Nutritional yeast has many of the same uses as baking yeast. It can be used in bread, pizza crusts, and pastries.
This is to add a unique and savory flavor that's hard to find elsewhere. However, not everyone likes nutritional yeast due to its strong taste or sugar content.
While it's true that you can't use nutritional yeast in all recipes, there are alternatives you can use instead. Suppose you don't have nutritional yeast on hand.
Here are some creative substitutes for nutritional yeast in your favorite recipes.

1. Chickpea Flour

This protein-rich flour is made from ground chickpeas and can be used in place of nutritional yeast. It has a nutty flavor that works great as a base for sauces, pasta dishes, and even vegan cheese sauces.
You can substitute it with whole wheat flour in recipes such as pancakes or loaves of bread. It will have a denser texture but still taste delicious. Chickpea flour is easy to find at natural food stores and well-stocked grocery stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

2. Soy Sauce

It's one of those things that so many people have sitting in their cupboard but never use! Soy sauce is rich in sodium and, therefore, one of the great substitutes for nutritional yeast.
Like yeast, it adds depth of flavor to soups and sauces. Make your favorite recipe with soy sauce instead. You can also try garlic-flavored soy sauce. It tastes just like nutritional yeast!

3. Yeast Extracts

A half teaspoon of yeast extract equals one teaspoon of powdered yeast. So if your recipe calls for one tablespoon of nutritional yeast, use two teaspoons of dry yeast extract instead. Make sure you are using plain, non-alcoholic versions of these products; otherwise, they may be overpowering in flavor.

4. Vegetable Broth Powder

You can also try vegetable broth powder as a substitute. It's among the different substitutes for national yeast that you can add according to how much yeastiness you want in your dish.
3/4 teaspoon will give a mild yeasty flavor to an entire pot of soup or sauce, whereas 2 or 3 tablespoons will create an intense umami taste without ruining the texture or color too much.
Please make your vegetable broth and add it to baked goods to replace some of the yeast. The subtle flavor might be just what you're looking for in a substitution.

5. Dried Onion Flakes

Dried onion flakes are suitable substitutes for nutritional yeast, in case you don't have any. They tend to be more expensive and less flavorful, but they work just as well.
Add one tablespoon of dried onion flakes to your mixture or recipe. This can easily replace one teaspoon of nutritional yeast (approx. 8g.) in recipes that require it.
You can also try mixing 1/2 tsp of dried onion flakes with 1/4 tsp of all-purpose flour for a different taste! If you have not tried using dried onion flakes in cooking before, then I suggest that you give it a try.

6. Miso Paste

You can use miso paste instead of nutritional yeast in soups, stews, and sauces. A small amount goes a long way as it is very salty. If you don't like too much salt, try mixing miso with a small amount of water before adding it to your food.
Miso is available in most health food stores. Find it with all other Asian foods in your supermarket. Miso can also be used as an ingredient in stir-fries or vegetarian burgers.

7. Dried Seaweed

Nori, also known as laver in English, is a type of dried seaweed commonly used to wrap sushi rolls. Nori is high in vitamins A and C as well as B-complex vitamins. There are wide varieties of nori that can be used as substitutes for nutritional yeast flakes in recipes.
However, it should be noted that not all types of nori have equal levels of vitamins or dietary fiber; some have more than others.
Additionally, nori contains iodine; some may consider consuming large amounts unhealthy because too much iodine can potentially lead to thyroid problems, according to WebMD.

8. Garlic

Add garlic powder, chopped or minced, or fresh garlic to any recipe. This is a great substitution if you enjoy garlicky foods and want more of that flavor in your diet.
Consider blending fresh garlic with some salt or oil and freezing it in an ice cube tray for use in recipes when you don't have new on hand; pop out one cube at a time as needed!

9. Dried Mushrooms

Dried mushrooms are close substitutes for nutritional yeast—just 1 tbsp. Of dried mushrooms is equal to 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast. Use it in place of nutritional yeast in your favorite recipes.
Recipe such as making vegan cheese and popcorn cheese sauce, or as a topping on pasta dishes and pizza instead of parmesan cheese.
You can add it to pasta sauces or sprinkle it over popcorn before popping it into your oven. Dried mushrooms are available at most health food stores. Try experimenting with different types; you'll be surprised at how many different flavors there are!

10. Liquid Aminos

Liquid Aminos are great substitutes for nutritional yeast. 1 tsp. Of aminos is equivalent to 1 Tbsp. According to Dr. Axe . Liquid aminos are typically made from soy sauce.
So, they're vegan-friendly and naturally gluten-free (although you should still check your labels). They can be found in most health food stores or online at Amazon.

11. Vegetable Bouillon Cubes

Add them to sautéed vegetables to make a rich, creamy broth. Mix a cube in with pasta sauce for a hearty pizza sauce.
Add some cubes and spices to your marinara and serve it over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. Use one teaspoon of vegetable bouillon in soups instead of 1 tablespoon of yeast flakes.
Vegetable bouillon cubes are tasty and nutritious, just like yeast. So, be ready to give this a try.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my list of substitutes for nutritional yeast use. Now you know how to be creative in your recipes and spice things up a bit when using nutritional yeast in them.
Did I miss any? Do you prefer one type over another? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

When you finally started learning about nutrition in order to lose weight and/or become healthier, what were the aspects of the food you regularly eat that surprised you the most?
I'll start:

• I had learned a couple of years ago about the need to incorporate more healthy fats into my meals, so I started eating avocados. I hadn't realized until recently that, on top of having a lot of fat, they're also rich in fiber and in potassium;
• I don't eat a lot of pre-packaged meals, so my sodium intake is generally below 2g/day. However, one of the few meals I do eat on occasion are some pre-cooked gnocchis made of butternut squash. They're actually well rated here in France, nutrition-wise (their score is A), and are not high in calories, but my god, the amount of salt. 200g of them with a little bit of tomato sauce (which is frozen, so barely any sodium), a spoon of cream cheese + a variety of veggies puts my daily sodium intake near 4g. I puff up like a damn balloon;
• Living in France made me realize I'm actually not as much of a cheese fan as I used to think I was, but I was still happy to discover that the little cheese cubes I buy on occasion (love eating them with grape tomatoes!), although a bit high in calories, have barely any carbs. They work so well to balance out my macros, because I get carbs more easily (usually through veggies, fruit, and the occasional piece of chocolate) than I do protein and fat;
• Cottage cheese is surprisingly high in protein for how low in calories it is;
• The classic from this sub: certain fruits are surprisingly low in calories for how much volume you can eat. My favorites are watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi and nectarine. I eat apples and bananas occasionally (throwback to me immediately eating a banana after realizing how much sodium I had ingested after those damn butternut squash gnocchis lol) but they do have significantly more calories;
• Nut butters are eye-wateringly high in calories, it's horrifying;
• Most dark chocolates, even the ones with a very high cocoa content, have as many calories as milk chocolate. This threw me off initially, as I had always assumed it had less added sugar (I've since found a few brands that use stevia instead, and have about 20% less calories while tasting the same, which is nice);
• Lots of pastries you'd buy outside have lowcarb versions that are fairly easy for me to bake myself and taste just as good, without all the added junk.

What about you?

(As always, flyers are out Wednesdays, most store sales for the new flyer start on Thursdays)
Adonis

• Chicken Breast (boneless skinless) - $4.99 per lb -- Good and fair price!
• Whole Lamb (with head, 45lbs+) - $499.00 each -- Oh wow! That's interesting! Not exactly a deal at $10/lb or so, but there's an undeniable opportunity of novelty here. This could be make a terrific centerpiece at a BBQ.
• Veal blade roast - $5.99 per lb -- Good alternative to beef. It's a more subtle flavour, but it's tender.
• Beef eye of round - $7.49 per lb -- Not fillet mignon but it's a fair price for what I expect is AA-grade beef.
• Atlantic Salmon fillet - $9.77 per lb -- Nice to see more $10/lb pink fish.
• Sea Bass (fresh? free cleaning) - $7.99 per lb -- Nice!! I love seeing this! One thing though: they didn't mention strictly if it was fresh. I suspect it is, but just be mindful of that. Still a great grab, in my opinion.
• Scallops (frozen, 80/120 ct, Royal Harbour) - $7.99 340g bag -- Hard to beat this deal. Often at least $10 for a bag like this.
• Raw peeled white shrimp (frozen, 31/40 B71ct, Blue Tide) - $7.99 340g bag -- Good deal.
• Cod fillet (frozen, Blue Tide) - $7.99 400g bag -- Good deal.
• Eggs (Burnbrae) - $3.44 12-pack -- Nice to see some relief for eggs!
• Lebanse cucumber - $1.44 per lb -- Nice! Great deal! Usually they're at least $2/lb.
• Bell peppers (green and sweet) - $1.88 per lb -- Awesome! I suspect we're seeing the start of some good pepper pricing!
• Hothouse tomatoes - $1.49 per lb -- Awesome!
• Vine tomatoes - $1.49 per lb -- Awesome!
• Avocado - $4.99 6-pack -- Decent enough price. Olden days of $3 bags are over, I think. This is probably the new standard, unless we haven't yet seen a seasonal crop to relieve that pricing.
• Potatoes (Russet, Red, Yellow) - $2.99 5lb bag -- Nice! Great price!
• Cherries - $3.99 per lb -- More cherries this week! Nice to see!
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - $4.99 1L basket -- I can't get a straight answer about what 1L of strawberries is in lb or kg. Google is spitting me whacky answers. I'm thinking it'll be about 500g, but that doesn't seem right. Weigh in store to know what you're getting.
• Lemons/Limes - $0.50 each -- Good rate on loose citrus.
• Labneh (Pheonicia, Cedar) - $4.44 500g tub -- Nice! Good price! Make your own tzatziki without the work of straining your own yogurt!
• Bocconcini (Saputo) - $3.99 200g tub -- Nice! This is a good price for bocconcini. Similar products can easily range to $6.
• Ricotta (Saputo) - $3.99 400g tub -- Same as above. Great price!
• Cheese Counter - Tzatziki (Delphi) - $1.29 per 100g -- Was 99c last week, but this is still a great price given you'll easily pay $3-4 for a 200g container.
• Cheese Counter - Feta (Canadian) - $1.99 per 100g -- Fair price for feta. Not an amazing sale, but it's good for loose feta.
• Cheese Counter - Assorted cheeses - $1.99 to $2.99 per 100g -- Nice selection of various cheeses for fair and good prices. The smoked gouda looks tasty!
• Olive Counter - Kalamata - $1.99 per 100g -- Never forget to pass by the olive counter. They often have great deals. The price seems a little high, but you're not paying for brine. It's all olive. The marinated olives are awesome, and the quality of the kalamatas is on point.
• Deli - Roast beef (Solmaz) - $1.99 per 100g -- Say it with me:
• Deli - Chicken bologna (Alzahraa) - $1.29 per 100g -- I love...
• Deli - Beef bologna (Solmaz) - $1.49 per 100g -- The Adonis...
• Deli - Mortadella (Marcangelo) - $1.99 per 100g -- Deli Counter...
• Deli - Roast turkey (Cuddy) - $2.49 per 100g -- Any day, every day.
• Deli - Beef salami (Mello) - $1.79 per 100g -- These are terrific deli deals. Don't pass these up. I still can't find anything comparable on a weekly basis.
• Turkey breast (assorted, Alzahraa) - $5.29 400g chub -- Great way to save even more money, works out to 1.25/100g. Hard to beat!
• Canned tuna (Unico) - $1.77 190g can -- A little pricier than some deals we've seen, but not bad.
• Produce Price Rating: Medium, but always has well-priced chicken, the deli meat sale rotations are always fantastic, and just the overall variety of goods is refreshing. Personal favourite store.

Farm Boy

• Chicken thighs (boneless skinless) - $5.99 per lb -- A little pricier, but these are great for easy marinating, BBQ, or a good ol' fricassee.
• Bacon (Leadbetters) - $3.99 375g pack -- Fair price for what good bacon.
• Sweet peppers (green and sweet) - $1.95 per lb -- Awesome! More $2/lb-ish peppers!
• Leafy lettuce (green or red) - $1.18 per head -- Awesome deal for leafy lettuce. I'm curious how big these heads are. But, they'd have to be awfully small for it not to be worth it. Enjoy some fresh salad this week!
• Radishes - $0.99 per bunch -- Nice! Like with green onion, $1 bunches are always welcome.
• Mini cucumbers - $1.97 6-pack -- Good price for the minis!
• Hothouse Strawberries - $2.99 340g shell -- Not bad. Usually 454g grams for $3 is the real sale to aim for. This is basically average.
• Deli - Polish-style ham (Brandt) - $1.99 per 100g -- Good enough price for deli ham, but I'll always push people to get the whole toopie instead. You save so much...
• Produce Price Rating: High

Farmers Pick (can be a little late on their flyer) (https://www.farmerspick.ca/flyer-specials)
Food Basics

• Pork chops (boneless) - $2.98 per lb -- Fair enough price for pork chops. We've seen better, but boneless is nice. Hammer these flat, salt, pepper, a few basil leaves, a hunk of mozz, roll tight. Amazing!
• Ground pork (lean) - $2.98 per lb -- Fair enough price for ground pork. Could be cheaper, but it's still more than a fair price to pay.
• Atlantic Salmon fillet - $9.77 per lb -- Nice to see more $10/lb pink fish.
• Sweet peppers (green and sweet) - $1.88 per lb -- YESS! That's 3 for 3 stores thus far with $2/lb peppers!
• Asparagus - $1.88 per lb -- Awesome!
• Potatoes (Russets) - $1.68 5lb bag -- FANTASTIC!
• Sweet potato - $1.28 per lb -- Good deal given then the non-sale average is more along 1.68/lb.
• Dole salad kit - $1.68 (unsure) -- Good deal for the salad kit, just not sure the weight. I suspect it's about 300g or so, but I can't tell in the ad.
• Grape tomatoes - $3.98 1.5lb shell -- Coupon Deal. $6.98 without the coupon!
• Avocado - $4.88 5-6 pack -- Again, a bit "meh" for cado, but it's the going rate.
• Artichoke - $3.00 for 2 units -- Ouu! I have to get some of these. I've never cooked artichokes. I want to learn!
• Lemons - $1.88 2lb bag (6-7 units) -- VERY NICE! That's CHEAP! Works out to about 30c a lemon.
• Strawberries - $1.88 454g shell -- AWESOME! I'm getting myself some of these for sure!
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - $3.98 1L basket -- Double strawberry madness!!!
• Mango (Red, Ataulfo) - $0.98 each -- Nice! Great rate for mango.
• Watermelon (11lb avg) - $4.98 each -- VERY NICE! Ouuuu, I could make a watermelon gingerbeer with this... Omg...
• Cherries - $4.98 per lb -- Not the sale price we had last week, that's for sure. Like, 2x week to week! Crazy...
• Brick cheese (Selection) - $3.98 400g bar -- NICE!!!! $4 brick cheese?!?! I thought we were in the $5 territory and never to return!
• Friulano (Saputo) - $10.99 500g wheel -- This is wonderful cheese! Definitely more expensive, but soooo good. It's like mozz, but a little more flavourful and complex. And it melts well.
• Rice (Lal Qilla, India Gate) - $10.98 10lb bag -- Fair deal for rice. Rice deals swing a bit. You can score better, but this is definitely fair.
• Earth's Own plant bev - $2.88 1.74-1.89L jug -- WOW! Great deal! Usually these jugs $4+ regular price.
• Produce Price Rating: Low to medium low

FoodLand

• Pork loin chops - $1.99 per lb -- Great deal! I think these maaay be bone-in, but who cares. It's a damned good price!
• Sausages (Johnsonville) - $4.99 250-500g pack -- If you can snag the 500g packs, then it's worth it.
• Cucumber - $3.00 for 2 -- Not the best deal, but fairly good for FoodLand.
• Hothouse tomatoes - $1.99 per lb -- Again, worthy mention, good for FoodLand, but less than ideal given the deals elsewhere.
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - NA 1L basket -- More local strawberries, but the price isn't indicated lol.
• Brick cheese (Armstrong) - $4.77 400g bar -- Good price for brick cheese!
• Produce Price Rating: Medium-high to high.

Freshco (price matcher)

• Ground beef (medium) - $10.00 1kg pack -- Not bad, but not great. Works out to about $5/lb, which is really quite average. Always mind your step as companies shell-game between per lb bulk and per kg fixed pricing.
• Oxtail - $13.29 per lb -- Interesting! You don't see this often! Price is in-line with averages I'm seeing around.
• Cucumber - $1.29 each -- Nice price. Not amazing, but good.
• Mini cucumbers - $1.49 6-pack -- Veru nice! These are usually $2 at least.
• Vidalia onions - $3.99 3lb bag -- Good price for the 3lb bag.
• Cauliflower - $3.99 per head -- More of a foodnote. $4 is about average. I wouldn't pay any more than this.
• Potatoes (Yellow) - $2.49 5lb bag -- Awesome!
• Romaine, Leaf Lettuce (Red/Green) - $1.99 per head -- Meh... I prefered that Farm Boy deal for 1.18.
• Cherries - $1.88 per lb -- WOW! What a deal! That's TERRIFIC. Get them while they last.
• Pears (Bartlett) - $1.88 per lb -- Fair sale price for pears.
• Jasmin rice (Kim Phat) - $9.88 8kg bag -- Awesome deal for rice!
• Produce Price Rating: Low to medium low (more on the medium side)

Giant Tiger (*note the VIP prices; sales begin today) (price matcher)

• Dinner sausage - $3.33 450g 4-pack -- Great deal for dinner sausage! No indication of the source, though.
• Shrimp (45-50ct, Aqua Star, frozen) - $8.97 680g bag -- Wow that's a lot of shrimp for cheap. Now, theser are small shrimp, but the price is right. Not skewer friendly, but good for stir fries, soups, rice dishes, etc.
• Sole fillet (Blue Tide, frozen) - $5.97 400g bag -- Great deal for frozen fish!
• Celery - $1.88 per head -- Mind your step. These are usually smaller heads. I've seen them be a little beat up too, But I've also found heads that were also often greener, with a little more celery flavour.
• Tomato - $2.47 4-pack -- Not sure of the weight, check in store. Make sure these clock in about 2lbs and you'll be fine.
• Lemons - $2.88 2lb bag -- That Basics deal is better, but this is still quite good.
• Strawberries - $2.88 454g shell -- Nice! Cheap strawberries. Again, the Basics deal is better, but if you can't reach one this is definitely worth checking out.
• Margarine (Parkay) - $1.88 427g tub -- Great deal for a butter alternative.
• Canned tomato (Pirmo) - $3.00 796ml can -- Get these! Stock up!
• Produce Price Rating: Generally on the low side.

Green Fresh Supermarket (Vanier) (check https://greenfreshottawa20.wixsite.com/greenfreshottawa) * Chicken breast (not sure if bone-in) - $3.99 per lb -- Awesome deal if it's boneless, so-so deal if it's bone-in. * Chicken drumsticks - $20.00 5kg pack -- That's basically $2/lb, which is pretty good most weeks. There's better out there, but you have to hunt for it. If this is a regular thing (and I should check Green Fresh more often to know), then this is a good deal we hope comes up more often. * Pork Tenderloin - $2.99 per lb -- Great tenderloin price! * Pork Belly - $3.99 per lb -- Aweseome price for belly! * Beef Belly - $4.99 per lb -- Interesting, beef belly is rare to find. Good price too! Very interesting!! * Kambocha squash - $0.98 per lb -- Neat! * Red grapes - $1.99 per lb -- Good grape deal! Doesn't beat the T&T's but hey, this is still quite good! * Green onion - $1.98 for 3 bunches -- Great green onion deal! * Produce Price Rating: Usually very competitive, catering to Asian cuisine. Warning: their newest sales start on Fridays - so this is a late advertising of their sales. Also, their flyer is hard to read. It doesn't site well in a regular PC browser. I'll have to check with my phone some time.
IGA (price matcher)

• Chicken legs - $1.29 per lb -- AWESOME! What a fantastic price! If you're going to the IGA, you're eating chicken this week.
• Cod fillet - $9.99 per lb -- Doesn't say if it's fresh or frozen, probably thawed. Good enough price, if average. But worth checking out!
• Mahi-Mahi fillet (frozen) - $11.99 per lb -- Neat! Interesting! It's a bit of a pricier fish, and it's frozen so you're not getting the real experience, but worth trying.
• Cucumber - $0.99 if you buy 2 -- Awesome! Buy two!
• White mushrooms - $0.99 if you buy 2 -- Nice! Again, take advantage of the deal, get two!
• Eggplant - $2.49 per lb -- Not bad. We've seen better. 99c/lb would be really amazing. $2/lb is pretty fair to good. $2.49/lb really ain't bad. I think Basics has theirs for $4/lb this week, but $2/lb last week. Just mind your step when it comes to eggplant.
• Red grapes - $1.87 per lb -- Scene Member Price. Great deal!
• Green grapes - $2.87 per lb -- Scene Member Price.
• Red mango - $7.99 4-6 unit case -- Scene Member Price. Not bad. A 99c mango beats this deal by quite a margin.
• Cherries - $3.44 per lb -- Scene Member Price. Nice! Good deall overall, but we're seeing better at other chains.
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - NA 1L basket -- More local strawberries, but the price isn't indicated... Again... Lol
• Burrata - $13.99 250g -- Definitely a treat, but this is a fair-enough price for burrata.
• Produce Price Rating: Medium to high.

Independent

• (Not released at the time of the review) - --
• Produce Price Rating: fairly high with few exceptions

Loblaws

• Chicken Breast (boneless skinless) - $4.99 per lb -- Good and fair price!
• Pork loin centre chops - $3.77 per lb -- Meh. We're really close to tenderloin pricing here...
• Cauliflower - $3.99 per head -- Average enough price, but these are usually $1-2 more at Loblaws.
• Beefsteak tomatoes - $1.99 per lb -- Average enough sale price for tomatoes. We've been seeing a lot of 99c/lb or better, even.
• Blueberries - $1.99 full pint -- Really good deal for blueberries.
• Cheerios (General Mills) - $2.00 292g box -- Hmm... So, it's good, but not that great. You can find the bigger 750g-ish boxes are about $6. What's interesting is that this deal appears basically across the whole Loblaws umbrella.
• No Name spices - $6.00 for 2 -- OUCH! What the heck?! Go to a Food Basics and literally pay 1/2 or better for the same packs. And, check Amazon for bulk spices. Smoke paprika pricing is a freakin' racket compared to what you pay for a big 1lb tub. Same for onion flakes, black pepper, specialty salts, etc.
• Produce Price Rating: fairly high with few exceptions

Provigo

• Whole chicken - $1.99 per lb -- Great deal for whole chicken.
• Pork loin sirloin-rib portion - $2.49 per lb -- Good pork deal.
• Frozen fish (Sea Quest, frozen) - $5.99 400g bag -- Fair sale price for frozen fish. Includes sole and cod at least by the ad.
• Cauliflower - $2.99 per head -- Good price for cauli.
• Romaine lettuce - $3.99 3-pack -- These romaine packs have been raising in price lately. This is actually a fairer price than some that I've seen.
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - $3.77 1L basket -- Best price thus far on those local strawberries.
• Brick cheese (Ptit Quebec) - $4.88 400g bar -- Good price for brick cheese.
• Deli - Bologna (Olymel) - $1.49 per 100g -- Pricey, but ok. I'd still boogy over to a value-oriented store, and get the whole Olymel chub. You'll pay less than $1/100g if you slice it yourself.
• Produce Price Rating: fairly high with few exceptions

Maxi (price matcher)

• Pork tenderloin - $2.99 per lb -- Really good deal for tenderloin!
• Ground chicken - $3.00 454g pack -- Good price for ground chicken.
• Sausage combo pack (Dalisa) - $6.99 900g pack -- Great dinner sausage deal! And you get a variety of different ones to try!
• Steelhead Trout - $9.99 per lb -- Fair going rate on pink fish.
• Eggs (No Name) - $2.44 12-pack -- Awesome egg deal!
• Bacon (PC) - $4.99 500g pack -- Basically on par with most bacon deals. Whether it's $4 for 375g or $5 for 500g, it's about the same. The target is $1/100g.
• Corn - $0.30 each -- Awesome corn deal! Prices swing a lot. Some places charge well over 50c a cob.
• Cucumber (Imperfect) - $3.00 3lb bag -- Interesting... $1/lb is pretty good if these were minis or lebanese cucumber. Worth looking at.
• Green onion - $1.00 per bunch -- Nice!
• Yellow onions - $1.00 unknown -- The flyer shows the onions under the same $1 deal tagging as the green onions. Not sure if it's loose or for a 2-3lb bag.
• Avocado - $3.99 5-unit bag -- Good cado deal!
• Potatoes (Red, Yellow) - $5.99 10lb bag -- Good, but there's better around town this week.
• Salad greens (Attitude) - $2.00 142g tub -- Great deal on greens! These are usually about $4.
• Mushrooms - $3.99 454g shell -- Good and fair. Not amazing or anything, but good.
• Bananas - $0.49 per lb -- Great rate! Usually they clock in at around 69c/lb.
• Navel oranges - $0.99 per lb -- Nice to see a good orange deal!
• Mango (Red, Ataulfo) - $0.99 each -- Great rate for mango.
• Pineapple - $2.99 each -- Good and fair price.
• Watermelon (no avg weight) - $2.88 each -- No weight indicated. I'm sure these are small. But, worth checking out.
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - $4.99 1L basket -- Seems this is the average upper end for these strawberries.
• Bologna (whole, Lafleur) - $4.99 675g chub -- Great deal! These are usually about $6 on sale. Slice your own deli meat and save!
• Canned tomato paste (Unico) - $0.77 156ml can -- Great deal! Stock up a few! These are so useful to have in the pantry!
• Dry pasta (assorted, ItalPasta) - $0.77 450g packs -- Great deal! Again, stock up!
• Produce Price Rating: Generally medium low pricing! This store can post some impressive deals at times.

