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Happy Friday
Hello everyone. Even though I have to work this weekend, I’m still happy it’s Friday. I was eating lunch and decided to use the Sea Salt Bagel Snaps as a crouton on my salad. They were delicious. The right amount of crunch and flavor.
All of our Snaps are being tested for GMOs as I type. I expect to report back to you that all 3 varieties had tested negative for GMOs.
Have a great weekend!
-El
Chicago here we come
I’m off to the GFAF Expo in Schaumburg, IL this weekend, April 20 and 21. We are excited to be a part of this show once again. It is our 3rd year in a row, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Jen, the organizer, is expecting 7,500 people.
At the show this year, we will be introducing to the public our Bagel Snaps, gluten free bagel chips. They are free of the top 8 allergen, are 100 calories or less per serving and are enrolled in the non-GMO Project. They come in 3 flavors: Garlic & Herb, Cinnamon & Sugar, Simply Sea Salt. My favorite is the Simply Sea Salt which are only 90 calories for a 1 oz. serving. This is about 15 pieces which are dense yet light and crispy.
See you in Chicago!!
El
Farewells to El’s
This post will be my last entry at El’s for the summer. Oh, you already guessed that by looking at the title? Good for you, maybe you should be the one heading back to Chestnut Hill, MA this fall. It has been a great summer here in Weston, CT and am proud of all the progress we have made in the past 4 months. In the beginning of the summer, El’s facility in Stratford was a mere phantasm in the minds of all the employees. Yes, we had blueprints and other planning devices, but we were still at ground zero.
Today, as shown by previous blog pictures, there are walls, equipment, machinery, AND a forklift (which were are all certified to drive)! Rounding the end of August, and thus the summer, the date for the grand opening of the manufacturing plant is rapidly approaching. I will be back for the grand ribbon cutting, hopefully in October.
Location is not the only thing that El’s is changing. We will be changing the recipe of the gluten-free bagel snaps- which we produce in-house- to a healthier, more tasty recipe. In our new facility, we will be able to slice as many bagels in 30 minutes that would be a whole day’s work in the old kitchen. We are very excited here to ramp up production and spread our delicious, crunchy, zesty, gluten-free snacks all over the world!!
PEACE
Burn Baby, Burn
It seems that all I have been talking about in this blog lately is the new facility in Stratford. Although I will be back at school by the time we are fully operational, it has been a very busy and exciting summer. The transformation that I witness each time I come to the site has left me awestruck. Now, there are four different entities of the space: the office, the warehouse/shipping, the production center (kitchen), and break room. The sheetrock is up and the walls are fibre reinforced, like the image below.
This is what most commercial kitchen walls are made of. You probably recognize it: shiny, bumpy, but also smooth. Although they are not cheaper than any other type of wall, it is worth the sacrifice. They are durable, easy to clean, and moisture resistant.
A very exciting factor of the new facility is the heat it will be pushing out. On a normal oven, the average amount of British Thermal Units or BTU’s required is 25,000. This may seem like a lot, which it is. That large amount has kept El’s running smoothly for years. But, now that we will be expanding, we are cranking up that amount due to the two massive ovens we have in place as well as the water heater. For those three new pieces alone, we will be using a meter that maximizes heat at 1 million BTU’s. That’s right, 1 MILLION. That is almost 50 times the heat capacity of our old machinery. Because the production time for snacks will dramatically decrease, this means the possibilities of production are endless. There will be new flavors rolling out soon of the bagel snaps as well as the medleys!
These ovens pack some major heat
Snack to School Giveaway
It’s almost time for school! Are your kids ready? More importantly, are YOU ready?? Would it help if you had some great gluten-free, nut free, and egg free snacks to put in a special lunchbox? We are now giving away bags of our delicious Medleys for your little (and not-so little anymore) guys to munch on during lunch.
All you have to do to receive one of these cool lunch boxes packed with a bag of each flavor (original, cheddar, sour cream & onion) of El’s Medleys is “like” or comment on our wall on Facebook. In the comment section let us know what type of lunchbox you would like. We will pull out two winners before the school year starts so your child will be ready for school.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Els-Kitchen/262728512407
No allergens, lots of taste
Based on recent studies, almost a quarter of the country has cut back on gluten or eliminated it altogether, while only a tenth suffer from an actual gluten problem. As you probably already know, when we are referring to gluten, we are alluding to the protein found in foods processed from wheat, barley, or rye. This protein, which is mainly responsible for the elasticity of doughs and other glutenous products, can be difficult for some people to break down, thus resulting in a gluten-free diet.
