You get me.
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This one! I don’t camp, but I love this soup. And it fits, right? Dry soup?
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That looks delicious!
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It’s so good. Now I want that for dinner but I’m not sure I have any. Need a restock!
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Misen is having a big sale if anyone is looking for cookware!
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It’s getting cooler out! And that has reignited my kitchen passion. I enjoy cooking most of the time but I get a bit simpler in the hot weather. Now I want to do alllll the cooking and baking.
I think I’ve also tried all the expensive substitutes I’m prepared to try for my new diet. My conclusion is that I prefer to go without substitutes in a lot of cases but that I’ll occasionally use things (mostly sandwich bread from Base Culture and Pasta from Cappellos- maybe the occasional kite hill cream cheese). I’ve also concluded that Sprouts is not for me on a regular basis. It is so overpriced in my opinion. And I was trying to not mind because we can technically afford it. Like, paying far more for groceries won’t hugely impact us but it’s honestly not worth it to me! I would rather do one off trips to Sprouts or Whole Foods when I want some weird no grain pasta or whatever and go back to Aldi and our local produce shop for weekly shops. I’ve still been doing HMart and Costco every few months too, so those are in the rotation already. If I can get on a schedule with my specialty items too I think that will be better for me. I’d also like to add Patel Brothers into the mix because I’ve been purchasing Indian stuff online and I’d rather do it in person. I’m undecided on if I want to make an actual schedule or just do it as needed.
For those who are not shoppers of any of these stores, here’s a good comparison: my latest Sprouts weekly shop was $244. This week’s Aldi shop was $172. I’d rather do something fun with the difference…like buy spices 
hahaha.
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Good call. I miss Aldi sooooo much; even when prices overall were high it was such a huge savings over the main grocery chains. Counting down until ours opens here (which will be in the same suburb where most of the big chains are, so it’ll be a drive but we can bundle that with trips to Target and TJ’s and the huge liquor store).
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I can’t wait for Fall to arrive here so I can be motivated to cook and bake again! I’m getting really tired of summer salads, grilled food and yogurt bowls and ready for some soups and roasted veggies. Butttt not until it’s under 100 regularly 
That chicken looks incredible!!
I tend to agree about substitutions for foods. When I had a lot of food restrictions that were long term, I mostly just avoided foods that contained those ingredients, but I didn’t replace with a ton of gf/df/vegan options. I mean, I definitely tried them all, haha, but for my every day eating I found it easier to just make foods that didn’t contain those ingredients vs. having gf toast every day with df butter or something.
Sprouts has gotten so expensive. I think back to the days when I first moved to Colorado, and Sprouts was still like a smaller store, mainly produce. It was SO cheap, I remember getting like, 2 for $1.00 pineapples and 50 cents a pound apples. And the bulk bins used to be an amazing deal too! Now it has become another Whole Foods with mostly specialty foods and it’s a hard place to do like a full grocery shop because normal items are way overpriced. They still have good produce deals every week, but not worth the extra trip anymore.
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Saaaaaame. I miss baking. And canning! Not that any produce is cheap enough right now to buy in jam quantities. But I do not want to do that in the heat.
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I feel the same way about substitutes. I’ll use them when I have a CRAVING and then it’s a special treat.
I have found I prefer to work around restrictions when able instead of replace. After 5 years of dairy free it’s easier for me to not include any. I know you have a much longer list of foods you cannot have so I think it’s a great idea to find the substitutes you love and keep them around.
Some of the dairy free substitutes are just bad so it can be much better to just not have them lol.
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This is exactly how I feel about Sprouts. It used to be the only place I shopped but all of the packaged or staple items are just so much more expensive and I don’t have the time to go to multiple grocery stores. At the beginning of August I went to Sprouts for the first time in 6 months, just because Ry was craving some of their treats that we can’t find anywhere else (like the giant cinnamon gummy bears).
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Mmm I love the giant cinnamon bears!! Also their trail mix selection is great as well. Sprouts has become like Trader Joes for me…novelty items that I don’t need and I only go there when I want to spend $50 on snacks, haha
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Yes! The Santa Fe trail mix is Ry’s favorite
My husband had a rough work day so I made him surprise onion rings! First time making them but he said they were really good. AIR FYER Y’ALL. Join the revolution.
Other cooking lately:
Can you tell I was cleaning out my fridge? And tonight the earnest camp prepping begins! 
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What did you use for the batter on onion rings???
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Egg and then a mix of flour and pork rind crumbles. Since it was for dh I just used regular flour!
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The camping pile is ready and we leave tomorrow! Some people who will remain nameless think it’s just a fun obstacle course.
I prepped all the food too, so I can relax the rest of the night. All I have to do tomorrow morning is get myself ready, make us breakfast, pack my bathroom things, and load the coolers! 
I also did all the laundry and dh cleaned so we’ll come back to a nice environment. And then we can do all the camping cleanup, haha! This will be our first vacation in 4 years so I’m really excited.
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Enjoy your vacation!
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Thank you!