Trader Joe's - What's good?

[My3kiddos]

Love their frozen turkey burgers! My teenage son says they are better than a beef hamburger. I also like the JoJo's better than oreos. I haven't tried the cookie butter for the simple reason I'm afraid I'll eat the whole jar
Last year at Thanksgiving they had WHOLE stalks of brussel sprouts for like $3.99! I hope they have them again this year since brussel sprouts is my youngest son's favorite food.

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

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.

Thanks for the detailed info and the site. I'll let my wife know about it and she can check it out.

 

[maggiew]

These are things we typically get when we go to Trader Joes:
Orange Chicken
Jasmine Rice
Potstickers
frozen chicken breasts in bag
nuts
chocolate bars (near register)
mini frozen pizzas
pure cranberry juice


I'm going to have to try the chocolate croissants. I haven't noticed those before?

I tried the fresh pizza dough and wasn't a big fan.


Maggie

 

[CoP Luv]

I only get a few things when I go, but I love Trader Joe's, especially for the friendly service. Everyone that works there is always so helpful, knows where thinfs, can offer great suggestions, etc.

I buy:
Almond Flour ($4/lb...cheapest I have seen, even beats the online supplier we used to use and I don't have to buy in bulk to store it.)
Macintosh Apple Juice ($2.99...not made from concentrate!! Only ingredients are apples)
Cat cookies ($3.99 I think)

When we used to eat more processed foods, the Orange Chicken was awesome!! I have also bought their dried fruit strips, potato chips (a favorite at our BBQs), and chocolate covered caramels.

Enjoy! Love this store!

 

[KNJWDW]

This is a great thread! One opened up about 20 miles from our house, so I only get there once in a while and am still figuring out what we like. But, we always stock up on the wine ( 3 Buck Chuck). I like the white zinfandel. Also, the chocolate near the checkouts is really good.

 

[Muushka]

I love TJ.

I am a huge fan of sunflower seeds. The ones at TJ are the best.

As far as their wine, I don't care for the 2 buck (or 3 buck Chuck is what it costs here) wine.
But they have good prices on many good wines. Plus, they always seem to have a wine tasting going on
when I go to the store and I have been introduced to many good wines because of the tastings.

 

[kerplop]

It's amazing for us because we can get so many tasty low-sodium foods like bread, taco shells (delish), hummus, salsa, just everything you can think of. Then we splurge and I love the frozen orange chicken and potstickers. We also like their candies (DP dies for the fruit gummies). Seeds, nuts, juices, rice and soup are all sure bets. I'd just stay away from their produce/meat because it can be kind of questionable at times. I even get my shampoo there! Tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner for a reasonable amount Have fun!

 

[barkley]

on their produce i'll echo that you have to price compare, but the have one item I've seen nowhere else-these small mesh bags of fairly uniform in size, smaller sweet potatos. they are the perfect size to go with an entrée, and if you are cooking more than one the uniformity allows them to bake at the same time.


as for prices otherwise-I think for the most part they are very good, esp. with some items. I can't get my 100% kona anywhere else for near the price they offer it at, and while the '2 buck chuck' may not be great drinking wine, it's excellent to have on hand for cooking.

when we used to return home for a visit we would end up bringing back a ton of our favorite non perishables, now that we have a t.j.'s local it's heaven on earth

 

[KTSMOM]

We regularly buy:

Frozen garlic cubes
Fresh pizza dough
Feta cheese (great price)
Pita chips
Olive oil
Almonds (great price)
Frozen roasted corn
Flowers

 

[meajuly5]

FroZen naan and chicken tikka. Potato pancakes

 

[ellone]

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.

Same for me, I cook from scratch so there's really nothing for me there.


As for the few snack items I buy, I won't buy them from Trader Joes because if how they handle GMOs. They claim they aren't using them but refuse to have a third party verify that claim.

 

[My3kiddos]

OP I just wanted to thank you for this thread because now I MUST go to TJ's tonight

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

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.

Just checked out the site you listed and then googled the store, I came to the conclusion that this is a place we will love. We have a house full of company coming in for Thanksgiving weekend (not sure what we were thinking lol) and I think we will be making a shopping trip to TJ's before then. The site I found listed all kinds of products that I suppose are specials. It gave a description on the item and price. Many are things we'd use. I also liked the idea of maybe finding some products that are a little different. Also, someone mentioned that the meat can be questionable. Could someone please elaborate?

 

[Praying Colonel]

So many things:

Pre-packaged Butter Lettuce
Clementines (they have them year-round, unlike other grocery stores in our area)
Kimchi
Hollandaise Sauce
Pecan-Bleu Cheese Dip
No-Guilt Guacamole (made with yogurt)
Cheese section--find something new every time
Coconut chips
Brown butter and lemon popcorn
Pumpkin and pecan instant oatmeal
Coffee (their Sumatra is half the price of Starbucks and just as good, IMHO)
Pumpkin butter
Cookie butter (which must have crack in it, it's so good)
Soy sauce (cheaper than our local grocery's brand and really good)
Lobster Ravioli
Bulgogi

just to name a few.

 

[drinkme]

Hummus
Ravioli (they have pumpkin right now, but we usually get the artichoke)
Frozen Mac & cheese
Coffee
Cereal
Oatmeal
Crackers
Orange chicken
Snacks

That's what we usually pick up weekly. Then we'll get other stuff each week.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Like others have said, they are really known for their pre-made and processed food, and I do try to avoid that kind of stuff for the most part. However, their stuff is good for "treats."

I like the pot stickers with the Ginza sauce (bottles of it right by the dumplings....soooo good.). The tomato soup in a carton is really good. Salsa verde is good. Sunflower butter is really good, but does have sugar added, FYI. Full fat yogurts are to die for...taste like a dessert. Cookie butter is good as a treat in oatmeal.

 

[redsonja76]

OMG the peanut butter. The PEANUT BUTTER!!!!! I live in Europe and my friend mails me boxes of peanut butter to calm my cravings.

 

[sarasamsmoms]

I just went on my lunch break! Very lucky 5 min from work.
I buy their organic corn chips, same price as store brands but organic.
The premade salads are perfect lunch.
Gluten Free Waffles are delish!
Hubby loves the pot stickers and their fruit pops
I buy my cocoa here it is superior to anything i've found in stores
Liquid stevia!
Pumpkin seeds, but they've been out for months now
Cereals, organic corn flakes and rice crispies
Their box of wine is great too. The cashiers told me it's superior to chuck but CHEAP! $10/box which is like 4 or 6 bottles
Frozen potatoes are good too, much less ingredients then the stuff in regular stores
I also started buying their shampoo and conditioner and tried deodorant for the first time, it aluminum free (lets hope it works though!)
And dog food! No colors or preservatives!

 

[DisDance]

There coco body butter, it is amazing

 

[Neesy228]

Love our TJ's!

I regularly buy:
Spicy beef and broccoli
Pot stickers
Breakfast burritos
Greek yogurt
Powerberries (chocolate covered berry things!)
Fettucine Alfredo
Their trail mixes/nuts (cheaper than anywhere else around me)
Turkey bolognese
Mini frozen pizzas
Soft and chewy cookies