Metro QC - Gatineau

• Important Notice: I've only been catching Metro deals in Ottawa, but there seems to be a French Gatineau-side flyer available right now. I'll go on that flyer for now, and revisit this later. - --
• Ground beef (medium) - $3.88 per lb -- Not bad. Not amazing, but certainly fair. These would make great burgers, I think.
• Pork chops bone-in - $2.49 per lb -- Great pork chop deal.
• Dinner sausage - NA per lb -- Usually it's about $4-5/lb, but the ad states $1/lb all summer. Which is interesting. Keep an eye out for those sausage deals.
• Steelhead Trout - $9.99 per lb -- Fair going rate on pink fish.
• Pork picnic shoulder - $3.49 per lb -- Interesting. These shoulders are always quite pricey. But, they're bar-none awesome for roasting and pulled pork.
• Lobster deal - (unsure) per lb -- Deal is buy a lobster and get $5 off a 12-pack of Stella.
• Green beans - $1.49 per lb -- Great green bean deal! Hard to find them for less. The lowest I think I've seen was 99c/lb.
• Rhubarb - $5.99 per lb -- Interesting and fun to see rhubarb pop up. The real trick is to know someone who grows it and can't get rid of it fast enough!
• Cherries - $2.99 per lb -- Very nice! These cherry deals make me happy!
• Strawberries (local, Ontario) - NA 1L basket -- More local strawberries, but the price isn't indicated lol.
• Brick cheese (Selection) - $10.99 for 2x 400g bar -- This is ok. Food Basics has the same cheese on for $4 a brick.
• Deli - Mere Michel and Maple Leaf deal - $1.99 per 100g -- Check out the assortment in-store.
• Flyer Note: Seems they've revamped their flyer style and layout. Interesting... - --
• Produce Price Rating: High. Kinda like Sobeys. You can see a 50% average mark-up compared to a lot of other stores. It's nice produce, but it costs you.

No Frills (price matcher)

• Chicken Breast (bone-in skinless) - $2.99 per lb -- Great chicken deal!
• Pork half-loin - $2.99 per lb -- This is a toss-up. You can get tenderloin for the same price at Maxi. But, it's still an ok price. And, you might want the extra fat that usually accompanies these loins depending on the meal project.
• Cucumber - $1.29 each -- Fair price for cucumber. But, we're going to see a lot of 99c deals pop up over the summer, I think. Just mind your step and don't overbuy.
• Sweet peppers (Imperfect) - $3.88 2.5lb bag -- Awesome deal for peppers! This is 1.60/lb. They may be ugly, but who cares!
• Potatoes (Imperfect) - $5.00 15lb bag -- Nice! Love these bags. But, Basics also has 5lb in at 1.68 starting tomorrow, which works out to the same 30c-ish/lb.
• Kiwi - $0.55 each -- Should work out to about $3/lb, which is a good rate.
• Cherries - $1.99 per lb -- Awesome!! More cheap cherries!
• Pineapple, Cantaloupe - $2.99 each -- Good and fair price.
• Mango (Red, Ataulfo) - $0.99 each -- Great rate for mango.
• Walnuts - $1.99 per lb -- Nice! I like to see cheap walnuts. Though, I find you get what you pay for. I've paid $3-4/lb for walnuts in-shell, and they were really tasty. And then $2/lb walnuts were not that great. The risk of a bad nut is much greater. Mind your step.
• Brick cheese (Armstrong) - $4.44 400g bar -- Great cheese deal!
• Paneer (Brar's) - $4.44 375g brick -- Awesome paneer deal!
• Bocconcini (Saputo) - $3.99 200g tub -- Nice! This is a good price for bocconcini. Similar products can easily range to $6.
• Ricotta (Saputo) - $3.99 400g tub -- Same as above. Great price!
• Corned Beef, Luncheon Ham (Mario's, SPAM) - $2.88 340g can -- Awesome deal!
• Durum flour (Sher) - $13.99 9kg bag -- I've seen prices swing for this product. I've seen similar bags go for $18.
• Produce Price Rating: Generally quite low, selectively amazing for some items.

Produce Depot (usually a little late on the flyer) https://producedepot.ca/

• Peaches (USA) - $1.79/lb -- Good price for peaches. These are imports, so they're likely tough, but that doesn't mean there isn't a chance they'll ripen well. And, crunchy peaches are often used in cooking because they bake well.
• Bunched Radishes (CA) - $0.99/each -- Nice! $1 bunches are always good!
• Green and Red Leaf Lettuce (CA) - $1.49/each -- Awesome! Another good leafy deal!
• Cluster Tomatoes on Vine (CA) - $1.29/lb -- Awesome price for tomatoes. Not the lowest, but still really good considering some stores are still charging $2/lb.
• Cherries (USA) - $5.99/lb -- Most expensive cherries in town, sadly.
• English Cucumbers (CA) - $0.69/each -- WOW! Amazing cucumber price!!!
• Strawberry Baskets (CA) - $4.99/litre -- Nice! Pretty much par for the course on local strawberry prices
• Pork Tenderloin - $3.99/lb -- Stardard sale price for tenderloin. Still good, though.
• Sirloin Tip Steak - $6.99/lb -- could be a tougher cut, but there are ways of tenderizing it via velvetting. Or, cube it up and braise it in a chili.
• Fresh Tilapia Filet - $9.99/lb -- Standard enough for fresh tilapia.
• Whole Mackerel (previously frozen) - $3.99/lb -- Good price for mackerel. Thawed, yes, but that's common for mackerel.
• Brandt Black Forest Ham - $1.79/100g -- Very nice! Great price for deli ham!
• St Albert Mild Marble Cheese - $2.29/100g -- Fair deal for St-Albert cheese.
• Villagio Bread (assorted) - $3.29 per loaf --
• Beatrice Lemonade (assorted) - $2.99 2L jug --
  
• Not available at time of review - --
  
• Produce Price Rating: Medium-low with very competitive specials on a shortened flyer. The small flyer is nice because it doesn't uselessly feature $6 heads of cauliflower and extremely high-price items that are either a confusion on the consumer, or an insult on the injury of not being able to afford supreme quality items.
  

Real Canadian Superstore (price matcher)

• Whole chicken - $1.88 per lb -- Great chicken deal!
• Tilapia fillet (fresh) - $9.99 per lb -- I wish tilapia would drop in price a little. We used to see much cheaper deals, like $6-7/lb range. Now it's basically always on par with pink fish deals. I wonder what the story is behind that...
• Sweet peppers (Imperfect) - $3.88 2.5lb bag -- Awesome deal for peppers! This is 1.60/lb. They may be ugly, but who cares!
• Cucumber - $0.99 each -- Nice to see $1 cuce.
• Potatoes (Yellow, Russet) - $5.00 10lb bag -- Good potato deal.
• Eggplant - $1.99 per lb -- Solid price for eggplant.
• Strawberries - $3.98 2lb shell -- Great deal for strawberries. Anything close to $2/lb is really good.
• Cherries - $3.33 per lb -- For RCSS, I think they could have done better. Lots of cherry deals last and this coming week smoke this price.
• Paneer (Brar's) - $4.44 375g brick -- Awesome paneer deal!
• Deli - Ziggy's beef - $2.50 per 100g -- Adonis's roast beef deal is better.
• Canned tuna (No Name) - $1.00 170g can -- Awesome tuna deal.
• Flyer Note: right off the cuff, lots of pages dedicated to members-only pricing. Interesting given how the boycott has led people to cancel their Optimum accounts. It's a bit of a rub-in, frankly... - --
• Produce Price Rating: Generally medium-low pricing, selectively amazing for some items.

Sobeys

• Whole chicken or chicken legs - $1.88 per lb -- Great chicken deal! Nice to see a few places with deals like this.
• Rainbow Trout - $10.99 per lb -- A little over the average sale price, but not by much. Still a good deal.
• Yellowfin Tuna steaks - $10.88 per lb -- Interesting value proposition to consider given the price of the trout. I might opt for this if I'm feeling up for fish.
• Pork belly - $3.88 per lb -- WOW! That's great deal for pork belly!
• Lots of Buy One Get One pork deals - -- No solid evaluation to give, but worth keeping your eyes peeled. Good pricing for pork ranges between $2-4/lb depending on the cut. So, if you're seeing $4-8/lb, then the "One Free" deal works out well. Tread carefully.
• Broccoli - $2.44 per lb -- This is not per crown, but per lb. This can mean some good savings depending on how much stem you're paying for.
• Salad kits (Compliments) - $4.00 for 2x 340-397g kits -- Good deal for salad kits. These seem to swing a lot. It's probably a high-margin item most weeks. You'll see $4 kits, and then they'll drop to $2. BE mindful and check around before buying kits over $3.
• Cherries - $3.47 per lb -- Not the best cherry deal, but still pretty good overall.
• Brick cheese (Compliments) - $4.44 400g bar -- Great cheese deal!
• Produce Price Rating: Generally a high price store, especially for produce. Some items are 50% more than more value-oriented stores. Kinda like Metro, some of the deals can be quite good.

Super C

• Beef French-style steaks - $4.99 per lb -- Awesome!!! I don't imagine they're the best cut or grade, but still worth checking out and maybe trying them out.
• Chicken Breast (bone-in skinless) - $2.99 per lb -- There's also legs with back at the same price, but I think this is the better deal. Though, it depends all on the meal you have in mind. Legs have much more flavour thanks to the bone.
• Veal T-bone steak - $7.99 per lb -- Ouuu, now that's interesting. Beef t-bone can easily be double this price or more. It's admittedly not a proper beef steak, but it could be worth trying out. The price is right.
• Atlantic salmon - $9.77 per lb -- Nice to see more $10/lb pink fish.
• Sole (Selection, frozen) - $10.00 800g bag -- Great deal for frozen fish!
• Bay scallops (no brand, frozen) - $16.00 700g bag -- It's a big bag. It's basically the Adonis deal, but 2x the amount at the same rate.
• Small cooked shrimp (no brand, frozen) - $15.00 700g bag -- Again, like the Adonis deal but 2x the amount.
• Large raw shrimp (Irresistiblesç, frozen) - $25.00 908g bag -- Interesting. These are 13-15ct/lb, so they're BIG. Adonis has thawed 26-30ct for $11.99/lb. The world of shrimp is a whacky one to navigate!
• Cucumber - $0.99 each -- Nice to see $1 cuce.
• Romaine, Leaf Lettuce (Red/Green) - $0.94 per head -- WOW! What a fantastic deal on lettuce!
• Beefsteak hothouse tomatoes - $0.88 per lb -- Awesome!! Great tomato deal!!
• Asparagus - $2.44 per lb -- Very good deal! Average non-sale prices easily range up to $4/lb. Good sales are usually $2/lb.
• Dole salad kit - $1.99 (unsure) -- Member Price. Good deal for the salad kit, just not sure the weight. I suspect it's about 300g or so, but I can't tell in the ad.
• Potatoes (Russet) - $4.99 10lb bag -- Nice to see some potato relief overall. This is by the far not the best deal, but it's better than full-price bags at $6-7+.
• Celery - $2.69 per head -- Nice! Celery deals are a little rare these days. Check the heads out and snag one if they're nice!
• Raspberries - $1.77 170g shell -- Very good deal! These shells can often float around $3.
• Cherries - $2.99 per lb -- Yes! More cherry deals!
• Mango (Red, Ataulfo) - $0.88 each -- Awesome mango deal!!!
• Navel oranges - $2.99 3lb bag -- Nice! $1/lb oranges! This is a score!
• Brick cheese (Selection) - $3.97 400g bar -- NICE!!!! Another great $4 cheese deal!
• Produce Price Rating: Generally low, but can creep into medium for some items. But, there's always something decent available!

T&T Supermarket https://www.tntsupermarket.com * Chicken wings - $2.88 per lb -- Awesome chicken wing deal! * Chicken leg meat (boneless skinless) - $4.28 per lb -- Hmm, not bad at all. * Green onions - $0.98 for 2 bunches -- WOW! Awesome! * Napa, Bok Choy, and Shanghai Choy - $1.88 per lb -- Ok for the choy, but not that great a price for the napa. There's better elsewhere. * Produce Price Rating: Usually very competitive, catering to Asian cuisine. Warning: their newest sales start on Fridays - so this is a late advertising of their sales.
Walmart

• Pork back rib - $2.97 per lb -- This is the target price for any pork rib.
• Chicken or Pork kabobs (Marcangelo) - $7.87 480-680g -- I'm one to prep my own kabobs, but this ain't a bad deal at all. The pork ones are the 680g packs. But... Sigh.. Later in the fluer they advertise the same product for 13.97. Mind your step.
• Beef t-bone steak (Your Fresh Market) - $16.00 per lb -- Remember the Super C veal deal? This is what I'm talking about. $16/lb versus $8. Different experience in terms of flavour, but the value proposition is real with the veal.
• Chicken Breast (boneless skinless, Mina, halal) - $12.00 4-pack -- Worth checking out and weighing in store. If it clocks in at 2lbs, you're paying basically an average rate. If it's 2.5-3/lb, then you're getting into a good value territory.
• Sweet peppers - $1.44 per lb -- WOW! Cheapest peppers in town!
• Corn - $0.67 each -- Doesn't come close to that Maxi deal... Too bad...
• Green onions - $0.97 per bunch -- Nice!
• Coleslaw kit (Your Fresh Market) - $2.47 397g kit -- Fair deal on a salad kit.
• Romaine lettuce - $3.97 3-pack -- Good price for romaine. It's hard to find it for less, and certainly easy to find it for more.
• Zucchini - $1.97 per lb -- Fair price for zuch. 1.50/lb or less would make it a good deal.
• Long eggplant - $1.77 per lb -- Interesting. Good price for eggplant. I wonder how it compares to regular eggplant...
• Strawberries - $1.64 454g shell -- WOW! What a deal! Best in town! Second to this is the Basics deal.
• Pineapple, Cantaloupe - $2.97 each -- Good and fair price.
• Paneer (Happy Dairy) - $4.44 300g brick -- Close to the Brar's deal for 4.44. This is a 300g brick versus 375g.
• Royale bathroom tissue - $18.97 30-pack -- Awesome TP deal!
• Produce Price Rating: A little all over the place. Some really good prices between a lot of average pricing.

Costco (Note that these are the online/shipped prices - reduce each item by $3 for in-store pricing)

• Paper Towel (Kirkland) - $23.49 12-roll pack -- 2-ply; 160 sheets
• Paper Towel (Bounty) - $27.49 12-roll pack -- 2-ply; 86 sheets
• Toilet Paper (Kirkland) - $21.49 30-roll pack -- 2-ply; 380 sheets
• Toilet Paper (Cashmere) - $24.99 40-roll pack -- 2-ply; 250 sheets (on sale)
• Dish soap (Dawn Platinum) - $13.99 2.66L -- Food Basics had this jug for $10! It's probably more now, but probably very comparable.
• Laundry detergent (Purex) - $21.99 9.24L -- 250 loads
• Garbage bags (30 gallon; large) - $14.99 100-pack -- Amazon has Glad standard 74L bags, 100-packs for $23, sometimes less if on sale
• Countertop green bin liners - $21.99 125-pack -- Amazon has Glad Compostable green bin liners 100-packs for $18, sometimes less if on sale
• Produce Price Rating: I need to do a proper check to be sure, but I find it's pretty average. There's an illusion of getting a good deal because of the bulk. Just be careful.

Jean Coutu (new sales start Fridays)

• Produce Price Rating: I have to start checking these just in case...

Shoppers Drug Mart (new sales start Fridays)

• Produce Price Rating: Sometimes they have cheap butter, eggs, and milk on weekends.

Some additional references!

• Grocery Review Google Drive Location https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xhLvBP1smXb1eSnxAW5yyBjO2aYFLJHC?usp=sharing
• Cooking Tips and Recipes https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TCcHm9y0kWIa3x18hznKN2ix0BPcUv-m?usp=drive_link
• Google Maps list of the Grocery stores in Ottawa https://maps.app.goo.gl/YT7cZmv8vMQWU4J59

Tuna salad sandwiches. 4 cans of tuna (3.67) 6 eggs, hardboiled (0.76) 4 big spoons of mayo, I use miracle whip, you can also use Greek yogurt (4.00 for a jar) Chopped up dill pickle chips, about 16 (2.50 a jar) Bread (1.42) I put them in plastic baggies, and put them in the fridge. Makes about 8-10 sandwiches depending on how much filling.
Veggie Alfredo 1lb pasta (.98) 1 large jar of Alfredo sauce (5.00) Frozen peas (1.00) 2 bags of frozen broccoli (1.20 each) 1 bag of frozen spinach (1.20) Boil the pasta to instructions, while heating the veggies up in another pot of water. Once both are done, turn off the heat, strain both and return to one pot. Add the whole jar of sauce and stir to combine. Makes 5 decent sized portions.
Chicken and veggies. 5lbs chicken breast (2.00 a pound) Can of black beans (0.89) Can of light red kidney beans (0.89) Frozen sweet potatoes (1.90) Frozen butternut squash (1.90) Frozen kale (1.20) Season chicken breast how you like, bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Reheat beans. Microwave veggies. Assemble. Also about 5 decent sized portions.
Snacks - frozen fruit.
Comes in at around 8-10 dollars a day. I'll add pictures if people want them.

Hey all. So it be honest, I'm pretty nervous. I'm scheduled to get a bilateral salpingectomy along with an Essure and clip removal on the 10th. My doctor has sent me instructions telling me to treat this like a full hysterectomy regarding pre/recovery though.
I was told to stop ALL vitamins/substance/herbal use 8 days prior (this includes even ibuprofen or taking any other OTC meds) and to follow a strict diet of no spices and light acidity and sugar, and to only take my medication.
The day before is to be just the clear liquid diet, then no food or water after midnight.
Can I get some feedback/help on my pre-diet plan, as I'm having a hard time coming up with meals that would be filling enough for me that consist of easily digestible food. I seem to be getting mixed opinions on if tofu/soy/beans/dairy is easily digestible or not, so I'm choosing to eliminate it.
I also don't want to rely on fish too much, as I never really eat it. I DO eat it, but just not a lot. Maybe like once every 2 or 3 months. So I don't want to suddenly be adding fish into my diet everyday since I'm worried about how that could upset my 'system' due it not being used to having so much of it.
Here's what I have so far:
June 2ed - Pasta w/ Plain Sauce
June 3rd - Salmon w/ Baked Sweet Potato and Broccoli
June 4th - Lobster w/ Mashed potatoes and Green Beans (I know lobster isn't the best digestible but I'm treating myself to eating one thing I love during this week and usually can't have because $$.)
June 5th - Pasta w/ Kale and Lentils
June 6th - Tuna and Brown rice w/ zucchini
June 7th - "Quinoa With Roasted Winter Vegetables" and Squash Soup ~ Cranberry Juice
June 8th - ?????? Avocado w/ Brown rice and Vegetable Soup ~ Cranberry Juice
June 9th - Drink lots of coconut water // Clear liquids only
Having a hard time coming up with a meal for the 8th, as I want it to be filling but also easily digestible. All these meals will be made without any spices/herbs and using avocado oil if needed.
I plan on making extra of the non-fish stuff and freezing it to have post surgery. I also plan on making [and freezing] a vegetable casserole with easily digestible veggies for a meal after when I can eat solids again.
For snacks I have the following (as I'm the type to just eat one meal a day and snack throughout): -Bananas -Blueberries -Pineapple -Beets -Sour Dough Toast // Avocado Toast -Yogurt (post op) -Plane oatmeal -Pumpkin -Hard Boiled Eggs
So any suggestions/ideas on vegetarian friendly meals for this sort of thing (pre and post) would be much appreciated ♡

