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“Healthy” cookie dough falls into the same category as zucchini noodles and cauliflower crusts: lightened-up alternatives to classic (albeit carb-heavy) favorites. If you’re hopeful you won’t notice a difference in taste, you’re mistaken; try as they might, none come close to the real deal. But personally, I’ve taken a liking to spiralized veggies and cauliflower alternatives, mostly because I think of them as fun sides, not as replacements for some of my favorite foods. I was hoping if I approached healthy cookie dough with the same mindset, I might be on board with it, too.

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Confession: I am intimidated by the idea of making bread — it’s a delicate process that takes some skill. Thankfully, there are mixes out there to make bread-making easier for novices like myself, and Trader Joe’s stocks some of the most intriguing variations, including this new wonderful-sounding beer bread. Yes, beer bread. And it’s only $3. In this mix, a carbonated beverage like beer or sparkling water is added to make the dough light and airy.

I was intrigued by the idea of adding a full can of beer to bread dough. Would it add an extra dimension of flavor or would it be too boozy? I recently baked it myself to find out.

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Tamari first popped onto my radar a handful of years ago. I noticed a lot of recipes that called for soy sauce often included a note with the option to substitute tamari to make the recipe gluten-free. So, I was quick to assume that tamari was simply gluten-free soy sauce, with a more interesting name. Turns out there’s a bit more to it. Here’s what you need to know.

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There’s a lot to love about IKEA. You can get stylish, yet affordable home furnishings and decor, unique houseplants, a do-it-all bag for just $1.30, and even a full meal all within the walls of one giant store. But one perk you’re probably overlooking is the store’s loyalty card.

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At Kitchn, our editors develop and debut brand-new recipes on the site every single week. But at home, we also have our own tried-and-true dishes that we make over and over again — because quite simply? We love them. And we decided to start sharing some of our absolute favorites with you. Here’s a peek into what we’re cooking and eating in our own kitchens.

There’s something immensely satisfying about homemade bread. Although, to be honest with you, I never really felt the need to bother with it while living in New York City, with so many great bakeries at my fingertips. When I moved to Charlotte, however, things changed, and I quickly felt a carb-y void in my life.

Things quickly turned around when I finally started baking bread myself. Yet, it wasn’t until I came across this recipe for homemade sourdough focaccia that I realized I may never buy a loaf of bread again. (It’s that good.)

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Military spouses face a lot of unique challenges. Frequent relocating, long-distance relationships, and extended periods of time separated from a partner can be extraordinarily difficult, especially while trying to raise children and manage a household, often on a tight budget. Keeping a house running smoothly and everybody fed under those circumstances requires a ton of planning, forethought, and self-control. And not to generalize or anything, but that means military moms tend to be excellent at grocery shopping.

In the interest of finding out how some of the top experts shop for groceries and stick to a budget, we reached out to five military moms for their best grocery budgeting tips. Here’s what they recommend.

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Ky and Mel, two sisters from South Dakota, are attempting to crack open the space between restaurant and lifestyle brand. Their fermented food laboratory, GYST, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was probably best-known for their fermentation bar, which served things like miso caramel corn, peanut butter and kimchi sandwiches, and of course kombucha and wine. But the sisters recently closed down regular service (it’s still open for workshops, classes, and private events) to explore other ideas.

There’s Ky’s research with the University of Minnesota, for starters, where she’s looking to see how different fermented vegetables affect your gut. And Mel is excited to be working on a “Meet the Winemaker” series, which connects winemakers directly to the GYST community members. They’ve even recently hosted fitness classes at the fermentation bar that end in a glass or two of wine (my personal favorite idea).

I spent time with Ky and Mel to talk about their favorite fermentation projects and the ingredients they’re most excited about right now.

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I’ve always been against shopping online for groceries; not because I don’t think it can be valuable, but because I just really love grocery shopping and selecting products in-store versus online. I’m also, admittedly, a bit of a control freak when it comes to my produce and super picky about expiration dates. Nothing gets under my skin more than the thought of getting something delivered that’s wilting or near expiration!

As services like Instacart grow in popularity, however, so does my curiosity. So I decided I should really do some experimentation before I passed judgement. I set a small budget and started with Aldi, a great place to save money. You can read all about it here, but the CliffsNotes version is that I did like it!

Because my Aldi experimentation went pretty well, I was interested in trying some of my other favorite stores. Obviously, Costco was next on my list. Like Aldi, Costco is also in partnership with Instacart, so I gave it a try.

Here’s how it went, what I learned, what you should know, and how much I spent.

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We’re in prime cold and flu season, and with it comes the need to keep plenty of feel-better soups in your recipe arsenal. Sometimes a bowl or two is all you need to start feeling yourself again. These 10 recipes are comforting meals to make when you, your significant other, or your kids are under the weather. Being sick never tasted so good.

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Whether you just turned 30 (happy birthday, you!), you’re about to, or you’re already well past the big three-oh, this story is for you. Adulthood is happening. In full swing! That’s not to say that 25-year-olds are not adults, so no offense if you’re younger and happen to be reading this! It’s just that adulting is now hitting the next level. And we like to think of this list as a “next-level” guide to making your kitchen feel more grown-up.

These items aren’t necessarily essential for setting up a first kitchen; they’re the things you need if you want to be a life-long cook. Take a look at the list and then let us know how many you have.

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