Trader Joe's just opened near me....

[lisaross]

Just wondering those that shop there what do u buy that u recommend?

 

[ceecee]

Orange Chicken
Mushroom Risotto
Chocolate covered Bananas
Chocolate Cat Cookies
Corn dogs (meat free)
TJ Coffee
Peanut Butter Dog biscuits (my labs highly recommend)
I really like TJs...have fun!

 

[bas71873]

OK. I see a lot about Trader Joe's, but what is it comparable too? I've never stopped at the one in my area. Is it discount? Specialty? Like a Fresh Market or Whole Foods? Curious

 

[SDSorority]

OK. I see a lot about Trader Joe's, but what is it comparable too? I've never stopped at the one in my area. Is it discount? Specialty? Like a Fresh Market or Whole Foods? Curious

Go.

It's comparable to Whole Foods, but many things are a lot less expensive.

I get a lot of organic, gluten-free, and vegetarian items there. Probably about 90% of my shopping.

I heart TJ's.

 

[dgthree]

Oh heavens - there's so much that's good there! Some of my faves (all TJ's brand) include dry toasted sliced almonds, cranberry macadamia trek mix, aseptic pack soups (butternut squash, carrot ginger, creamy tomato), organic extra virgin olive oil, pumpkin bread mix (seasonal offering), fleur de sel caramel sauce, quick cooking steel cut oats, marshmallow graham stackers, greek yogurt, heat & eat stuffed peppers, roasted baby beets... I could go on & on.
FWIW, their frozen products are good, too, but it's over an hour's drive to get them home, so I don't buy a lot in the warmer months.

 

[charming23]

I love Trader Joe's and there have only been a few things we did not care for, the chicken stock, garlic fries, and frozen eggplant parmesean.

I love:
Orange Chicke(frozen)
Trader Joe's Olive Oil
Sweet apple chicken sausage
chocolate croissants
fettuchine alfredo (frozen)
Potato pancakes (frozen)
Frozen minced garlic cubes (they make cooking with garlic so easy)
Hummus
macaroni and cheese (frozen)

and many, many others I can't think of at the moment

 

[Angeni11]

I love Trader Joe's. We can't wait until we move in a few months and it will be less then an hour away (we used to have one down the street where we lived before).

The list would be to long for what we get there.

My soon to be 4 year old would say the scones are his favorite (hubby is from the UK) especially the chocolate chip ones.

When we were down the street from one (before kids) I did 95% of my shopping there. I also love their cheese and juice selections.

 

[pklein09]

There's a TJs about 25 minutes from me. I've been in there, but I'm not enamored with it. I don't buy prepared foods and I don't *have* to have organic this or that. I'd rather shop at Wegman's for my regular groceries. I will make a stop at TJs for their nuts (specifically roasted non-salted cashews and almonds) and fresh pizza dough. That's about it. Yes, they have different types of cookies you can't get where else, but I wasn't impressed with the cat cookies everyone raved about. I bake about 15 different kinds for Christmas, so I don't think twice about baking a batch of cookies here or there.

That being said, I think it's worth checking out for yourself. Be prepared for crowds and people moving very slowly - it's tough to maneuver a shopping cart in that place.

 

[gk90]

They have good scones!?!! Oooohh...now I know what I want from there!

I haven't been to a TJs for years, the closest ones are 30+ minutes away in areas where I never go. But DH spent a week at a seminar in a neighborhood where TJs was one of the few options, and my officemate who owes me a favor has been "paying" me with stuff from there. Products that I like from there are the veggie chips, the salad dressings (the light Champagne was especially nice) and the almond butter.

 

[Deb loves Disney]

We had a Trader Joe's just recently open near us and I was so excited because it had been years since I lived near one.

Some of my favorite items are:

Natural Peanut Butter ~ they used dry roasted peanuts and the taste is unbelievable. I can't eat any other peanut butter now, lol.

Smoked Sea Salt ~ tastes really great on vegetables and basically anything else you would put regular salt on.

Jo Jo's ~ these are like oreo's but a million times better. They use real vanilla beans and you can see them in the cream....so addictive and good.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup~ amazing!!!

Any hummus ~ they are all good!

There is so much more but the above I always return for! Just take your time and look around. There are lots of unique and tasty items.

 

[ccgirl]

Just wondering those that shop there what do u buy that u recommend?

Sooo jealous!

Mushroom risotto
Spinach and artichoke dip
Grilled frozen asparagus
bananas
flowers
produce in general

 

[Disney Mom to Alex]

We love Trader Joe's!!

