Low Carb Shopping in NJ

[scott123]

I am looking for the following items, preferably in Northern NJ:

Sugar free honey

Heinz 1 carb ketchup

Wheat Protein Isolate

Fresh Almond flour

Splenda sweetened tonic water

Corn bran

Cream Powder (for making milk chocolate)

Erythritol

Maltitol

Hazelnut butter

Sugar free nutella

Fresh flax seed (whole foods was rancid)

Sheet gelatin

According to other forums I frequent, Walmart is supposed to carry these products. I've called every Walmart in the state without any luck. Whole foods was also not much help either. Although most of the things on this list can be found online, I'm hoping to avoid shipping charges by finding it locally.

Also, if you have any sources for other low carb products that you use and enjoy, please share.

[jhlurie]

None of the following is very specific to NJ, but... there's always mail order.

Erythritol is usually an ingredient, not a product in of itself, isn't it? Thanks to Google, here's at least one example of it being packaged in bulk though (apparently it CAN be used in baking).

Here's the same with Maltitol.

Hazelnut butter I've seen at Whole Foods, in NJ and elsewhere.

I don't know about Tonic Water, but I've frequently seen "normal" flavored waters with Splenda (the Veryfine Fruit2O line), as well as several soda brands (Diet Rite seems to be the easiest to find). Both brands are sold locally--Diet Rite seems to be in several local chains (according to the Diet Rite website, you can call (800) 696-5891 to find specific stores) and Fruit2O is in the CVS chain (and they have a store locator on their website).

I know Splenda flavored syrups can be bought as well, so if you have your own seltzer making machine...

[Rosie]

We were in Westwood recently and there was a low carbo shop.

[jo-mel]

Trader Joe? There are several in N.NJ -- Florham Park, Wayne, Westwood. I've never been to one ---yet ---- but they are big with the South Beach, good carb people.

[mags]

Some of the stuff on your list should be available in good grocery stores -- the sugar-free Nutella (which is actually called Twist), the low-carb tonic, the Heinz ketchup, the sheet gelatin (although that's really a "gourmet" item in the U.S.), and the flax seeds, which you'll probably need to get at a good health food store (do be aware that their nutritional benefits require that the seeds be ground into meal -- and it's a good idea to keep either the meal or the seeds in the fridge).

A number of the items on your list, though, are highly specialized, and unlikely to be available in any but the best-stocked low-carb stores, if there. I'm thinking particularly of the wheat protein isolate (there are only two sources for it, that I know of), the erythritol, the corn bran (really good health food store might carry this), the Maltitol (sold in both powdered and "honey" form -- I think that's the "sugar-free honey" you mention -- under the Steel's label), and the cream powder (I think what you're talking about is sold under the Expert Foods label).

You look like you're stocking up, and many of the online low-carb retailers wave shipping on shipments over a certain amount, typically $100. For some of the funkier items, I suspect that online is the way you'll have to go.

[ghostrider]

Last time I was in a Walmart it had the unhealthiest selection of foods I've ever seen.

Just a comment in passing, they really irked me.

Coincidentally I've been looking for a local health/natural foods store & found the following in my local Yellow Pages:

Aylward's

342 Main St.

Hackensack

201-342-1932

M-F 9:30 - 7:00

Sat 9:30 - 6:00

Surrey Int'l Natural Foods

33 Ridge Rd

North Arlington

201-991-1905

Hoping to visit Surrey this week, but got a pretty full calendar, don't know if I'll make it. I'll post about what I find whenever I do get there.

Presumably there's some overlap between health & low-carb foods these days.

[shugga]

check your local health food store.

The grocery stores seem to be carrying a lot of low carb food these days too.

[menton1]

Sugar free Honey

Seems impossible, unless it's not really honey, just some artificial product; I think you might just settle for Splenda or Equal....

[mags]

Sugar free Honey

Seems impossible, unless it's not really honey, just some artificial product; I think you might just settle for Splenda or Equal....

The Steel's product is honey-flavored maltitol syrup, with roughly the consistency of honey.

And while it's by no means my favorite artificial sweetener, it's heaps better than either Splenda or (making attractive gagging noise) Equal.

