LIFESTYLE

I took to Instagram Stories a few weeks ago and mentioned I’ve been thinking about doing this post…  And the response was overwhelming.  SO many of you wanted to see my list of best and worst products from Trader Joe’s.  I’m an avid TJ’s shopper, so this post was a fun one for me to put together.

I snapped an iPhone shot of my shopping cart the other day at Trader Joe’s so you could see what a regular trip looks like for me.  Obviously, I don’t buy all healthy groceries there, I also love my snacks and cookies, lol.

Alright, let’s go {virtual} grocery shopping together!  I’m taking you through my favorite products department by department to keep this post as organized as possible.

What to Buy at Trader Joe’s:

Floral Department:  TJ’s is my go-to spot for flowers and not just during peony season…  Although, their peonies are the best!  They usually have a dozen roses in assorted colors for $6.99 at my local store and that price can’t be beat anywhere.  The price isn’t even the best reason to buy your flowers there, it’s how long they last.  I find that my roses last minimum 7 days, but sometimes even up to 14 days.  If you’d like to see a blog post about my flower buying tips and hacks for keeping them alive longer, leave a comment below and let me know.

Produce:  TJ’s is my favorite place to buy produce because A) the prices are great and B) the quality is great.  My favorite produce to buy there is: berries, spinach, cooked lentils, cauliflower and broccoli “rice” and bell peppers.  We also love their bagged brussel sprouts and pre-packaged fresh asparagus.

I prefer buying bananas at TJ’s because you can buy them individually.  This works best for us because we only really like to buy 2 or 3 at a time.  I’m looking at two bananas going bad on my counter as I type this, which is what I get for buying a bunch lol.

As for the cauliflower or broccoli “rice,” these have quickly become a favorite rice alternative in our house.  It’s a great low carb option that is super tasty. Per health.com, “Cauliflower has 25 calories per cup vs. 218 for a cup of cooked brown rice. (And, if you’re watching carbs, cauliflower has 5g per cup vs. 46g for a cup of brown rice.)”  That’s a great reason to make the switch over to cauliflower rice!  Here’s how I prepare it:

Warm olive oil in pan over medium heat and add in cauliflower/broccoli rice.  Season with sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, garlic powder and a pinch (or two) of crushed red pepper.  Once cooked through, serve immediately.

Produce Pass:  Avocado prices tend to be higher than you’d expect.  Also, I’m not the biggest fan of their pre-made salads.

Bakery:  The only fresh bread I really love is their rosemary focaccia.  I haven’t bought this bread in a long time, but it warms so nicely and the flavor is amazing.

Deli/Refrigerated goods:  This is definitely my favorite store to buy cheese.  These are our favorites: Havarti with dill, organic pepper jack, shredded organic mozzarella cheese, Boursin, crumbled feta, goat cheese, and many more I can’t even think of right now.  I haven’t met a TJ cheese I didn’t love.  I did just see that they carry burrata and I don’t know how in the world I’ve missed that until now?

I swear by Trader Joe’s pizza sauce, but the kind in the refrigerated section near the cheeses, not the jarred.  It’s always fresh and lasts for weeks in your fridge.  It’s the perfect sauce: not too tangy and not too sweet.  We also love their whole wheat pizza dough in the bag.  You’ll find this right next to the refrigerated pizza sauce.  I have a special trick to making this dough…  I use a pizza stone that I heat up in the oven.  I toss the dough, put it on the stone, rub it with olive oil, sprinkle on Italian seasoning and bake for 10 minutes.  I take it out, rub the crust with olive oil again, then add topping and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  You get the perfect pizza every time using this method.

As you may know, the dips are right next to the cheeses in most TJ’s, but I typically pass on this section except for one item: Edamame Hummus.  Love this dip!  When I’m cutting back on soy, obviously I don’t buy it, but otherwise it’s super tasty and a fun twist on traditional hummus dips.

Matt loves their fresh hard-boiled peeled eggs just to have on hand for a quick protein boost.  I usually pick up my milk, eggs and yogurt at TJ’s too, the prices are lower than our local grocery store.

Meats:  I sometimes pick up organic chicken or lamb chops, but it’s not my sole purpose for my grocery trip.  I’d much rather make my meat purchases from our local butcher.  We’ve had two experiences where we got home and opened our fresh chicken only for it to be spoiled, so I purchase with caution.

Bakery Pass:  I’m not a fan of TJ’s English muffins, sliced breads, bagels or wraps.  They’re all just okay.  Whole Foods has the best English muffins in my opinion.  I’ve not tried all of their fresh baked sweets, but the ones I have tried have not been memorable.

Canned Foods/Rice/Pasta:  I buy all of my canned organic beans, tomatoes and stocks here.  I also purchase my almond milk and a lot of my baking products such as flour here.

I typically pass on the pasta and head straight for the rices.  My favorite rice products to buy are: 10 minute barley, 10 minute farro and Harvest Grains Blend.

We have either Harvest Grains Blend, barley or farro at least once a week.  I love substituting barley or farro for rice in dishes such as taco bowls, for added nutritional value to the meal.

Another must buy in this aisle is their olive oil.  Our favorite is the Tunisian Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Snacks (non-frozen):  My favorite food life topic is snacks.  There are so many I love at TJ’s!  Here are the Lanter House favorites:

• Oven Baked Cheese Bites
• Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins
• Partially Popped Popcorn
• Speculoos Cookies
• Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Roasted Seaweed Snack
• Honey Butter Potato Chips
• Soft baked Snickerdoodles
• Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Dare I say… Maybe even better than Reese’s!)
• Kettle Corn
• Chocolate Chip Brownie & Oat Bars (Great source of fiber!  Can’t eat while pregnant.)
• Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Bites
• Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds

Snack Pass:  Cereal.  I’ve yet to try a cereal that I love enough to buy a second time.  I’m also not a huge fan of their tortilla chips.

Frozen Foods:  My favorite thing to stock up on while shopping at TJ’s is their frozen foods.  I love this department because it has such an awesome variety and such unique products that you really won’t find at your local supermarket.

Here’s a list of my frozen food faves:

• Turkey Meatballs (So easy to warm up and pair amazing with spaghetti squash.)
• Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip (My blogger friend, Courtney, turned me onto this and I’ve eaten it twice this past week. Best dip, hands down.  Perfect for football season!)
• Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Such a great los carb and healthy alternative for your pizza cravings!)
• Organic Silver Dollar Pancakes
• Tandoori Naan (Best naan ever!  Bakes in 2 minutes, no joke.)
• Frozen Brown Rice/Quinoa
• Turkey Burgers
• Bambino Pizza Formaggio

Frozen Food Pass:  I have a few in this category…  Mini Cinnamon Sugar Churros (tried to love them, but couldn’t), 5 Cheese Greek Spiral (I’m Greek.  I know a good filo dish and this isn’t one), Fully Cooked Falafel (too dry), Cauliflower and Broccoli Veggie Patties (just not a fan), Spring Rolls and Waffles.  There are other frozen items that I’ve tried through the years that were a total waste for us, but they’re just escaping me right now.  I’ll try to update this post with items on my next trip to the store.

Drinks:  Basically the only water we drink anymore is the TJ’s Alkaline Water + Electrolytes.  We buy this water by the case.  We’re big alkaline water drinkers, so this is the best bang for our buck that we’ve found to date.

Now I want to hear from you!  Did I miss a must-have from Trader Joe’s?  What are your favorite items to buy?  Leave your product suggestions in the comments below.