Processed food is garbage, period. Sorry.

Anonymous wrote:You need to be an educated consumer and read food labels. Some TJ's prepared foods contain more fat, sodium, and calories than is recommended for the average diet. No food should be considered in isolation. It's your daily/weekly diet that matters. A person or family is not going to drop dead from eating a few convenience foods or high fat/sodium foods once in a while.

TJs was very helpful to me when I went on weight watchers.

Yeah, this. It's just that some TJ boosters act like they've just gone to the organic market or something when they shop there. It's an eclectic store, but that's about it.

You need to be an educated consumer and read food labels. Some TJ's prepared foods contain more fat, sodium, and calories than is recommended for the average diet. No food should be considered in isolation. It's your daily/weekly diet that matters. A person or family is not going to drop dead from eating a few convenience foods or high fat/sodium foods once in a while.

TJs was very helpful to me when I went on weight watchers.

i don't think the pre-package food is healthy for the most part -- very high in sodium. there are a couple of things that are okay. i want to say the enchiladas aren't bad, but i can't remember.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one said it was the devil. It was just pointed out that you're subscribing far too much virtue to it than is probably deserved.

The original comment was "tasty, and better than fast food". I don't think that's exactly a "highly virtuous" recommendation -- just being "better than fast food takeout?" What a low bar!

No, and then an argument ensued about whether or not TJ food was "healthy." Which, on the whole, it is not.

Is Giant food healthy? Is Safeway food healthy? Is wegman's food healthy?

Anonymous wrote:(reposted from the meals thread)

Try Trader Joes for frozen dinners in a bag. Pretty tasty and better than fast food.

Um.... No, not really. Trader Joes food is terrible and terrible for you. It's basically a junk food store. Llike a 7-11 for hipsters, as someone put it recently.

Disagree. If you're looking for low-fat options, yeah, it's not that healthy. And you do have to look at sodium content, because some are high. But - the ingredients list is short and understandable and not filled with chemicals, corn syrup, and preservatives. So yeah, it's not the best, but it is a big step up from fast food.

I 100% agree with the PP. My husband has a very restricted diet and needs to avoid all preservatives (except salt and sugar) and TJs is the best place for us to find foods without a lot of added gunk. Of course we have to eat it up quickly eze it because otherwise it goes bad within a day or two....Also TJs food doesn't have a lot of artificial dyes and flavorings, THQ, or transfatty acids.

What does your husband's doctor/nutritionist say about this, just curious? Someone put him on the restricted diet -- so what's their professional opinion?

My husband's dietitian thinks Trader Joe's foods or any foods without certain preservatives are an excellent choice for his diet.

So you have discussed the stock at Trader Joes specifically with the dietician? Or are you just making shit up now?

Trader Joes food is filled with MSG anyway. At least house-label food is.

I don't find trader joes to be that high quality of food so I don't shop there often. I don't think the fat content of any of their prepared dinner is any worst than the frozen prepared food at any other grocery store. I am not sure about the chemicals and preservative aspect because ive never really investigated the ingredients list. I find their produce to be nothing special and meat to be pretty pathetic. I think it's trendy, I don't think it's particularly healthy, or unhealthy. I mostly don't shop at TJs because I try to dedicate no more than an hour per week to grocery shopping, so I go to a store where I can find everything I need, which obviously is not the mission of TJs. Is it better than Burger King? Perhaps, but who knows what your ordering at Burger King, or eating from TJs.

Trader Joes sells lots of different foods. You can buy many things at Trader Joes that are quite healthy. You can also buy junk food.

Anonymous wrote:No one said it was the devil. It was just pointed out that you're subscribing far too much virtue to it than is probably deserved.

The original comment was "tasty, and better than fast food". I don't think that's exactly a "highly virtuous" recommendation -- just being "better than fast food takeout?" What a low bar!

No one said it was the devil. It was just pointed out that you're subscribing far too much virtue to it than is probably deserved.

No, and work of the devil is overly dramatic. Sure if you just eat from the middle aisle with all the treats, not so healthy. But you can mix the frozen foods with fresh veggies to make the meals healthier. We are all doing the best we can. I say that having just eaten wegman's mountain trail mix for breakfast with some eggs. Eating clean or cleaner without preservatives is not even close to eating fast food. Tonight for dinner we will have TJ frozen biryani rice and some browned ground turkey with a side of corn and salad. Will add some fresh chopped squash from my garden to the rice and turkey.

I think the use of "sweetheart" as a snarky, sarcastic term of endearment should be prohibited in this thread (and generally on DCUM).

i think if you stick with whole foods and staples such as dairy, meat, fruits, veggies, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc it is good, oftentimes organic and a decent price. it is when you start buying from the frozen section that you might end up with lots of salt, preservatives. i think most pre-packaged foods, regardless of where you buy them, are in this category.

(reposted from the meals thread)

Try Trader Joes for frozen dinners in a bag. Pretty tasty and better than fast food.

Um.... No, not really. Trader Joes food is terrible and terrible for you. It's basically a junk food store. Llike a 7-11 for hipsters, as someone put it recently.

Disagree. If you're looking for low-fat options, yeah, it's not that healthy. And you do have to look at sodium content, because some are high. But - the ingredients list is short and understandable and not filled with chemicals, corn syrup, and preservatives. So yeah, it's not the best, but it is a big step up from fast food.

I 100% agree with the PP. My husband has a very restricted diet and needs to avoid all preservatives (except salt and sugar) and TJs is the best place for us to find foods without a lot of added gunk. Of course we have to eat it up quickly eze it because otherwise it goes bad within a day or two....Also TJs food doesn't have a lot of artificial dyes and flavorings, THQ, or transfatty acids.

What does your husband's doctor/nutritionist say about this, just curious? Someone put him on the restricted diet -- so what's their professional opinion?

My husband's dietitian thinks Trader Joe's foods or any foods without certain preservatives are an excellent choice for his diet.