Breaking News!You can now "look inside" my upcoming book on Amazon!
Check out the Table of Contents, index,my most personal memoir story (I'm baring my soul! -- there are many in the book but the big one is in the free preview), plus a few sample recipes and pics!
Woot!
By the way, if you've already pre-ordered, you can snag 14 recipes + 1 of the workouts now. Here are the deets.
Now on to our regularly scheduled programing!
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I'm always getting a billion emails about what brands I use with my cooking. (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a tad! But I do get a lot!)
I did a previous post on brands, listing various brands your fellow Herbies use and recommend.
As I observed in that post, brands are oftenregion-specific, meaning what I have access to in my neighborhood may not exist where you live.
When compiling this list, I tried to think of brands that I've seen in different states and different stores.
Every time we move to a new place, I end up learning brands all over again — finding new brands that work with my dietary guidelines. In fact, I can't think of any single brand or item that I have used and found everywhere. Oooh! I thought of one! French's mustard! (I love mustard).
Use this list (and the other list linked above) for help, but don't be discouraged if these brands aren't in your store. Your store has what you're looking for, it's just made by yet another (different) company.
Also try different stores in your town. We have no less than six different chain supermarkets in the greater Los Angeles area and the inventory at each of them is quite different. Even some of the same stores have different inventory based on their location. For example, the Kroger near my home doesn't carry the same things as the Kroger by my best friend's house 10 miles west.
Pasta
I buy generic.
Tortillas & Crackers
I buy my corn tortillas locally. We also use Ezekiel wraps occasionally. See the brands post for more brands/options, including lists of tortillas, chips and crackers.
Bread & Buns
We don't buy a lot of bread, but when we do, I buy sprouted bread (Trader Joe's brand or Alvarado Street). We've also purchased 'regular' (not sprouted) bread from local bakeries because I'm a stickler for 100% whole-wheat, no oil bread that's fresh and free from weird fillers/preservatives. We also by Ezekiel raisin bread for a treat sometimes. Alvarado also makes sprouted buns for both hamburgers and hot dogs, and we use those, or the whole-wheat ones that show up in the summer at the local bakery. Alvarado also makes sprouted bagels, which Scott loves, but we've also purchased them at a local bakery, too. Lastly, if you live in the Northwest, check out Dave's Killer Bread. It's amazing.
Pitas
We've always bought our pitas locally, 100% whole-wheat and no oil. Ezekiel also makes a pita.
Nutritional Yeast
I'm a huge nooch snob and will only buy Bragg's Nutritional Yeast or Red Star nutritional yeast. I buy it in bulk (5 lb. bags!) from bulkfoods.com.
Pasta Sauce
I typically make it myself, but I know one of Whole Foods "generic" ones is oil-free. I think Prego has an oil-free one too, and Muir Glen as well. I've also bought various generic ones in a pinch that were vegan and oil-free. You'll have to scan a lot of labels, unfortunately.
Yogurt
I'm not a huge yogurt person (I never was) but when I need yogurt, I'll buy whatever is available, or I'll make it myself (recipe in EHH). Off the top of my head, there's Amande, Almond Dream, Silk, Whole Soy & Co., and So Delicious. Trader Joe's has a generic brand as well. There are a ton of them now; I'm sure I'm not listing several brands. In Europe, the brand I used was Alpro.
Vegan Cheese
I don't use/eat vegan cheese since they contain oil and are so processed. I make my own "cheese" from scratch (hence all the recipes in my book!) There are many different brands to pick from if that's your thing. Just from what I see on Twitter and Instagram,Daiya seems to be the most popular. I thinkTrader Joe's has their own brand now too. Check out my post, How to Give up Cheese for a long list of brands and suggestions.
Garam Masala
I buy the generic spice from a bulk spice store. Any supermarket should have it, or you can order it online. It's just a blend of other spices, so you can mix it up yourself, too (google for a recipe).
Canned Tomatoes
Generic. No salt added whenever possible.
Toothpaste
Canned Pumpkin
Generic.
Vanilla Extract
Generic. (But I will only use McCormick Almond extract).
Spices
I like Target's generic brand and Badia. I buy a lot of generic or in bulk from spice stores (or online). A lot of people like Penzeys.
Chickpea Flour
I buy it in bulk. Bob's Red Mill garbanzo bean flour is in every supermarket I've ever walked into (even in really small towns). It's called besan at Indian grocers.
Beans
I buy dry and/or generic, no salt whenever possible if I buy cans.
Non-Dairy Milk
All over the board. Pretty much whatever is cheapest.
Hummus
I make my own. There are some oil-free brands, however. Check the previous brands post for a list. My recipe for hummus is in HHA.
Flour
Generic mostly, but I like King Arthur white whole-wheat flour, too. and Bob's Red Mill for pastry. I will only use white whole-wheat or whole-wheat pastry. To learn more about flours, see my big baking post.
Tempeh
Except for Trader Joe's "generic," I've only seen one brand of Tempeh. I think it's called Lightlife (we don't buy much tempeh).
Wine/Coffee/Tea
Don't drink those :)
Dr. McDougall also has a list on his website, so take a look at that one too.
If I missed anything, leave a comment and I'll respond :)
And don't forget to check out the other brands post!!
