I buy Giuseppe Giusti balsamic vinegar as a treat. California Balsamics are also worth the splurge - They are so delicious and are a delicious alternative to salad dressings.

Braggs Fat-Free Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing is Ignite-friendly. Make sure you get the oil-free one - the labels are hard to tell apart. You can always doctor it up by adding fresh herbs and dijon mustard.

Because there are so few Ignited oil-free dressings on the market, we recommend you make your own (it’s easier than you think, and there are many recipes under Recipes & Meal Prep). But in a pinch, you could order a couple of Dr. Furhman’s dressings. Or if you look carefully, there are new brands coming up that carry a couple of oil-free offerings. I love Cindy's Kitchen Almond Sesame Ginger.

I don't recommend mayo because it always contains oil (even if vegan). And many of the vegan mayos contain a lot of unhealthy additives. That being said, if you want to have a "healthier" version (and trust me, I've been looking), you could try Fabalish, which is made with aquafaba. It does contain oil, and so you are getting 11 grams of fat per tbsp. So, if you do decide to use it,  best to go with a "schmear"  (a tsp), once in a while - especially if weight release is one of your top goals.

We recommend you stock up on a delicious BBQ sauce. We use it to marinate and bake tofu and tempeh, and it's tasty drizzled over a baked sweet potato, SouthWest salad, etc. Our favorite choices are Robbie's  and Date Lady.

We don’t recommend cooking with oil on Ignite. However, I recommend The Algae cooking club oil if you need a little oil to stop foods from sticking in the pan. It's expensive, but you will use a tiny amount, so your bottle will last for months. If using, pour a tsp into the bottom of your skillet, and use a paper towel to spread it around and coat the bottom of your pan.

If you are NOT on a journey to release weight and your LDL cholesterol is under 100 mg/dl, you may use a little  bit of organic, cold-pressed olive oil. Be careful that the oil you purchase is the real deal. Many oils that boast the "cold-pressed, extra virgin" label are not as they say: they may be adulterated with a mix of cheaper oils. So choose your brand carefully. Generally, EVOOs produced in CA are of better quality because of the stricter standards. My top choice for oils containing high polyphenol content (if you live in the U.S.) is California Olive Ranch (100% California).

We want you to de-flour your diet as much as possible for weight loss. This program allows Crackers and bread in moderation; however, they must be sugar- and oil-free. Ignite-friendly Sourdough options only have four ingredients: whole grain, flour, starter (or yeast), and salt.
And we like Food for Life Ezekiel Bread.  Food For Life also has great pita pockets, hamburger buns, and cereal. They are higher in protein than most breads. You can look for other brands - just search for a  "flourless" sprouted grain bread.  It's well worth ordering breads from Manna Organics - they are so delicious!

If you are looking for a gluten-free bread, be careful as most gluten-free breads contain highly refined flours and milk powders, etc. There is one exception that I love: Pacha bread, which you can order online or find in the freezer section of many health stores, including Whole Foods Market.

Let's talk crackers! Most crackers in the store are not ignite-friendly, but  Wasa Sourdough and Finn Crackers. Lundberg's Thin Stackers are excellent choices. If you live near Trader Joe's, I like the TJ's Norwegian Crackers - they contain a little oil and salt but will within the bounds of what I consider acceptable.

Please stock up on dried barberries on your Ignite Boost-up ingredient list (in Module 2).

I love dried mushrooms for flavoring stews, soups, pasta, etc. Chanterelles are very rich in immune-boosting compounds.

Look for sundried tomatoes that are not packed in oil. Trader Joe's carries bags of great sundried tomatoes that you simply rehydrate in water. There are other markets where you can find sun-dried tomatoes NOT packed in oil.

If you want to use a jam or jelly to spread on a slice of ignite-friendly toast (no butter or vegan spread please!), I have 2 great recommendations: Healthy Crunch Chia Jams are delicious. You can also add a dollop to oatmeal or a plant-based yogurt. I also love Eden Foods Cherry Apple Butter.

Lentils (green, red, and black), mung beans, split peas, and beans of any variety (canned and dry) are all celebrated on Ignite. I love Eden Foods' canned lentils. All Eden foods canned beans taste amazing and are prepared with kombu to reduce gas. They are more expensive but worth the investment. But feel free to get any canned or boxed lentils or beans (look for the lowest sodium). And rinse them well.

Look for the Truroots brand for lentils, mung beans, and grains. They are sprouted, which makes them more digestible.

It’s hard to find a marinara sauce with no added ingredients. Most contain oil, sugar, and a lot of sodium, which is why we prefer to make marinara from scratch.

However, it's a great idea to have a few jars of an ignite-approved spaghetti sauce in your pantry. We love Well Your World Marinara sauce. It’s Ignite-friendly. Eden foods has a great low-sodium/low fat option. And in a pinch, a brand like Cucina Antica is a great choice.

when you are shopping, you want to look at the nutrition label (ideally 11% or less daily value for sodium, and 6% DV or less for fat. Keep in mind that store-bought sauces will either have oil or more sodium. If they remove the oil, it will have more sodium, and vice versa. While you can’t be perfect, try to be aware, and do your best.

