Have you had a chance to snag our new cookbook, Grain-Free Goodies? NO?! Well, what are you waiting for. It’s available free to our Healthy Living Newsletter Subscribers. Find out more about the book now.
Below are a list of speciality ingredients found in Grain-Free Goodies that you may not have in your cupboard with links to brands I love.
Sugar Substitutes
Xylitol
Xylitol is one of my favorite sweeteners. I like to use it combined with stevia. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that has little to no impact on blood sugar and numerous other health benefits. Xylitol is made from either birch trees or corn. Unfortunately, most corn is GMO (genetically modified organism). For that reason, it’s important to look for xylitol made from birch trees. You can read more about the health benefits and cautions of xylitol here.
Try These Brands of Xylitol
Erythritol
Unfortunately, some people are not able to tolerate xylitol well. This is typically because of poor gut health—a very common issue. If you try xylitol and can’t tolerate it, then I suggest substituting it for erythritol. Erythritol does not cause the same gastrointestinal issues as xylitol. Erythritol is not as sweet as xylitol. Use 1 1/4 cups of erythritol for every 1 cup of xylitol. You may run into the same problems with erythritol being made from GMO corn, but I’ve listed a few brands below that are not.
Try These Brands of Erythritol
Stevia
Not all stevia is created equal. Most brands of stevia you’ll find in your local grocery store has fillers and additives. They’re not all bad, but you need to be cautious because many of them have sugar added to them. Yes, sugar. The thing we’re trying to avoid here. This post has more information about stevia and the fillers in stevia. Remember when cooking with pure stevia extract a little tiny bit goes a long way!
Try These Brands of Stevia
.
Flour Substitutes
Almond Flour
Almond flour can be a bit tricky. There are some recipes that it doesn’t matter too much which brand of almond flour you use, like in my parmesan fried veggies. But there are other recipes, like my buttery homestyle biscuits that the brand of almond flour makes a world of difference!
Try These Brands of Almond Flour
- Honeyville Almond Flour (the brand I keep coming back to!)
- Make it yourself!
Coconut Flour
Unlike almond flour, I’m not too picky about coconut flour. I’ve not found several brands I like.
Try These Brands of Coconut Flour
- Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour
- Coconut Secret
- Let’s Do Organic Coconut Flour
- Make it yourself!
.
Fats
Coconut Oil
Our family goes through a lot of coconut oil—so much that my last purchase was a 5-gallon bucket of coconut oil. Be sure to select cold-pressed extra-virgin coconut oil. Below are some of my favorite purveyors of coconut oil.
Try These Brands of Coconut Oil
Butter
Butter is another one of my favorite fats. It’s so flavorful and delicious on everything! But, as with meat, it’s important to get your butter from healthy grass-fed animals. That can be a bit tricky to find. You may have some luck looking at your local farmers market to see if there is someone in the area who sells butter from healthy, grass fed animals. But if this isn’t the case, you may be able to find these brands at a local health-food store or you can purchase them online.
Try These Brands of Butter
Lard and Tallow
Lard (from pigs) and tallow (from cows) are fats I’ve begun to use only in the last couple of years. If you’re purchasing part of a pastured cow or pig from a local farmer, it only makes sense to ask for the fat to render yourself! Most butchers end up throwing this away because nobody wants it, so even if it’s not in the budget to purchase part of an animal you may be able to get this very cheaply. If the fat isn’t available or you don’t want to render it yourself, please, please do not buy the lard from the grocery store. Be sure you’re getting quality lard that has not been bleached and hydrogenated.
Try These Brands of Lard & Tallow
Palm Shortening
If you aren’t able to consume dairy products, palm shortening is a great alternative to butter in some baked goods like cookies. It’s also perfect for frying.
Other Ingredients
Coconut Milk
- Nativa Forest Organic Coconut Milk
- Make your own!
Applesauce
Sea Salt
Yogurt
- Make your own!
- Purchase organic yogurt from your local grocery store.
Grass-Fed Meat
Coconut Aminos
Shredded and Flaked Coconut
.
Kitchen Supplies
- Kitchen Aid Mixer
- BlendTec
- Mini Muffin Pans
- Measuring Spoons (that measure very small amounts for stevia)
- Waffle Maker
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Magic Bullet or Coffee Grinder (perfect for powdering xylitol)
I just ordered a copy of your book. Have not read it yet. For the past several months we have been working to reduce grain in our daily diet. What we do consume is now organic spelt. Just this chance has brought about noticeable positive changes. I would like do move further and delete wheat from our diet. I need help. Looking at the source list of supplies I’m in sticker shock. I have a limited budget. We are a blue collar, single income, homeschooling family. I need to feed a family of 4 with a budget of $400 per month all included. How can I afford butter at $16? How can we make this work? Gardening is a huge help and we continue to learn and grow more food each year. We already eat soup/stew almost daily. To do grain free it seems we might not eat anything but soup at this point to stay in budget. Thoughts, ideas, and prayers welcome. We do need to be more thankful for what God has given us. Maybe this would be a good topic you could expound on an develope further? Sincerely Overwhelmed.
Hi Lisa,
My suggestion is to start where you can and make the changes that are most important. What are the priorities? For instance, buying Kerrygold butter probably isn’t a priority at this time. Do you have a local farmer that sells butter from his grassfed cows and is affordable (I do, but many don’t know of any). If you don’t, just buy the cheap store-brand butter. I often buy things in bulk to cut down overall costs. Another example of prioritizing is, I don’t buy all organic produce, but focus on just buying the dirty dozen in organic. We also can and freeze quite a bit in the summer and stock up (something it sounds like you can do with your garden). That said, if I couldn’t afford to buy even the dirty dozen in organic, I probably would either cut down on that produce or just buy the conventionally grown produce. We have to prioritize the changes and make them a little at a time as we’re able. If you focus on doing EVERYTHING all at once it WILL overwhelm you.
I also buy in bulk to save. I save a lot this way. I buy a big 5 gallon bucket of coconut oil and it lasts more than a year and is SO much cheaper than buying the little 16 oz jars from the store. I do this in a lot of areas when stocking my kitchen (we buy half a cow, a whole pig, etc.)
You’re right, I think writing more on eating a grain-free diet on a budget is a great idea! Also, I apologize for the delay in getting back to you.