Don't miss my handy Guide to everyday low carb shopping and prepping

While I do my best to limit the number of 'specialty' ingredients that I call for in my recipes, there are a few indispensable ingredients needed in every low carb kitchen. Once you pick up these few items that I call for consistently, you'll be ready to make every recipe in my cookbooks without worrying that you'll need to buy something new with every page turn. (There are many more low carb ingredients out there on the market, to be sure, more every day, but I find it MUCH easier overall to stick to just those few that I consider tried and true.) 

To be successful at any eating plan, you need to ENJOY your food and not allow yourself to become bored. If you can't find an ingredient that I call for in a local store, it's always available online.  Many times, it is cheaper to order online and have it delivered than than it is to waste time hunting for it, anyway - so, here are some recommended sources (all vendors whom I actually shop with myself and can therefore recommend to you without reservation.)

Most of these links go directly to the product being discussed.

Low Carb Ingredient	Volume I	Volume II	Recommended Sources/Brands
Soy flour	Called for in a few of the lowest carb baked goods, but there is a soy-free bake mix option as well, so you may not even need it.	Nope! Did away with it altogether in this book	Easily found in grocery and health food stores. Goes rancid easily - best stored refrigerated or frozen, as are foods made with it.
Protein Isolate	Soy isolate is recommended for lowest carbs and best texture, but that's just my opinion. You can also use wheat isolate or plain whey protein powder instead of plain whey isolate.		soy: Naturade 100% soy protein booster NOW Foods Soy Protein Isolate whey: Designer Protein natural flavor NOW Foods Whey Protein Isolate
Protein Powder	Vanilla is called for in some baked goods in both editions and is better known as shake mix. Chocolate shake mix is called for in some recipes, too. Powders with a mix of soy, whey, and egg protein in them seem to work best as a general rule. Whey-only powders can result in a dryer texture. **Many of the mixed-source protein powders have disappeared - I recommend blending a whey-based with a soy-based powder for better results than using just either type alone - that's how I do it. What really matters: Isolates should be zero-carb. Protein powders (shake mixes) are calculated in the cookbooks as having 6 carbs per cup (on labels, typically expressed as 2 carbs per scoop).  Keep in mind that if you bake up something with the texture of a tennis ball, a different brand of protein powder may be the simple cure. I am sure many brands work well besides those I have listed, and many others do not - experimentation is the only sure way to find out and I can only do so much of that myself.		EAS 100% Protein whey-based protein powder can usually be found at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, etc.  Designer Protein whey-based protein powder is more easily found online or places like GNC. Universal Nutrition's Doctor's CarbRite Diet Smoothie is one of the only still-available mixed-protein source powders I know of.
Nuts, nut meals, nut butters, unsweetened grated coconut, and seeds (including flax)	Called for in both editions, although Volume II does include a nut-free bake mix and both editions include recipes that don't call for nuts. Plan on keeping all nut meals refrigerated or frozen as they will go rancid in warm/moist weather, as will soy flour. See my "Almond Flour TLC" for instruction on making your own. Nut meals, also referred to as nut flours, are generally interchangeable in recipes. I use walnut and pecans meals often, for variety. I also keep hulled, unsalted sunflower and pumpkin seeds on hand, along with roasted almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and macadamias. Recipes which call for nuts in my books generally call for whichever nut you prefer, then include nutritional data for the first listed recommendation - so it is probably best to just stock up on the types of nuts and seeds YOU prefer.		Almond and flax seed meal can both be purchased from Netrition and Low Carb Connoissuer, and most health, bulk, and natural food stores as well.  I buy lots of whole nuts and unsweetened coconut from The Nut Factory,
ThickenThin NotStarch and NotSugar,  or guar gum	Indispensable for low carb thickening, I call for NotStarch in many sauces, casseroles, and condiments, and provide some general guidelines in the Intro for substituting guar gum instead.  ThickenThin Notsugar is called for in the lemon meringue and chocolate pies in Volume I. I have substituted Notstarch in both recipes and it does work, but is not recommended as optimal.	Either guar gum or NotStarch is called for interchangeably in many recipes, but I do recommend using the NotStarch, because it is much easier to work with. Guar gum is much, much more likely to clump! You can try xanthan gum, but I can only test so many things, so I can't give good recommendations on that substitution ratio.	All the Expert Foods products are available from Netrition, and The Low Carb Connoisseur, and are fairly pricey, but the NotStarch is definitely worth it!