We recommend that you eat nut butter in moderation, especially if you want to see the number go down on the scale. Adding the odd spoonful to a recipe (such as the African Peanut Butter Stew) is fine. Or a "schmear" on a date or slice of apple. Look for brands that contain ONLY the nuts with no added oils or sugar. I like Santa Cruz. And check out Crazy Richard's Peanut and Almond butters, which are glyphosphate-free certified.

If you like the taste of peanut butter (to add to smoothies and stews), I recommend grabbing a good quality peanut butter powder, which is significantly lower in calories and fat. But make sure the brand doesn't contain added sodium. I like the Sun Warrior brand.

Pasta must be whole grain. Please look for pasta made with beans and legumes, such as lentil or chickpea pasta. These are high in protein. We like Banza chickpea pasta, Only Bean Edamame Fettuccine, and Explore Cuisine Pastas. Eden Food Kamut Pasta is high in protein and is a whole grain that is great for your gut. You should be able to find many bean and legume pastas in your local grocery store. Check the protein content on the back of the package. Some of the black bean pastas contain a whopping 42 grams of protein per serving.

We love Jovial for all pasta. We love the ancient grain pasta; if you are gluten-free, they make the best brown rice pasta on the market. We highly recommend NY Sfoglini Pasta for healthy whole-grain pasta.

If you want a pasta that has a low glycemic load, we love Palmini pasta, which is made from hearts of palm. It has a delicious al dente texture and you can prepare it in under three minutes. We recommend that you top it with a protein-rich sauce such as our lentil bolognese recipe on your recipe page.

We love Bob's Red Mill steel-cut oatmeal and Bob's Red Mill High Protein Oats .  We love to use oat groats (the most intact form of the grain and so the least likely to spike blood sugar.

When you are traveling, you could pick up some gluten-free oatmeal cups. The Gluten Free Brothers cups contain 10 grams of protein per serving, and is sweetened with date sugar. We like Carrington Farms ground lupin flour to make a protein-rich porridge. Whole Foods Market has great frozen quinoa. And TruRoots has great sprouted quinoa.

Lundberg's Wild Rice is delicious and has double the protein of regular brown rice. Whole Foods Market has a delicious frozen brown rice option as well.

We love Sorghum, which you can cook in a similar way to rice. I toss mine in my InstantPot and it's ready in 30 minutes. It contains resistant starch so will significantly slow down the release of sugar into your blood. And it's gluten-free.

We recommend very few breakfast cereals because most are very high in sodium and sugar. Ezekiel Low Sodium Crunchy Cereal is an exception. We also like Plant Strong granola because it's sugar and oil free.

Look for grain-free tortillas or ones made with just two or three ingredients. I love Food For Life Tortillas, which are higher in protein and super low in sodium. Look for corn tortillas (Trader Joe's carries them) with just three ingredients (no sodium or oil).

We like Siete tortillas for making chips and an occasional treat, but they are higher in sodium.

A great way to get in your iodine-rich sea veggies is to sprinkle dulse flakes into various recipes. Kelp granules are a practical salt alternative. Eden Foods also has a great salt alternative with iodine-rich seaweed. They also carry different dried seaweeds. We recommend adding a strip of dried kombu to soups for taste and iodine (it doesn’t taste fishy!). And add a strip to the pot when cooking beans, as it helps reduce the gassiness.

You might want to nibble on toasted nori sheets for a snack. We like Gimme Snacks.

Stock up on the ground or whole flaxseed (a must), hulled hemp, sesame, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds (I want you to eat tons of them!). You can sometimes buy pre-sprouted seeds, which are delicious. I love Go Raw pumpkin seeds.

Make sure you stock up on a bag of Black Cumin seeds daily (covered in Module 2). You can buy them whole, keep them in the freezer, and grind them up in your spice grinder, a fine -grind pepper mill, or toss them in your smoothie.

If your flaxseed is a whole seed, it will be ground up in your smoothie (my preferred way to get my flax seeds to ensure maximum freshness). However, it must be ground if you stir flaxseed into oatmeal or for baking.

I use tahini in dressing, dips, and sauces. I love this squeeze bottle from Mighty Sesame Co. But the best EVER is The Tahini Goddess - well worth ordering because it's super creamy, and comes in all kinds of different flavors.

Edward & Sons Low Sodium Garden Veggie Bouillon Cubes are great; they are readily available and Ignite-friendly.

Well Your World products are Ignite-friendly. They carry oil-free dressings, gravy powder, spice mixes, hot sauces, and even a pancake mix! I highly recommend that you stock up!
Plant Strong Products are amazing pantry staples, and fully ignited. Stock up on cereals, granola, and even pancake mix (for the occasional treat).