** ALL WEEKEND (FRI 5/31 - SUN 6/2) *\*
Pride Tea Party Snapdragon Tea, 115 Harvard Dr. SE We're celebrating the wonderful diversity in the LGBTQIA+ community! We welcome kids of all ages, and provide children’s menus upon request. Special gluten free/vegan/vegetarian menus available upon request. Reservations required
6:30 PM Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Flix Brewhouse, 3236 La Orilla Rd. NW The rebellion begins. With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts. Experience the fifth Harry Potter movie on the big screen - along with some Butterbeer! (tickets)
** BOTH SAT 6/1 AND SUN 6/2 *\*
Sat 10 AM - 8 PM, Sun 10 AM - 6 PM Wild West Frontier Festival Wildlife West Nature Park, 87 E. Frontage Rd., Edgewood Ready to step back to the 1880's where the frontier was free, towns had merchant shops, boutiques, saloons, gambling, gold miners, gunfighters, a Sheriff and a jail. If that sounds amazing and fun, then come down and visit Jamestown. Come and see the exciting shows, campfire songs, leather crafters, gold panning, horse rides and petting zoo, all Wild West gunfights, saloons, food markets, chili competition, bbq cooking, Country Barn Dance, old fashioned chuck wagon dining. Western wear is encouraged but not required, clothing shops, local entertainment, local breweries, kids games and some for adults too (tickets)
12:30 - 3:30 PM SOLARIS - Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 sci-fi masterpiece as part of our Arthouse Classics Series! The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE Check out the trailer. Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky - 1972 - 166m - Russia - In Russian with English subtitles. Ground control has been receiving mysterious transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is dispatched to investigate, he experiences the same strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his consciousness. With Solaris, the legendary Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky created a brilliantly original science-fiction epic that challenges our conceptions about love, truth, and humanity itself (tickets)
3 - 6 PM New Mexico Take Over Alley Kats Tap Company, 222 Truman St. NE Level up as a dancer and connect to our expanding New Mexico dance community! The New Mexico Takeover Weekender is your passport to an immersive dance experience, featuring the best of salsa (Cuban, On1, On2), Bachata, and Zouk. Learn from New Mexico’s Finest: Get exposure to the top local instructors who are ready to share their passion and expertise. Expand Your Dance Horizons: Whether you're a beginner or an advanced dancer, enhance your skills across various Latin dance styles. Connect and Collaborate: Join a growing community, uniting dance enthusiasts and dance schools from all corners of New Mexico. Immerse Yourself: Enjoy an immersive learning environment that enriches your mind/body connection and opens up new avenues to dance. Experience a Movement: Beyond just technique, this weekend is about growing together, embracing diverse dance forms, and creating a united dance community in New Mexico. Get your pass now and be part of this unforgettable weekend of dance, learning, and community
** Fri 5/31 *\*
Fri 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM Painting and Pastries with a Purpose Flying Roadrunner Bakery, 303 Romero St. NW Join Create U 505 and NM House Rabbit Society for a relaxed acrylic painting class! Proceeds benefit NMHRS and all the foster buns in their care. Ticket includes 9"x12" canvas, all supplies, instruction and one freshly baked pastry. The theme of the painting is "Bunnies & Berries"
Fri 6 PM 90’s Game Night Canteen Brewhouse, 2381 Aztec Rd. NE Come play some of your favorite 90’s board games! We will have nostalgic 90’s board games available to play all night long. Come kick off our 30th anniversary weekend with fun games the whole family will love! *This is a family friendly event. All minors must be accompanied by an adult
Fri 7 PM RIG Coffee & Garage - Season 3 Premiere Rust is Gold Coffee, 3732 Eubank Blvd. NE Premiere of Season 3 of the Coffee & Racing webseries on YouTube, highlighting our adventures at Biltwell 100. Join us for a live screening and music performance by featured artist Benny Bassett Music. Drink specials, giveaways, and a quick Q&A
Fri 8 PM Movie In The Park - Inside Out ABQ Food Park, 6951 San Antonio Dr. NE Free Entry! Reserve tickets now! *Movie will start at sunset. Please be patient as show time may vary* Join us for a magical movie night under the stars. We'll be screening Inside Out, the perfect lead-in to the upcoming release of Inside Out 2 in theaters. Bring your blankets, chairs, and appetite for a memorable evening. Arrive early to get your face painted by Local Locas Facepainting and truly become a part of the fun. Please refrain from bringing outside food or drinks as we have a diverse selection of food options available
Fri 8 PM Strange Mix Insideout, 678 Central Ave NW Dj Brad Cole will be playing a “Strange Mix” of Music Videos. A nostalgic return to the darker side of Alternative Classics, 80’s 90’s Dark Wave, New Wave, Industrial, EBM, Electro, Punk, Glam. Artists like NIN, The Cure, Peter Murphy, Ministry, Nick Cave, David Bowie, Joy Division, VNV Nation, Sisters of Mercy, Love and Rockets, The Clash, TKK, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Violent Femmes, New Order, Depeche Mode, Miss Kitten, Front 242, Gary Numan, Erasure, Duran Duran, Bauhaus. $10 cash, $12 CC
Fri 8 – 11 PM AfroBeats Night- 420 Friendly Herban Oasis Apothecary, 2308 Eubank Blvd. NE 420 friendly AfroBeats night! Where we smoke and vibe to some of our favorite AfroBeats, Konpa and reggae music! Dab bar closes at 10 pm, lounge closes at 11! Bring a friend
Fri 8 – 11 PM Soul & Rocksteady All Vinyl Night Tractor Brewing, 1800 4th St. NW At Barrio Hi-Fi Collectivo, music isn't just a sound-it's a way of life. We believe in the power of music to transcend boundaries, unite communities, and uplift the human spirit. With each electrifying set, we strive to create moments of pure joy and connection, spreading love and positivity to all who hear our beats. With a passion for cumbia, soul, disco, boogie, reggae, classic ska, funk, 80's R&B, 90's freestyle and everything in between, our Collectivo brings the groove wherever we go. We are Selector RootzRocka, Dj La Ruda and Dj ThreeDeuceLuce. We are excited to bring you a night of all vinyl selections! We continue our monthly free event to share our love of music and vinyl!
Fri 8 PM - 12 AM Black & Gold Kick-Off Party Hotel Andaluz, 125 2nd St. NW $10 pre-sale $12 at the door. Theme: Black & Gold. Get ready to dance the night away at our salsa and bachata social & join us at a new venue! A collaboration between Pachanga Productions & Metta Dance Collective. DJ Gabriel Goza & DK Karla will keep your gold and black shining on the dance floor. You’ll find the dance floor at the Ibiza Bar & Patio located on the 2nd floor in the SW corner. Hotel Andaluz offer 20 valet spots, arrive early and snag one! The parking lot adjacent to the hotel charges $1 for every 30 min, and of course there’s always street parking. Food and drinks available at the venue
Fri 9 PM – 12 AM Triple Nickle Band Dirty Bourbon, 9800 Montgomery Blvd., Ste 4 We are stoked to be back! Always a great time at this awesome venue! Show starts at 9pm, but might wanna show up a bit early to grab a seat, a drink, and warm up those dancing boots!
** Sat 6/1 *\*
Sat 8 AM June Volunteer Cleanup Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale Blvd. SE We are an all-volunteer organization who needs your help keeping our cemetery clean and weed free. Please bring tools, gloves and sunscreen. Trash bags, water and snacks will be provided. This month's cleanup will be headed by Gail Rubin!
Sat 8 AM – 12 PM Downtown Growers' Market Robinson Park, 810 Copper Ave NW Every Saturday from 8 am - NOON! This vibrant community event connects local farmers, growers, artisans, wellness makers, and hot food vendors with the local community from mid-April to early-November. Bring friends / family or come solo to enjoy fresh food made on sight, a variety of seasonal produce, unique arts and crafts, live music, and special programming all in the heart of downtown
Sat 8:30 – 10 AM Polly's Run 2024 Tiguex Park, 1800 Mountain Rd. NW Polly’s Run, a non-profit road race, is an annual 5K Run/Walk and Kids’ K road race honoring Polly Rogers and all the loved ones we have lost to pancreatic cancer. The purpose of the race is to raise awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research (register)
Sat 9 AM – 12 PM Family Fit Fun Fest North Domingo Baca Park, 7520 Corona Ave NE Bring your whole family to our 3rd annual Family, Fit, Fun Fest to learn about keeping fit and healthy - mentally, physically, and emotionally. Interactive Community Booths - Learn new skills and discover ways to keep your mind and body healthy and active as you visit interactive booths lead by community partners, which will include hands-on activities, games, puzzles, and brain teasers, interactive lessons in martial arts, dance, mindfulness, information on youth classes, clubs, and teams, opportunities to meet local health care providers, mental health, nutrition, eye care, and dental care for your whole family. Live Demonstrations & Performances - Watch a variety of community partners perform live karate, taekwondo, tap dance, yoga, cheer, jump rope, Ballet Folklorico, and more. Then join them, as you try some of the moves for yourself in step-by-step demonstrations. Obstacle Courses, Appearances & Food Trucks - Climb to the top of a rock-wall, make your way through an obstacle course, try the football toss or the baseball toss, shoot a hockey puck, or score a goal at interactive stations around the event! Meet and take photos with local sports teams and/or mascots and stop by the Menchie's Froyo Mobile for a sweet treat (RSVP for a confirmation email with more details)
Sat 9 AM – 1 PM SUMMER AT THE MARKETPLACE - a patio pop-up event! Poulin Marketplace, 8600 Pan American Fwy NE, Ste B We’re hosting “Patio Pop-Up Events” to bring you one-of-a-kind items from the amazing artisans in our community. A rotating offering of local artisans display their goods between 9 AM and 1 PM every Saturday, June thru July, excluding July 6. SIP delicious and refreshing summer specialty drinks. Try our new seasonal house-made blackberry syrup. Enjoy the glorious summer weather in the shade of our solar-powered patio. SHOP offerings from local artisans and Poulin Marketplace’s curated home + decor collection. BE INSPIRED by our space and stylings for creative ideas to transform your home!
Sat 11 AM Special Olympics NM Summer Games UNM Track Field & Soccer Complex, 1800 Avenida Cesar Chavez SE We will be throwing the largest Foam Party NM has ever seen!
Sat 11 AM - 1 PM Saturday at the Refuge Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, 7851 2nd St. SW Enjoy live performances from Conservation Carnival. Participate in exciting ranger-led activities. Get creative with arts and crafts. Explore the beauty of the refuge with free shuttle rides. Bring your family and friends for a fun-filled day in nature!
Sat 11 AM – 2 PM Read with a Bird! Color Wheel Toys, 6855 4th St. NW, Bldg D Stop by for all ages story time provided by Birds of a Feather Parrot Rescue. There will be a contained bird present to visit with while you hear a bird story! Storytimes are at 11 am, 12 pm and 1 pm. You can also work on a free bird craft in our workspace. Birds of a Feather Parrot rescue is asking for a $5 donation per family - all proceeds help them take care of surrendered birds and get them into long term loving homes. Do you have toilet paper or cardboard tubes? Pool noodles or popsicle sticks? If you have some to spare, bring them with you - the parrot rescue uses them to provide bird enrichment for their feathered friends
Sat 11 AM - 7 PM Pride Bake Sale Fundraiser for Santuario de Karuna Vegos, 2904 Indian School Rd. NE Featuring Pride rainbow themed goodies including SDK Signature treats: Sugar cookies, chocolate peanut butter cups & of course our best selling Banana Bread! Plus rice crispy treats, Cosmic Brownies and more! Come have a delicious lunch or dinner and enjoy some baked goodies as well! We will be out on the Patio! We will also have a new batch of the new St. Francis bags that are a must have! Reminder: Vegos has moved from Carlisle to Indian School
Sat 12 PM Show Your Colors Green Jeans Food Hall, 3600 Cutler Ave NE Join us for a Pride Kickoff Party where we celebrate self-expression and unity within our community. This event is not only a celebration of diversity but also a fundraiser for local non-profits, where every contribution helps support our shared values. We will have music, drag performances, and more. Let's come together, show our true colors, and kick off Pride season!
Sat 12 – 6 PM Caribbean Celebration Manzano Mesa Park, 501 Elizabeth St. SE Join New Mexico Entertainment Magazine and Corrie Griffith of Big Happy Productions as we present the Caribbean Celebration in honor of Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The event features the culture through cuisine, music, clothing, and more, with performances and music by: Boomroots Collective, DaJarney, DJ La Ruda, Dre Z Melodi, Elovated Roots, Selector RootzRocka, Vibestrong (tickets)
Sat 12 - 9 PM Canteen's 30th Anniversary Party Canteen Brewhouse, 2381 Aztec Rd. NE What’s the 411? We are turning 30! We have been making fly brews since ’94 and we are celebrating by bringing you fresh 90’s fun all day long! Our 30th anniversary party is going to be all that and a bag of chips with live music all day, games, giveaways, and 90’s themed merch. Food, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase. This is a family and pet friendly event! We hope you stop by to celebrate with us, we appreciate the support of our customers and community. Canteen Prize for the best 90's costume! Anyone born in 1994 gets a prize! Mug Club Appreciation- 12-1pm: Mug club members stop by for a Mug club special prize! Le Chat Lunatique 1-2:30pm, Squash Blossom Boys 3-4:30pm, Doso Dirtbags 5-6:30pm, Carli’s Angels 7-9pm
Sat 12 – 10 PM Pride Celebration Bow & Arrow, 608 McKnight Ave NW Special Beer Collab Launch @ omegayeast. @ adobedisco 7-10pm
Sat 1 – 10 PM Pridezilla 2024 Tractor Brewing - Wells Park, 1800 4th St. NW Two stages roaring with local talent, benefitting Teen 'Mpower ABQ, all ages, $10 suggested donation. Emcee Nick FurioStylz. MegaBabe, Clark Libbey, Lexie Jay with Sunshine Ray, Twisted Mojo, Shoulder Voices, Sin Limite, A Band Named Sue, The Directory, Mint Green Elephants, Blame It on Rebekkah, Whatevs, Saint of Trains, True Story House Duo, Cult of Chaz, Amy Rosette, Andrew Torn, Papa Fierce, Tony Travis, Qari Booth, Leonine, Manda Baca, Dr. Doomsday (more info)
Sat 2 – 5 PM Live Music and Adoption Event OutPost 1706 Brewhouse, 301 Romero St. NW, Ste 205 Live music with Nashville singesongwriter Lani Nash and an adoption event for Cross My Paws Animal Rescue
Sat 3 – 6 PM Community Job Fair Kirtland Park, 300 University Blvd. NE We welcome all community residents and their families to come to this picnic and enjoy a day of fun. There will be food, awesome games, prizes, activities, and fellowship, as well as a drawing for gift baskets for adults and seniors. Bring your blankets, lounge chairs, and umbrellas to enjoy a fun afternoon in the park. Local businesses will come out to search for potential employees, so bring your resumes. For more info, Isshin Ryu Club 505-910-8801
Sat 3 – 8 PM Evening in Paradise 2024 Paradise Hills Park, 10111 Chaparral St. NW Hosted by Commissioner Walt Benson, this delightful and free event promises a fantastic time for the entire family, featuring a vibrant showcase of local music and entertainment that will captivate audiences of all ages. Explore the creativity of talented artisans displaying their unique crafts, enjoy whimsical face painting for children, and experience the thrill of soaring through the air on the exciting zipline. As the evening winds down, stick around for the kickoff of the BernCo Movies in the Park series. We are thrilled to present a special screening of the 2023 movie, "Wonka," under the stars
Sat 4 – 7 PM ALL REZ Kickoff Celebration Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, 500 University Blvd. NE *Registration on our Eventbrite page is not required but appreciated* The Maxwell and Axle Contemporary are proud of their partnership with Diné photographer Rapheal Begay and independent curator Lillia McEnaney. ALL REZ: Kéyah, Hooghan, K'é, Iina / Land Land, Home, Kinship, Life is a traveling, site-specific, experimental photography exhibition and museological project. While the Maxwell will feature an installation opening on May 4, 2024, of Begay's photography documenting his perspectives of these cultural themes within the landscape, the traveling portion of ALL REZ will begin June 6, 2024, and take Begay's photographs back to his home community in the Axle Contemporary mobile artspace. The interior of the truck will be transformed into a welcoming space for reflection and conversation with the artist about his photographs and the cultural content held therein. As an exercise in creative place-making with the goal of fostering active storytelling, ALL REZ centers the voices and experiences of Dine community members, offering a reciprocal process of exhibition-making. At the ALL REZ: Kickoff Celebration, enjoy a unique public event in which we will have the actual Axle Contemporary Truck at the museum before it goes on its journey into and throughout Diné Bikéyah (Navajo Nation). Light fare, refreshments, and music in the museum courtyard! Rapheal Begay is a visual storyteller based in the Navajo Nation. Informed by cultural teachings and land-based knowledge, he activates landscape photography and oral storytelling traditions to document and celebrate the Diné way of life. Housed in a custom retrofitted 1970 aluminum delivery truck, Axle Contemporary is an art gallery on wheels that activates unusual venues, such as schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and city streets, thus, expanding artists' reach to diverse communities. Lillia McEnaney is a museum anthropologist, independent curator, and freelance arts writer based in Santa Fe
Sat 6 – 9 PM Gone Country Saturdays with DJ Dollabill Ponderosa Brewing, 1761 Bellamah Ave NW Kick off the evening with free dance lessons at 5 pm, followed by family-friendly music until 9 pm
Sat 6 – 10 PM Pride Kick Off & Night Market Black Wall Gallery, 2125 San Mateo Blvd. NE Music, Art, Food, Fun and Celebration AND THE FIRST NIGHT MARKET OF THE SEASON!
Sat 7 – 9 PM Rise - Pride Concert St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 5301 Ponderosa Ave NE Join Encantada: The Band of Enchantment for our annual Pride concert as we Rise Up and Rise Above the challenges of our time. NM premiere of RISE: a gay games anthem. Free concert
Sat 7 - 11 PM Pride on the Sky Deck Marble Brewery, 111 Marble Ave NW Join us for another Pride on the Sky Deck - A Drag Show Benefitting Equality New Mexico and celebrating our LGBTQ+ community! Come down to the Marble Sky Deck patio for a night of Drag hosted by Vanessa Patricks with music by DJ Justin Cristofer. Tickets cost $15 per person, 100% of proceeds go to Equality New Mexico. 21+ ONLY. Must have a valid ID
Sat 7:30 PM Nightscapes: Urban Photography Meetup On The Plaza In Old Town Many people don't think about nighttime being a good time to do photography since there's a lack of light. However, armed with knowledge about your camera's settings and the properties of light, nighttime photography can be a lot of fun. You'll learn about the best camera settings for nighttime photography. We'll also explore the kinds of light available to us and how to use that light to make some awesome photos. As always, there are exercises that will help you put your new knowledge to work (register)
Sat 7:30 – 10 PM West Coast Swing Social Dance CSP Dance Studios, 1624 Eubank Blvd. NE Join Strictly Swing NM for a fun night of West Coast Swing dancing! Great music and a fun group of dancers. There will also be a little bit of Country Two Step and Night Club Two Step to mix things up. Come out and dance with us! No partner necessary. @ CSP Dance Studios. $10
Sat 8:30 PM Movies in the Park: WONKA Paradise Hills Park, 10111 Chaparral St. NW The smell of popcorn is in the air as we're warming up the old projector to resume our Movies in the Park series! This is a great opportunity for families & friends to enjoy the great outdoors while enjoying some of their favorite movies. There is no cost to attend, and movies will always start at sundown (weather permitting). The first movie to kick off our summer series is "Wonka," which will play outside at Paradise Hills Park at the end of our #EveningInParadise event (more info)
Sat 8:30 PM – 1 AM SABOR Latin Night - EDUCATORS' NIGHT! Bama's 1865, 6007 Osuna Rd. NE DJ Gabriel Goza will be serving you the saucy Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia, Merengue y Mas! Ample Parking, Safe Environment, Beautiful Venue, Good Food, Good Music, Good Vibes. 21+ / $10 cover / NO COVER BEFORE 10 PM
Sat 9 PM sumthin sumthin Backstage at Revel ABQ, 4720 Alexander Blvd. NE Galaxy Presents: sumthin sumthin w/ support from Galaxy, Geezy, Wyatt Lawson. Coming from the small surf town of San Clemente, California, Conrad Woodul, better known as sumthin sumthin has become one of the most highly admired artists within electronic music in just a few years. His passion for music was born at age four; creating drum sets in his kitchen with pots and pans and kitchen utensils. A few years later he picked up the electric guitar followed by the piano, teaching himself how to write and compose music before taking lessons. After playing in bands for some time he decided he wanted to have full control over the music he was creating and found his way into producing electronic music. Beloved by both the underground and the mainstream, his ability to bridge lightness and darkness is evident throughout his discography and cements sumthin sumthin as a one-of-a-kind artist. This duality has led him to releases on Alison Wonderland's FMUOASL and San Holo's bitbird labels, as well as appearances at Electric Zoo, Lost Lands, and Ember Shores, among others (tickets)
Sat 9 PM – 12 AM Latin Dance Party on the Patio with DJ Tony Juno, 1501 1st St. NW Salsa, Bachata, Reggaeton, Cumbia, Meringue. 21+ (tickets)
Sat 9 PM – 1 AM Pride Social: NM Weekender Take Over Maple Street Dance Space, 3215 Central Ave NE $12 pre-sale $15 at the door. 2 rooms: Salsa & Bachata/Zouk. Theme: rainbow. Flow between styles and hear from DJ Ritmo in the salsa room and DJ Karla in the Bachata/Zouk room. Dress in all your favorite colors for a rainbow party!
Sat 10 PM - 2 AM Kanye Party Insideout, 622 Central Ave SW I miss the old Kanye party @ insideout505 Cover at door. Hosted by Still Sad. 21+

Hey friends! Here are some fun things that are happening around San Jose this week, plus a couple of newsy things happening around town:

Wednesday, 5/29

• Tully Night Market Tully Community Ball Fields (880 Tully Rd., San Jose) 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. FREE The final night market of the season features live reggae from Kruel Summer.
• San Jose Shakeout Series Creekside Socials (56 Barack Obama Blvd., San Jose) 6-8 p.m. FREE Join neighbors and friends for the final weeknight running series leading up to this weekend’s San Jose Half Marathon — featuring music by Hatamoto Surf Deluxe Band + DJ Jay Sumabat, and bites by Churros el Guero and Hula Truck.
• 2024 RTF New Talent Comedy Competition Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club (157 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale) 8 p.m. $12 The preliminary round kicks off with 15 amateur comics vying for a spot in the competition.
• Femme Fatality Splash Video Dance Bar (65 Post St., San Jose) 10 p.m. FREE Nita La Rey + Silvanna Daniels host a drag battle featuring local artists Vixen Six, Charity Case, Lady Jesus, and Mama Fierce.
• The Caravan Lounge Comedy Show Caravan Lounge (98 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose) 10 p.m. FREE Join this week’s host Noah Jones and step up to the mic or see up and coming local talent at this weekly showcase.

Thursday, 5/30

• Night Market: Tell Your Spuds Gordon Biersch Brewery (357 E. Taylor St., San Jose) 5-9 p.m. FREE Groove to the tunes of William Johnston from the SJZ Boombox Truck while you sample loaded french fries and all manner of potatoes from The Rolling Duck, Kabob Trolley, and Smasherz food trucks.
• Joke Development Comedy Class Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club (157 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale) 5:30 p.m. $45 Learn how to craft your set and write like the pros in this beginners class in comedy.
• Pobladores Night Market Parque de Los Pobladores (510 S. First St., San Jose) 5:30-9 p.m. FREE Stop by the SJ Downtown booth for a FREE hot dog, but also, check out the local craft vendors, apparel, comic books, and live music.
• BARC May Pub Run Hapa’s Brewing Company, Los Gatos (114 S. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos) 6-8 p.m. FREE Run, jog, walk, or stroll at your pace for the The Bay Area Run Crew Birthday Celebration. Stay after the route for a post-run beverage at Hapa’s.
• Creative Minds: Sofia Karim San Jose Museum of Art (110 S. Market St., San Jose) 7 p.m. FREE (but registration is encouraged) Artist, activist, and architect Sofia Karim joins local intellectuals for a conversation about architecture as a language of struggle and resistance.
• Kellen Erskine Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club (157 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale) 8 p.m. (Thursday), 8 p.m. (Friday), 7 p.m. (Saturday), 7 p.m. (Sunday) $25 From Amazon’s “Inside Jokes,” and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” this comedian joins Jeff Applebaum + Ben Kolina on the stage. (Runs through 6/2)
• Maria Bamford San Jose Improv (62 S. Second St., San Jose) 8 p.m. $25 You may know this classic Comedy Central comedian from her work on Netflix’s “Lady Dynamite,” “Big Mouth,” and “Arrested Development.”
• Pop Rockz Goes Emo Splash Video Dance Bar (65 Post St., San Jose) 10 p.m. FREE Who was the better emo group, Paramore or Fall Out Boy? Find out with DJ Ricky as the club spins your faves from the eyeliner and skinny jeans era.
• Möndo Freaks Caravan Lounge (98 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose) 10 p.m. FREE These groovy psychedelic rockers are joined by Uncle Andy and the Fuck Around Gang + No Captains.

Friday, 5/31

• San Jose Greek Festival Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1260 Davis St., San Jose) 5-10 p.m. (Friday), 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (Saturday), 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (Sunday) $5 General Admission, FREE (children under 12) OPA! Feel the kefi while you sample authentic Greek food and pastries + live music from Mythos, dancing, and more. (Runs through 6/2)
• AAPI Heritage Month Celebration Garden at the Flea (1590 Berryessa Rd., San Jose) 5-9 p.m. FREE Celebrate Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with local food trucks, makers, and artists.
• Sheryl Underwood San Jose Improv (62 S. Second St., San Jose) 7:30 p.m. (Friday), 7 p.m. (Saturday), 9:30 p.m. (Saturday) $35-$95 You’ll know this comedian from her time on ABC’s “The Talk” (and for a heated exchange which resulted in Sharon Osborne getting kicked off the show in 2021).
• Alex Lucero Band Art Boutiki (44 Race St., San Jose) 8 p.m. $15 Advance, $20 Day of Show This Santa Cruz-based group blends Americana, Soul, and R&B.
• El Flaco y El Mimoso San Jose Civic (135 W. San Carlos St., San Jose) 8 p.m. $96-$146 Luis Ángel and Luis Antonio López join forces for a Banda extravaganza.
• Zarna Garg Montgomery Theater (271 S. Market St., San Jose) 8 p.m. $39.50-$95 You may know this Indian comedian from her Amazon Prime special “One in a Billion” or her podcast “The Zarna Garg Family.”
• PSSY PWR: All Female Hip-Hop Night The Ritz (400 S. First St., San Jose) 9 p.m. $15 Advance, $20 Day of Show Keep it real, and keep it sexy at this celebration of the best women-MCs in hip hop (and you ain’t need to make no TikTok).
• Mokosos Caravan Lounge (98 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose) 9:30 p.m. FREE San Jose’s hardcore chicano punks are joined by Irritant, Cult Mind, and Nucler Blud.