Some of our favorites are the balsamic chicken (it's near the hummus in our store),
butter lettuce mix, almond butter, Jasmine brown rice, brown rice pasta, chicken lime burgers in the frozen aisle, chicken apple sausage in the meat section and the freeze dried mango!! I could go on and on!!!

 

[Janepod]

Macadamia lace cookies
Their organic pop tart knockoffs (taste not good but I refuse to buy anything with HFCS so if my family wants pop tarts this is what they get)
Some kind of frozen fruit pops but I forget the name
Barbecued chicken (already cooked and shredded) in fridge section

Keep reading labels though. I have found sucralose and aspartame on a number of TJ items.

 

[cstwwt]

Just tried the BBQ sauce...no HFCS....it was very good!! Love the coffee and couscous. Can't forget the two buck Chuck!!!

 

[kldmom2000]

I'm so jealous!!! LOL! I have 3 exactly 1 hour from me, so I go monthly to do a stock-up... today was that day actually! I like that in addition to having a lot of organic options and prices being incredibly reasonable, TJ's also stands behind anything with it's name on it to not be genetically modified

What we love and usually get:

garlic hummus
fresh black bean/corn salsa in the refrigerated section-so good even on eggs!
pizza dough
jarred bruschetta
garlic and butter boxed mashed potato buds
mandarin orange chicken
mini frozen tacos
spinach/artichoke frozen dip
most of their frozen veggie selections
frozen fruit for smoothies
cereal-Trader Joe Honey O's and Frosted Flakes (taste better than the brand names and NO GMO's or bad preservatives -also only $1.99 a box!)
trail mixes
pumpkin bread mix
cornbread mix
gingerbread mix
frozen mac & cheese
chili verde frozen burritos
maple cookies
organic chicken stock
A blueberry walked into a bar cereal bar (they were out of stock today )
Granola bars

I could go on and on and on........

 

[Sinderelly]

Jo Jos=my favorite
apple granola
Candy Cane Jo Jo ice cream (see a pattern here?)
Mandarin orange chicken
frozen french green beans
bananas
frozen organic corn
pecans
frozen croissants
Trader Jo Ohs (cereal)
Brown sugar frosted mini wheats
Vanana yogurt
flour tortillas
pizza dough
Pineapple salsa
Longboard chips ( to go with the salsa)
Sweet potato chips
Cocoa (for baking)
Cooking spray
Cheese
Frozen steel cut oatmeal
The closest one is over an hour away so when we go we really stock up

 

[Jeanne B]

Frozen mac and cheese
Basil pesto flatbread pizza (perishable, not frozen)
TJ's vanilla greek yogurt
Jo Jo's
Fruit floes (frozen fruit bars)
Organic popcorn in olive oil (tried this for the first time last week, love it!!)

If only it wasn't a 2 hour drive for me...

 

[carebee21]

We like:
Premarinated tri-tip
Beef lasagna (chicken was ok, the beef was better )
Carrot Cake Muffins (these are heavenly )
Dark Chocolate Caramels
Frozen Teriyaki chicken
Spaghetti Sauce
Peanut Butter
Applesauce
Sunflower seeds
Pita Bread
Trail Mix
And DS loves the kitty cat cookies, Jo Jo's and the bagged kettle corn popcorn.

Aside from this, we get most of our meats, veggies, fruits and dairy products here (DS is allergic to a hormone in regular milk so can only have soy or organic, Hormone-Free Milk) so we get cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ice cream etc. here.

The only thing I can think of that we have gotten that we didn't like at all was the canned tuna and the fat-free cottage cheese. The low fat is fine, but the fat free didn't taste right at all.

 

[disneydreamin247]

Just wondering those that shop there what do u buy that u recommend?

Are you speaking of the one on SI? I was just in there tonight. It's beautiful. I managed to spend $65 in less than 10 minutes.

 

[Skye23]

I love their nuts, all kinds of them. Just about any sort of roasted salted nut is going to be great. The glazed walnuts and spiced pecans are also really good, and the thai lime flavored cashews. The cheese selection is really great also, everything from the shredded to the spreads to the chunks.

Love their frozen foods in general, particularly the Indian food and the frozen rice.

The junk food options are really great, the corn chips, the candy, the cookies.

Just remember - if you don't like it just let them know by either bringing it back or bringing back the receipt and they will refund their money. It does't have to be spoiled or have anything wrong with it - you can just not like it.