[Guest johnh91011]

The Star Ledger recently had the following link mentioned in one of their articles

http://www.leanonmelowcarbcenter.com/index.php

[scott123]

The problem with buying these things online/mail order is that no one company has all these products. The more companies I deal with, the greater the shipping cost. Add to that the fact that since I've never used these products before, I only want one of each, just in case I don't like them. So... I'm trying to find them locally.

Thanks to everyone who has recommended local sources.

[scott123]

Some of the stuff on your list should be available in good grocery stores -- the sugar-free Nutella (which is actually called Twist), the low-carb tonic, the Heinz ketchup, the sheet gelatin (although that's really a "gourmet" item in the U.S.), and the flax seeds, which you'll probably need to get at a good health food store (do be aware that their nutritional benefits require that the seeds be ground into meal -- and it's a good idea to keep either the meal or the seeds in the fridge).

A number of the items on your list, though, are highly specialized, and unlikely to be available in any but the best-stocked low-carb stores, if there.  I'm thinking particularly of the wheat protein isolate (there are only two sources for it, that I know of), the erythritol, the corn bran (really good health food store might carry this), the Maltitol (sold in both powdered and "honey" form -- I think that's the "sugar-free honey" you mention -- under the Steel's label), and the cream powder (I think what you're talking about is sold under the Expert Foods label). 

You look like you're stocking up, and many of the online low-carb retailers wave shipping on shipments over a certain amount, typically $100.  For some of the funkier items, I suspect that online is the way you'll have to go.

I've searched all the good grocery stores in about a 20 mile radius and came up with nothing. Do you buy twist from a grocery store? If so, which?

Flax seeds I can get just about anywhere. Fresh flax seeds is a whole different story. Do you buy flax seeds that you're happy with? And, if so, from where?

May I enquire as to your two sources for wheat protein isolate? The only one I'm aware of, locarber.com has excessive shipping rates. Since WPI is the most difficult thing to find on my list, that's something I might bend a little on and buy online, but not at locarber.com.

Edited April 19, 2004 by scott123 (log)

[scott123]

Trader Joe?  There are several in N.NJ -- Florham Park, Wayne, Westwood. I've never been to one ---yet ---- but they are big with the South Beach, good carb people.

I just about live in the Trader Joe's in Florham Park. I've looked for flax seeds and not found them. It's possible I was looking in the wrong place. They have nothing else though.

[menton1]

I think that these exotic highly-processed ingredients are ultimately deleterious to one's health; why not just stick to the wide array of fresh veggies, low carb fresh fruits, and chicken & fish? There is enough variety here to keep one satisfied, and keeping it simple also helps!

[Cook456]

I agree. It should be about making eating habits healthy ones. A diet that includes all these fake foods, can't be healthy.

Stick to the basics: good complex carbs, fruits, veggies, chicken and fish.

[mags]

Some of the stuff on your list should be available in good grocery stores -- the sugar-free Nutella (which is actually called Twist), the low-carb tonic, the Heinz ketchup, the sheet gelatin (although that's really a "gourmet" item in the U.S.), and the flax seeds, which you'll probably need to get at a good health food store (do be aware that their nutritional benefits require that the seeds be ground into meal -- and it's a good idea to keep either the meal or the seeds in the fridge).

A number of the items on your list, though, are highly specialized, and unlikely to be available in any but the best-stocked low-carb stores, if there.  I'm thinking particularly of the wheat protein isolate (there are only two sources for it, that I know of), the erythritol, the corn bran (really good health food store might carry this), the Maltitol (sold in both powdered and "honey" form -- I think that's the "sugar-free honey" you mention -- under the Steel's label), and the cream powder (I think what you're talking about is sold under the Expert Foods label). 

You look like you're stocking up, and many of the online low-carb retailers wave shipping on shipments over a certain amount, typically $100.  For some of the funkier items, I suspect that online is the way you'll have to go.

I've searched all the good grocery stores in about a 20 mile radius and came up with nothing. Do you buy twist from a grocery store? If so, which?