Saturday, 6/1

• Beer City Half San Jose Almaden Lake Park (15780 Almaden Expy., San Jose) 7 a.m.-Noon $30 (Beer Stroll), $55 (5K), $80 (10K), $100 (Half Marathon) Lace up and enjoy a scenic run along Almaden Lake, Guadalupe River, Los Alamitos Creek, and Calero Creek Trails — then join your fellow runners for a sampling of local and regional brews + kombuchas at the finish line. (Registration ends 6/1)
• SJMADE Fest 2024 History Park (635 Phelan Ave., San Jose) 11 a.m.-6 p.m. FREE Bring the fam and sample over 250+ local makers, artists, designers, curators, chefs, bakers, crafters, and creative small businesses. Meet your new best friend and cuddle with cats in the Kitten Lounge, see performances and dance along at the K-Pop Plaza, featuring DJ AyumiPlease (Saturday) + DJ Peter Lo (Sunday). (Runs through 6/2)
• Open House: Get to Know 3Below 3Below Theaters & Cafe (288 S. Second St., San Jose) 11 a.m.-9 p.m. FREE Learn more about what makes this theater organization a local favorite, and check out free movies, live entertainment, games, youth activities, guest speakers, and more. (Runs through 6/2)
• Peter Pan Story Time Hicklebee’s Bookstore (1378 Lincoln Ave., San Jose) Noon-1 p.m. FREE Stop in for a free story time, get freebies from Broadway San Jose, and win tickets to see the Peter Pan musical in June.
• 2024 Season Finale Concert California Theater (345 S. First St., San Jose) 2 p.m. $5-$20 The San Jose Youth Symphony’s Philharmonic Orchestra’s last hurrah of season will feature the music of Gershwin, Villa-Lobos, and Juan Pablo Contreras.
• Remember the Titans California Theater (345 S. First St., San Jose) 7:30 p.m. (Saturday), 2:30 p.m. (Sunday) $55-$115 The 2023-2024 symphony season concludes with rousing renditions of selections from Arturo Márquez, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Gustav Mahler. Conducted by Tatsuya Shimono and San Jose’s own Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, Jon Nakamatsu. (Runs through 6/2)
• The Wonder of Elvis Montgomery Theater (271 S. Market St., San Jose) 7:30 p.m. $39-$59 Get all shook up at this Elvis Tribute show featuring Donny Edwards.
• Conjunto Trujillo Selena Tribute Art Boutiki (44 Race St., San Jose) 8 p.m. $20 Advance, $25 Day of Show Celebrate the musical legacy of the late queen of Tejano music with a full live band.
• Levels Dance Party The Ritz (400 S. First St., San Jose) 8 p.m. $15-$20 Advance, $20 Day of Show From Kid Cudi to Zedd and Avicii (RIP), celebrate the best in electropop at this throwback house party.

Sunday, 6/2

• San Jose Half Marathon & 8K Steven’s Creek Blvd. at Santana Row (Check road closures and route on the race website) 6 a.m.-Noon (Race starts at 7:30 a.m.) $20 (408kids Race), $80 (8K), $165 (Half Marathon), $165 (Remote Runner) From Santana Row to downtown and back, join your friends and neighbors for a jog with musical accompaniment, entertainment, and local vendors.
• Alum Rock Village Farmer’s Market James Lick High School (23 N. White Rd., San Jose) 8 a.m.-Noon From honey to baked goods, flowers to spring onions, get your grocery shopping done locally.
• Evergreen Farmers Market Evergreen Village Square (4055 Evergreen Village Sq., San Jose) 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FREE Stock up on berries, summer squash, leafy greens, and all manner of delicious local baked goods + groceries.
• Drag Brunch SoFA Market (387 S. First St., San Jose) Noon FREE Join Manang and Tori Tia for a special PRIDE MONTH edition of this monthly drag series, featuring Just Karen, Melia, Amaya Moore, Princess Azalea, Silvanna Danniels, Lulu Vee, and DJ Atmos.
• Sesame Street Live! San Jose Civic (135 W. San Carlos St., San Jose) 2 p.m. $28-$68 Say Hello to Elmo, Cadabby, Cookie Monster + friends and sweep the clouds away where the air is sweet.
• San Jose Against War: General Meeting San Jose Peace & Justice Center (48 S. Seventh St., San Jose) 3-5 p.m. FREE Become more involved with local activists, learn about ongoing work, and help the organization plan future actions and campaigns.
• Fleetwood Mac Concert Experience Montgomery Theater (271 S. Market St., San Jose) 3 p.m. $39-$59 Los Angeles-based Fleetwood Mac tribute group Gypsy Dreams performs your favorite hits from these classic rockers.
• Noah and the Arkiteks St. James Park (N. Second and E. St. James streets, San Jose) 3:30-7 p.m. FREE Join your friends and neighbors for this outdoor Levitt Concert series each weekend, featuring live music, food, and beverages. This weekend, the funky soul sounds of this San Jose-based group along with openers Pearl Alley Band.
• 2024 Silicon Valley Fashion Week Santa Clara Convention Center (5001 Great America Pkwy., Santa Clara) 2-6 p.m. $54-$160 “Fashion meets technology” as hundreds of designers pack a week’s worth of the latest trends in fashion and tech into a single afternoon in Santa Clara.

Newsybits

• Welcome to San Jose, Smitty! The San Jose Sharks have officially signed forward Will Smith to a three-year entry-level contract. The 19 year-old’s impressive tenure at Boston College ranked him 6th in the country with 25 goals in 41 games. If San Jose can pick up Celebrini next month, we’ll be looking pretty good for next season.
• A new library is in the works for Sunnyvale. City council unanimously voted last week to build a library + learning center next to Lakewood Park. The plans call for 50/50 traditional library and community services, which is sorely needed in Sunnyvale’s north side. San José Spotlight says the $23 million project is expected to begin this summer, and may open as soon as late 2025.
  
• One of the co-founders behind KoJa Kitchen has a new restaurant in Cupertino — Saigon Blvd. While the Vietnamese eatery hasn’t had an official grand opening (co-owners Hiep Lien + Linh Do just welcomed a baby into their lives), the restaurant features Vietnamese classics (pho, rice plates, spring rolls, and soju cocktails).
  

Thanks so much for reading!

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• Gregg

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Foods that increase testosterone in females during menopause

When you’re going through perimenopause and menopause, you’re probably used to hearing the words estrogen and progesterone bandied about. Not least because replenishing and stabilising these hormones can help to manage your symptoms, and many menopause treatments, like HRT focus on doing exactly that.
There is a third hormone, however, that is not talked about quite as much, but which also falls during menopause and that is testosterone – a sex hormone that is produced in small amounts produced by the ovaries, adrenal glands and peripheral tissues in women.
Often referred to as ‘the male hormone’, testosterone can be just as important for women in keeping you feeling good and helping to manage your symptoms as estrogen and progesterone. Whilst women might not need as high levels as men getting the right amount is important for a healthy sex drive and leaner body composition. Unfortunately, testosterone has not yet been approved for women who might need it by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and is currently only FDA-approved for men with low testosterone.[1]
Many women look for foods that boost testosterone during menopause because they know about the impact on hormone levels that perimenopause and menopause can have. While specific foods can’t boost testosterone levels by themselves, there are certain ones that can help to support your body in testosterone production and keep your testosterone levels normal through menopause.

Why is testosterone important during menopause?

Levels of testosterone fall naturally with age and as you transition into perimenopause and menopause but other factors including lack of sleep, sustained stress and high body fat levels can also cause a decline in its production.
When levels are low it can lead to unexplained tiredness, reduced sex drive, and it can become harder for you to build muscle and lose weight. Research into how low levels of testosterone specifically affect perimenopausal and menopausal women is in its infancy (as things stand there are more studies showing how it affects men rather than women) but there is some evidence to show when women are given more testosterone their energy levels, stamina, mood and libido all improve.[2]
Of course, getting more testosterone doesn’t automatically translate into women wanting sex and enjoying it more.. We do know, however, that this hormone contributes to your libido, sexual arousal and orgasm by increasing dopamine levels in the central nervous system and when your body produces enough healthy levels of it, theoretically, you are more likely to want, and enjoy sex. It is also known to improve blood flow to your vaginal area and reduce some of menopause’s urogenital symptoms (such as lack of vaginal sensitivity and difficulty becoming aroused).
So how do you help maintain optimal testosterone levels? Some studies have shown that having a diet high in ultra-processed foods appears to reduce it, but, conversely, eating healthy nutrient-dense ones (like the ones listed below) can help increase it.

5 foods that help boost testosterone production

Nutritionist Helen Roach suggests five key foods that can help increase testosterone in women including:
Oysters & shellfish
“These contain zinc, which contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood,” Helen explains. “Oysters are also a very good source of D-aspartic acid, an amino acid which can trigger testosterone production.” There has been encouraging evidence to show that supplementing with zinc can help testosterone levels and sexual function in postmenopausal women[4] but although there have been studies to show how D-aspartic acid can increase testosterone in men, as yet there is no similar research to show it has the same effect in women.
Avocados Helen explains that avocados are rich in pregnenolone, a steroid hormone which acts as a precursor to testosterone production. Taking pregnenolone in supplement form has been shown to improve mood, brain function and memory, all factors that can be negatively affected during perimenopause and menopause.[5]
Salmon “Salmon is high in a number of vitamins, as well as zinc, which helps to maintain the normal production of testosterone in the blood,” says Helen, suggesting it makes a menopause-friendly evening meal when accompanied by green leafy vegetables like spinach or kale. Alternatively, try smoked salmon with scrambled eggs or diner eggs for breakfast or with salad for lunch. Salmon is also packed with protein and omega 3 fatty acids, which can help both your energy and brain function.
Mushrooms Helen recommends leaving your mushrooms out for a little sunbathe before you cook them, to make the most of their testosterone-boosting properties. Shitake mushrooms are best for this. Why? “Mushrooms become high in vitamin D and vitamin B5 when left in sunlight for an hour or so. These vitamins contribute to the normal synthesis and metabolism of steroid hormones, and can help the production of regular testosterone,” she explains.
Broccoli, Cauliflower and Squash Helen explains that these are all rich sources of Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). This vitamin is responsible for the production of steroid hormones such as testosterone & estrogen.

Foods that support testosterone production in menopause for vegetarians and vegans

We all need a steady intake of foods containing testosterone-boosting zinc because this mineral is not stored in the body so needs to be topped up regularly. Given that many of the best sources tend to be animal-based proteins like red meat (particularly beef and lamb), fish and seafood it has been suggested in the past that vegetarians or vegans might be at a slight disadvantage when it comes to getting enough.
Recent research, however, has shown there is little difference in the testosterone levels of meat eaters and vegans[6] and there are plenty of healthy alternative plant-based sources including pulses, oats, walnuts, cashew nuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and spinach so try to include as many of these in your daily diet as you can.
For vegan foods that boost testosterone, Helen suggests, “chickpeas, lentils and beans are a good source and research suggests sprouting, soaking or fermenting them can help increase zinc levels even further.”[7]

What else you can do to provide a testosterone boost?

1. Managing stress. In the short-term stress shouldn’t affect your testosterone levels too much but if it is sustained and left unchecked this means your levels of the stress hormone cortisol are almost always elevated and this can play a big part in fluctuating testosterone levels. “The higher your level of cortisol the lower your testosterone level, and vice versa,” Helen explains. “In other words, anything that lowers cortisol increases the balance of testosterone in your body.” Exercise and some relaxing activities such as yoga or meditation can help to balance your hormones and keep you more calm, cool and centered. Find more advice from Dr Shilpa McQuillan M.D. here on coping with stress and anxiety during menopause.
2. Sleep. This is the time when your body produces hormones like testosterone. If you are not getting enough sleep (and enough equates to around seven-nine hours nightly) it is likely you are not making enough testosterone. Researchers recording the sleeping patterns of healthy men have found that their testosterone levels increased the longer they slept. As women going through perimenopause and menopause are more likely to have their sleep disrupted by night sweats and sleep disturbances this can potentially disrupt production of hormones like testosterone.
3. Laying off the caffeine. As Helen explains, although caffeine has been seen to increase testosterone levels in men, it has been shown to lower them in women[8] – so perhaps cut down on your daily latte or switch to decaf.
4. Exercise increases testosterone because it increases muscle mass. Doing weight training and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) have been shown to increase testosterone levels (in men)[9] Regular physical activity will also help to keep your weight down and being overweight or obese is linked to lower testosterone.[10]
5. Managing blood sugar levels (and insulin production) can support DHEA (a steroid hormone: dehydroepiandrosterone) in the adrenals – this is a precursor to testosterone. High sugar or refined carbohydrate consumption in the form of sweets, baked goods, breads, pastries, pasta and juices can increase insulin levels. This can cause vitamin and mineral imbalances as well as reduce DHEA production. Helen’s key advice here is, “to limit these and add protein and/or fiber to each meal for balanced blood sugar.” She also noted that “Alcohol consumption is interconnected with varying levels of blood sugar. Initially blood sugar can increase but may lead to big dips in blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) if more than one drink is consumed.”
6. Ashwagandha has been shown to support women’s physical and psychological condition. As we know, testosterone levels in women decreases with age. Studies have shown that Ashwagandha can increase testosterone in women to help support their diminished sexual desire.[11]

Sources & references

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9331845/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31353194/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266690/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34311679/#:\~:text=The%20results%20of%20this%20study,having%20zinc%20insufficiency%20is%20recommended.
[5] https://www.verywellmind.com/the-lowdown-on-pregnenolone-89502
[6] https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/study-finds-vegan-men-dont-have-lower-testosterone-levels-than-meat-eaters/
[7] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nbu.12549
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3502342/
[9] https://www.piedmont.org/living-bettethe-best-exercises-to-increase-testosterone
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955331/
[11] https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/284154/

What's your favorite Thanksgiving food? For many people, it's the turkey, and that's understandable. But if you're looking to mix things up and try something new.
So, consider some of these options of Thanksgiving foods that start with S. They might be your new favorites.

Sauerkraut

True to its German heritage, Sauerkraut is salty and tangy (or sour, if you prefer). It has a pleasant crunch that makes it an excellent addition to any meal.
However, Try adding some sauerkraut to your turkey sandwich or tossing it into your favorite chicken soup recipe. Making your Sauerkraut for Thanksgiving foods that start with S is simple and inexpensive.
So, clean a head of cabbage, chop it finely and place it in an airtight container with salt. Add additional salt over time, and you'll have delicious homemade Sauerkraut within two weeks.

Sausage

The only thing better than roasted turkey on Thanksgiving is sausage. While burning a turkey, whip up some Italian-style links and stuff them with your favorite cheeses. Stuffing is critical to delicious thanksgiving food that starts with s.
In addition, cheese, chestnuts, and sage are a winning combination. Suppose you prefer your stuffing sweeter than savory.
Mix apples and dried cranberries into your bread dough, then bake into one side of a dinner roll. The apples are an addition because they add some natural sweetness to balance out any spiciness in your sausage.

Spinach

Spinach is one of those holiday foods that no one ever seems to get sick of. In addition to being easy on your wallet, it's also easy on your time. Unlike most leafy greens, spinach only takes 10 minutes to cook.
In addition, throw it in with some lemon juice and olive oil, and you're good to go. Spinach is a great side dish for any meal, especially on a turkey day.
However, it goes well with potatoes (especially mashed) and cranberry sauce. This part of Thanksgiving, foods that start with S tastes excellent when combined with foods like; cheese or eggs.
However, if you want to make a tasty breakfast casserole, try mixing eggs and bacon. Whatever way you choose to eat it, there's no denying that spinach tastes delicious.

Sage

The herb sage has an earthy and woodsy flavor that pairs well with many Thanksgiving dishes. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and cranberry sauce all taste better with some sage added in.
It's easy to forget about herbs when planning your holiday "thanksgiving foods that start with s" menu. But, never let them slip by remembering to add some sage to your table. Sage is also great with poultry, pork, and chicken dishes.

Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes are delicious Thanksgiving foods that start with S and can be used as a meal. However, some families like to make scalloped potatoes more of a main dish and incorporate ham and cheese.
Scalloped potatoes taste great in any form but are careful with your portion because they can get very fattening quickly.
Furthermore, one good thing about scalloped potatoes is that they are easy to make. So, you don't have to worry about spending hours slaving over a hot stove for your family holiday meal.
There are many ways to incorporate other ingredients into scalloped potatoes, such as onions, peppers, or bacon bits.

Squash

If you're craving something sweet but without all of that sugar, there's a good chance your taste buds will appreciate squash. It tastes similar to pumpkin pie but without that sentimental feeling.
Moreover, there are different types of squash, including acorn and spaghetti squash. We can't dislike pumpkin pie, and it might be time to opt for its more straightforward to eat cousin: acorn squash. It is simple to cook (just cut in half and roast it).
However, squash is part of Thanksgiving foods that start with S. It has a sweeter flavor with less of that earthy pumpkin flavor many people don't like.

Strawberries

Look no further than strawberries if you're looking for delicious, antioxidant-rich fruits to kick off your family dinner. Strawberries are a delightful addition to any holiday menu, loaded with vitamin C and fiber.
Opt for fresh berries if you can—they taste better than frozen or dried options. So, enjoy them with a dash of sugar on top and whipped cream as a side dish alongside ham/ turkey.
Moreover, if guests prefer tart cranberries over sweet desserts, consider serving these berries as part of an appetizer spread with other seasonal favorites like cantaloupe and honeydew melon balls. In either case, they'll be your guests' first pick at dessert time of Thanksgiving foods that start with S.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes should be your first stop if you're looking for a healthy side dish that tastes great too. They are packed with fiber and nutrients such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, manganese, and B vitamins.

Scallion

There's nothing better than a perfectly cooked scallion. Add to rice, use it as a garnish for soups and stews, or sauté it for use in fried rice.
However, scallions are flavorful and delicious with just about any meal. Make sure not to overcook them; they become tough and not as lovely as thanksgiving foods that start with S.
So, cooking them over medium heat with a splash of oil is all needed for perfect results. When serving scallions on an appetizer platter, slice them into circles rather than rings (they look fancier that way).

Stuffed Peppers

The delicious Thanksgiving food dish that starts with S has been around for a long time. There are several varieties of stuffed peppers, and most people prefer to use green bell peppers.
Moreover, this is what we're going to focus on here. These peppers are stuffed with ground beef mixed with chopped onions, cheese, bread crumbs, and parsley.
The mixture is poured into peppers that have been sliced in half lengthwise and baked until tender. You can add some chopped carrots or potatoes to make it more interesting. Don't forget dessert; sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served over ice cream are always a treat.

Stuffing

If you're looking for a great Thanksgiving side dish, try stuffing. Stuffing recipes can range from sweet to savory, depending on your tastes.
Although, in general, they're loaded with savory ingredients like herbs and veggies that add tons of flavor to your meal. Plus, stuffing has been part of thanksgiving foods that start with S classic for ages.
So, starting with one of these recipes is a good idea. Each is unique and delicious—we guarantee your family will love them all!

Succotash

There's nothing quite like succotash and getting it for thanksgiving foods that start with S for the guest—often made with limas, butter beans, corn, and other veggies.
Moreso, it combines a variety of textures and tastes. It also provides colors—to create an eye-pleasing medley of flavors that won't disappoint.
It's guaranteed that everyone at your dinner table will love it (if they don't, they won't hate it). Make sure you have enough, though. No one wants to go into Thanksgiving day starving!

Salmon

To get a tasty/ healthy meal of thanksgiving foods that start with S and are low in calories, try 'salmon.' This fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps your body burn fat more efficiently.
A study from Harvard University found that by increasing your omega-3 intake. You can lose two pounds every three months without changing how much you eat or your exercise habits. On top of being delicious, there are plenty of ways to cook salmon so that it won't be boring.
However, try grilling as an alternative to frying if you like to use oil when cooking. Baking or broiling with herbs also allows for different flavor profiles depending on what spices you add.

Salad

Everyone knows that eating vegetables is a good idea, and no one understands it better than vegans. Salads are easy to throw together, especially in vegan form, with staples like lettuce and tomatoes.
Salads are one of the thanksgiving foods that start with S and can be made of almost anything. Don't just look at salad ingredients like leafy greens; try some savory items to spice things up.
However, don't overdo it—all that healthy stuff doesn't mean you can eat as much as you'd like. Excess calories on top of an already nutritious meal can add up. Make sure you stick with healthy portions and don't overeat.

Sake

Suppose you're looking for a great complement to turkey and stuffing or want to try something new. Sake is a safe bet among the Thanksgiving foods that start with S. It's made from fermented rice, and sake has a slightly sweet flavor and can be served either hot or cold.
However, If you're going to have alcohol on Turkey Day, stick with wine or champagne. Liquor will give you less satiety and will cause your blood sugar levels to spike dramatically.

Saffron

There's a reason saffron is one of the most expensive spices. A little goes a long way, but it adds an incredible depth of flavor to dishes like rice and paella. It also tastes great with turkey, either used as part of a spice rub or sprinkled on your stuffing.
Also, saffron loses its flavor as the best thanksgiving foods that start with S when cooked for too long. However, add to dishes at least 10 minutes before serving time for best results.
However, store saffron in airtight containers away from heat and light. If possible, use new threads rather than powdered saffron or saffron that's been sitting around for years.

Sardines

Spices, stuffing, and sweet potatoes are all common Thanksgiving foods that start with S. One seafood option that's equally as traditional is sardines. This tasty little fish is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, lowering blood pressure and reducing heart disease risk.
However, If you're still not convinced to give sardines a try, then we have another motivation, they taste delicious. (They're also convenient to keep on hand because they can last up to two years).
To make sure you make them appropriately for your holiday feast, follow these simple instructions for sardine preparation.

Sandwich

Once you've got a festive, fall-flavored sandwich on your plate, top it off with a dessert that will make any sweet tooth smile. Satisfy those cravings for something sweet and pumpkin-y with these mouthwatering recipes.
However, whether you have them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, select from three categories of tasty Thanksgiving foods that start with S: salads, sides, and desserts.

Spatchcock

This one is delicious, but if you want to make it easy during preparation, always get an instant pot. There's something about enjoying chicken immediately out of the oven (or crockpot) that makes it taste much better.
Although maybe it's all in my head, it tastes better for Thanksgiving foods that start with S anyway. If you choose traditional cooking methods, here's how to spatchcock a turkey or any other bird.
Moreso, After removing all giblets and neck from inside the cavity. Use poultry shears or sharp kitchen scissors to cut along both sides of the backbone; discard the backbone. Flatten breastbone with a meat mallet or rolling pin; trim away rib cage and extra skin.

Schnitzel

If you're looking for tasty Thanksgiving foods that start with S. An economical dish to make for the next family get-together, look no further than schnitzel.
Moreover, schnitzel is a traditional meat dish that is often breaded and pan-fried. Serve it with fresh veggies or potatoes and gravy on the side.
Another benefit of schnitzel is that It can be prepared in advance. You can make a big batch ahead of time and freeze some to have on hand when you need them. Furthermore, leftovers can be reheated in a skillet or oven before serving time.

Shallots

Delicious Thanksgiving foods that start with s include shallots. Shallots are one of my favorite ingredients to work with if you are not familiar with shallots.
Although they can be a bit tricky to find, once you do, they're a great addition to many dishes. They add tons of flavor and nutrition and are delicious in practically anything savory. My favorite recipe: Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast Stuffed with Shallots and Fontina Cheese.

Soup

Even though it's technically a starter, soup is delicious and filling enough to be the main course. Try starting your Thanksgiving foods that begin with S dinner, with creamy potato soup or tomato bisque.
Perhaps split between two different kinds of soup. Just don't forget to make room for all those other delicious Thanksgiving foods that start with S.
Conclusion
The 22 best Thanksgiving foods that start with S are merely a holiday starter list. However, It might be time for the new best Thanksgiving food.

We could do plant babies, cuttings, propagations, whatever.
My cats murdered all my plants a while back, and I’ve been slowly building my collection back up 🥲 And I thought it might be fun to do a lil swap with other local houseplant homebodies!
I don’t have anything rare or super interesting atm but am happy to share what I’ve got 💚
—
My bromeliad hates me and I hate it back. I will give you the whole (admittedly sad) plant in exchange for literally anything else.
~And I will bake you a cake and sing you a song in exchange for a single leaf from a monstera adonsaii 🙏🏻~
—
I’d also be down for a flower or herb swap for the more garden-minded folks.
—
EDIT 6/7/24: Realized I didn’t actually list the plants I have to offer.
Again, nothing exotic or very big! But they include: - A few Pothos (rooted in water) - A few Diffenbacchia (rooted in water or in dirt) - Misc. succulents (in dirt) -A few raindrop SoP (in dirt but dopey) - An “assorted foliage” (🙄) plant with semi-pointy, striped-ish leaves (in dirt) - a somehow-still-living croton with a single leaf (in dirt) - the saddest bromeliad that ever lived (I don’t know how she still lives) - some random leafy plants I pulled from my flower garden that seem to do OK indoors (can review my plant index for names later)
I could also snip off a few leaves from my neon pothos, N joy pothos (?), or maranta. Also, the monstera Adonsaii I impulse-bought shortly after making this post. 😬
And I have a few outdoor plants that are doing a little too well! Could part with: squash, zucchini, cucumber, kale, lemon balm, four o’ clocks, and creeping Jenny.

