Trader Joe's - What's good?

[scrapgal123]

A Trader Joe's just opened down here last week. It was jam packed and I was only able to do a quick walk through. While they appeared to have great prices, I was a little overwhelmed. When I go back, what items should I look for?

 

[tvguy]

Just go in, look, and try what looks good. I am a fan of their squash soup.

 

[My3Princez]

I love alot of things there, but top of my list would be their Chimichurri Rice. It's a bag of frozen rice & veggies with chimichurri seasoning. Add some leftover grilled chicken and it makes a delicious dinner in 10 minutes.

 

[natfrac]

Everything! Seriously, their frozen seafood, chunky applesauce, pumpkin bread mix, peanut butter. Probably the only thing we don't buy there are bread items, since they seem to mold quickly.

 

[nathaliabrown]

Their pot stickers!!! My dad (and myself) are obsessed.... $2.99 for a big bag.... I just make them a little more healthy... Less oil more water than what they say

 

[Megkel]

My husband and daughter are crazy about the orange chicken. In fact we had that for dinner tonight! My husband and kid are insanely picky and will make a trip just for that.

 

[goingtowdwwithkiddos]

I second the orange chicken, mac n cheese bites (frozen), Turkey burgers (frozen),mini bri bites (cheese in a bag of 5), "Just Sauce" Turkey Bolognese (frozen), and finally I agree on bread I also do not love their produce unless it looks real good it seems to not rotate fast enough for the perishables.

 

[barkley]

indian simmer sauces, greek feta dressing, cilantro dressing, frozen veggies-roasted with balsamic butter, grilled eggplant, pearl onions (pealed and perfect for stews). great place for holiday party goodies-esp. their English toffee (puts almond roca brand to shame).

 

[NokOnHarts]

I regularly buy (and love) their cereal, cereal bars, mac n cheese, whole wheat pasta, raw almonds, soup, cracker snacks (graham crackers, etc.) I love their "snack food" for my kids 'cause it's much better ingredients for a much better price. I don't buy any produce there but it's great for the "pantry items"!

 

[Kasper1014]

Chocolate croissants. Taste just like the ones I had in England. You let them rise in the oven over night, then bake in the morning. Heavenly.

I know this sounds crazy, but their frozen broccoli florets. My kids said right away it was the best frozen broccoli they had.

Their hair conditioners are really good also.

 

[DvF Diva]

I enjoy their Speculoos cookies, Candy Cane Jo Jo cookies around Christmas time, organic part skim mozzarella cheese sticks, Gorgonzola crackers, peanut-butter chocolate cupcakes, baby zucchini, pita chips, and bagged organic baby spinach. I pretty much buy those items every time I go.

Have fun browsing your local TJ!

 

[LJSquishy]

I'm not a big fan of Trader Joe's...only because almost everything is prepackaged food (ie: frozen and/or processed) and I cook almost everything from scratch so it just doesn't make much sense for me to shop there for the bulk of my grocery shopping.

I rarely buy produce there because it's priced per piece, not per pound. You just have to be careful when you buy produce there to be sure it's a decent price. I have purchased some produce there when it turned out to be a good price.

They sell yummy Dubliner cheese for a really good price (cheaper than Costco), raw bleu cheese, and I do like their potstickers. A lot of folks love their refrigerated pizza dough although I don't care for it myself. Our Trader Joe's doesn't have a bulk section but if yours does, definitely browse around!

I can't think of what else I buy there right now but I'll add to my post if I can remember! I only shop there about every 3 months now because they just don't have what I usually shop for (I buy almost all certified organic).

Oh, and one of the most popular things there is their "Two Buck Chuck" which is Charles Shaw wine for under $3 (ours is $2.89 or $2.69). A few of the varieties are very good for the price.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Great prices on dried fruit. I just got a huge back of dried apples, and they were great.
I also picked up a jar of cookie butter/chocolate swirl. They were out of the regular cookie butter, and this stuff is pretty darn addictive. I can only imagine how addicting the regular would be.

Liquid stevia. I use this in my chai tea, and it is great. No weird aftertaste, and one bottle lasts a very long time. Great price too.

This was only our second trip to TJ's, so we just grabbed whatever looked interesting to try.
I don't find their prices to be out of line with a regular grocery.

 

[Free4Life11]

My favorite things are:

Frozen Turkey Burgers
Frozen Chicken Gyoza Potstickers
Salsa Verde
Lentil Soup
Chicken Stock
Whole Wheat Rotini

 

[dbrn]

In the frozen section:
Rice medley
Multigrain blend with vegetables
Quinoa duo melange
Reduced Guilt Mac and Cheese

I really like their Pinachios (white chocolate & pistachio cookies) and caramel cashew cookies.

I like the champagne pear vinaigrette salad dressing, and their lite cheese are good.

I also like the sundried tomato & goat cheese ravioli, the multigrain crackers, and the tarragon chicken salad wrap.

My husband likes the sourdough bread, blue corn chips, and Hanson's mandarin orange soda.

Honestly, I've liked everything I've tried, so far.

I wish there was one closer to us - ours is about an hour and a half away.

 

[tajz90]

Cookie. Butter.

You need to know nothing else! It's heaven in a jar.

 

[kajs22]

Two buck chuck, pumpkin cheesecake, frozen French toast made from whole grain bread (kids love it), coffee, nuts and dried fruit, peanut butter pretzels, quick breads - there is so much

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

We have just moved down south a couple of months ago and there is a Trader Joe's about 25 minutes away from us. I haven't tried it yet. I always thought that it was an upscale grocery store with upscale prices. Am I wrong? How are their prices in general? My DW and I enjoy cooking and trying new things. Some of the things mentioned in this thread sound amazing.

 

[mbf]

I am a TJ's fanatic! I have to drive at least two hours to get to one though


The Two Buck Chuck wine really is good! I think it is about $4 now lol. I bought a bunch last time I was in NJ and gave away to co-workers. They loved it.

My DH loves the Chicken Chili Lime burgers. Love the chocolate covered espresso beans, Alaskan salmon at a good price, Truffle Brownie mix, Vanilla Cake mix, my DD swears by the Orange Chicken as well and loves their coffees, the Pumpkin Cereal bars are a fave of my son, french cut frozen green beans, roasted frozen corn, so many things!

And try the Kettle Corn Cookies! They are so addicting.

 

[lucyem]

We have just moved down south a couple of months ago and there is a Trader Joe's about 25 minutes away from us. I haven't tried it yet. I always thought that it was an upscale grocery store with upscale prices. Am I wrong? How are their prices in general? My DW and I enjoy cooking and trying new things. Some of the things mentioned in this thread sound amazing.

Prices are good. We love it. It is kind of my place to shop for ready made meals. We tend to stock up when we go since it is 45 minutes away from me. They have some organic and grass fed beef at ours which can be hard to find around here. Yogurt flavors we cannot find elsewhere. My friend loves their wines.

Favorites include: Chocolate Croissants, Mac & Cheese, Orange Chicken (quick chinese especially when you add in some microwavable jasmine rice), Shortbread cookies with chocolate on top.

A great website is http://www.whatsgoodattraderjoes.com They review a lot of the products. I always find new things there I would not have tried otherwise.