Splenda granular	Must-have ingredient for both books - almost all recipes can be easily converted to use Fiberfit instead, however. If you prefer another sweetener, you can probably convert that successfully, too. I specify granular Splenda in all my sweet recipes because it is easiest to find - I use Fiberfit in all of my own cooking instead, because it is my preference and because it results in lower carbs with more fiber to mitigate the impact of the carbs that are left.
Maltitol powder and syrup Maltitol-sweetened chocolate	I call for these products only when needed for successful outcome of  recipes that rely on their ability to caramelize. Very limited call in Volume I, and occasional call in Volume II recipes. You can probably substitute maltitol crystals for powder, but I choose to limit my own use to the powdered and syrup forms exclusively. As far as maltitol-sweetened chocolate bars, I do call for those in a few dessert recipes, usually chopped, but you can find them almost EVERYWHERE these days!		Steel's Gourmet Nature Sweet maltitol powdered and syrup available from Low Carb Connoissuer and Netrition. I buy my own maltitol products exclusively from Hauser Chocolates in gratitude for their help making sense of maltitol product labels (don't EVEN look at the Steel's labels, they will just confuse you!).
whole grain oat, wheat, barley and rye flours or pumpernickel meal	oat and whole wheat called for in bake mixes and asst. baked goods	All varieties called for in various bread recipes and baked goods.	Netrition now carries almost everything you'll need in this category, and King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill are other good sources for whole grain products. I buy lots of my own whole grain flours, especially the pumpernickel meal for Vol. 2 heary Rye bread, from Granary Bulk Foods.
vital wheat gluten	Called for a lot in both editions. If you are allergic to wheat, do not buy my book for the baked goods recipes!		Check the grocery or health food stores - not always called "vital", this is never 0-carb -  more like 24 carbs per cup.
Sugar free syrups and flavoring extracts	I call for 0-carb syrups a lot, and usually recommend one flavor but say you can really use whatever you like. My favorites include vanilla, french vanilla, chocolate, white chocolate, cherry, raspberry,  and banana. Pineapple and coconut syrups and extracts always come in handy if you like those flavors- if not, you probably won't be making those recipes that call for them, anyway.		DaVinci Gourmet syrups cheap from Netrition! Some flavors also available at Super WalMarts, etc. Natures Flavors syrups and flavors available direct. Other brands out there - do NOT use one with aspartame in cooked recipes.
unsweetened dried fruits	Called for very rarely in Volume I and occasionally in Volume II.		Health food, bulk, and natural food stores. Make your own with a food dehydrator. Just Tomatoes sells lots of plain dried fruits and vegetables.
sugar free pie filling	Called for just in the Cherry Cordial recipe, and not a bad thing to have on hand for special occasions		Lucky Leaf and Wilderness brands often found in Super Wal-Marts or grocery stores.
powdered eggs	Called for in Volume II Bake Mix - can substitute powdered egg whites if you really have to		Check health foods stores and camping supply places, etc. for dried whole egg - I buy mine from Granary Bulk Foods. Netrition carries egg white powder.
powdered whole milk	Called for very occasionally in Volume II baked goods/breads. Can substitute non-fat dry milk if you must.		I buy mine from Wal-Mart! It comes in a yellow can with Spanish writing on the label and is found next to the powdered buttermilk (which you should NEVER use for anything, especially my dressing recipes - fresh buttermilk is both cheap and plentiful!! Always buy the richest (thickest) buttermilk you can find.)
That's about it, (plenty, I'm sure), but I did try to keep the "specialty" items to a minimum, as much as possible.... Don't panic, there are LOTS of things in the book that you can make with the ingredients that are probably in your kitchen right now. I just want you to be prepared, in case it's the "Fakes" that you are looking forward to making the most.
Great low-carb convenience products I both use and recommend:  Da Vinci Gourmet syrups, Dual Tab Multi-Vitamins (as recommended by the Drs. Eades in Protein Power), ThickenThin Notstarch (for delicious lump-free gravies, sauces, and more!) Naturade soy protein isolate, NOW Foods Soy Protein Isolate, Designer Protein natural flavor whey, EAS 100% Protein whey, and my all-time favorite and "secret weapon", Fiberfit Liquid Sweetened Fiber made with sucralose (the sweetener in Splenda)