Trader Joes

[katluvr]

So we just had a Trader Joes open up across the bridge. I am thinking of heading over there tomorrow. What are your recommendations for things I should look for or pick up? You know the things you absolutely love. Of course I want to stay "healthy" or semi-healthy.

Thanks!

K

[Catrin]

I start at Trader Joe's. They don't have everything, but their organic veggies are typically lower priced than other places, and I love their frozen meats and fish for the price. I no longer get beef from them as I now go to a grass-fed farmer, but they have really good prices for their frozen items. Much of what they sell is healthy, though it isn't a "health-food" store. Watch the ingredients on some of the canned items though. I took back a few cans of coconut cream as I didn't look at the ingredients as closely as I should have. I can honestly say that I've never bought anything from them I didn't like...

[Irulan]

They opened last year near mean, and I still don't get it. Sure there's a few staple type products, and I agree that the frozen fish is a great buy. However, what I see when I go there is aisles of "healthy" prepared and frozen foods, and "healthy" junk and snacks. Each time I go in there I come out pretty empty handed.

[SadieKate]

They opened last year near mean, and I still don't get it. Sure there's a few staple type products, and I agree that the frozen fish is a great buy. However, what I see when I go there is aisles of "healthy" prepared and frozen foods, and "healthy" junk and snacks. Each time I go in there I come out pretty empty handed.

DITTO! I do pick up their small housebrand granola bars because it is so difficult to find good granola bars that aren't sized to feed King Kong. However, I far prefer Bunny Bars (especially the choco cherry).

[roo4]

I buy olive oil and maple syrup from trees and balsamic vinegar and honey and oh, who am I kidding? I go for the impulse items--dark chocolate covered dried cherries and anything else that looks good. We don't have one locally, so it isn't a problem to buy a couple of treats once or twice a year.

[Crankin]

Oh yeah, and dark chocolate bars, for my nightly 2 squares of chocolate. 3.99 a bar.

[Owlie]

I get some of their boxed Indian food. It's not bad for the price. They used to have amazing frozen naan. I also like the huge bags of nuts and things. Oh, and the junk food--the chocolate-covered espresso beans, the toffee, and some of the cookies. I haven't been to one in ages, though. Neither the one here nor the one in Cincinnati are in terribly convenient locations for me. (And the one in Cincy is nearly impossible to get out of.)

[azfiddle]

I shop a lot at Trader Joe's. Honey, quick-cooking steel cut oats, cheeses, frozen teriyaki chicken, Thai green curry sauce, chicken sausages, cats cookies, frozen fruit especially mangos, nuts & dried fruit are some of the main things. And chocolate.... I don't care for some of the pre-seasoned prepared foods- chicken marinated in a curry sauce and pollo asado are both very salty to me, and some of the frozen mixed vegetables have a seasoning I don't care for.

[Norse]

We were lucky enough to have a TJs open just about 1 mile from our home. We buy most of our stuff from the farmer's market (rarely go to Whole Foods - it is too pricey), supplemented by TJs and rare trips to the regular locally-owned grocery store and one co-op. Among the many regular purchases and faves:
- peanut butter
- hummus
- bagged greens
- nuts of all sorts
- mini-carrots for our dog (her favorite snack) and dried chicken breast strips, also for the dog; for the cats, "holistic" kitty treats
- olive oil
- dijon mustard
- boxed soups and stocks
- some dried pasta and gnocchi
- tuscan bread
- greek yogurt and cottage cheese
- various frozen desserts (the lava cakes and apple blossoms are a special treat)
- ham and gruyere tart
- jojoba oil, face lotion, hand lotion, Tom's toothpaste...

... and of course, cheap wine Honestly, they have the lowest prices for many everyday items.

[bluebug32]

I don't live near a TJ's, but whenever I do go I have to buy their ginger snaps. Three kinds of ginger, a soft center and perfectly crunchy outer...oh yeah. Nothing else quite like them.

[indysteel]

Muirenn and I buy a lot of the same things at TJ's. I'll admit that I rarely get much that's perishable there, because it's a long drive from my house and the only time I'm in the area, I'm not usually going straight home.

I'll be honest that I think TJ's is overrated in a lot of ways. Yes, they have fresh bread, cheap booze, decent cheese, and an okay selection of organic veggies (but so does my regular supermarket), but a lot of them are packaged in such a way that you have to buy more than you might need. It seems to me that a lot of their food is just processed food or is labeled and packaged in such a way as to appear like a heathier option when it's really not. Plus, the don't have a lot of things--at least at our TJ's--like lentils or dry beans that I would expect a store like that to have. I end up buying more whole foods at my regular supermarket.

[Catrin]

I get some of their cheese, organic veggies (less expensive than my other sources and typically they are more fresh), coffee, and frozen fish/chicken. I have certain things I get from them, certain things from Whole Foods, and certain things from the regular supermarket. Back when I still used milk and cottage cheese I only bought it from them. It works for me since I am pretty close, but I doubt that I would drive across town on a regular basis.

One nice thing about TJ is if you don't like something, doesn't matter why, all you have to do is to tell them when you return and they will refund it or apply it to your purchase. No receipt required, and you don't have to return the item. I've done this a handful of times - they make it very easy to do. They will do this even if you simply didn't like how something tasted.

[Crankin]

I do go there, but for a limited # of things: nuts, dried fruits, cheeses, lox. I guess if you want/need some kind of prepared ethnic food, that looks good and is cheaper than in other places. The produce is pathetic looking and I can get meat at my regular market and fish at a real fish market. I live near an abundance of small family farms good for summer and fall, and 2 large gourmet farm markets, one of which has every imaginable item you might need for a recipe, awesome produce, bakery, meats. I pray sometimes for the fact that I no longer live only 5 miles from this store, as I used to buy all produce here.
Really, my grocery store has everything, just about that I need, and when that fails, I go to the farm market or the local natural foods store. My regular market has coconut oil and Ezekial bread, so what more do I need?

[Becky]

I buy my almond butter and coconut oil there, simply because they're cheaper than anywhere else.

[indysteel]

Most of their nuts are a really good deal, and that's largely what we stock up on when we go there. They also have individually sized bags of a trail mix with almonds, cranberries and cashews that we really like to carry when we bike and hike.