I love Trader Joe's; but what else is new.
I talk about that place all the time, I just love shopping there! Honestly though, it was only about a year ago that I really started frequently going there and I started picking up the bulk of my groceries from TJ's only a couple of months ago. I realized that Trader Joe's prices and products are perfect for my budget and shortly after slashed over $20.00 from my grocery bill each visit! Since then, I've never looked back. Trader Joe's is always my first stop when going grocery shopping. I try to pick up everything I can find there before moving onto a bigger grocery store like Fred Meyer or WalMart.
After a few [hundred] trips to Trader Joe's this last year, I've come to find that there are few things I simply can't live without! My Trader Joe's staples, items I HAVE TO grab on every single trip! Not every item I love made the list, only the things I have to have stocked in my pantry at all times because I run out weekly!
So without further ado, here are my top SIX must-haves from Trader Joe's!
Egg White Salad
My first item is a new, recent discovery. This egg white salad is one of the tastiest little snacks I've found to date! I love to spread it on rice cakes, eat it in a sandwich, or take it with me to go and eat it with a spoon! It's crunchy, tangy, and so, so yummy! If I have time, I like to add a bit of salt, nutritional yeast, or some of Trader Joe's everything but the bagel seasoning. But by itself, this egg salad is still an amazing quick snack
I keep myself busy, having convenient pre-made meals like this one is one of the best things I can do for myself. I always buy two or three every time I go to Trader Joe's. Often times, I eat one before I even make it home from my grocery shopping trip! The whole container has about 14 grams of protein which is enough to keep my hunger pangs away until I can get home and make myself a proper meal.
Trail Nuggets Protein Bar
{Cranberry & Peanut Butter}
Let me tell you about one of my absolute FAVORITE protein bars; this guy, the Trail Nuggets Pro bar! I honestly can't buy enough of them, it seems like as soon as I buy them they're gone within days Now they aren't a Trader Joe's original item. In fact you can buy them outside of TJ's and online too! I haven't tried any flavor other than the peanut butter and cranberry orange because they're the only two that are stocked at Trader Joe's and I haven't been lucky enough to find them anywhere else!
So to describe these flavors, I love anything peanut butter so the peanut butter and chocolate combination is naturally a favorite of mine! It's incredibly rich and chocolatey, honestly similar to a peanut butter brownie! But the orange cranberry flavor, now that deserves all the attention. Out of the two, it is honestly my personal fav! One bite and I feel like I'm back at Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It tastes so similar to my mom's cranberry sauce; she always adds lots of orange juice and orange zest.
But promise me you'll pick up this protein bar on your next trip to Trader Joe's. They'll definitely become a staple in your pantry too!
Spotlight Cheese of the Month
{April - La Cava Barus}
I forced myself to miss out on a good year and a half of cheese when I first found out I was lactose intolerant. Even though I lived and breathed cheese prior to realizing dairy caused me pain, I still didn't hesitate to cut it out. What a mistake that was! As it turned out, I am really only sensitive to dairy products with sugar content greater than 4 grams. This is because in dairy, sugar is essentially lactose. But with any aged cheese, it's all naturally low in lactose or lactose free! After finding out I could eat most cheese without a Lactaid, I vowed to catch up for lost time.
So whenever I'm shopping at Trader Joe's, it's quite literally imperative that I pick up the spotlight cheese! I love that they hand select such unique cheeses, it takes all the thinking out of it for me. I could stand and stare at fancy cheeses forever before I made up my mind but thankfully I can always count on Trader Joe's picking a delicious cheese every month!
This cheese was no exception, it too was truly incredible!
Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings
These soup dumplings have been a favorite of mine for as long as I've been shopping at Trader Joe's. I discovered them about a year ago and loved the versatility of them! Sometimes I microwave them and eat them on their own, other times I'll add them to a soup or over a bed of rice. Usually I end up grabbing a package out of my fridge and take one with me as a snack for at work. I definitely stock up on these whenever I go to TJ's; it's usually hit or miss on whether or not I'm able to find them! I guess everyone else loves them as much as I do. Buuuut, I can't blame them. I may or may not have cleared the shelf when I find that they're back in stock!
My favorite part about these chicken soup dumplings isn't just the convenience, the flavor is otherworldly! One bite and your mouth is filled with a salty, savory chicken broth. On top of that, the dumpling practically melts in your mouth. You'll drool a little eating these, I almost guarantee it! I haven't ever had a real, genuine soup dumpling before but if I had to imagine, it probably would taste similar to these tasty little morsels. Since first discovering these, I've tried a lot of different frozen soup dumplings but no other brand even comes close to comparing to these. These Trader Joe's soup dumplings are truly a must buy!
Dark Chocolate Baton
{72% Cacao & Raspberry}
Like the soup dumplings I found these about a year ago. I've always loved Trader Joe's chocolate but I have absolutely no portion control when it comes to dessert so I was looking for the perfect sized single serve chocolates! Finding these was heaven sent, they're hands down the best chocolate I've ever had! I eat them alone, cut them up and use them in baking, or stir them into hot milk for cocoa! There's nothing you can't do with them, so versatile and so decadent! There's another flavor, espresso, but I'm rather intolerant to coffee so I haven't tried that one. I'm sure it's still just as amazing!
I made the mistake of not stocking up last year so when I went home for the summer I ran out FAST. Then next time I stopped at Trader Joes, literally 2 months later on a trip to my grandmother's, I bought another 15 batons... whoops! Lucky me, the cashier gave me a discount on the batons after I explained why I was buying so much chocolate!
Brown Rice Tortillas
A recent discovery, these brown rice tortillas! I hate, and I mean HATE when my tortilla can't hold everything I stuff in there. I worked at Chipotle for a solid 3 months but in those 3 months I wrapped a lot of burritos (practically every burrito in Spokane, I swear) and learned that there just isn't a more durable tortilla than theirs. Now these brown rice tortillas aren't exactly as strong as Chipotle's but they sure do a good job nonetheless!
The texture of these is honestly nothing like a true flour tortilla's, they're a lot chewier. But that's why I love them so much! They're also a little funky in that to make them pliable and rollable, you have to wet them and then microwave them for around 30 seconds before using them. But trust me, the process is worth it. I'll never be able to eat another burrito without wishing it was wrapped up with one of Trader Joe's brown rice tortillas!
Although there are only a few things I pick up on every trip, I want to list a few honorable mentions.
These are things that I still absolutely LOVE and would reccommend to anyone and everyone. They just aren't items that I find myself needing every single time I make a trip to Trader Joe's.
And yes, the everything bagel seasoning made this list. You didn't think I'd be able to leave that out did ya?
Honorable Mentions
Creamy salted no-stir peanut butter
Fat-free refried beans
Nutritional yeast
96/4 Lean ground beef
Coconut oil nonstick spray
Chili lime seasoning
Freeze dried beet chips
Truffle honey mustard
Roasted red pepper and eggplant spread
Everything but the bagel seasoning
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Speculoos crunchy cookie butter
Harvest grain salad (when it is in season)
That's all I've got!
Let me know below, what are a few of your must-haves from Trader Joe's?!
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