Groceries

There is a health food store in Belize City, The Health Store. Karen carries brown rice, quinoa, and all kind os other organic grains, nuts and seeds. Along with teas, vitamins and supplements. Karen has a Facebook page "The Health Store".
Ultimate Herbal Health in Belmopan carries more supplements/soaps/essential oils/vitamins.
Since we live close to Spanish Lookout we get most of our grains/flours/herbs/teas at Reimers.

La Ruta Maya River Challenge has a Facebook page as well. I'm sure if you post on that page someone will come up with something. The race is getting bigger every year. It's a spectacular route, and spectators travel along all three legs right to the finish in Belize City.

There are some pretty good bakeries throughout the country. We get our whole, multi grain and other breads and baked goodies from Claudia at Vanilla Hills in San Ignacio.

We are lucky to be only minutes away from Sol Farms in Teakettle. All organic seasonal veggies.
Very reasonably priced and usually picked as we wait.

Market days in San Ignacio are on Saturdays. I get my yogurt from a Mennonite Family in Barton Creek. Besides all the produce, there are lots of vendors with all kinds of preserves, baking, honey, spices. Even on non market days there are vendors open every day.

I'll have to get used to the size of Belize! Any time you talk about driving from one city to another in Texas - you're talking about a DRIVE! Seems funny to hear you talk about driving to these other cities, even though I imagine you don't do it lightly and plan ahead to pick up things in bulk!

Thanks for the quick reply.

Ned

Thanks Briggette for the recommendations. More places for us to go visit. 

Ned, though Belize is certainly much smaller (especially for us western Canadians where 6 hours is not a long drive at all. Staying on the major highways does get you to places around the country 'quickly', but get off of these and then things really slow down (20MPH with a good 4x4 suspension). I like it that way, it keeps a lot of people away that don't like the rough roads, and independent life.

Something else to think about - trade in the trusty Toyota Matrix for some sort of 4x4 I guess.

Hi Ned
Although you can get most things if you look around and are willing to travel and stock pile when you do find something, you may find that your local shops generally don't always  have what you need or want.
It does depend on the area you live in. If you live in Belize City you won't have a problem, most things are available all the time. I live in Corozal which is a little different.

White rice and beans is the staple food in the country,  but brown rice is hard to find.
Brown/whole wheat bread is hard to find. Tacos/nachos are the local preference and are readily available.
Quinoa is hard to find. But you can get oatmeal in most places and all kinds of beans.
The grocery stores in San Ignacio and Placencia and of course Belize City seem to have more "North American" choices than in Corozal.
Going to 5 or 6 stores to do your grocery shopping is not unusual. It is something like a treasure hunt.
Fresh fruits and veggies are plentiful, but seasonal. You may go weeks/months without finding some items.  You shop for these at the local markets, every town has one. Get your dry goods and some meat from the grocery stores.  There are also specific stores to get your chicken and then there are other  butchers for pork/beef.
If you have a preference for specific spices - you may want to bring it with you. Don't worry about hot sauces - there are plenty here - some of the best actually.

If we want something that we can't find you do have some options - we can ask the local store owner to bring it in for you - or we can travel to Belize City to find it there or if you are in Corozal, you can cross over into Mexico and shop in Chetumal.

Hope this info helps.

white rock.   after much research, I concluded that for us the best vehicle would be a 4 cylinder pick up.  One can buy a diesel KIA 4 passenger pick up here in Belize (be prepared for sticker shock)

Repairs of sexy computerized cars will be more difficult here.  Gas is very high here.  duty on imported cars varies from too much to truly outrageous.  the suspension will be wrecked bad, often by the potholes.  Electrical systems are worn from the constant jostling and humidity.  We kept our small suv and shipped it.  I have a friend here in Corozal, who is driving a 20 yr old Ford Expedition & has lived here 7 years.

Doesn't sound like a 2006 Toyota would be too difficult for them to handle. And, there's always Chetumal for big repairs, I suppose.

Thanks to all for the info.

Ned