We don't sell items on this site, however, we are often asked to recommend products or vendors. We know how difficult it is to find single ingredients for special diets. As a convenience, we have compiled a list of products and vendors that we use.
Specialty supermarkets:
Specialty baking ingredients:
Hard-to-find organic products:
http://www.athomenaturally.com
Grass-fed Bison:
Fresh Seafood and exotic fresh meats:
Eggs - Organic, free range, if possible. This is one of the best protein sources for anyone on a limited diet. Eat the yolks too, they are rich in vitamins as well.
Fresh Vegetables - All kinds - Organic if possible - (SKIP the prepared Ranch dip - it is loaded with MSG)
Fresh Fruits - All Kinds - Organic if possible - (SKIP the prepared Cream Cheese dip too)
Whole Milk - organic, pasteurized (NOT Ultra-pasteurized). 1%, 2% and skim milk have nonfat dry milk added to boost the protein content and ultra-pasteurization creates more free glutamate.
Cream that has not been Ultra-Pasteurized. Usually, because ultra-pasteurization destroys the thickening quality of cream, they need to add thickeners like MSG-containing carageenan to the ultra-pasteurized cream to make it whip. Cream that hasn't been UP doesn't need added ingredients.
Arrowhead Mills White Flour - Contains gluten
The only wheat flour we have found WITHOUT malted barley flour added to it
McCann's Steel Cut Oatmeal
The only oatmeal we eat.
Gluten free baking ingredients:
We don't recommend mixes since MSG sensitive persons or those with
celiac disease often have allergies to other foods found in mixes and baked
products.
Bob's Red Mill - Almond Meal/Flour
Use in gluten-free dairy free recipes instead of non-fat dry milk
Bob's Red Mill - Organic Coconut Flour
Use in gluten-free recipes
Spectrum - Organic Shortening
Non-Hydrogenated
Bob's Red Mill - Arrowroot Starch
Use for thickening in gluten free cooking
Bob's Red Mill - Sweet White Sorghum Flour
We use this sorghum flour to make wonderful gluten-free scones.
Bob's Red Mill - Tapioca Flour
We use this tapioca flour to make chewy gluten-free french breads
Bob's Red Mill - Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat is actually related to rhubarb and is gluten-free.
Bob's Red Mill - Potato Starch Flour
Used to make gluten-free flour mixes.
Bob's Red Mill - Potato Flour
Not to be confused with Potato Starch. This is heavier and is added in small amounts to improve the texture of baked goods.
Bob's Red Mill - Corn Flour
For those who can't have wheat, corn flour is actually BETTER for coating things like calimari, or deep fried items. Corn flour, as any Southerner will tell you results in a crispier coating than wheat flour.
Our favorite gluten-free pastas.
We recommend all the Tinkyada products - they stay al dente
END OF GLUTEN-FREE LIST
Chocolate Items:
Cocoa Nibs
If you can't eat soy or dairy but miss chocolate, we add
cocoa nibs to give an intense burst of chocolate flavor to homemade ice
cream. You need to add some sweetener because the nibs can be bitter.
We like to add a little Agave syrup to them and eat them as is. If you are
sensitive to tyramine, wine, and bananas, we suggest you skip this item.
Cocoa Powder - If you can't have dairy, but miss hot cocoa, make it with this. Add to hot almond milk or hot rice milk.
Taurine, CoQ10:
We buy these supplements in powder form - it is much less expensive.
Camomile tea - Imported from Italy - Bonomelli- only flower blossoms - no added ingredients.
Coconut water - Zico - NOTHING ADDED Nature's sports drink.
Tomatoes - Pomi - NOTHING ADDED
Kosher salt - NOTHING ADDED
Olive oil - Colavita - NOTHING ADDED
Wheat-free cookies - Lazzaroni Amarettini - Tiny and almond flavored like amaretto - these are great for crumbling into Italian desserts.
Tools we have in OUR kitchen:
Real wood cutting boards. Wood has naturally occurring anti-microbial properties that plastic cutting boards don't have. A real maple butcherblock counter is also an old fashioned but wonderfully useful item.
Garlic Press - Use real garlic instead of powder, it tastes better. Get the simplest-to-clean one you can find.
Lemon Juicer - The best way to get pit-free fresh lemon juice in a hurry for any recipe. We use this nearly every day.
Environmentally friendly parchment paper,
cheesecloth, coffee filters, baking cups and cooking twine:
If You Care Brand
Nut Milk and Rice Milk Makers:
Although we do not recommend any soy or soy products,
SoyQuick soy
milk maker is what we use to make fresh homemade almond milk and rice milks.
Baking, serving and storing cookware - Corning - They look beautiful to cook with as well as to serve and store foods in. Be careful not to scratch them - do not use steel wool on them - ours have lasted for years.
Non-stick cookwear - ScanPan - Uses Ceramic-Titanium instead of fluoride-containing teflon. Won't flake or peel. They can be used with metal utensils too. We recommend buying them new. Carol loves her crepe pan so much, she bought two!
Stainless steel cookware - Calphalon - The metal handles allow for use in the oven - perfect for making rice pilaf the right way. Be careful as the handles stay hot for a while. A little pricey, but worth saving up for. We use it every day.
Pots we learned to cook with - Revere ware- Still the cheapest way to get started if you've never really cooked before and need to outfit a kitchen in a hurry. You can outfit your kitchen for the same price as one expensive pan.
Pasta machine - Atlas - hand crank type.
Stand mixer - Viking - Has optional attachments for a blender, as well as a juicer, meat grinder, pasta maker, food mill. It has a very slow first speed and an 800 watt motor which is great for making gluten-free doughs, although we prefer our bread maker for typical wheat bread kneading. Worth saving up for. It is great for kneading sweet wheat breads.
Ice Cream maker - Cuisineart
The cream you use should NOT be Ultra-pasteurized. Buy only fresh
PASTEURIZED cream with NO additives. You can also make sorbets with fresh fruit
juices as well as diary-free desserts made from nut milks. We always keep
one bucket in the freezer so it is always ready in the summer.
English muffin rings - Fox Run - to make gluten-free crumpets using the recipe from Bette Hagman's book. You may want to get a few sets if you bake in bulk and freeze your baked goods.
All purpose sharp knife - Forschner - for boning chicken and cutting meat, or filleting fish. The sheath protects the blade and can be worn on a belt. The steel should be used every time the knife is to keep the edge true.
Chopper - we use this to chop nuts or onions in a hurry. It is great for chopping when you don't want to obliterate the food - you just want it finely chopped - or if you don't have a food processor. We love this thing. It is really sharp but opens completely and you can put the whole thing into the dishwasher.