Thanksgiving is approaching, and it's time to prepare for the big feast! Whether you're hosting this year or attending someone else's, an array of Thanksgiving foods must be on the menu.
While there are certainly some perennial favorites every year (hello, stuffing and cranberry sauce!), it's fun to try something new.
For your next feast, consider adding one or more of these most popular Thanksgiving foods to your menu. Happy feasting!

Turkey

Turkey is the most popular Thanksgiving food for a reason. It's versatile, delicious, and easy to cook. Plus, it's a healthy option packed with protein.
Turkey is also a great source of tryptophan, an amino acid shown to have calming effects. So, if you're looking for a stress-free holiday meal, look no further than turkey.

Perfect Gravy

Gravy is the perfect finishing touch to any Thanksgiving feast. It can be made from scratch or with a mix and can be savory or sweet. No matter your preference, there's gravy for you. Here are the ten most popular gravies of all time.

Candied Yams

Candied yams are a holiday staple for many Americans. Though the dish is often associated with Thanksgiving, it can be enjoyed anytime. Candied yams are sweet, sticky, and packed with flavor.
Coating yams make the dish in a sugar and spice mixture, then bake them until they're soft and caramelized. Serve candied yams alongside your other holiday favorites, or enjoy them as a tasty dessert.

Cornbread Dressing

According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Food Network, cornbread dressing is the most popular Thanksgiving food.
And it's no wonder why! Thanks to the combination of herbs, spices, and vegetables, this dish is packed with flavor. Plus, it's easy to make and can be made ahead of time, which is always a bonus on Thanksgiving Day.
Add chopped bacon or sausage to your cornbread dressing this year if you're looking for a new twist on an old favorite. You won't be disappointed!

Fluffy Potato Rolls

There's nothing like a fluffy, buttery roll to round out a big Thanksgiving feast. These particular rolls get their deliciousness from mashed potatoes, which make them extra moist and give them a slight hint of sweetness.
If you're looking for a show-stopping side dish with everyone returning for seconds, look no further than these Fluffy Potato Rolls. Plus, they're so easy to make that you'll kick yourself for not trying them sooner.
So what are you waiting for? Try these delectable rolls this Thanksgiving and see just how popular they'll become!

Dry Brined Turkey

Dry-brined turkeys are all the rage these days, and for a good reason. The process is simple:

• Rub the bird with a salt-sugar mixture.
• Let it sit overnight.
• Rinse it off and roast it as usual.

The result is a juicy, flavorful turkey that will be a hit at your holiday feast.

Holiday Roasted Vegetables

One of the best things about holiday roasted vegetables is that they can be made beforehand. This means that on the day of, you have to pop them in the oven and let them roast away.
Also, this dish is great because it can be easily tailored to your liking. If you don't like one of the vegetables listed, leave it out or swap it for something else. The key to the flourishing success of this most popular Thanksgiving food is to use various vegetables so that there is something for everyone.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are a classic Thanksgiving food that can be filled with various ingredients. They're usually made with bread crumbs, herbs, and cheese and can be baked or fried.
One of the reasons they're one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods is that they're easy to make ahead of time and can be served as an appetizer or a main course.

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Pecan pie cheesecake is a delicious and festive dessert for any holiday gathering. This dish contains a creamy cheesecake filling, pecans, and a shortbread crust.
Meanwhile, Pecan pie cheesecake is best served cold, so make it ahead of time! This dessert is sure to please everyone at your Thanksgiving feast.
To make this dish, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour the mixture into a prepared shortbread crust and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool completely before serving. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Stuffing

Cauliflower stuffing is a popular Thanksgiving food that can be made ahead of time and served cold or hot. It is a healthy alternative to traditional stuffing made with bread, high in fiber and low in calories.
Cauliflower stuffing can be made with various ingredients, such as sausage, onions, celery, garlic, mushrooms, and herbs. The most popular way to eat cauliflower stuffing is with turkey, but it can also be eaten as a side dish or main course.
In addition, Cauliflower stuffing can be made vegan by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and omitting the sausage.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash soup is the perfect way to start your Thanksgiving feast. It's creamy, flavorful, and packed with nutrients. Plus, it's easy to make ahead of time, so you can enjoy your holiday stress-free.

Turkey Cake

Turkey cake is one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods that has been around for centuries. It is made from various ingredients, including turkey, flour, eggs, and spices. The cake is usually served with a sweet sauce or gravy.
It can also be served with traditional Thanksgiving dishes such as stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Turkey cake is famous for those who do not eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
It is also a good option for vegetarians or those with allergies to poultry. Consider making a turkey cake for a unique and delicious Thanksgiving dessert!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Roasted garlic mashed potatoes are a popular Thanksgiving food for a reason. They're creamy, flavorful, and easy to make. Plus, they can be made ahead of time and reheated on the day of.

Cornbread Stuffing

Cornbread stuffing is a popular dish on the Thanksgiving table. It is usually made with cornbread, celery, onions, and sage. Other ingredients like nuts, dried fruit, or sausage are added. This dish is usually served as a side dish but can also be the main course.

Ranch-Seasoned Roast Turkey

Ranch-Seasoned Roast Turkey is the most popular Thanksgiving food of all time. It's a classic dish that everyone loves, and it's easy to make. Plus, it's a great way to use up any leftover turkey from the night before.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes are the number one side dish on Thanksgiving and for a good reason. They're filling, comforting, and easy to make. This year, try something new and make your mashed potatoes with brown butter. It's a simple change that will take your dish to the next level.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods for a reason. They're creamy, dreamy, and full of flavor. Plus, they're super versatile. You can add all sorts of mix-ins to mashed potatoes to create a unique dish that everyone will love.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Brussels sprouts are a versatile side dish that vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike can enjoy. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, making them a healthy addition to any holiday feast. Roasting Brussels sprouts brings out their natural sweetness, making them a delicious and nutritious part of any Thanksgiving feast.

Skillet Green Beans

Green beans are a classic Thanksgiving side dish. They're easy to make and can be made ahead of time. They're also budget-friendly, which is always a plus. Skillet green beans are a great way to get your veggies while enjoying all Thanksgiving flavors. Plus, they're just plain delicious.

Cheesy Sweet Potato Casserole

This creamy, dreamy, and comforting casserole is perfect for the holidays and is also one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods of all time.
This dish ranks fourth on our list of top dishes for the holiday season. Luckily, this recipe has only five ingredients and is so easy to make! If you don't have any sweet potatoes on hand or prefer not to use them, you can substitute mashed potatoes.

Dark Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

This pie is a riff on the classic pecan pie but with the addition of dark chocolate and bourbon. The chocolate adds richness to the filling, while the bourbon kicks it.
This pie is sure to be a hit with your guests! It's even easier than most pies because there's no need for an unbaked crust.
The crust can be made and frozen before you bake it just before dinner. Plus, this recipe has only six ingredients, so you'll have plenty of time to cook other dishes!

Green Bean Casserole

This dish is always a staple on our family's Thanksgiving table. My mom makes the best green bean casserole ever. It's a simple dish that only requires a few ingredients, but it's so delicious. Plus, it's a great way to get your veggies in!

Stuffing

In the United States, stuffing is a traditional Thanksgiving dish. It is usually made with a bread-based mixture of herbs and spices and often contains chopped onions and celery. Stuffing is typically cooked inside the turkey but can be baked in a separate dish.

Pie

There's no denying that pie is one of the most popular Thanksgiving. After all, what would the holiday be without pumpkin pie or apple pie? But did you know that many different pies can be enjoyed on Thanksgiving?
Here are 10 of the most popular traditional and modern pastries that are sure to please everyone at your holiday table.

Sweet Potato Casserole

One of the most popular Thanksgiving foods is sweet potato casserole. This dish is usually made with sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and marshmallows.
Sweet potato casserole is a beloved Thanksgiving food because it is delicious and nostalgic. This dish reminds many people of their childhood Thanksgiving dinners spent with family.

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods for a few reasons:

1. It's easy to make and can be made ahead of time.
2. It's an excellent way to use up cranberries, which are in season during the fall.
3. It pairs well with turkey and other traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
4. It's relatively healthy since it's made with fruit.
5. It can be made in various ways, so there's something for everyone.
6. It's festive and colorful.
7. Leftovers can be used in a variety of recipes.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is one of the most popular Thanksgiving foods for a reason. It's festive, flavorful, and perfect for the fall season. Plus, it's relatively easy to make.

Apple Pie

Apple pie is a classic Thanksgiving food that has been around for centuries. This dessert has a flaky crust and a sweet filling with apples, sugar, and spices. Apple pie is usually served with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Pecan pie

Pecan pie is a beloved Thanksgiving dessert, and it's no wonder why. This sweet and nutty pie is the perfect ending to a big holiday meal. Plus, it's easy to make, which is always a bonus.

These remind me of a very thin gold fish. They also come in a cheese flavor. Great snack!

I mean seriously. Let's look at the facts here folks. Here we got Will Ospreay, we got Bryan Danielson. We got Kenny Omega when he will be back. (I know it won't be soon but hey. We have seen unlikely quick returns. Remember Cena?)
We have BANGERS for days. And that is what we judge our show on! The best wrestling matches, by the best wrestlers!
Fed? Well all you need to do is look at Ricochet friends. Top talent. One of the best. Can do things I have not even seen on my precious, precious AEW. (Hallowed be thy name)
And what is Ricochet doing you might ask if you don't watch and honestly. Who can blame you?
Oh he's just the champion for some lame gimmick. 3 minute matches? Great. I love a belt dedicated to squash matches. Oh but that's right we get FIVE WHOLE MINUTES for the championship matches! Wow. How enticing.
I mean sure. We know the winner of every match each week and it drags for twenty minutes for a period of time I can only compare to my bare nutsack being dragged across a bed of nails. Slow...and extremely painful...but like...you gotta make it look legit right?
But no. Because Ricochet doesn't have "The IT Factor." The "Charisma" The "Character" he's bumming it for this shlock.
You know who they think DOES have charisma?
Dominic Mysterio yawn
If it wasn't for Rhea Ripley (China ripoff am I right?) The guy would be JERKING THE CURTAIN. But somehow. Some way he has managed to fool The Fed into thinking he has..."Charisma" and rather than pushing the real. Genuine. Talented athlete.
They operate off of this phony sports entertainment garbage.
What the fed says goes...
And frankly I'm sick of it.
(P.S I wrote this baked af.)

I am trying to bake butternut squash, but I am not sure how to start. How do I prepare it? What temperature should I bake it in and for how long?

Preamble:

I ranked subjects on universal usability, so if they have a very important role in one mode or gameplay style but are borderline unusable in the rest, they can still have a decent ranking. This is all my opinion, and I'd like to hear yours since there are several things on this list that I'm contentious on, and despite having completed this game I still have a decent bit to learn. This list doesn't count glitches either, but if it did Sickle and Frostcalibur would be a tier or two higher because Mephisto (and Sariel?) is/are the hardest part(s) of the game (in my opinion) and Alfred + Miriam completely skip them (?). Alfred would be in the same tier as (but probably not above) Hachi, and Miriam would be somewhere in A Tier.

Ranking:

D Tier

1. Dagger - Infinite range is no longer unique to Miriam and Soul Vision was mega buffed, eliminating the competition. It's not completely useless, but it's legitimate only use is in stage 3 against the puffy flying enemies that explode when you hit them, exclusively in Episode EX since you'll have Robert everywhere else, and even then Miriam's the only other character whose range is long enough she can safely kill them. If it were an option for Zangetsu without taking another sub's place, it would at least be C Tier since he needs range, but Miriam is bottom 2 for characters that need this. Finally, the fact Sickle exists kills any niche this weapon might have ever had.

C Tier

1. Hand Grenade - Has almost zero use cases, but that's mainly due to stage and character design instead of weapon design. Just barely edges out Dagger in terms of WP/dmg efficiency but gets swamped by everything else. Too expensive to be a regular weapon and too weak to be a DPS powerhouse. Despite that, it has some incredibly cool (albeit ridiculously niche) uses in stages 6 and 7 to hit enemies like the red shield and spear soldiers from above or roll across platforms to hit tricky enemies like this: (https://youtu.be/fRMA744Yzow?si=ItSVhoSMivUFmsBK&t=67m20s). Has a few niches in solo mode, but is outclassed by something else in literally every other scenario.

C+ Tier

1. Partisan - Easily the best coverage of any upwards style sub, but otherwise very underwhelming. Hitting with one partisan does less than 1 damage per WP, and hitting with both does less than 2. It's best unique use is blocking Gremory's orbs in a solo run due to it's infinite pierce, but Drake Cannon can do that, too (albeit it's expensive enough that hard mode Gremory still warrants Partisan.) Otherwise, it can come in clutch for hitting important targets high up, but almost every other character has a subweapon that does the same thing but cheaper, faster, and stronger.
   
2. Impact Lance - Has only a few use cases throughout the entire game, but is very good when those use cases occur. One is to skip the vertical platforming sections in level 8 during the locusts swarms on episode 1 and solo runs. Another few are the final bosses in episodes 1/solo, and the final episode. She can use it during both fights to get above the bosses final phases and pogo on them for a long time. The flaws include it's bad hitbox, slow speed, and liability against the bosses as both have attacks that will knock her off them and deal major damage. The shortcuts it can take are nice but are far from exclusive to Dominique (Robert can canon-jump, Alfred can create platforms from frozen entities, and Gebel can fly)
   
3. Ball and Chain - This is where weapons start to get genuinely good. The larger screens in the game mean the formerly good-enough range on this weapon doesn't quite cut it anymore, and while it has good raw power and decent efficiency, it's pretty slow and precise for what it does. The real crux of this weapon is the fact it takes up space for other sub weapons for Zangetsu, who (unlike other characters) has other sub weapons that are so good they completely outclass this one even considering it's unique function. Also it's completely worthless on Ultimate Zangetsu unlike his other subs.
   
4. Rising Wind - This weapon is incredibly strange to rank. It's not bad by any means - fundamentally it's actually pretty amazing. It's efficient, cheap, powerful, and has almost screen wide range. However, being somewhat slow, inaccurate, and lacking coverage aren't it's biggest problem's (although they are considerable) - it's competition. It is HARD outclassed by other options on Dominique - not just other sub weapons, but her regular attacks. Someone like Zangetsu or Alfred would potentially give up one of their existing subs for that, but Dominique has anti-air combat baked into her character due to her upward stabs. It's not a spot Dominique can afford to waste, either due to her other amazing subs. You can also use it to get a high jump, but it's not necessary for any power ups. On the contrary it can actually kill you by making you overshoot your jumps and fall off the screen while platforming.
   
5. Electro Crawler - Completely annihilates the ending of stage 6 (one of the hardest parts of the game if left uncountered) and chunks bosses above her, but like impact lance is a little too situational and outclassed by her default kit. Is incredible for a solo run, but ranges from OK to useless everywhere else.
   
6. Explosive Chain - It's a small boost to Ball and Chain, but it makes a world of difference. It's efficiency is definitely higher up on the list of weapons but again it's outclassed not just by other options but the possibility of Ultimate Zangetsu's charge slash (or even the ever-presence of helm splitter in Soul Eraser and Daizangetsuto runs). The extra range allows it to hit enemies it couldn't before (both with and without jumping) but it still retains the slowness. Like with Dominique, it's also a sub-slot on a character that absolutely can not afford to waste it.
   
7. Soul Vision - The best sub weapon for Solo Alfred runs - basically useless everywhere else. It increases range, it's safe on usage, it increases DPS, enemies will target it instead of Alfred, it can collect multiple power ups (which are absolutely essential for solo Alfred runs), and it makes you use your normal attack which regenerates WP, making it essentially free. It absolutely carries Alfred solo runs - but that alone doesn't warrant a higher placement. It's also the key to acquiring Voltaic Ray in roughly half the stages, which is small but very important outside solo runs.
   

B Tier

16 Sickle - Unlike Daggers, this is a piercing weapon with half-decent power, especially on multi-hit. Its pseudo-infinite range blends well with its piece as it can cut through projectiles like archer barrages and ninja shurikens, allowing Miriam to either camp back and keep throwing or kite the projectiles to finish the enemy off herself. Its main issue is raw efficiency and consistency if it only hits once (which isn't uncommon due to the necessity to use it defensively from fullscreen as it's too slow to use up close) - its inefficient with its WP/dmg ratio, especially if you can't catch it on return. That, combined with its overall middling power and lack of any solo shortcut usage keeps it from being any higher. It's just another catch-all subweapon: It has some OK use cases throughout the early stages, but stages 6 and 7 are where it truly shines since it can safely take out Ninjas, those winged mouth spawners, enemies that are barely too high for daggers, gargoyle fire balls, the spikes at the end of stage 6, and it can alleviate bad RNG im Gremory (although awful RNG is still a loss.)

1. Demon Essence - Does great damage boosting on paper, but the only things it would make big damage against on are big enemies (which will die before the damage boost really cumulates) or bosses (which won't stay still/vulnerable long enough to allow for several melee attacks anyway). In that same situation, it's also much worse on anybody that isn't Zangetsu since they attack so slow that it won't get the chance to rack up damage. It's true best use is passing damage thresholds against mid-strength enemies, turning 2 hit kills into 1 hit kills, but this depends on the character and power ups acquired. For example, if an enemy has 6 HP, even with Demon Essence only Hachi can one-hit kill it while everyone else still 2 shots (boosted or not). Meanwhile, if you have the attack glove upgrade, everyone besides Robert and Alfred (without the wind spell) one-shots when boosted. In short, it has good potential, but requires a ton of game knowledge to use to it's fullest.
   
2. Healing Fruit - Inefficient for what it is, but what it is (is) incredible. It's best used for focusing on a single, essential character's health regeneration as focusing on multiple is too expensive. It can also be used in both normal and solo runs as a pogo-boost as the fruit is bounce-able for a short moment after spawning, allowing for certain power ups like the armor to be acquired. It's also incredible in Solo Mode for self sustenance, making Dominique's tankiness almost as good as Hachi's despite having half as much HP. It's niche in boss rush, but if you get hurt by an early boss and know you can beat the following one, it's good to top off a character without spending a valuable heart.
   
3. RapieTriple Dagger - The best upwards focused sub weapon in my opinion. It has the coverage of Robert, the cheapness and power of Zangetsu, and the speed of Dominique. It can create just enough room to walk at the end of stage 6 and has enough range to kill all of the heads on the wall of boss 6 in a single throw - do it twice (which costs nothing due to the WP drops), use the bonus WP to hit the flying rings, stay patient, always move, and the boss is toast. That's not to mention it's so fast and powerful (if all 3 daggers hit) that it's essentially a superior main DPS option to any normal attack by any normal character.
   
4. Magic Charm - The second most WP-efficient sub in the entire game. Does great damage, puts enemies in hitlag, and even blocks low projectiles. It's slow and has pitiful range on the ground, but is overall strong nonetheless.
   

A Tier

1. Void Charm - Essentially a catch-all subweapon: It hits below its landing, it hits upwards, it does good damage, it protects Zangetsu from weak entities, and it's affordable. It's biggest weakness are that every route's final boss is basically immune to it and it doesn't get any power ups. Every enemy and many other bosses dread it, however.
   
2. Axe - It was the undisputed second (arguably first) best subweapon in the first game, but it doesn't hold up as well this time around. Not only was it nerfed in damage, but the environment of this game is a lot less friendly to it. Bosses have a lot more health so using it as your primary DPS is too expensive to one-cycle, and it's now outclassed by Drake Canon for that role against things like the 5th Boss and spontaneous enemies. Good news is that she can unlock Hachi exclusive shortcuts since it pierces armor, and it (+ Frostcalibur) is still arguably the second best way to beat bosses despite the nerfs, so it's still very powerful. Voltaic Ray absolutely outclasses it (even with Frostcalibur) against bosses, but that's not always available and Axe is still a one-hit kill against any normal enemy regardless of health (unlike Drake Cannon), which is useful leading up to Gremory regardless of route. (EDIT: I found out that with a perfectly spaced jump, it can oneshot 3 of Mephisto's Eyes so it goes up a tier and 2 spots. Furthermore, depending on the RNG, if Gremory is en route to give you bad luck but starts off with good luck, Axe can damage her fast enough that she never gets to that point. Even though a Sickle can alleviate bad RNG, if you can bad RNG overall the fight is already lost, so preventing that is key. It's also part of a strategy beating stage 4's boss solo on hard mode by killing it before it's first phase can ramp up its difficulty).
   
3. Drake Canon - Slaughters boss 5, slaughters every normal enemy (besides stage 7 mechs, but those die in 1-2 hits afterwards), is decent burst DPS against every boss besides 6, and can even be used as a second mid-air jump. That last part sounds innocuous, but can allow for multiple powers ups to be acquired that some other characters can't get, and is essential for Solo mode. Plus, it can allow for shortcuts to be taken that Robert and other characters aren't supposed to be able to access, and it can even theoretically clutch up as a last-resort double jump if you mess up platforming.
   
4. Frostcalibur - Kills every unarmored enemy in one hit, can stunlock bosses to near-death with Axe, and can be used for platforming with sickle. It's heavily reliant on Drake Canon or Axe to beat bosses and is very niche in a solo run (mainly used for a few small skips and to oneshot a few select enemies), so it's too limited and situational for S Tier.
   

S Tier

7/6 (Interchangeable). Devil Essence - Zangetsu's jump attack becomes the best source of targeted, inexpensive DPS in the game. It's only limit is it's range making it dangerous to use against bosses like Gremory and Beelzebub, and the fact you need to keep using it instead of having a one and done attack, but it's practically nuclear otherwise.
6/7 (Interchangeable). Rapid Scarf - Beats almost every boss (besides the final one in the final episode, hard Gremory, and the 5th one), beats every normal enemy, and is less expensive than Drake Cannon despite hitting harder. Also unlimited range ftw.

1. Resurrection Anthem - It can heal up to 56 HP and revive 6 characters if used correctly. It also costs 0 WP and essentially gives you as many as 6 more tries on any boss. It's slow, rare, and is almost useless on a solo run, but otherwise gamebreaking. If it could be used more than once, even if it cost ALL of your WP, it would be the best in the game (since you literally wouldn't be able to lose if you kept Dominique and Gebel, Hachi, or Alfred alive for bonus WP.) It's a lot weaker on legendary difficulty since you can't lose a single character, but if you spread your damage across everyone it still has a good use case.

SS Tier

1. Immortal Metamorphosis - Skips every platforming section. Also gets ~80% of all upgrades by itself. It's only limit is that Flame Wheel in acquirable in every run that Gebel is (except solo), but that doesn't heal it's user, bypass strong enemies, and sometimes cheat death on hit, so this is still viable. Extremely niche in boss rush, but almost imperative everywhere else.
   
2. Flame Sphere - Its damage was nuked into the ground but its utility remains intact. There's at least multiple sections in every single stage that become cakewalks with this. It's a little expensive but still FAR more affordable over time than Invincible Iron. Both the Sarcophagus Boss and Gremory are also hard countered by this subweapon, to the point where this dude (https://youtu.be/u8-4aTJuJS8?si=yPkBHkfn55OmQbhJ&t=87m) beat Gremory with Solo Alfred (the worst solo character) in ONE TRY. Just have someone to handle other bosses and the game is essentially won. On top of THAT, it's even better on Legendary difficulty because there are new enemies on almost every single screen that, if left unchecked, automatically end your runs with unavoidable chip damage and instant-death pitfalls. Outside solo runs it's absolutely game breaking. (Edit: I counted, and assuming we count clones as separate enemies since they appear in different stages and have slightly different behaviors and stats, there are over SEVENTY enemies and hazards that Alfred checks, counters, or is straight up immune to with this, not even counting things like the boulders and tail lasers from boss 5, the fire rain from boss 3, the ice spikes and enemy spawns from boss 4, the spray gas/projectiles/enemy spawners, from boss 2, the... everything of boss 6, Mephisto's Eye projectiles, Sariel's sickle projectiles, and Gremory's f$&#! orbs.)
   
