Often when I post a recipe, I get a message or two from people asking where to buy certain ingredients or lamenting about having to order something in order to make one of my recipes.

I just want to let you know I hear you! You might notice that these days I am giving more and more local suggestions to replace special orders in my recipes. I still use the special order items, however, because a lot of times the nutritionals on them are simply better than what I can find in my local store.

From my perspective, it’s my job to make the healthiest and tastiest variation of a dish possible so that you can have a starting point. From there, you all can play with your food and come up with a version that works best for you!

Keeping that in mind, I put together a short list of a few things you might order to be able to make Bariatric Foodie recipes, as-is, right away. Click on any of the links or images to go to where you can order. In the interest of full disclosure I’ll tell you that when you DO order you keep the good recipes and reviews coming as a portion of your orders benefit the blog.

In no particular order:

Any Whey Unflavored Protein Powder

I use this stuff a lot. A LOT. Why? Well it isn’t 100% absolutely unflavored (it is whey after all) but the flavor is so mild it is covered by nearly anything. As an added bonus it is optimized for cooking. That means you can put it directly into cooking food (like soups, stews or you can bake with it) and won’t get nasty clumps. With the exception of baked goods, you should add the powder as a last step in your cooking (mostly to keep the unflavored benefit but also because, while it doesn’t really clump it can affect the texture of whatever you are making).

Atkins Baking Mix

This is a nifty product if I do say so myself. It comes with the perfect balance of low-carb flour (soy based), baking powder, salt, etc. So all you have to do is add a little fat and, if desired, a leavening agent and you are good to go with biscuits, pancakes and a lot more. One serving of the stuff has 20g of protein! It’s a carb you can feel good about eating!

Carbquik

Carbquik is like Atkins Baking Mix…but not. The emphasis for “CQ” is the low-carb part. So there isn’t much protein per serving but there IS a lot of fiber. The base for this is carbalose flour which is formulated to be high in fiber and also some other variations of carbs that your body simply cannot digest. CQ has a bit of a twangy taste (versus Atkins which has a bit of a twangy aroma), so that takes some working around. All my recipes make accommodations for that.

Decaffeinated Instant Espresso

For newbies especially, anytime I post a kind of “Click Frapp” I post a decaf version using this stuff. You could use decaf coffee, yes, but there is a distinct difference between coffee and the flavor of espresso. Espresso brings it “there” with the Frapp taste and takes your drink from an everyday shake to an experience!

Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)



If you’re going “huh?” then click here. I use TVP in many recipes to either boost the protein count or bulk it up for the fam. Although clicking the link will take you to where you can buy this, it is carried in many stores in the health food section (check for the brand name “Bob’s Red Mill”). Go check and see if yours has it!

If you invest in these five ingredients…a world of Bariatric Foodie recipes will magically open up to you!