Help make out my Trader Joe's shopping list

[Anonymous]

Here are my faves:

- frozen naan
- hand-rolled tortillas
- horseradish hummus
- cuban black beans
- all of their bread mixes (corn, pumpkin, etc.)
- boxed Indian foods
- frozen pizzas
- frozen veggies
- bulgogi
- pizza dough
- cheesesticks
- dark chocolate covered...pretzels, edamame, mint candies, etc., etc.
- mini peanut butter cups (you can use them in place of chocolate chips in cookies)
- cat animal crackers
- everything crackers
- tuscan salad dressing
- whole wheat pastas
- cereal bars
- fruit leathers
- cinnamon & sugar pita crisps
- mini bagels
- frozen french toast, waffles
- frozen chocolate croissants (these are sooooooo good)
- mini ice cream sandwiches

Mostly, I buy snacks for my kids at Trader Joe's, but I do like to try things from their "new foods" section which is usually at the back of the store. Plus, over the past two years their organic fruit/veg options have grown dramatically and the quality is excellent. I buy bags of 6 organic kiwis and the entire bag is like $2 vs. .79 each at Whole Foods. Bags of organic apples, too.

[Anonymous]

PP here, forgot to add that the Mango sauce is delicious. When my kids were young toddlers I would toss small diced chicken in the Mango sauce and they LOVED it.

[Anonymous]

They have great kid sized 6 packs of yogart. Yummy and creamy and no horrible food dyes like that nasty Dora yogart at the regular grocery store. Banana, Vanilla, Strawberry and blueberry.

[Anonymous]

While I buy various things at TJ's, one thing I ALWAYS buy, and can't live without is the:

PANE.

Peasant bread. Delicious.

PANE. Go get some.

[Anonymous]

olive oil
eggs
butter
milk
baking chocolate
King Arthur flour
mini beef tacos
frozen naan
frozen lemonade (no high fructose corn syrup!)
dog treats
sweet and spicy pecans
guacamole topped with salsa

[Anonymous]

Soy corn dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The simmer sauces come in jars. I can't remember what aisle they are in. I liked the Picatta Simmer Sauce and the Tikka Masala one. Yes they are called simmer sauces. I chop up raw chicken into bite sized pieces, brown them, and then put them into a crockpot with the simmer sauce on top, set at low, for 8 to 10 hours. Or you can cook it in about 15 minutes on the stove.

I don't think the sauces are designed for crock pot cooking, so the long cooking may not be necessary or may not do much for the flavor, but it tastes fine to me, and I love having dinner ready to go when we walk in the door at 6.

Re- the frozen fish fillets -- I only like the tilapia. I haven't had great luck with the other fronzen fish, and I haven't tried any of the breaded frozen fish. The tilapia is pretty decent. I thaw over night and broil with lemon and olice oil, maybe top with capers or olives> I agree. Have not had good luck with fish other than tilapia.

Re: - the preservative free bread -- you have to keep it in the fridge or freezer.

My other faves:
Whole Wheat English muffins
Corn bread mix
Ginger cookies
Dried fruit and nuts
Peanut butter

Fruit and veggies: hit or miss, find they go bad alot faster than stuff from WF or Safeway

[Anonymous]

their sponges!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

The sponges rock. Their lavender hand-wash soap is awesome too and it doesn't all those additives that other soaps have.

[Anonymous]

also a tuscan pane fan. It's really, really good.
We like the turkey chili---which is made by browning 1 lb of ground turkey, which TJ's usually has, then adding one jar of the chunky salsa and then one jar of the three bean marinated bean salad. Sounds weird but is really good and gets you a good chili taste in a short amount of cooking time.

I like the candied pecans as well---they are good in salads with blue cheese crumbles and a vinaigrette.

[Anonymous]

I don't like (many of) their cheeses, the milk, or the yogurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The simmer sauces come in jars. I can't remember what aisle they are in. I liked the Picatta Simmer Sauce and the Tikka Masala one. Yes they are called simmer sauces. I chop up raw chicken into bite sized pieces, brown them, and then put them into a crockpot with the simmer sauce on top, set at low, for 8 to 10 hours. Or you can cook it in about 15 minutes on the stove.

I don't think the sauces are designed for crock pot cooking, so the long cooking may not be necessary or may not do much for the flavor, but it tastes fine to me, and I love having dinner ready to go when we walk in the door at 6.

Re- the frozen fish fillets -- I only like the tilapia. I haven't had great luck with the other fronzen fish, and I haven't tried any of the breaded frozen fish. The tilapia is pretty decent. I thaw over night and broil with lemon and olice oil, maybe top with capers or olives>

Re: - the preservative free bread -- you have to keep it in the fridge or freezer.

Ah, that's what went wrong with my bread, good to know next time will store in the freezer.

[Anonymous]

If you like boursin cheese it is under 4$ at trader joes, it is over 7 bucks at my local grocery store!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here, forgot to add that the Mango sauce is delicious. When my kids were young toddlers I would toss small diced chicken in the Mango sauce and they LOVED it.

Did they drop this product? I've been loooking for a while and can't find it anymore. It was one of my favorites, good with the TJs frozen coconut shrimp, and rice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't like (many of) their cheeses, the milk, or the yogurt.

Their brick cheeses all taste like the refrigerator (but I find this the case even at WF). Also, their yogurt doesn't contain live cultures even though it purports to. I tried to make yogurt with TJ's yogurt as the starter and it didn't work.