3. Voltaic Ray - Skips every boss outside solo runs, but even then you can make it work if you try.
   
4. Invincible Iron - Skips every platforming section AND boss!
   

Characters Ranked

C Tier

1. Base Zangetsu - He can't collect a single power up on his own, he can't heal, he doesn't have very good boss killers, his DPS options aren't always viable to use and are outclassed, he doesn't get bonus WP like Alfred, Gebel, or Hachi, he doesn't have any platforming advantages or even good range (regardless of subweapon), and he doesn't have a unique specialty in any given area. He has solid raw stats, but he's outclassed everywhere else.
   
2. Robert - He's cool AF, but he literally doesn't have a single unique-to-him upgrade, and actually misses out on a lot of secrets (health and point bags) because he can't break walls. His range is amazing, but his damage and subweapon costs (minus the Scarf, and possibly Drake Cannon for upgrades) are the worst in the game. He's pretty good all around even in solo mode, but he's also in a game where boss nukes, flight, invulnerability, and mass revival are things the player can use; He's an honest character in a dishonest game.
   

B Tier (interchangeable)

7/6. Upgraded Zangetsu - He's a walking nuke, and really hard to rank since he's the only character without anything resembling a solo mode dedicated to him (since the final episode and/or legendary difficulty sort of count for Ultimate Zangetsu). He's still held back by his lack of versatility and upgrades, but he'd be A Tier if he could collect any of them. He hits harder than any other character (outside Voltaic Ray), but still has a hard time with things like platforming and certain bosses (examples being Stage 6's, Episode 1's finale, the normal Final Episode final boss, and Gremory's hard version.) He's the opposite of versatile characters like Miram, Hachi, and Dominique: He has 1 trick, and that trick is killing everything that gets close to him. He is mostly bad at everything else.
6/7. Miriam - She's a genuinely good character all around, but she also suffers from "fair character" syndrome. She's arguably even stronger than she was in the first game, but this game isn't designed around her like the last one was, so she's worse off overall. Bosses take WAY more damage to kill in this game than in the first and her axe was actually nerfed in damage slightly, so one-cycles are out of the question. Furthermore, since this game requires a lot more upwards attacking in platforming areas for ghosts, frogs, hanging liquid spitters, floating head ceiling spawners, and so forth, she's going to be using a lot more WP on her upwards throwing dagger, which hurts her longevity and consistency. Everything near the end of every run also hits a decent bit harder, so her formerly "close 2nd best" HP isn't quite so insurmountable (or 2nd best) anymore. She also seems to suffer from subweapon limitations more than other characters, as she doesn't always get the necessary tools for the job (a good example being how you can't get the Axe in Level 1 even though it would help immensely against the boss due to armor piercing.) Despite ALL of this, she's still pretty good. She can't 1 cycle every boss, facetank everything, effortlessly beat platforming sections, or have the unique trait of infinite range (with subweapons) anymore, but she's still strong enough to get some power ups for solo and final runs and is more than strong enough to fall back on in group modes if a top tier dies.

A Tier

1. Gebel - He gets all but 4 power ups on his own, self heals, and skips every platforming section. He's redundant with Alfred's fire shield and Hachi's invulnerability being nearly as good at platforming and he's the worst character in boss rush mode, but otherwise he has a strong role in just about every other mode; Especially the final episode - he is THE star character of that mode, since he collects almost every power up regardless of it being a group or solo run (the latter works because there is a trick that allows you to bring him to other stages without beating his stage and bringing him to the final level, allowing you to boost Zangetsu with many power ups that wouldn't otherwise be available). Even beyond that, he's the ultimate "fall back" character - if you lack a specific trait or subweapon desired for a given task, Gebel can get you through. He can skip the platforming, help eliminate nuisances with his wide upwards attack, and help in bosses with his high damage and easy attack opportunities against bosses like 1, 2, Beelzebub, and Mephisto's eyes.
   
2. Dominique - The game is designed around her. She has subweapons for every situation, and even if they're not always the best, she's also one of the few characters inherently strong enough to, with enough skill, handle every situation on her own - High jumps for good platforming, pogo for low enemies and niche shortcuts, an upwards attack for huge versatility, occasional self healing if necessary, and sub-weapons that boost any one of these traits on a whim. She's essentially a 7 in every situation, but she also has the completely unique ability to do a full party heal and resurrection, which is a 10/10 trait only she has. She has a use case in every mode, and a strong one at that. Her biggest downside is her solo damage/durability ceiling, but that's only a single mode and even then she's versatile enough to get by most situations and grab most power ups. She wouldn't likely be as powerful (relatively, since she'd be the same character) in the first game since it's not designed around her (with things like less characters to heal, no lanterns for resurrection anthem, not being able to bypass low openings, there being almost nothing to bounce off of or super jump to, lower solo damage against bosses, etc) - it's like a reverse Miriam situation.
   

S- Tier

1. Alfred - He essentially gets to choose between Hachi's invincibility for 1/10 the cost or skipping every single boss in the entire game. He's the worst character solo, but (IMO) top 2 everywhere else. If his subweapons didn't carry over to other characters he'd easily be the worst, but all you have to do is pop off a subweapon then switch to another character and suddenly any situation you have to deal with is solved. He'd be #1 if he could carry 2 subs at once even though he sucks solo, but his boss vs. platforming inconsistency and bad solo mode keep him from being a true top tier. Also bonus WP ftw.

S+ Tier

1. Hachi - A master of all trades. He has the best health, pierces enemy armor, the easiest (although less objectively good than Gebel and Ulti-getsu's) platforming, bonus WP from lanterns, he can get all main-route power ups, squash low enemies, and has a get out of jail free card in every situation. His only weaknesses are his big hurtbox and his low attack speed (and by proxy DPS sorta), which aren't issues with patience and pattern knowledge. He's one of 2 characters that's good in every single game mode, regardless of difficulty or allies.

SS Tier

1. Ultimate Zangetsu - He's the only character so strong that he doesn't even need subweapons, unlike Hachi, Gebel, and Alfred who are good specifically because of their subs. He has some of the best platforming, some of the best upgrade and shortcut access (high jump + long jump + armor piercing + floor smashing), the best speed, some of the best survivability (since he dodges better due to his dash, so it makes up for his lower health than Hachi, and he kills most things before they threaten him so he doesn't need invincibility), the best range, and the best damage. He's great solo because he's the strongest character and ridiculously versatile, he's great in main playthroughs because he's so strong without subs that other characters don't have to waste WP helping him, and he's even great in boss rush because his unrivaled mobility, range, and damage allow him to dodge stuff and hit almost every single boss in situations when nobody else even comes close. Even in the shoot em' up section of the final episode, he comes pre-packaged with the ability to get every other character's ship weapons. He is truly the Akuma of this game: De-centralized, high skill with high reward, extremely versatile, and purposefully overpowered.

This will answer some questions and describe more about the lore of round table
Mr 0 -
He is Arthur’s grandfather and the cofounder of the round table he met Arthur’s grandmother in 1960s America
He mainly is like an Alfred to the round table supplying them with support when needed
CT - Number Line
Mr 0 can place a number line with the numbers varying with this he can remove the damage output by an attack sent towards him and the farther the attack goes to the number line the less it does
If the attack goes past 0 then the attack will go to his side and will be controlled by him
RCT - Angle
He can show an angle that points up that he can send himself or others through
Max Technique - Line of Duty
He can effect more things with his number line including speed time strength ect
Apocalypse -
It’s a cursed object possessed by a cursed spirit it was formed before the heian era it will only open when 10 people assign their cursed energy to it
It can tell the location of dangers around the world but only if you do a quest first which can range from beating a cursed spirit to capturing a cursed object
Cursed objects -
The round table has a lot of cursed objects that they uses sometimes unless they are damgerous
List
Cursed whistle- when blown through it it will attract cursed spirits towards it
Equalizer - a sword that whatever opponent it’s against will match its power
Tag - made by the 9th member it’s a glove that when touched will make an outline of the opponent to make them easier to track
Decay - a 16 pack of cigarettes that when smoke will allow the smoker’s breath to decay anything it breaths at
Soul Reaper - a scythe that when slashed will separate soul from body
Soul toucher - life sapping arm gauntlets that allows someone to touch someone’s soul
The pen is mightier than the sword - made by Pedro it allows for him to draw on any surface and affect the surface he drew on Ex (if he draws a line through a wall it will slice the wall )
Rubber hose anvil - when the anvil is dropped on someone’s head it will squash them to the floor
Newtons hand - said to be made from Issac newton a had that when something touches it it will change its course of gravity
George Hatchet - made from George Washington it is a trick cursed tool while it looks like a dangerous weapon when touched it forces someone to tell the truth
Teddy - mistakenly thought to be made from teddy rossevelt it’s a teddy bear that when its owner is threatened will turn into a monstrous beast the power of this beast is calculated by how much the owner cares for it and how long it lived with it
Bubble wand - it’s a small stick of bubble solution that can trap anything in it
Sticky solution - a pack of gum that can connect any two things stuck together
Maker of ideas - a lightbulb that when asked a question will posess the person and answer it to its best knowledge from that person it also gains the information of whoever it possesses
Baking soda Volcano - a cursed object made by a kid at the science fair when activated it will make a worse lava that burns but doesn’t set things on fire and can come out infinitely
Fossil record - a book that when shown a fossil will 1 document that fossil and 2 make that fossil come to life
War toys - small toys of war that when sent out can either change their size to become real or stay that size either way they still will fire at an opponent and it will do the same amount of damage small or big
Immersive painting - made by bob ross it’s a cursed object that allows for you to actually go into the painting
Amount of 5 - made from Abraham Lincoln inspired by the confederate note inside his pocket it allowed for someone to make 5 of anything
Shadow of night - cape that allows the user to teleport wherever their is shadow

Sionia
Chapter12
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Note: Reddit Tech support fixed map bug. Use mouse wheel/ button to zoom and navigate
Standing inside the opulent chamber of the forth tower alone, I made sure nothing was left behind. Heading down to a parking area for carriages and carts off to the right of the main entrance to the keep where my people where gathered. They were mostly settling who could ride where and seeing to their personal gear and supplies. I had a cart specifically for baggage for my people with my cart only for my items and food supplies.
I shocked myself with realization that I had fully adopted a nobility's frame of mind as I now referred to those before me as my people. Looking over as Evito came trotting up slightly out of breath, I gave him a slight nod.
“Come as I must do as I was commanded.” Evito stated as he saluted me with a half bow before leading me to the ornate carriage.
The carriage was well made and really just needed a good coat of paint and some polishing as it showed signs of neglect and years of unuse. The Duke”s insignia had been removed which looked rough where it was sanded off. Evito opening the door motioned me inside.
Closing the door and making a grand show of the door lock before lifting up a metal reinforced window shade. Once the window shades on one side were up and locked into place, Evito then lowering another set above the windows that were louvered that allowed light inside the carriage but had a cheese cloth type of covering matching the deep maroon color of the inside of the carriage so no one could peer outside easily.
“The window shields should be used when under attack. You can open the upper view slots for light and can peer out without showing yourself. As you can see, there is even these three here where you can give orders to the driver. The back two you can give orders to the servants on the tiger perch. If you lift up the seat here in the back, you have storage space as you can see your property there. Here in the front is slightly different. You will notice when you lift up the seat, it looks the same as the back. However, if you reach here,this opens up and you can store high valuables. I would recommend storing your riding gear and overcoats in the front storage. Your Lordship should get a strongbox from the tradesman's guild and put about three silver, four sceats, twenty five koper and a few pelano and some mites in it. Store that strong box in the storage area of the back bench. All bandits and raiders know a noble has money. If you are caught and forced to submit, you can hand over this chest and not lose a fortune.” Evito explained the intricacies of the carriage Duke Boasag gifted me.
“I see. Very good advise. Thank you, Evito.” I said with gratitude.
Closing the upper louvers and then opening the windows, Evito then flipped a switch and lowered the glass window next to the back bench.
"All the windows have this lever as you can see. Slide the lever like this and you can lower the window for more air. Should you wish to close the window, just lift the window up and slide the lever back to keep window in place. You will notice two sword hangers set on each side of the carriage and a shield holder up there. I would recommend you get swords for them and not hang your personal one. Up in the front corner there is your personal water cask and silver cup. It it is strapped to the front right corner of the carriage where only the spigot shows inside. I have seen that it is already filled. Lastly, if you lift these two panels and flip the leg here, it becomes a travel bed. That is all I have to to show and have fulfilled my duty.” Evito stated with a salute and a bowing nod then opened the carriage door where he returned to the keep.
I stepped out and called to my soldiers, Razor and Meowth. I spoke to Lars asking him to place the guard around our party and to make a plan for when we would have two more carriages and two more carts by the time we left Trikath. I then spoke to Razor and Meowth asking them to take up position in the tiger stand of the front two carriages. I then asked Razor to inform the wolf kin brothers to take the tiger position on the third carriage as they would be responsible for guarding that carriage while traveling on the road. Lastly, Pamba was being spoiled by Rina and would be riding with her for the time being.
With everyone saddled and settled, I called out to Lars to head directly to Trikath's tradesman's guild as I entered the carriage. I immediately lowered two of the windows, the side louvers and one back louver as it was a warm day. About twenty minutes later, we entered through the gates of Trikath that looked like any typical medieval city in Europe back on earth. The only difference was that the city streets were much cleaner with a well drained baked brick road.
The tradesman's merchant's guild was similar to Id but larger. Once there, I was met by a thirty something man with black hair and blue eyes.
“Welcome to the Green Trading Company and tradesman's guild. Master Porgisl owner and Guild Master. I am Fronz the manager of this branch. You must be Count Wyatt. I have been informed by Evito to procure items and will help with any other transactions.” Fronz introduced himself with a formal bow and salute.
“Nice to meet you Fronz. I would like to get two more fully fitted out carts without florses. I also will be needing things from the storefront.” I requested with a slight nod.
"As you wish" Fronz stated as he led the way to the storefront.
In the merchant's building storefront, I had Tiana and Rana get the things they would need to do their work. I also had my head cook Big Jake an imposing man come with me. It seemed that size mattered with cooks as a sign their food was good. Anyway, I had Big Jake select cook and service ware for travel and six water casks which he was to fill and install on the carts and the two new carriages. I had Gus and Lorna select some personal grooming items along with towels, linens and mattresses for the Order of Knights that would fit in a cart. I also had them get any other basic items for the road trip that they could think of.
I picked up a very high quality strongbox that was longer but not wider or deeper with four keys. While there, I also picked up a couple of blank keys. Seeing some really nice looking padlocks which were definitely more advanced than what was expected, I bought the entire lot of ten which came with four keys each. Finally, I got several large soft marking chalk blocks with a slate board that was about a foot square.
Finished with shopping, I asked Fronz my wish to hire two stable hands, three drivers and a blacksmith since I did not see those trades previously when I was hiring servants. A little over a half an hour later, I hired two teenage boys and a very well muscled late twenties man named Luke Smith with blonde hair and green eyes. Luke's occupation oddly enough matched the meaning of his surname. The stable boys were both brown haired and brown eyed and around fifteen years old. The first was Brad and the other was Tim. Both were orphans and had no surname. All three were to care for and look after all the florses which I had a total of forty one now. Luke loaded up his anvil, toolbox and bellows in the back of the last cart the baggage one for our party. Both Brad and Tim would be riding a florse making sure the strings of florses were alright and deal with any issues that might arise on that front. The drivers were Matt a twenty four year old young man with brown hair and eyes. Doug a twenty five year old with lite brown hair and green eyes and Jace a twenty eight year old with red hair and green eyes. They were trained to drive carriages and carts for the merchants and guild and now would be driving the carriages with my footmen learning on the fly with the two new carts.
Back at the dock about an hour and half later since I arrived, Fronz approached me as he was writing on a type of clipboard that had a small inkwell attached to it.
“Lord Wyatt, your total bill will be twenty one eight six dinari.” Fronz stated as he read from his invoice.
“Very good.” I replied and took out three silver coins and handed them to Fronz.“Here is eight erytho and fourteen koper.” Fronz stated as he gave my change from his strongbox.
“Great and thank you Fronz.” I replied with a smile and pocketed the change as I was wearing my bluejeans.
“It is a pleasure to be at your assistance Lord Wyatt. We welcome your business anytime.”Fronz stated with a salute and a deep bow.
I then sorted our party again as I had the new carts fitted with mattresses for the Order of Knights. Old Maude would ride in the cart with Reagan and Guntar with apprentice doctors with Sir Jas and Cleef. I had my extra florses put onto four strings where two strings would be tied to the baggage carts. The girls were split up equally between the two new carriages with Lorna assigned with Freya, Illya and Rina in their carriage and Wynna, one of my chambermaids, in the other. The rest of my servants would split up to ride in carts except the cart with my earth items. Big Jake would drive my cart that had food rations that Evito provided and Luke would drive the baggage cart.
Retrieving my tool box, the power station, two swords and my shield which was transferred to my carriage. I also placed a padlock on the five crates that belong to myself that stored all the earth items. I ordered Big Jake to tie my crates down with rope so they would not shift while traveling.
Once everyone was sorted, I called everyone to load up with a grand gesture. However, I insisted Gus riding on the drivers bench with Jace rather than with me as would be normal for the first leg of the journey. I just did not want him to see and ask questions or what I planned to work on.
With a wave of my hand out the carriage door to Lars, our party began traveling out of Trikath and heading straight south on the King's Highway. While we were traveling, I transferred the strongbox contents to the new one as the old strongbox was almost over flowing as I had placed the contents of Shu's box into mine leaving that box with documents for the guild to deal with. Putting my new strongbox along with the power station in the the cubby hide just like my cart had but better crafted as the cubby was a false floor type rather than a blocked off section. I then began working on making a key for the first strongbox with a couple of files from earth. I cut a chalk block into thick pencils which I shaved for dust and used the slate board to help identify the key slot locations and depth.
“I am the man!” I cheered as I turned the key in the lock and it clicked after an hour and a half of work.
Placing in the strongbox five erythro, five sceates and four koper where I locked it up. It was unfortunate that I had no mites but I would resolve that later. I then secured the strongbox under the back bench and the toolbox in the cubby under the front bench. With a satisfied sigh, I drew the curtains of the carriage and laid down as I was still quiet tired from not enough sleep since I arrived in Sionia. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to peacefully nap.
A knock on the door wakened me where I raised up and pulled the curtain back.
“Lord Wyatt we have arrived at a good place to camp for the evening meal.” Announced Lars with Gus standing next to him.
“Very good.” I stated as Gus opened the door to let me out.
“Lord Wyatt, Lady Freya Thor requests to dine with your this evening.” Gus stated with a salute and bow.“ I see. Very well. Please inform the lady of acceptance.” I stated as Rana and Tiana came up.
“Would you like to wash up?” Asked Tiana with a flick of her left ear.
“Yes,that would be nice Tiana.” I answered with a nod.
“Would you like to change into something more comfortable, Lord Wyatt?” Asked Rana as she was seeking to be of service.
“Yes, I would like that. The dark green outfit would do nicely" I answered.
“Lord Wyatt, what kind of meal would you like this evening?” Asked Big Jake with expectancy.
I sighed and shook my head.
“Listen Big Jake, just be responsible with the rations we have. We are expected to be on the road for fifteen days. Just make sure that you do not cause us to run out of food. If we need to buy more or something else, then we will. If you need meat, ask Lars over there to have one of his men go hunting. Just show me what you can do with the rations we have. OK?” I explained as I was not expecting to have to directly deal with this kind of minute detail.
“Yes, Lord Wyatt. I so sorry to upset you!” Big Jake said with his lower lip quivering as he bowed deep.
“I am not upset. You are a very good cook. I would call you a grand chef given your qualifications. As to food questions, I do not know what rations we have. So, making any demand now is not something I should do. In time, you will learn what I like and do not like. But for now, just make the meals as good as you can but do not waste the rations as we have a long journey.” I explained hoping not to cause the gentle giant of a man to cry.
“Thank you, Lord Wyatt. No one has ever allow me to just make anything without direction. I promise to make you an amazing meal.” Big Jake said with pride.
“Very good. Will be looking forward to it. Oh, Lady Freya will be joining me and perhaps Ladies Illya and Rina too. Keep that in mind if the rations provided are to be divided. I would prefer that everyone eats the same general meal. Though, you can vary it for my guests and myself.” I continued to explain my preferences.
“Yes, Lord Wyatt. I will get to work right away.” Big Jake replied and scurried off toward where the cooking fires were lit.
Lukas and Stephan set up a walled curtain enclosure bought by Gus to allow bathing and dressing while on the road that sat between the first two carriages. This was done so the girls group could wash up in privacy. While Freya was washing up, I decided to check on Sir Jas and the knights and see to my own constitutional.
“How are you doing Sir Jas, Cleef, Gunthar and Reagan.” I stated as I walked up to where they were lying before a fire.
“Actually not too bad. We thank you for the mattresses. It was a godsend for us. We rode very comfortably.” Sir Jas stated with a smile and a salute from his lying position.
“Yeah, it is more than what we would have gotten from the Order.” Reagan stated with sour look and a salute.
“He is not wrong. We thank you.” Stated Guntar with a nod and Salute from where he was sitting.
Cleef just made a grunting yes nodding of his head, mouth and cheeks were still swollen and speaking was excruciatingly painful.
“I am glad. Let me know if you need anything.” I stated as I rose from my squatting position near Sir Jas.
“Wait, Lord Wyatt.” Pleaded Sir Jas as I was about to leave.“Yes, what is it?” I replied with curiosity.
“We have all been talking and how we are now traveling confirms our decision. We would like to join your House as Knights. We will have to ask his Grace Duke Avondale who is Lord Marshal for transfer. General Bondi who is over all of the Knight Orders is away in the east reinforcing and insuring the defenses at Caladan, Norrbotten and Red Keep with the third, forth and fifth Order of Knights.” Sir Jas requested with a salute and nod which all the others did as well.
“I am touched. However, you know I do not have any lands or manor. I cannot in good conscious accept.” I replied with a shake of my head and sad look.
“Should you be awarded with a manor or lands would you accept?” Asked Sir Jas hopefully.
“If and I do mean “IF” and I have enough room and can support you properly, then yes, I will accept your vows of fealty.” I promised with a smile.
“We look forward to serving you for we are certain you will be amply rewarded.” Stated Sir Jas with another nod and salute.
After meeting with the Knights, I talked with Old Maude who was resting as the apprentices from doctor Zalzworth were doing most of the work. I allowed her to see to my wounds and apply the elven salve. Next, I sought out the guards to insure the posting of the watch so that everyone had a break and ample time to eat. After this, I met with the wolf kin brothers Conan and Connor. The only way to tell them apart was their eye color. Conan had gray eyes and Connor had olive eyes. I asked them to take the watch equally over the females to ensure no one bothers them. With Razor and Meowth, they said they would stretch their legs then head back to get food and rest up a bit which I agreed with.
Back at my carriage, I was met by Tiana who had set up a bronze bowl next to my carriage and proceeded to remove my shirt and wash my upper body with heavily scented water and soap. When finished, Tiana applied a similarly scented oil with extra attention to my underarms. Rana brought me the green outfit with excitement. Gus and Tiana helped me donned the outfit and Rana quickly went to wash my shirt for it to be ready in the morning. Gus combed my hair and placed the beret hat on my head. I then belted on my sword and gun belt and headed to a table set aside for me to eat the evening meal.
Just as Freya and the girls were finishing up and streaming out of the enclosure, Meowth came jogging up.
“Meow Lord Wyatt, do not be alarmed but there is three people watching our group. Razor Tom is keeping close watch on them. They are made up of a tom kitten, an old tomcat and a meowther. They are in the trees before the fluff fields.” Meowth said as she nodded toward the forest belt and the cotton fields beyond.
“Good to know. Where is Razor?” I asked as I stood up and was waving at Lars to get his attention.
“Razor Tom is over there up in the big meowoak tree, meow Lord Wyatt” Meowth said with a flick of her right ear and stiff tail that actually was pointing in the direction of Razor.
“Well done. Keep watch on the women and restrict them to near the carriages until we sort these guests out. Let Lady Freya know so she can keep the rest calm.” I ordered with a slight nod of my head.
“Purrrfect, meow Lord Wyatt.” Meowth replied as she jogged off to speak with Freya.
“How can I be of service, Lord Wyatt?” Lars asked as he approached followed by a short bow, salute and chest bump.
“My body guards Razor and Meowth spotted three people watching our group. Razor is up in the big oak tree behind me keeping close watch on them.” I stated and paused because of the horrified shocked look on Lars' face.
Lars took a knee with a deep bow of his head said, “I apologize for my failure along with the men under my command. Our first day to be so tainted! I beg for your forgiveness.” Lars said as he groveled before me.
“There is no harm done this time. See that you post your men better and have them do a proper scouting of the area in the future. Last thing I want is to have to go into battle from a surprise attack that was preventable.” I admonished with a stern look and a pointing finger.
“Yes, Lord Wyatt. We your house guards will show you our true worth from this day forward!” Lars promised with a double fist bump to the chest and a salute.
“Good enough. Now, have six men flank them and find out who they are. If they are locals, ask them to return home. If they are not, bring them to me but do not harm them unless they become violent.” I replied with my orders.
“At your command, Lord Wyatt.” Lars said with fist chest bump with salute and immediate ran to where five of his men were relaxing before a fire.
Lars with the five men split up into two groups of three. They then made a very wide circle to get behind the trio watching our party.
Big Jake at this point brought some warmed up bread and a type of green herb dip along with sliced apples and some lamb slices mixed with onion, garlic, two types of squash and a variety of herbs.
“Lady Freya, I am glad you are here. Lady Illya and Lady Rina you too are most welcome.” I stated with a formal bow and sweeping arm as the ladies approached.
“Thank you, Ryan for this little pleasure.” Freya said with a nice smile.
“Yes, we thank you too.” Said Illya quickly also speaking for Rina.
We then seated ourselves and began to eat the bread with the herb dip that was incredibly delicious as Lorna and Gus were pouring a nice sweet vinqua made from berries. The herb dip was amazing as it appeared to be a butter, garlic and herb mixture. However, it also had the undeniable taste of olive oil too.
Just as Tiana was plating out the main dish for our group, Lars approached with the trio. The first was a middle aged man of lite brown hair that was beginning to gray. The second was a late forties to fifties woman with heavily graying hair. The last was a boy of about six to seven years old with brownish red hair and bright green eyes.
“These are the ones watching our camp, Lord Wyatt.” Said Lars with a double fist chest bump and a salute.
“Very good. Well done.” I replied with a nod and a return double chest fist bump salute.
The trio looked very scared especially the boy who was beginning to tear up to cry.
“I am Count Ryan Wyatt. Who are you and why were you spying on our party?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I am Robert Duffy. I was chamberlain and steward to Count Charles Appleton who was assassinated by rogues. This is Hazel Radcliff Housekeeper for Avalon fortress. The little Lord here is Charlie Appleton the rightful heir to the title of Count of the Avalon Western Region and the fortress of Avalon. We humbly ask for your protection." Stated Robert with the begging request.
“I see. Well now. Who is specifically after the young lad?” I asked for this intrigue was something I did not want.
“I suspect the House of Skafhoggr but not the Viscount himself. He is, well, not a person who can strategize. It is more than likely his wife Lady Ludmilla or his mother in law Dowager Baroness Grogda Wode. Their home was Fossberg a small mountain village east of Red Keep that was destroyed by the Empire. They were staying with Viscount Skafhoggr at his manor in Dorn before they came to Fortress Avalon. Viscount Skafhoggr married Lady Ludmilla after only one month introduction. Almost two months after they arrived at Fortress Avalon, my Lord Avondale fell ill after drinking vinqua and died within a half span. Only poison kills a healthy and strong man as my lord was in such a short span. Two days after my lord's death, Lady Beatrice Appleton also fell ill and died within a span. A week later, the young master was attacked and his bodyguard fought to the death to protect him. Hazel grabbed our young lord and fled into city. I received word and joined them. We were attacked again by a mercenary known to do assassinations. I was able to wound him but not before the young lord was stabbed. We fled the city and have been on the run these past three months. It was only a week ago we learned that Viscount Skafhoggr was awarded the title to Fortress Avalon. Please, I beg of you! Help and protect us!” Robert explained with his pleading request.
“ I see.” I said as I sat quiet for a moment to consider what I should do.
“That is clawful!” Said Meowth with her tail straight and hair raised in an angry display.
Pamba jumped out of Rina's lap and climbed onto my shoulder where she whined and rubbed her check against mine. Looking over at Freya, who had the look of fury in her eyes, made my blood run cold. I suspected Freya wanted to kill whoever would harm a child. I also had the urge to do extreme violence against these villains.
“Very well. I Count Ryan Wyatt grant you protection. However, know what you see here is all the retainers I have. I have no home or lands because of the Empire. I am now on my way to see the King who summoned me to appear as soon as I can get there. I must go to Avalon and present myself to Viscount Skafhoggr to see if I have any new messages from the King.” I stated my travel plans to the trio who had the look of horror.
“We can not return to Avalon. The young lord would be killed on sight.” Protested Robert with Hazel clutching the boy tightly as he began to cry.
“Lord Wyatt. You can not take them to Fortress Avalon. It would almost certainly bring attack and more attempts of assassination. I know you can win a battle against a small force. However, you can not protect against an arrow from an assassin who creeps in the shadows unseen.” Freya stated as she breathed her anger despite a calm voice.
“You are correct. However, I have no intention on taking them to Fortress Avalon. I believe that they should travel through the city in a cart with guards where we will catch up to them within a day. Know, I will not stay in Avalon more than one night as etiquette requires as Viscount Skafhoggr will host me for a night's rest from travel.” I stated the plan and I saw Freya sigh a bit of relief with Pamba making a quiet approving barking noise.
“Tell me Robert, do you know of an adventurer party that is honorable in Avalon that I could hire for this journey? I have the feeling that I will need more fighting men. I do not want to select mercenaries as they are only loyal to who pays the highest coin and I can not compete given my circumstances.” I asked as I looked toward Lars with Razor now standing beside him.
“Yes, Zack Talley's party. He is an A ranked adventurer with seven members mostly C ranked with two B ranked.” Robert stated as he recollected the party I had requested.
“What do you think about hiring them to protect the cart you will be riding in disguised as commoners traveling south to the capital? You three would have to change into clothing of commoners with the story of fleeing from the devastation of the Empire. Maybe say you are going to relatives near or in the capital. Could you do this?” I asked explaining my plan further.
“Yes, that would work. I do not think Zack Talley would recognize me as I have only met him twice. His reputation is very good.” Robert stated with renewed hope and relief.
“Alrighty then. That will be the plan. Will need to send a floxis message. Can we do that in Trino?” I asked Robert.
“Yes, there is a small adventurer guild office there. They will take the request and can have them meet you a few millo outside Avalon's main north bridge barbican. The cost of hiring is expensive of at least an erythro maybe as much as a silver if they have recently completed a difficult job.” Robert explained.
“I see. That is good to know. Now, get you something to eat. Once finished, you and Hazel ride in the third cart. Charlie, you can ride in the carriage with me after Hazel cleans you up.” I stated with a sigh and was thankful for the information Robert provided.
Freya took it upon herself to look after Charlie and made sure he had plenty to eat. Charlie was enthralled with Pamba as he fed her some lamb pieces. After dinner, I had Old Maude check on Charlie's wound that turned out to be a deep cut between his side and under his left arm at the bottom of his armpit. Old Maude cleaned the wound and redid the stitches as they were too loose and was the cause for the wound to not been healing.
About an hour later, our party was back on the road. The travel was quiet and Charlie fell asleep with Pamba curled up next to him. Over three hours later, we arrived long after dark in Trino. We went to the inn called the Resting Unicorn where they had walled enclosures for large parties to camp and be well protected. I forbid all from going into the tavern but allowed the tavern owner to bring a cask of ale of and some mutton stew as some in the party stated they did not eat much at the last stop. Lars impressed with setting the guard as he was making sure nothing else would go wrong. I set up the bed platform where I could stretch out to sleep. Gus slept sitting up with his feet up next to Charlie on the front bench. When I laid down, Pamba came and rubbed my cheek with hers before curling up in the crook of my arm. It was easy to fall asleep as I was mentally and physically tired.

