Trader Joe Favs!

[TravelingGal]

I''m always on the lookout for great things to buy at TJs, so I thought I''d start a thread so we can share our favs. Here are mine..

- Trader "Giotto''s" Bruschetta Sauce
- Hummus
- EVOO Spray
- Mini Pita Bread (we spray with EVOO and a bit of garlic salt, then bake desired crispness and serve with hummus)
- Quattro Frommagio (shredded cheese). This is just awesome when we want to make simple pizzas. We use their bagged dough and pizza sauce. Top with tomatoes and basil!
- Greek Yogurt (TJ''s has their own brand now, but I still like the greek brand). This is very thick yogurt, which Americans may not be used to. I add a bit of honey and it''s so thick and creamy...it''s dessert!
- French Chocolate Truffles. These come brown tins or trapezoid brown boxes. They are to DIE for with a nice glass of red wine.

What have you "discovered" at TJ''s?

 

[Mara]

here's mine!

--fresh prepacked rosemary chicken and rice, serves two, just microwave and the rice and chicken are steamed to perfection, so it's still juicy!
--fresh prepacked pizzas...they have a bunch but my fave healthy one is chicken, artichoke, mushroom. greg likes the sausage and onion cornbread one.
--TJ's organic corn and red pepper soup in the rectangular box
--their muffins are pretty good and low-cal but the ones i have bought in the past got moldy REALLY quickly...presumably bcause of lack of flour?
--their prepacked salads are yummy too, throw out the high calorie dressings they come with and use your own. OR get the reduced fat greek salad which is 130 cals for the whole salad including dressing which is yummy.
--their prepacked cut up fruit, my fave is the square container of sliced mango, mmmm. and blueberries.
--adore their hummus, especially the original and the spicy and the garlic!! a must with the flatbread.
--TJ's original multigrain savory thins which are basically multigrain crackers, yummy with the hummus or with smoked salmon and capers!
--new find today, TJ's brownie chocolate chip cookies in a brown bag near the baked goods. no preservatives, no artificial flavors, 120 cals per cookie, uses whole wheat flour as well. YUM YUM and YUM. but it's hard to just have one. hee.
--99 cent luna bars and kashi protein bars!!

 

[Miranda]

I loooooove TJ''s chocolate chips...I guess I should say *we* since a bag lasts as one after dinner dessert btw. DH 3 kids and me. Also we love the cracked wheat sourdough bread...It is sooo good with a corn and potato chowder I make. hmmmmmmmmm...I think that''ll be dinner!

 

[snlee]

I love TJ''s!

Here are a few of my favorites:

- garlic hummus w/ flatbread
- edamame soy beans
- steel cut oats

 

[curlygirl]

Oh man, what don''t I love at Trader Joe''s?! Let''s see, these are always on the list:

Joe''s Os cereal
TJ''s Triple Berry O''s ceral
TJ''s cereal bars ("This Strawberry walks into a bar", "this blueberry walks into a bar", etc.)
Just Pomegranate juice
Dark chocolate covered soynuts
Trader Giotto''s Tabula Rasa pizza crust
all their cheeses
TJ''s version of Pirate''s Booty (we just ran out of this so I can''t remember what they call it)
Turkey sausage strombolis
Hummus
Organic marinara sauce
Luna bars

I could go on and on!! I absolutely adore Trader Joe''s. My assistant at work knows of my obsession and got me a gift card for Christmas which we used immediately! You really can''t go wrong with any of their stuff.

 

[asscherisme]

Too many to list. I love that store

 

[poptart]

I have never heard of Trader Joe''s. Sounds good though!

*M*

 

[flutterby]

my current fave is the tomato and red pepper soup! YUMMY!

love the prepackaged sliced sweet pototo slices (to make baked fries)

mochi ice cream

 

[nejarb]

by the way, I just want you all to know how lucky you are for having a TJs near you. thanks for rubbing it in. don''t take it for granted.

okay, IF I had a TJs, my regular favs would be the hummas and the 2 buck chuck.

most of my fam lives in so cal and whenever I visit them I get serious TJ envy

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 1/18/2007 2:10:38 AM
Author: nejarb
by the way, I just want you all to know how lucky you are for having a TJs near you. thanks for rubbing it in. don''t take it for granted.

okay, IF I had a TJs, my regular favs would be the hummas and the 2 buck chuck.

most of my fam lives in so cal and whenever I visit them I get serious TJ envy

I''m with there with you in misery, nejarb! I soooooo wish there were a TJs anywhere near me! When I visited friends in Boston (well, Brookline) last year we shopped at TJs for dinner that night -- they lived two blocks away! Oh, I fell in love with that store, and their prices were so reasonable!

