Hear me crunch

Yup - I'm crunchy! Well, not really. I just pretended for the day. I went shopping at a local health nut store. They almost didn't let me in because I didn't carry in a reusable grocery bag. Well, again, not really. But I felt very guilty! And the sign by the checkout register said that to help them keep their costs down I should use my debit rather than my credit card. Suddenly I felt very self-serving for trying to rack up rewards by using my card as often as possible. Those tree-huggers sure know how to tug at your conscience!
I went to check out their bulk section where you can, I had heard, find great deals on spices and such. I was trying to make up some mixes from the the Hillbilly Housewife's website and it called for freeze dried veggies. Now you can buy these online but it was definitely preferable to be able to buy smaller amounts locally and not pay S&H. I was also out of TVP so off I went! I came back with the ingredients to make all kinds of awesome mixes: ricearoni type, pilaf, burritos, granola bars, etc. Very fun! Plus I picked up tumeric and lemon and orange peel - because I absolutely never have lemons and oranges at my house. I am tired of shying away from all of the recipes that call for them so now I am prepared! And for cheap!
OK, back to my fave Hillbilly. I printed off a lot of her recipes and am very excited to try them out! I made the veggie rice with currywurst tonight and it was really good! And if you haven't tried out her Magic Milkshakes please do! They are seriously just like Wendy's frosties - I kid you not. And you can use 1/2 tsp. lecithin if you have it instead of the cooking spray (as an emulsifier - your shake will not turn out if you don't use it!). And be sure not to measure the lecithin in a measuring spoon and expect it to come off. Nope. Not even in the Pots and Pans cycle on your dishwasher. Not gonna happen. You're gonna have to wash that puppy by hand. Or better yet just approximate it and pour it from the bottle. :)