I had a terrible idea, a deck that is filled with ONLY lands, save for the commander(s). There are a fair number of commanders that can potentially helm this deck
Going through scryfall looking for legal commanders with "land" in their description provides the following commanders, and for the sake of convenience, any that are simply "X/X, where X is equal to the number of lands you control" with no other abilities are left out. I will also not take into account the lands you might have, and will assuming the only lands are basics. Obviously in practice this won't be true, but it does set a baseline.
[[Budoka Gardener]] / [[Dokai, Weaver of Life]] - Problem is it will take you 6+ turns to flip them, with no way of speeding it up or anything to do in the meantime. Plus you basically cant attack with it or you'll risk losing it. Good news is that once you hit the 10 lands once, flipping it in the future is much easier.
[[Bristly Bill, Spine Sower]] - You get one creature that gets bigger every turn, and you're guaranteed to get them out turn 2. Once turn 5 hits he's just going to get exponentially bigger (turn 5 he becomes a 10/10, turn 6 is a 22/22, turn 7 is a 46/46, and so on). He will eat so much removal once your opponents realize whats happening, and there is very little chance of you winning. If you reach the point where you can activate his ability twice in one turn...he'll probably still be stopped by a 0/1, thus ineffective. Big cactus though!
[[Bruse Tarl, Roving Rancher]] - 2/2 creatures are very small and easily dealt with, and there is zero scaling with this. Your opponents are getting bigger and better spells & creatures, while you just keep your small herd of oxen.
[[Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald]] - Exact same issue as Bruse Tarl, but in gruul instead of boros.
[[Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer]] - Biggest issue right out of the gate is the inability to do ANYTHING before turn 5. However once they are out, they're a 5/5 getting bigger each turn, while getting 3/3s every turn Greensleeves is on the field.
[[Hazezon, Shaper of Sand]] - Extremely reliant on deserts, and there are only 25 deserts within his colours. Honestly, probably the worst option so far.
[[Jolrael, Empress of Beasts]] - See now this is something that actually uses the lands well. Having to discard two cards to make your lands into creatures is the biggest flaw, especially since turning your lands into creatures makes them easier to remove. You'll be going through lands pretty quickly, with little to no way of getting them back.
[[Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir]] - An objectively better version of the previous Jolrael. Flying means its harder to kill in combat, and the X/X will almost always be 7/7 or 8/8, making the birds even harder to kill. Biggest problem is that Jolrael has zero protection, and 3 toughness is very easy to kill. However so far this is one of, if not the, best options.
[[Kamahl, Fist of Krosa]] - Biggest flaw is that it requires a whopping 6 mana to get out, which means you have nothing to do before he's out. The activated abilities only lasting until end of turn means it'll be a lot more turns until you can get a lot of 1/1s on the field before getting worth out of his second ability. Plus 3 toughness again means he's easy to kill, however his first ability being at instant speed means he has protection from spells/abilities forcing you to sacrifice a nonland permanent and/or creature. Plus all those lands you spend to actually activate his abilities cant attack. By far the slowest commander in this list so far, and by the time you can potentially get going with him, the game is over and you died like 10 rounds ago.
[[Kamahl, Heart of Krosa]] - Honestly a flat improvement over the prior Kamahl. He has a higher mana value, but partner means you can combine him with something else so you have something to do while waiting for him to come online. His former card's second ability was baked into him as a passive, leaving you with more lands left untapped. The lands he turns into creatures are also invincible and vigilant, so the lands cant be destroyed in combat, and can still be used as lands afterwards. So far potentially one of the top commanders on the list, depending on who you partner him with.
[[Maja, Bretagard Protector]] - Same problem as all "expensive" commanders, you're left doing nothing before you can cast them. The creatures they create aren't worth mentioning, even with Maja's passive +1/+1 to your other creatures. 3 toughness again means they're easy to squash. Somehow still not the worst on this list, but definitely near the bottom.
[[Meloku the Clouded Mirror]] - Only real benefit this one has compared to the other commanders that make tiny creatures, is that everything has flying. 4 toughness is also SLIGHTLY harder to deal with, but not by much. Same "expensive" problem as half the commanders on this list.
[[Nissa, Vastwood Seer]] - You need to wait until turn 7 to flip Nissa, and even then you're still not doing anything but land drops and passing. Even after she's flipped, she needs to stay on the field for another 4 turns before you can use her ultimate, or 5 turns if you dont want it to kill her. Thats a minimum of 11 turns just to do anything, and lets be real she's not staying on the field that long. Her -2 making a legendary token means its barely worth using, since you cant make multiple, and even if you could each time its used delays her ultimate an extra 2 turns.
[[Ob Nixilis, the Fallen]] - Oooh a mono black commander is definitely something different. He has the same "expensive mana cost" and starting 3 toughness problems as many other commanders, however his landfall ability means the second problem is quickly solved and you're doing a flat 3 damage to an opponent every turn he's on the field, while he becomes more dangerous in combat. I don't know if he's the best commander, but hey mono black is definitely something different!
[[Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor]] - Its another land-creature commander, but this time both the commander and creature scale every turn. In the top half of commanders with similar abilities, and the land getting trample means if Obuun lives long enough the lands will get harder and harder to block. Not the best, but still good.
[[Omnath, Locus of Rage]] - He's 7 mana. Thats it. As good as his abilities look, they dont matter before he's on the field, and he takes 7 turns to get out. Can't make more elementals until turn 8. You might as well not even play the game if you choose him, because the game will probably be over before he's even out.
[[Phabine, Boss's Confidant]] - [insert 5 mana comment here]. Her parley ability guarantees you at least 1 creature every turn, because you'll always reveal a land. 6 toughness makes her a bit harder to deal with when it comes to cards that do damage, but there are other means of removal to deal with her. How good she ends up being pretty much comes down to what your opponents reveal, and her usefulness drops as people get eliminated.
[[Phylath, World Sculptor]] - At 6 mana they're very expensive, and you won't even get that much worth out of them on cast. Then once your tokens are gone, its a sitting duck with an inability to get more tokens until Pylath re-enters the battlefield by whatever means.
[[Radha, Heart of Keld]] - Between being cast and hitting your 5 mana, Radha has nothing of note to offer. The lack of trample also means they're easily stopped by blockers, and the buff means they're essentially defenceless between your turns. As such they're worse than all of the commanders that get +1/+1 counters from lands, and arguably worse than the "x/x where x is equal to the number of lands you control".
[[Skeleton Ship]] - Look its a fun idea, problem is you will never deal any actual damage. I'm mostly including them as a joke, because in practice I dont see this working.
[[Slogurk, the Overslime]] - Requires sac lands to even function, but at least you get some of the sac lands refunded when Slogurk dies. Your luck in card draws will make or break this deck, as its nothing more than a 3/3 without lands going to the graveyard.
[[Soramaro, First to Dream]] - 6 mana is already expensive, but a flying 7/7 isnt TERRIBLE. The issue is actually getting them out on the field. It also wont go above 7/7 longer than a turn unless you have a [[reliquary tower]], and it falls to any opponents that force you to discard. Not worth trying.
[[Soul of Windgrace]] - The indestructible is by far the best feature, especially considering its at instant speed and you dont need to tap him to use it. Still falls to exiling effects or cards that reduce toughness, but is one of the harder to remove commanders once he hits the field.
[[Tatyova, Steward of Tides]] - You need to wait until turn 7 to get them going, but at least the land elementals dont revert at the end of the turn. Slow with little benefit.
[[The Gitrog Monster]] - Its a 6/6 with deathtouch for 5, and thats it. No scaling, and takes too long to get out.
[[The Wise Mothman]] - Once its out, the rad counters do all the work. If your opponents only mill land cards you gain zero benefit, besides potentially slowing them down. Not a terrible commander, but too heavily reliant on luck to make work consistently.
[[Titania, Protector of Argoth]] - Another commander reliant on sac lands, only refunding 1 sac land when she enters the battlefield. In all likelihood you won't gain much out of her, and isnt worth the wait it takes to cast her.
[[Titania, Voice of Gaea]] / [[Titania, Gaea Incarnate]] - She requires [[Argoth, Sanctum of Nature]], and it not being a forest makes it harder to tutor out. Not impossible mind you, but extremely hard. Then even if you do manage to meld her, if she dies you probably wont get the chance to meld her again as her front has no way of getting lands out of the graveyard or exile.
[[Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith]] - An average commander brought down by the artifacts being equipment. To get the most worth out of him, you would likely need to partner him with something that makes creature tokens to help ensure you have creatures to active the rocks. 2 toughness means he will get deleted pretty quickly with just about any damaging spell, and the commander tax makes him less and less worth the cost.
[[Uurg, Spawn of Turg]] - Finally a commander that both cares about lands in the graveyard while also helping to put them there! 3 mana is relatively cheap, while the 5 toughness affords him a decent amount of protection from damage. His scaling power also makes him stronger every turn, but that does make him more of a target. Good news is that once he gets back onto the battlefield, he's just as strong as when he left it. His ability to sacrifice lands also helps with your longevity. By far the best graveyard commander on this list purely because he doesnt need to worry about luck. Sac lands only make him stronger, but he doesnt rely on them.
[[Yuma, Proud Protector]] - Alas, the potentially most expensive commander on the list is also our last commander. If you get lucky with sac lands his mana cost does come down, but if you're unlucky he remains at 8 mana. The good news is that once he's on the field he does become cheaper, and you can even reduce or remove potential commander tax. However his high base cost is simply too high to worth the risk of not getting any sac lands before you can cast him.
So unless I missed any, thats the entire list of potential commanders for a "lands only" deck. 31 commanders is honestly more than I was expecting, but most of them also are not worth using. Out of all of them, the only ones potentially worth using are "Bristly Bill", "Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir", "Uurg, Spawn of Turg", "Soul of Windgrace", "Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor", and "Kamahl, Heart of Krosa" if you get him a good partner.

About 7 years ago, I figured out that I was making this way of eating more difficult than necessary. As such, I turned it into "a meat and two veggies" way of eating. And since I enjoy grilling, this concept worked pretty darn well.
So, rather than think about recipes and elaborate meal planning, turn your attention to spices. Sounds batshit crazy, but please stick with me.
This Is Three Days Of Meat
That means that I am spending $3.11 a day on meat. I eat a pound of meat a day.
This Is One My Veggies For The Day
That means I'm spending a $1.55 on a veggie.
This Is My Second Veggie For The Day
I will eat a third of that bag a day (85 grams). That's a $1.15 per day. I will also add a roma tomato and they run a quarter each so let's say $1.50 for both. If work is going to be crazy, I will sometimes just buy 2 heads of lettuce and quarter them for a wedge salad.
$3.11 + $1.55 + 1.50 = $ 6.16 per day * 7 days = $43.12 for the week. I buy $2.50 of eggs. And I have $3.50 left over for...I'll get to it in a minute.
Chicken breasts and boneless skinless chicken thighs are also about $3.00 per pound. When a butt roast goes on sale, I'm going to grab one of those bad boys and crock pot it with some green pepper sauce and jalapenos and make chili verde.
Now, to the part you really care about. Recipes. I used pork chop as my example so I could tell you all the ways I will cook a pork chop. Here we go:
Grilled/baked pork chops:
Lemon pepper
Chili powder and cayenne pepper
Season Salt
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
Just salt and pepper and dunked in garlic butter
With just salt and pepper and a fried egg on top. Make sure the yolk is a tiny bit runny.
Smothered in Rotel
Grind up pork rinds. Add the cheap parmesan cheese. Roll the pork chop in the breading. Fry the pork chop. Take some of that grease you have left over. Pour in 2 ounces of heavy whipping cream. Add some almond flour. Stir the ever lovin' hell out of it until you have cream gravy. You also need to add salt and pepper. A pork chop and cream gravy. That's about as elaborate as I will get.
Fry it and add some marina. Sprinkle more parmesan on top. Pork chop parmigiana 🤠
Cut it into strips. Cut some bell peppers into strips. Add a wee bit of liquid smoke and olive oil. Cover and stir every now and then.
4 Parts reduced sugar ketchup. 1 part mustard. Salt, pepper and a cap full of worchestershoeshiresesasd;lkfjdsa;ljf sauce. Mix it up. Low carb Heinz 57 sauce. Dunk your pork chop in it.
So, how do I spend that leftover $3.50? On spices. Smoked paprika is my new obsession.
In the above example, I gave you 12 ways to eat a pork chop. That means it's 12 ways to eat chicken breast and 12 ways to eat boneless skinless chicken thighs. I mentioned 2 "keto" ingredients: Almond Flour and heavy whipping cream. Hell, I just got up and looked, and I bought my bag of almond flour pre-pandemic. I now have to figure out if I throw it out or celebrate it's anniversary 🤡
If I grill, which I do most of the time, my meals take 15 minutes to cook. I try to grill my first veggie as much as possible so I'll cut a zucchini long ways into four long pieces, sprinkle some creole seasoning on it, and grill it. Same with yellow squash. Poblano and bell peppers get grilled as often as possible. My second veggie is a salad 90% of the time.
One little money saver: Mix ground chicken with ground breakfast sausage and brown it. I add chili powder and cayenne pepper to it for taco meat and sometimes hamburger patties.
Look, I bet you a thousand bucks you are crazy busy. Going 90 miles an hour all damn day long. Cooking might be relaxing, but it's not as relaxing as drinking a big ass glass of iced tea while staring at the grill. :)
I've rambled and I apologize. My TLDR is be elaborate with spices instead of elaborate recipes. Look, once a month, I go pretty elaborate. Here's an example for you: Chicken tenders seared then cooked in a little bit of oil oil with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika. Thinly slice some onion and mushrooms and add to the meat. (I don't like onion and mushrooms much, I do jalapenos and tomatoes). Add a third of a cup of sour cream. Add a third of a cup of heavy whipping cream. Add more smoked paprika. Cover and let it simmer for an hour or so.
Get some riced cauliflower. Put it in a skillet with some salt and heat it up. Once the cauliflower turns gray, pour it in a towel. Squeeze the towel like a doobie over the sink getting as much water out as possible. Put the cauliflower back in the skillet and spice it with a little bit of salt. Now, put some of the rice on your plate, then put some of the chicken tenders on the rice, then pour some of the sour cream/heavy cream sauce over the chicken and rice. It tastes so good, you will name your next child Little BigTex 🤠.
I just said "chicken and rice". Do you like soup? Chicken and chicken broth in a slow cooker on low for 4 hours. Then, add your freshly squeezed cauliflower rice along with some chopped celery and chopped green beans. You have chicken soup.
Brussel Sprouts: Cut in half and lay on a cookie sheet. Melt some butter mixed with ranch seasoning and drizzle over the brussel sprouts. Bake. Serve. Eat. Say, "Oh my gosh these are amazing".
I could go on and on. Again, always be looking to make things more simple and you will find this way of eating to be delightful. Once a week or so, blow up the kitchen with elaborate recipes. Hell, have fun. I have written all this to you because when I read your post, I believed you were not having fun and I hope this helps you have some fun. Getting healthier should be fun.

