If you’ve been used to eating a traditional Western Diet (aka “junk food”), you may not be familiar with some of the items mentioned in The MARI Method.

Believe it or not, most of the items I mention can be found at YOUR local grocery store! In fact, I find most items mentioned at my local Kroger store, but many members also report finding the items at Wal-Mart and HEB. Of course, if you are lucky and have access to a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s, they will definitely have the items I mention in recipes and throughout the MARI Method site.

If your store has a separate “health food” section (like Kroger), always look there first. And, keep in mind that you can buy MANY of these products from Amazon.com. If you order over $25 worth, Amazon has free shipping, too. Pretty convenient.

Some info on specific products*:

Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Products (Made by “Food for Life”) – Grocery store, or Amazon

The breads, muffins, buns and tortillas will be in the freezer section since they do not have preservatives. These products will keep for month’s in your fridge or freezer once you get them home. If I buy two packs, I freeze one, and keep the other in the fridge.

Ezekiel Sprouted Grains cereals and pastas are NOT frozen, so these will be on regular grocery shelf. For a wide variety, check out Amazon

NOTE: If you like a good hamburger or cheeseburger, it is worth taking the time to find the Ezekiel Bread Buns. These are AWESOME!

Coconut Flour – local health food stores, Tropical Traditions, or Amazon

You may be wondering “just what the heck is coconut flour and why would I want to use it”?!?

Coconut flour is made from the meat of coconuts. It is EXTREMELY high fiber, high protein and low glycemic which makes it a perfect choice for The MARI Method. In fact, 1/3 cup of coconut flour has 30 carbs and 27 grams of fiber, for 3 NET carbs. Flax meal and almond meal are the only other “flours” that comes close to this.

You can use it for baking breads, muffins, biscuits, pancakes, cakes, etc. It tends to be somewhat “dry”, so it works best when mixed with another flour, but I do have some recipes using only coconut flour.

If you have a Whole Foods nearby, they carry it. Also, I’ve seen it at SOME local health food stores – but not many. Otherwise, order it online from Tropical Traditions or Amazon. Just make sure that what you order is organic, and is made from 1st pressed pulp.

Almond Flour (also called Almond Meal) – grocery store, Amazon or Honeyville Farms

Almond meal makes great pancakes, brownies, pie crusts, etc.

Also great for breading chicken tenders! I use a lot of this, so I normally buy the 5 lbs pkg from Honeyville Farms since they have the best price (better than buying same product from Amazon). Make sure that whatever you buy is 100% ground almonds, and does not have anything else added to it.

Unsweetened Coconut – Tropical Traditions or some local grocery stories.

I use a lot of unsweetened coconut in cooking… flakes, chips and shredded! We especially like the larger chips in our coconut cupcakes

The best place I’ve found to buy it is Tropical Traditions. Their coconut is organic, nothing artificial added and it’s a great price. I bought the big, 1 gallon bucket first, and now I just buy the re-fill packages.

Flax Meal, Flaxseed Meal or Flaxseeds – grocery store or Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flaxseed Meal, 16-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4)

I use the meal as in muffins and breads, and mix the seeds and/or meal in my morning smoothie for more fiber and added Omega 3′s

Oat Flour – grocery store

Steel Cut Oats – grocery store or

Dreamsfield Pastas – grocery store or Dreamfields – Low Carb Pasta – Elbows

Dreamsfield pastas come in spaghetti, angel hair, penne, linguini, and lasagna. This pasta tastes like a high quality WHITE flour pasta (does not taste like whole wheat). VERY low glycemic and high fiber, so this is an excellent choice if you are a pasta lover!

Quinoa – grocery store or Arrowhead Mills Quinoa, 14-Ounce Packages (Pack of 6)

Quinoa (pronounded KEEN wa) is a great addition to your diet. It is an excellent choice to replace rice in all your menus. Quinoa is low glycemic and also high protein. It can be eaten as a side dish, or used to thicken broth for an excellent gravy.

Low Carb Tortillas – grocery store.

I used to recommend “Mission Brand”… but NOT anymore. One of my members pointed out that the list of ingredients shows hydrogenated fat! However, many brands now carry low carb tortillas. These will have between 8-12 grams of FIBER in them. Some of these taste REALLY good, and others resemble cardboard.

Here is a list of good ones to look for::

• Bakery Style Tortillas – Low Carb, Whole Wheat (made by RFP) – bakery dept at HEB These are excellent tasting!
• South Beach Multi-Grain,
• Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas,
• LaTortilla Factory green onion,
• LaBanderita Low Carb (Wal-Mart has these)

Sesame Oil – grocery store

Coconut Oil – regular stores have a refined version by Spectrum.

I do use the refined version some in stir-frying. However, I prefer the unrefined for baking and for adding to protein shakes. I get that at health food stores or order it online from a place like Tropical Traditions

Sweeteners

These are expensive, and not something you should be using every day. However, if you want to make a great, special occasion dessert, these will fool even the most discriminating tastes. These bake up just like sugar, and have not bitter after taste – AT ALL!

Palm Sugar, Coconut Palm Sugar -Some grocery stores, Health Food Store, or Amazon.

This one is low glycemic, but not as low as the other sweeteners below. However, this is a completely natural product made from evaporated coconut flower nectar. Note that anytime you see Palm sugar (coconut palm sugar) referenced in a MARI Method recipe, you can ALWAYS just substitute and equal amount of one of the other sweeteners listed below

Xylitol – Some grocery stores, Health Food Store, or Amazon

Excellent zero glycemic sweetener that bakes and freezes like sugar. Warning, can give some folks gas (but, that can keep you from eating too much of it, which can be a good thing!)

Swerve – Swerve website

This tastes, bakes and freezes EXACTLY like sugar. Plus, it does not cause gastric disturbance (gas) and is not toxic to dogs. However, it’s even more expensive than Xylitol. I keep this one for very special occasion desserts.

Xagave – Kroger carries it. You can also buy online fromAmazon.com

Agave that is processed at extremely low temps (<105º F), is USDA Organic, and Fair Trade.

Grass Fed Meats, Cheeses, etc.

Beyond Organics has super high quality grass fed meats and dairy. These are shipped directly to your home.

Non-GMO Foods

If you’d like more info on why I recommend Non-GMO foods, check this out: Why Should I Avoid GMO’s

* FDA requires that I notify you that I may receive an affiliate commission on some of the products I recommend.