Here, I am pretty much stuck with Kroger or Harris Teeter ....

 

[Cailet]

oooo -we love the mochi!

we got this really great chicken skillet meal thing, don''t remember what it is called....


We just got our first Trader Joes last month!! Otherwise we would only get to shop there if we were down in Chicago area for some reason... Our TJ is pretty small though, I think they did it as an experiment to see if the market was there. It definitely is - everytime we drive by they have tons of customers in line checking out!

I love to just walk through and look at everything - everything sounds so good, and makes me want to experiment and eat something I normally wouldn''t.

 

[monarch64]

I love everything Trader Joe''s! There''s actually a website called traderjoefan.com where people share recipes, finds, etc., it''s pretty cool.

My favorites are:
hummus
mini pitas
pita chips
organic vegetarian chili (canned)
noodle soup bowls (spring onion and garlic) for $.99
instant noodle boxes (peanut satay and pad thai) $1.99
Charles B. Shaw wines (2 buck Chuck, but it''s $2.99 here)
luna bars
frozen pad thai with tofu
frozen spinach and fillo pie
spiced apple cider

 

[lili]

Ooo, I love TJ, particulary their snack and sweet sections

My husband would always cringe when I go to TJ by myself
because I would come home with more junk food than real food.

Some of my favs are:
garlic fries
this new chocolate lava cake (don''t know the name)
kettle chips
chili mangoe
their mix nuts
corn meal pizza
mochi ice cream (i''m amazed that it is cheaper than the Japanese store)
new york cheesecake

and the list goes on.

 

[Kaleigh]

Hubby shops there a lot as it''s next to his office.
Hummus
Prepackaged Pizza, chicken with artichokes

I love their flowers, roses especially. They seem to last longer than the ones at Costco.
Their frozen lamb chops are really good too.

 

[moremoremore]

Waaaahhhh. I miss TJ's...there isn't one by me so I only go about every few months....last summer I had this frozen asparagus risotto that rocked my world LOL

snlee- I'm all over steel cut oats! I just started having them in the am last week...I put a little splenda in there and a 45 cal box of raisins .... YUM!!!

 

[ljmorgan]

Better N Peanut Butter -- best stuff ever -- 40% less calories, much lower in fat -- great taste. I like it better than natural peanut butter, because I find natural to be too oily and flavorless.

 

[Skippy123]

I love Tj''s!!! We have 2 in New Mexico.

I love the thin pretzels
a bar walked into a fig (2 WW points)
bran muffins
light string cheese ( 1 WW point)
pitas
lasagna
too many to name.
oh guava paste

 

[ljmorgan]

Hubby and I made a run to TJ''s yesterday...

My new fav find is their pretzel thins -- they say the take the middle of the pretzel out, leaving the best part -- the taste and crunch -- so true. Even though they''re low in cals, I kept wanting to reach for them last night, so maybe they''re not such a great idea, I''ll be sending them to work with the husbans!

I love their soups... the pre-packaged ones are great for work... I got crab & corn chowder, tomato and pepper bisque, um! I also love their soups in the rectangular boxes... I just had lunch which included TJ''s roasted corn and red pepper soup.

Stuff we like -- their diced fruit, frozen pre-cooked brown rice (sooo convenient, makes it so you have no excuse to through something healthy together even on late, busy nights, no preservative junk in it.) I also like their bran muffins, and some of their other frozen entrees.

And of course... that Better N Peanut Butter! In my last post I said that I liked it better than natural peanut butter, which made it sound like bNp wasn''t all natural... it is.

 

[nicolejrx]

I love everything from Trader Joe''s but here are a few of my faves:

- Sweet and Spicy pecans (One day maybe my husband and I will stop snacking on them and I will finally be able to put them in a salad with some goat cheese!)
- Cotswold cheese with herbs (nice cheddar tasting cheese mmm)
- Italian herb and cheese flatbread (I use these to make pizzas)
- Sprouted wheat bagels (so good, high in fiber and protein)
- Frozen corn (tastes just like off the cobb)
- Julienned sun dried tomatoes
- Tandoori Naan

I shop there at least once a week!
Nicole

 

[E B]

I love, love LOVE Trader Joe's!