I've always been a girl who loves animals, and now that I have two pet rabbits, both adoped within the last year, I am extra excited about the return of Nui Cobalt's Critters collection! This collection isn't entirely sweet cuddly woodland creatures, but it does have a lot of those, including three of my all-time favorite Nui Cobalts: Little Brown Rabbit, Little White Rabbit, and Lilac Rabbit. When Forest posted in the Facebook group asking which Critters we'd like to see return, or which animals we'd love to see emerge as new Critters, I waxed rhapsodic about the Rabbits and suggested a bunch of other colorings of rabbits that could become amazing perfumes... so I'm hopeful that we might even get a new Rabbit this year. I would just about die of happiness if she really did make a Blue Otter Rabbit after my sweet bun Hazel. She also teased a Ladybug scent for this year, which would be SO CUTE!
Anyway, the Critters are due back this Friday, with the newsletter announcing them on Thursday, and I am excited. As usual, I thought I'd post my thoughts on all the past Critters I've tried in case that might help you formulate your wishlist. And if you've tried any of these, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Was your experience similar to mine?
My preferences: I especially love snuggly scents, incense, golden amber, cardamom, black tea, beeswax, non-gourmand vanillas, and white florals (particularly tiare, honeysuckle and tuberose; sadly I am allergic to lilies and jasmine doesn’t work on me). I don't like hay, overly sweet gourmands, excessive musk, dragon’s blood, leather, patchouli, labdanum, or any really dark scents in general. To my great devastation, Nui Cobalt’s apricot and pear notes don’t tend to work on me, though I haven’t given up hope and I continue to try new blends with those notes occasionally.
Most of these perfumes were provided as press samples by Nui Cobalt in exchange for an honest review.
​

Rabbits

Little Brown Rabbit [Nutmeg and tonka bean nuzzle up against fluffy marshmallow, cottonflower, pink pepper, and a trace of carrot seed] (this perfume is so popular that it is also in the Continuous Collection and available all year 'round!) - This is one of my absolute top perfume oils. It comforts me on hard days, it cozies me on laid-back evenings, it cheers me on rainy days. My husband recognizes it immediately and honestly I think he finds it cuddly too when I'm wearing it, and it's also his primary frame of reference when he sniffs a new sample I'm trying - "that smells a bit like Little Brown Rabbit" is high praise from him. Wet, it's very strongly nutmeg and caramel, almost mapley, but also with just a bit of pepperish bite from the carrot seed - this is as gourmand as I'm willing to get. Once it dries, the caramel dissipates and it becomes the most marvelously snuggly scent. Having a bad day? Little Brown Rabbit can cheer you up. Having a cozy day? Little Brown Rabbit will make it that much better. Wanting to unwind in the evening? Little Brown Rabbit is my go-to snuggly evening scent. And I think it's the absolute must-try from Nui Cobalt.
Little White Rabbit [Nutmeg and tonka bean nuzzle up against cottonflower, white peppercorn, clove, vanilla marshmallow creme, pale blue cashmere, carrot seed, and honeyed almond] - When the news broke that NCD was releasing a new little rabbit variant two years ago, I was SO excited (little did I know that it would seemingly become an annual thing!), and I blind-bought a full-size (something I never do). Especially because Little White Rabbit adds that wonderful cashmere note to Little Brown Rabbit, this one was a no-brainer for me, and my trust was easily rewarded. Nui Cobalt has outdone themselves with this, their most snuggly of perfumes. I expected this to be a lot like LBR only less mapley and perhaps more cashmere-y (and yes, it is both of these things), but truly, LWR feels even more like it's built on a base of Spidersilk vanilla (Starlight and Spidersilk: [Slender strands of cotton flower hung with trembling dewdrops, cold crystalline musk, and tiny black vanilla beans]), with some of the LBR spices (the peppercorn and carrot seed, but I don't sense any cloves) plus the comforting warmth of the cashmere and almond of Silver Fox (see below), another favorite of mine. And then finally, the marshmallow ties it all together into a pillowy cloud of coziness. It's frankly astonishing. Love at first sniff even just from the vial, and on my skin it blossoms into the most comforting scent. Do I love it even more than LBR? I still can't tell, even years later. I love them both. One final note that may be helpful to some of you: the cottonflower is pretty strong with this one, which is part of why it reminds me so much of the Spidersilk vanilla, but if you're not so much a fan of "clean" laundry-like scents, this one might not be quite your cup of tea - go for LBR instead.
Lilac Rabbit [Nutmeg and tonka bean nuzzle up against toasted marshmallow, carrot seed, summerweight cotton, allspice, and pale lilac in a smooth fur accord] - Oh friends, I hoped and pleaded for another new Rabbit last year, and the universe (and Nui Cobalt) answered! I'm not actually all that fond of lilac and I think I have ended up destashing all of my perfumes with lilac notes, but I was willing to risk it for the chance of a floral Rabbit. Lilac Rabbit is gorgeous - but really, did you expect it to be anything else? I get primarily marshmallow, allspice, and cotton. It sits exactly halfway between the other two Rabbits, with the allspice and peppery carrot seed spices of Little Brown Rabbit (but without the maple quality), and also with the silky, slightly soapy fabric aspect of Little White Rabbit. There is perhaps just a touch of musky lilac, but it doesn't really read to me like a floral perfume. Lilac Rabbit is comfortable. The closest metaphor I can think of is a day when you're wearing a new outfit, one that fits perfectly and really suits you, but it's also completely comfy, with no itchy spots or seams that dig in, and it moves with you. It's like a day where you feel perfectly yourself, fully at ease, and completely put-together. This new Rabbit is everything I could have possibly dreamed of, and it immediately became one of my favorite spring & summer scents.

Squirrels

In past years, they've offered a complete set of all the Squirrels, which was how I tried them all a few years ago. (They've since been discontinued, but sometimes discontinued things return again, or perhaps you might run into one in the swaps, so I'll include all my Squirrel reviews here.) All of the Squirrels are built on the same base of almond + apricot + benzoin, and then each one has different additional notes. Like the Spidersilk variants (all built on the same Spidersilk vanilla base but with different additional notes - my reviews HERE), the Squirrels each have an entirely different vibe. Interestingly, the actual proportion of almond to apricot also seems to vary by Squirrel, perhaps because of the interactions with the different added notes, or perhaps because they actually use different proportions in the Squirrel base for each one. It means that they don't feel anything like near-exact copies of each other, but each have a really distinct identity.
Black Squirrel [A playful blend of almond and spiced apricot, grounded in rich benzoin and copaiba balsam, deepened by black oak, black currant, vanilla bean, and myrrh] - When I first put it on, it's very strongly and exclusively almond - a warm almond that reminds me of baking almond cookies, and it must be the vanilla that helps to make that association. The almond veers slightly towards cherry. As the oil warms on my skin, the apricot emerges and then overtakes the almond. It's apricot skin, soft and velvety, rather than the fleshy fruit of the apricot. These two notes, paired with the woodiness of the balsam and (presumably) black oak, makes this a very bookish scent, perfect for the dark academia aesthetic of my wardrobe in autumn. It's not really an incense-heavy perfume; the myrrh just grounds it and gives it a beautiful dark richness. On me it's not terribly fruity (though I know some folks get mostly dark stone fruits; isn't skin chemistry fascinating!) It's the longest-lasting of the Squirrels, too - the second time I wore it, its throw was a bit too high at bedtime so I washed my wrists, and even so, I could still smell Black Squirrel the next morning!
Flying Squirrel [Raw almond, spiced apricot, and rich benzoin borne aloft by lavender, cotton flower, and tart kumquat] - This one reminds me a lot of Napping in a Flower [Tender ripe apricot, Bulgarian lavender, spiced summer honey, plum blossom, daylily, honeysuckle, and ylang], which makes perfect sense since they share a lot of the same notes, but without the honey and honeysuckle that made Napping too candle-y on me. Husband said this reminds him strongly of Little White Rabbit - he said it's the spices that make that association for him, and I suspect he was also picking up on the shared cotton flower and almond notes. I'm finding it easier to compare Flying Squirrel to other NCD scents than to describe it on its own; its combination of notes feels quite erratic and the concept doesn't feel terribly unified. I couldn't classify this as a "cozy" perfume even though it does have a strong cotton flower note, nor is it citrusy enough for me to think of it as a fruity perfume (even though it has the strongest apricot of all the Squirrels), or herbal enough for it to go in my lavender section (in fact, I'm hoping that some aging brings out the lavender more). If you like Napping in a Flower or Little White Rabbit - two perfumes that are really nothing alike! - you'd probably enjoy this one too.
Grey Squirrel [A playful blend of almond and spiced apricot, grounded in rich benzoin and copaiba balsam, softened with cotton flower, cashmere, and teakwood] - This one gives the effect of eating an almond cookie while snuggled in a wool blanket. This one is super cozy - the autumn cousin of my beloved wintertime snuggly scents (Silver Fox, Snow Cat, Chionophilia, all of which also feature almond and fabric notes - see their full notes lists and my comparative reviews HERE). Grey Squirrel stays pretty static, not morphing like Black Squirrel, and the apricot is only barely present.
Red Squirrel [A playful blend of almond and spiced apricot, grounded in rich benzoin and copaiba balsam, warmed with red musk, red sandalwood, and smoldering amber] - This one is pretty heavy on the red musk, and was in fact partly responsible for me finally figuring out that I don't personally enjoy red musk. The almond, apricot, and sandalwood combination does give this a rather gourmand-adjacent feel to it, more so than the other Squirrels. It's a very rich and warm perfume. It's funny how actually "red" this scent feels - it feels like the experience of watching a bonfire die down, even though there's no smoke note at all. "Smoldering" indeed.
White Squirrel [A playful blend of almond and spiced apricot, grounded in rich benzoin and copaiba balsam, cooled with aloe, white musk, and smooth white amber] - Even without looking at the notes, it was easy to identify the white amber in this one, even though Nui Cobalt only infrequently uses white amber as a note. White Squirrel is very like Grey Squirrel, equally cozy but lighter and airier, with that white amber instead of cashmere. White Squirrel is cooler, more standoffish than Grey Squirrel - that "cool" effect must be the aloe - more a wintertime snuggly scent rather than an autumnal cozy scent. Even the now-familiar almond + apricot base feels daintier and even less foody here in White Squirrel.
Overall--

• Grey Squirrel and White Squirrel are the snuggly ones. Wear Grey Squirrel for cozy blanket vibes, and White Squirrel to be even daintier.
• Wear Red Squirrel for sexy outdoorsy gourmandy vibes (is that a thing? I think Red Squirrel makes it a thing)
• Black Squirrel is the dark academia sibling, and Flying Squirrel is the playful cousin

All the other Critters

Akhal-Teke [Fine ecru suede, raw silk, pearl musk, white amber, precious Hawaiian sandalwood, and creamy pistachio] - As someone put it, "super shiny horse". Silky yet fuzzy and soft, sophisticated yet snuggly. I recognize that pearl musk + sandalwood combination from Cancer [Cotton flower, steamed rice, soft sandalwood, vanilla orchid, coconut milk, and pearl musk] and I love it here too. All of these notes, suede + silk + pearl musk + white amber + sandalwood together, are gentle and just the epitome of softness, yet with just enough body and presence to be soft-on-purpose, assertively soft if that makes sense. This is not a wallflower scent. On to more specifics about the literal smell. At first, the nutty pistachio is pretty present, but it melds beautifully with the gentle suede. The silk and white amber give an elegance. I also definitely get the pearl musk and sandalwood, which take more prominence in the drydown when the pistachio dissipates a bit. This is my favorite stage - just soft, gentle, creamy, and absolutely lovely. Akhal-Teke has low throw but high longevity. I should note that after a year of aging, the pistachio amped quite a lot, overpowering that gorgeous pearl musk/sandalwood base that I loved so much. I'm hoping someday Forest might make one that's basically just pearl musk and sandalwood, without any gourmand elements!
Black-Capped Chickadee [Dogwood saplings, cedar resin, the tang of young stone fruits: still tiny and green, sugar maple, pine nuts, and barely-thawed soil] - I'm not one for dirt notes, so I completely passed this one up for several years, but enough really glowing reviews finally convinced me to try it. In the vial, it smells of wood, honeyed fruits, and hay. On my skin, it's soil, slightly nutty and incensey, with plush fruit and some very cedar-forward wood notes - and yet it's surprisingly dainty, and a perfect encapsulation of a black-capped chickadee. There's something about this scent that reminds me of snow-covered pebbles, and also of Shakespeare's poem "The cloud-capp'd towers" from The Tempest. After much sniffing and pondering, I finally figured out why I made that snowy association - the fruits read to me like cranberry, making this feel like a wintery scent. As for "The cloud-capp'd towers," I think I'm getting that Shakespearean reference from the combination of daintiness and dirt.
Blossom Bat [Humid rainforest blossoms laden with nectar, dense moss, passionfruit, black fig, and bamboo] - This was an order freebie that I wouldn't have picked out for myself, but it's so fun, and it went straight into my "Aloe and dewy" section of my summer perfumes, next to Waimea Mist and Aloha from the Big Island summer collection. Blossom Bat is velvety flower petals against a lush background of aquatic notes. I don't often enjoy moss notes (they often turn into honeydew melon on my skin), but here the moss contributes to the especially verdant feeling.
Blue Jay [Sturdy blue spruce and young oak support the bold elegance of white peony, angelica, blackberry bramble, and rhubarb] - In the vial, it's extremely fruity with a hint of trees. On my skin, it matches the description much more closely: evergreens and forest floor, brightened by fruity sweetness and a hint of floral. If you loved None of Your Beeswax [Thorny brambles of blackberry, elderflower, violet, fennel seed, sacred benzoin, and unfiltered honey] from the Bees collection, do give this one a try - Blue Jay is like None of Your Beeswax's summer cousin. I once wore this to a community theater production of Into the Woods and it was perfect.
Copper Fox [Warm chai with steamed almond milk nestled in sumptuous cashmere, crimson musk, sarsaparilla, and budding birch] - I once went on a quest to find the perfect chai perfume, and of course I had to try Copper Fox! Immediately on application, Copper Fox is root beer, spicy root beer - there's that sarsaparilla in a big way. As it quickly dries, the overwhelmingly root beer-ness of it backs off somewhat, and it becomes much more chai spices + the woody birch (and still with an undercurrent of root beer). Chai latte this is not - it's all the spices of chai (cinnamon and black pepper especially, and probably a bit of ginger as well) without any sweetness or milky creaminess. I should note that at this point my skin has a slight reaction to this perfume; this perfume ended up being part of my discovery that like many others, I too have a slight skin reaction to cinnamon. It didn't hurt a bit and the redness went away fairly quickly, but be forewarned, if you're a person that has a reaction to cinnamon, this might be a blend worth steering away from, or at least planning to wear in a scent locket or in your hair instead of on your skin. Finally, several hours later, Copper Fox has a third stage, and to me the most lovely: chai spices backed by gentle almond and cozy cashmere (and at this stage it's clearly a "Fox" like Silver Fox).
Elf Owl [A bright concoction of liatrix, yellow sandalwood, beach-tumbled teak, solar musk, crushed coriander, and a scant pinch of pale cinnamon] - With the teak and cinnamon, and of course the obvious cue of the "solar musk", I was expecting this to be in the same family as Nui Cobalt's Sun, Heliophilia (Love of Sun), and Sunrise on Spidersilk (comparative review HERE!). Those sun-themed perfumes can be a bit too sharp and masculine on me (I tend to prefer snuggly scents or white florals), but as a great lover of owls (and a huge fan of Nui Cobalt's Snowy Owl [Dried coconut flakes, pale woods, frozen tuberose, vanilla orchid, and fluffy feather musk], with which it admittedly shares not a single note), I absolutely could not pass up Elf Owl. I'm so glad I didn't. This actually isn't in the sun-themed family, nor, of course, does it match the highly white-floral Snowy Owl. Instead, Elf Owl turns out to be much closer to Squash Blossom [Cocobolo wood, orris root, carrot seed, sunflower petals, mandarin zest, and acorn squash baked with brown sugar] from the Autumn 1 collection, though much less vegetal. It's a very well-blended perfume and nothing in particular stands out. The overall effect is gentle: gently floral and slightly vegetal, with vanilla and baking spices but without any sugary sweetness. (Liatrix, for anyone who doesn't know what that note is--I had to look it up myself!--is a "sweet, coumarinic, herbal, tobacco-like floral and offers a pleasant vanilla-like scent".)
Fennec Fox [Blush sandalwood, amber resin, antique Egyptian cotton touched with saffron, spiced peach preserves, and sweet cedar resin] - It's gentle, warm, and spiced, with that snuggly feeling that you get with anything that has NCD's cotton note. If you really look, you can distinguish the wood, saffron, and peach, but they meld together extremely well. Surprisingly, I actually get quite a lot of the same sand note as in Flying South [Pink lemonade, warm sand, tiare blossoms, and a flowy cotton sundress] even though sand is not listed. I wear Fennec Fox in autumn on days when I don't feel like a pumpkin.
Glasswing Butterfly [A diaphanous veil of coconut water, elderflower, moonlit gardenia, silver musk, green lavender, and a slender twist of lime] - Nelophilia (Love of Glass) [Elderflower, silver musk, coconut water, cardamom, silk tree, lime blossom, and smooth hinoki wood] is one of my favorites from the Valentine's collection, but it's been discontinued for some time. So I was delighted to see this one because its notes read like a combination of Nelophilia and Queen Bee [Creamy white gardenia and fluffy whipped honey], both among my favorite NCD perfumes. It's not quite - it's not the same almost-spicy gardenia as in Queen Bee - but it is absolutely divine. Glasswing Butterfly is basically Nelophilia with all its smooth, cool, rainy, white floral nature, but here the cardamom is more present (YES! I love cardamom), and with a bit more floral. After a year of aging, it became quite a LOT more white floral; the heady gardenia came out with a KICK, and it's nearly but not quite indolic.
Honey Badger [Black amber, raw honey, smoked maple wood, and cardamom-infused cream] - I mean, duh, I had to try this one just for the cardamom cream. This is somehow so recognizably a NCD scent. Honey straight from the comb, dripping and golden, rich and sweet, backed by maple wood (but not really maple syrup) and a whiff of cardamom spice. Not nearly enough cardamom for my taste - but then, we all know what I'm like! I'm so glad I tried this one. Since its notes list starts with "black amber," I expected this to be quite a dark scent, but while it's quite rich, it's not ominously dark. Husband really likes this one, which is always a special success.
Hummingbird [Darting from oleander to orange blossom with ripe nectarine, hibiscus tea, and traces of tuberose] - White florals with orange and nectarine fruit notes, chirpy and cheerful. It's a juicy but not sugary scent. I love it for warm spring days - it's an absolute staple of my springtime perfumes - though I find it a little cloying in very hot weather.
Opossum [A bold nocturnal potion of Hatian amyris, soft black suede, red patchouli, freshly-turned earth, copal resin, and Peru balsam] - I get suede, red musk, and brown patchouli; meanwhile Husband, sniffing my wrist, gets pine and petrichor. Yet the combination of all these things is surprisingly gentle, not a shouty, in-your-face kind of scent. Absolutely none of the notes we're picking up on are my thing, but just about all of them very much are Husband's thing, so guess what - he immediately snaffled this one.
Orchid Mantis [Ripe Philippine mango, dragon fruit, tamarind, Indonesian teak, clove bud, sandalwood, tuberose, and a touch of ylang] - This one is bit too sweet for me on application - at first it's all sugary mango - but as it warms on my skin, the other notes creep in: more fruit (but less sugar), a bit of sharp clove for balance, and hints of woodiness and florals. As it dries, those hints of clove and woodiness amp further (and at this point, all my husband smells is cinnamony clove). For some reason, this is one of the very strongest of my NCD scents, with high longevity and even higher throw.
Raccoon [Sepia cashmere, guaiac wood, Egyptian amber, Copaiba balsam, golden musk, a twinkle of coriander, blonde oudh, resinous Himalayan cedar, and myrrh] - It's so well-blended that I can't pick out a single note individually, but something about this feels so quintessentially NCD. Right on application, it makes me think of Cheat Code [Windswept teakwood, cedar, coriander and tea are grounded in black tonka with a hint of fine leather], another one I had trouble describing, and it has a similar level of elegance and polish. Meanwhile, Husband smelled a bit of cola or sarsparilla, and noted an almost chocolatey undertone. As it dries, the cashmere and musk come forward, quite woolly and plush and just a touch animalistic. It seems a similar cashmere musk as in Arctic Fox [Soft amber nestled in sumptuous cashmere, steamed rice milk, winter white musk, and snow-covered fir trees]. If Arctic Fox worked for you, you absolutely must try Raccoon. Since Arctic Fox doesn't work on me (my skin amps that cashmere to unpleasant levels), Raccoon ultimately won't win a place in my collection either - which is a bummer because that opening is so pretty. I'll have to stick with Cheat Code for my polished, sophisticated vibes.
Robin's Egg [Dainty forget-me-nots and lily of the valley, a dollop of whipped blueberry creme, and a cozy birch nest tucked into a flowering dogwood tree] - This one has the same amazing blueberry as Grey Cat [Dry smoked vanilla, fluffy marshmallow creme, fresh blueberries, the gentlest touch of lavender and a warm cup of Earl Grey], House of Transcendence [Top notes of wild blueberry and morning fog, a heart of pale lilac and cashmere, with a base of orris and white amber], and Choreophilia [Wild violets, warm Earl Grey, Dominican blue amber, orris root, a handful of blueberries, and a touch of lime marmalade]. This iteration of the blueberry note is juicy and floral. After a few years of aging, Robin's Egg has become even more gorgeous and creamy, with that stunning blueberry and a vision of dainty blue flowers. This one is discontinued and I'm really sad about that (but you could maybe find some in the swaps if you ask around).
Silver Fox [White tea with honey and rice milk, almond macaron, soft grey cashmere and cool woodland musk] (this perfume is so popular that it is also in the Continuous Collection and available all year 'round) - Stunning. Sophisticated yet snuggly. The cashmere is the most prominent, followed by fir, the sweetness of white amber, and NCD's gentle whipped honey note. I also wouldn't have been surprised to read that copal was a note - there's just that little bit of resinous almost-smoke. When it dries, the sweetness goes away and the fir comes forward. This was a freebie with one of my orders - I hadn't actually bought a sample of this for myself, worried that I wouldn't like the rice milk (which, as it turns out, I don't actually smell), but it has since become one of my favorite wintertime scents.
Sugar Glider [Raw cotton, sugar cane, flannel flower, macadamia nut, pearblossom, palest musk, and dandelion puff] - So here's the thing, I'm wary of gourmands (in fact I always sit out most of the April Fool's gourmand collection). Sugar is listed in the notes description in the very second place, but I am a sucker for cute woodland animals, so that's how I ended up with this sample. After a first sniff in the vial, I got a little nervous about it, because it smelled very sugary, but I figured I'd wear it once, review it for you all, and then in a worst-case scenario, destash it to someone who does love sugary dessert scents. But wait! There's something strangely intoxicating about this one, and it's not really a gourmand. Immediately when I put it on, it reminded me a bit of the Sweettart-ness of my beloved Somniphilia (Love of Sleep) [Lamb's wool accord, orange blossom, barely-budding lavender, melissa, green fig, clary, cloud musk, and weightless vanilla marshmallow meringue]. I was pleasantly surprised that Sugar Glider is not at all dessert, instead more sugar + wood, and really rather cuddly. And then when it dries down, it reminds me so strongly of the blue raspberry note in Dewdrops on Spidersilk [Cerulean strands of cotton flower bejeweled with dewdrops, cold crystalline musk, tiny black vanilla beans, frozen blue raspberry, and gentle incense], except it's not "blue" (nor is it raspberry, but neither is "blue raspberry"). How did they achieve this effect? I have no idea, but it's so addictive: such a delicate, cheerful, springtime scent. It really does remind me of the experience of picking a perfect white fluffy dandelion and making a wish as you blow it. Definitely a springtime favorite.
White-Tailed Deer [Soft brown suede, golden musk, wild forest berries, and roasted chestnuts dusted with maple sugar] - I am always hesitant about suede, but was very happy when this was included as a free sample because I'd heard lovely things about it but wouldn't have purchased it for myself. It's an interesting one because my experience is of it is very different depending on distance. When I'm just smelling it as it wafts around me, it's such a warm, cozy scent, the suede mingling with chestnut and brown sugar. When I bring my wrist directly up to my nose to sniff, the suede does get a bit overwhelmingly leathery, and overtakes the other notes. Once it dries, though, that unpleasantly smoky leatheriness dissipates (even right up under my nose), leaving only the highly autumnal coziness behind. It is indeed very "golden" - or maybe a really rich, warm brown. I don't get any berries at all. It reminds me of the very stylized acorns and hedgehogs that fellow autumn-lovers love to idolize. (And for some reason, Husband gets saffron!)

Personally...

Robin's Egg, Sugar Glider, and Elf Owl are some of my TOP favorite perfumes for spring; Fennec Fox for fall; and Silver Fox for winter. Black Squirrel is my favorite of the Squirrels (in fact I ended up destashing all the others since I continue to have some issues with NCD's apricot note) - it's so beautifully dark-academia. And in my opinion, the three Rabbits are absolute must-tries (and I hold so much hope for a new Rabbit this year!). If you try nothing else from this collection, try whichever of the three Rabbits most calls your name - they're all different but all absolutely stunning.
What are you hoping for this year? Any particular animals you're keeping fingers crossed for? Do we think it'll be mostly woodland creatures this year, or perhaps we'll get some oceanic or other Critters too?