Flax seeds I can get just about anywhere. Fresh flax seeds is a whole different story. Do you buy flax seeds that you're happy with? And, if so, from where?

May I enquire as to your two sources for wheat protein isolate? The only one I'm aware of, locarber.com has excessive shipping rates. Since WPI is the most difficult thing to find on my list, that's something I might bend a little on and buy online, but not at locarber.com.

Twist is available at my local (shudder) Gristedes. I bought flax meal -- pre-ground -- at my local healthfood store about a year ago, and I store it in the fridge; I haven't had any problem with rancidity. The wheat protein isolate I bought does come from locarber (she will reduce shipping rates if you order in quantity); I know there's another source out there, though do be aware that most recipes you find that are written to include WPI are written for the locarber version, and may not work as well with the other brand. (I don't know the outher source offhand, but can find it for you.)

A couple of side-notes. First, and particularly if you're new to low-carbing, I really would steer clear of products like Twist. It's sweetened with sugar alcohols, and there are a couple of problems with them. First, "excessive consumption" can cause what manufacturers daintily call a "laxative effect," which you might want to translate as explosive hours in the bathroom and being completely unfit for human companionship for quite a while. It's neither pretty nor fun, and nobody seems real sure what "excessive" means in this regard. The other problem with sugar alcohols is that, while manufacturers are blithely behaving as though they don't metabolize at all, there seems to be pretty clear evidence that, in fact, they DO metabolize to some extent; the FDA looks likely to rule, fairly soon, that 50% of a product's sugar-alcohol load must be counted, on the nutriitional label, toward its "net carbohydrate" count. In other words, products like Twist can kill your weight-loss efforts.

In response to a couple of other folks, I'm a big believer in the notion that healthy eating of whatever sort involves a minimum of packaged products. But merely because some of the products on scott123's list are somewhat unfamiliar does not make them "fake" -- or, at least, not any more "fake" than regular, non-low-carb versions of the same stuff. What's "fake" about wheat protein isolate or corn bran or powdered cream? They may not be on your shopping lists, but that doesn't make them unhealthy.

I think manufacturers have done dieters and the entire population a serious disservice by bringing out so many packaged LC products. They can torpedo weight loss, they are all-too-often considerably higher in both carbohydrates and calories than labels indicate (and yup, I've got the lab stats to back this up), and they help people maintain lousy eating habits rather than creating new, healthier ones. But if you assume that people who are eating LC are as capable as the rest of us of, say, using ketchup sparingly, why shouldn't they have a sugar-free version available?

I'm not at all singling out people in this thread, but it does seem to me as though the gen pop has this sense that either one "should" eat the standard American diet, including bread made with white flour and desserts sweetened with sugar, or one "should" be on a regime of steamed broccoli and chicken breast. It's as though we're supposed to suffer for our thinner thighs, and the unspoken Puritanism really ticks me off.

[scott123]

A couple of side-notes.  First, and particularly if you're new to low-carbing, I really would steer clear of products like Twist.  It's sweetened with sugar alcohols, and there are a couple of problems with them.  First, "excessive consumption" can cause what manufacturers daintily call a "laxative effect," which you might want to translate as explosive hours in the bathroom and being completely unfit for human companionship for quite a while.  It's neither pretty nor fun, and nobody seems real sure what "excessive" means in this regard.  The other problem with sugar alcohols is that, while manufacturers are blithely behaving as though they don't metabolize at all, there seems to be pretty clear evidence that, in fact, they DO metabolize to some extent; the FDA looks likely to rule, fairly soon, that 50% of a product's sugar-alcohol load must be counted, on the nutriitional label, toward its "net carbohydrate" count.  In other words, products like Twist can kill your weight-loss efforts.

I seem to be okay with polyols, both from a perspective of digestion and weight loss. I am careful to keep my intake to a minimum, though, and rarely consume them more than twice a week.

And as far as eating plenty of unprocessed foods, I do. Everything on the list relating to artificial sweeteners I use on a restricted basis. The rest of the items (almond flour, corn bran, wpi, hazelnut butter, and flax seed) are, imo, relatively unprocessed foods. Those I plan on consuming regularly.