New products EXPOsed

Photo/GFGardenState: Schar's new pasta line

The Gluten Free & Allergen Free Expo held last weekend in Secaucus was a great opportunity for visitors to see products soon to be released to the public or already making their way to grocers.

Samples weren't available for many of these recent additions, but judging by their companies' reputations and appearance of the items, we're looking forward to trying them.

Here's an idea of what's coming or has recently been made available.

Photo/GFGardenState: Namaste now offers meal kits

Schar: Best known for its bread, rolls and dessert products, including cookies, the Lyndhurst-based company retooled its pasta line to create the new Schar Bonta d'Italia line. Six of the company's pasta types (spaghetti, fusilli, penne, multigrain penne, anellini and tagliatelle) are back with new recipes and packaging. According to Schar, the new line is a result of research and development carried out by food technologists and dieticians in Trieste, Italy. Mangia! 

Photo/GFGardenState: Garden Lites kid-friendly muffins

Namaste: The maker of wonderful bread mixes is releasing its pasta meal solutions. They include dairy-free mac n' cheese and taco pasta. They'll also have out soon disposable cups of soup that look perfect for lunch at the office.

Garden Lites: We tried the veggie-based baked items, such as broccoli and cheese souffle and some of the regular versions of the zucchini and carrot-based muffins. All were mouth-watering delicious. Now, they're coming out with kid-friendly versions featuring popular cartoon characters. If anything can get kids to eat their vegetables, it has to be these muffins.

Photo/GFGardenState: Ancient Grains has hot breakfast items.

Ancient Harvest: This company does quinoa well ... extremely well. It now mixes the fiber-rich "ancient grain" with cornmeal to make polenta, and is releasing a new line of hot breakfast cereals. Think oatmeal substitute in various flavors. We're certainly willing to give them a try. The company has also released this year a line of mac n' cheese products and ancient grains blends flavored with various herbs and spices.

What's your first impression of these new products?