gusto: A Delicious Global Movement Last September I had the amazing opportunity to be selected as one of 300 US delegates to attend Slow Food International’s Terra Madre Salon del Gusto, a biennial event—or better yet, a global movement created in 1985—dedicated to food and gastronomy and educating people on the need to have a “world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet.” It was an experience that is hard to describe, but one that had a lasting impression…

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Two men bullied at corporate awards banquet for having food allergies
Dietary Needs Duty of Care Food Service Meetings & Events

Two Men with Food Allergies Bullied by Coworkers at Awards Dinner

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Not Being able to Eat Wheat or Shellfish is No Reason to be Bullied Last week I was at an event where I witnessed two men being bullied/teased/harassed—whatever you want to call it—about their dietary need. I was stunned, embarrassed and utterly dumbfounded. The event was an awards dinner for a corporation and one at which I was hired to manage the food and beverage and oversee the safe execution of special meals for 18 people with dietary needs (a low number considering other events I’ve done, but still seven percent of the group). The two men who were being…

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snack food month
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events

Allergen-Free Snack Food Month

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National Snack Food Month is here and for me, this is really exciting. Snacking is necessary throughout the day for most people just to keep themselves energized and healthy. Snacks are important when traveling. They are also important to keep available during long, all-day marathon meetings. That makes snacks a pretty important job for those of us in the meetings and events industry. Most of us already do a great job making sure we have healthy options available. We could all do a better job of making sure snacks are not only available at a central location, but that they…

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