Trader Joe’s has always intimidated me. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because of all the products I don’t recognize. I’m a stay-in-my-comfort-zone type of girl and prefer my Yoplait yogurt and Kellogg’s cereal. But then I read Emily’s post about What to Buy at Trader Joe’s and I decided to face my ridiculous phobia.
I headed to Trader Joe’s to pick up meals for our road trip next month. I took Emily’s advice and gave myself a budget of $50. Unfortunately I broke the budget when we came across the dark chocolate peanut butter cups, oh my!
Snack Foods
I decided a fourteen hour road trip deserved a few fun treats. The cheddar corn puffs are similar to Pirate’s Booty and much cheaper than Costco. One of the employees at the store let us crack into the box of graham crackers and Cat Cookies – yum!
Frozen Section
We need some quick meals to fix on vacation and these were highly recommended. The meatballs can be thrown into some pasta sauce for easy spaghetti and meatballs. Add some rice and a salad with the orange chicken and we have a delicious meal sister!
Baking Items
That huge container of olive oil cost only $5.99! I will be going back for more of that when I run out. The Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil was also only $5.99. I plan on making Peanut Butter Granola Bars and Maple Cluster Granola using the coconut oil and shredded coconut. (What else am I going to do with all those nuts and dried fruit I got at Safeway last week?!) Finally, the Sweet Chili Sauce was only $1.29 and looks delicious!
Now it’s your turn. Do you regularly shop at Trader Joe’s or like me are you just too intimidated the moment you walk in the store?!
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For me its the Brown Rice Pasta – $1.99 for 16oz beats anyone elses prices and holds up better than many other GF pastas(the GF folk know what I’m talking about). It is rumored to be Tinkyada which starts around $4.
LOVE Trader Joes! Love so many things! The just Mango is a favorite! In the freezer they have fettuccine alfredo, add steamed broccoli and grilled chicken- Fast, easy and delicious! (the fam is not gluten free – just me) My kids love the hummus to dip carrots into– The almond meal is great for grain free cooking. I think their chocolate chips are the best.
We love the teriyaki chicken next to the orange. It’s 5.99 a bag I think. They also sell frozen rice and I think it’s 1.99 so when I am in a hurry. Love the popped BBQ chips. The chocolate ice cream is OMG. And I am scared to share my favorite snack item because they run out a lot but the roasted coconut chips for 1.99 I have to watch out or the bag is gone in a sitting!
On side note, I stocked up on nuts and trail mix at Safeway and got home and it all tastes very stale. Anyone else have that issue? Have to figure out what to do with it now
We have bought the So I walked into a bar, fruit bars for years! I buy 12-20 boxes every time I go. My kids love them! I also get the party meatballs and orange chicken. Their organic chocolate syrup is the cheapest around. My son likes their frozen blueberry waffles. Oh and the honey stick pretzels!
I forgot to mention…their bananas are only 19 cents each, which is cheaper than anywhere else. Other stores sell them by the pound, but if you figure out the price per banana it’s usually more like 30 cents at Freddy’s or Safeway.
I am also a bit intimidated by TJ, but I recently went there and bought several bottles of unsweetened kefir (to counteract my antibiotics) 🙁
While I was there, I spent some time browsing and came home with several items…..like a bag of fresh, chopped kale for salads; yummy chocolate-covered sunflower seeds; and a jar of Fig Butter for my father’s day gift!! ( he loves all things figgy) 🙂
I am definitely going to step out of my comfort zone and become a TJ shopper!!
OMG…I was at my folks’ house this past weekend and tried the TJ’s fig butter for the first time. It was to die for!
We love Trader Joe’s as well! Our kids eat gluten free, and TJ’s boxed rice mac n’ cheese is $1.99 a box (they have a frozen version, too). They also have a par baked gluten free pizza crust for DIY pizza that is great. Their frozen gluten free cheese pizzas for $4.99 are pretty good, too. Some of their frozen food options (mini-tacos, etc) are gluten free, too. I also love their pre-sliced organic apples for kids snacks.
Trader Joe’s is THE BEST place to buy organic produce. Bags of organic baby spinach are $1.99 and three packs of organic bell peppers are $3.99 (barely more than the conventionally grown ones at other stores). We also get their frozen wild blueberries, which are pesticide free and less expensive than organic. And my kids live on their 12-grain snack crackers. I love Trader Joe’s!