Here are my TJs favories:

-Hummus (I'm so picky about hummus, too, and this is my favorite "store brand")
-Mini pitas!
-Salted peanut butter-filled pretzels
-Charles Shaw Merlot/Cabernet (Two Buck Chuck! My favorite wine.)
-TJs brand root chips
-Strawberry/raspberry soy yogurt
-Celery/peanut butter packs
-Edamame
-Vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (

)

We also love the Trader Giotto's Bruschetta Sauce. YUM. And my fiance swears by their pre-made salads. I don't eat many because most have cheese/egg in them, but I used to love the chicken caesars (before I got sick of 'em!)

 

[E B]

Fun TJs fact: We live within walking distance of the FIRST Trader Joe''s. Needless to say, we''re there all the time.

 

[Tybee]

Holy Cow,
Seriously? You all are getting me excited. We''re finally getting one in Midtown Atlanta.
I thought I had all I needed at Whole Foods, apparently not.
Can''t wait!

 

[TravelingGal]

Just went to TJ''s today and was bummed I forgot to print out this list before I went!

Did pick up a bunch of new things as I actually took the time to browse today. TGuy and I have been on a pizza kick, so we did get the TJs pizza. I actually inadvertently got a roasted corn chowder soup, as it''s in the same packaging as the roasted tomato garlic one I like. Just had it for a snack...not bad!

Also picked up some frozen mahi mahi that''s seasoned, frozen lime bars when I need a sweet treat (only 60 cal per bar), the boxed roasted tomato and red pepper soup. And of course my yummy total greek yogurt. Only 200 cal per cup and it has way more protein than regular yogurt.

They also have the BR Cohn silver label cab at my TJ''s. I love the gold label, but the silver label is of course more reasonably priced and pretty good as well. I will have to pick up these protein bars everyone is talking about...I totally forgot today.

Love TJs!!!!

 

[royalasscherlover]

i love trader joe's! i've decided that i can't move anywhere that doesn't have one, lol.

my faves:

- fage total 0% greek yogurt - super rich and thick but fat free
- light string cheese
- traditional hummus
- whole wheat tortillas
- whole wheat pizza dough
- boxed soups - creamy tomato, corn chowder
- nuts and dried fruits
- frozen pre-cooked brown rice - microwaves in 3 minutes
- frozen fruit - cheaper and better tasting than other brands
- frozen shrimp or vegetable potstickers
- frozen veggie eggrolls
- peanut-butter filled pretzels, salted
- soy and flax tortilla chips
- romano cheese sticks

those last three i only buy for special occasions because i eat waaaaaaay too many of them when they're in the house.

ETA: the frozen fettuccine alfredo is also really good, and i've heard that you can keep out some of the sauce "coins" if you want it less rich. and my ex loved the frozen chinese orange chicken.

 

[VRBeauty]

Lots of the stuff listed above.
stroop waffels -- dutch caramel filled waffel cookies
black lentils (also get 1 1/2 lb italian sausage, an onion, and some celery. The recipe is inside the label. Yum!)

 

[ChargerGrrl]

What a great post!

I second many of the choices above!

Here's my contribution:

- Gelatto- has less calories than ice cream and comes in many great flavors (tiramisu is yummy!)
- Pizza dough- there's been many raves about the packaged pizzas, but DH and I prefer to make our own with their ready-to-go pizza dough. OK, so it's not too ready-to-go- you have to knead it, and pat it out (use semolina so it won't stick) But then we're able to put EXACTLY what we want on it. We go for lots of veggies, pesto sauce, and goat cheese. My fav dough is the whole-wheat (yum yum yum)
- Spa Salad- great for a quick lunch, and it has WAY less calories than the other packaged salads

 

[KristyDarling]

My hands-down fave is their fresh pizza dough! My friend (born and raised in CT) says one of the traditional ways of using fresh pizza dough in CT is to roll it into small circular patties, FRY THEM, and then dip them in either sugar or marinara sauce. It''s unbelievably delish!!!!

 

[jas]

Add my voice to the hallelujah chorus over their salsas.

Also, the butternut squash soup is just perfect. I threw some pumpkin ravioli in (the soup, not the salsa) one day for a dinner party, and I think some guests just wept!

Yum!

 

[Rosebud8506]

their hot sauce is THE BOMB too!! DH and I could go through a whole bottle in a week.

 

[TravelingGal]

I do love their pizza dough. I use the quattro frommagio and their pizza sauce, and top with tomato and basil. Yummy.

I just had their seasoned Mahi Mahi that is in the frozen food section. Not bad. I estimate it''s about 200 cal a serve for decent sized filet and there doesn''t seem to be any perservatives in it. It wasn''t knock your socks off, but I served with lemon and a good side dish, so it was good to serve in a pinch.