So why is this gluten topic so prevalent if less than 10% of Americans actually need to be cutting back on their gluten? Although gluten is not necessarily “bad” for you, it seriously limits the number of foods you can eat. Using this rationale, it would be health for someone who is overweight to begin a gluten-free diet because with fewer choices, you are less likely to overeat.
There are many other ways which cutting back gluten can be good for you, but the main point here is what you CAN have when you are on any type of diet. Whether that be an egg free, nut free, milk free, dairy free, casein free, and yes gluten free. El’s snacks are in these specific markets, AND they fast amazing. One bite of these crunchy, zesty snacks and you will be hooked even if you have no allergies to worry about. El’s snacks is rapidly packing the shelves of natural food stores in the Northeast as well as the rest of the country. For good reasons too! No to gluten, no to milk, no to nuts, no to eggs, but YES to great taste. Be our guest and try them yourself if you think it can not be done.
El’s Kitchen to Open Dedicated Gluten-Free Kitchen
http://www.prlog.org/11931509-els-kitchen-to-open-dedicated-gluten-free-kitchen.html
El’s Kitchen’s Press Release ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As you may already know, El’s hopes to be fully operational in their new facility by September. This aforementioned press release is important for El’s Kitchen because it will be just that: EL’S Kitchen. We will no longer be outsourcing across the country or worrying about nuts or milk or other allergens. El’s will have their own kitchen, free from nuts, milk, eggs, and especially gluten. (That’s why we’re here in the first place, right?!) Everybody wins in this new plan, from producer (us), to the distributor, to the consumer (you) because of the most important aspect of all: cost. We are all very excited here at El’s Kitchen and looking forward to making the best snack possible for celiacs and non-celiacs alike.
Gluten-Free: Friend or Fad?
Over the past couple years, gluten-free diets and awareness has skyrocketed. Whether it be due to the fact that 1% of America has a gluten sensitivity problem or that gluten-free products are healthier, it has been all the new craze lately. Skeptics discern that this category of foods cannot last long because of previous dieting crazes such as the Atkins and South Beach Diet. However, this new trend is not just a diet, but a way of life for that 1% of Americans. This small but important population deserve nothing but the best in the terms of taste, which is why El’s is so important to the gluten-free market. Not only are all of our snacks gluten-free, but they are jam-packed with crunchiness, zest, and most of all, FLAVOR. What separates El’s from the rest is that balance of taste and health. To make up for the lost wheat, barley, or rye flavor, most producers resort to filling the gap with massive amounts of oils or sugars. Our snacks, however, are not loaded with any of that, not even hydrogenated oils. Our snacks are original and one of a kind. Check out our homepage to see a natural food store near you that carries our product: We know you will like them!
Heavy-Duty Equipment
More and more equipment has been arriving to our new facility in Stratford, CT. We have been very excited to receive the new pieces of equipment. Tomorrow, I will be heading up to Stratford to finally obtain our new forklift. We will be using this machine for all sorts of jobs that I cannot handle. If you saw a picture of me, you would find that hard to believe, but there are very heavy things that need to be moved without my man-power. I will be the main operator of this fine piece of machinery until the summer is over, then I will have to pass the torch to another employee. This forklift will help our company run smoother and efficiently. We will be able to stack multiple heavy items on one another all the way up to the ceiling or top shelf of anywhere in the factory. This is all very exciting and all of El’s Kitchen is prepared to make the giant leap to mass production!
Back to school
It’s about that time of year when kids leave their parents to go back to school, and I am not exempt by any means. Next Friday, I will be packing up and heading back to Chestnut Hill, MA to start my sophmore year at Boston College 
. I know all of you readers are going to miss me, and that is why I may make a surprise blog from time to time. As a student, I can safely say that there’s always time to let people know the latest news and information about gluten-free living.
Since gluten intolerance is non-discriminatory, there is a chance that there are readers who are around my age. If there is a large gluten-free market at your school or just want to see the delicious medleys and bagel snaps at your school, feel free to leave a comment telling us where you would like to see us next.