Grocer Swap?

So for the past 3 or so consecutive nights, I've had dreams of being a vegan. Last night's adventure included eating the best red beans & rice ever known to man. I was SO excited that something so ordinary could taste so amazing. Come to find out, the lady who was making them for everyone was arrested. Why? For enhancing the recipe with marijuana. Ugh, you can't win them all.

This was my first week actually shopping at three different grocery stores. Wednesday, I hit up Walmart for some basic re-stocking. Today I went to Aldi (the staple in my budget) and then Woodman's for all the "weird" stuff like bulgar, oat flour, cereal without sugar or additives, soy yogurt, nutritional yeast. I think I may be needing to make the switch to just Woodman's & Aldi. *deep breaths* Change is good. Change is good. . .

Some of Woodman's prices are definitely better than Walmart's. Overall, prices are pretty comparable. It's just hard to muster up desire to shop somewhere completely foreign. I feel like a tourist walking all slowly, squinting at the aisle-description signs. Grocery shopping (especially with wee ones) is laborious enough when I know where EVERY item in the store is located. This "new" thing is for the birds.

And does anyone know what's up with their mini carts? Who can fit more than 2 days worth of food in those things? And am I the only mom on the planet with a baby who thinks her purpose in life is to shift every item (within reach) from the basket to the floor? I seriously doubt it. With these carts, every item is within reach! Who product tests these things? Worst.Design.Ever. Rant complete.

I should just be thankful we even have Woodman's. This fast would be significantly more difficult if we were trying to do this with the stock on Walmart's and Aldi's shelves. Ness did go to the co-op today and said it's like hippie-ingredient heaven (not an exact quote). Apparently I'll have to be checking that out some time. Hopefully their hemp products don't get me arrested. Yes, vegans eat "hemp" stuff. It was news to me too.