Monday, February 12, 2007

for the love of trader joes

ok, so trader joes is one of those places that we all love to shop, however, i find myself just buying the same things and not branching out sometimes for fear of the unknown, so...i thought i would ask you all what are your favorite things to buy there????
i love many many things from there:
i just bought the granola (almond flavor) and it is so good on yogurt for breakfast.
luke, and now velzy, can't get enough of the spicy flax and soy chips
their hand made tortillas are way better than any others
we always get lightly salted cashews and almonds for sancks
their frozen fish is always good for fish tacos
lemon herb chicken, cut up over their caesar salad in a bag is super good for dinner.
i love love love the australian panda black licorice and fruit leathers...this is all that i am thinking of off the top of my head, i will add more when i think of more, but i just wanted some new ideas from you all!
thanks!

9 comments:

Tonya said...

Okay, where do I start.

My breakfast EVERYDAY is a bowl for of Organic Morning Lite, sprinkled with a bit of the Maple Pecan Granola and either blueberries, strawberris or blackberries. To die for. And loaded with more than 9 grams of fiber. Nice way to start the day.

I LOVE their bag of salad greens with fresh herbs.

The cut up fuji apples are so convienent.

Kaleb loves their mini peanut butter sandwich crackers. And their round (Ritz) crackers are so yummy and they don't have the hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.

Their Soy Voy Teriyaki is delicious. So is the Sweet and Hot Mustard.

Love the Breaded Halibut with the Jalapeno Tartar sauce, so does the family.

For sure there is more, but I can't think of any right now.

Lillie said...

Hope I'm allowed to comment because I can't help myself on this one.

-My 17 mo. old loves the pirates booty and those same PB crackers Ton mentioned.
-bagged snow peas, broccoli, butternut squash and green beans- so easy to snip and microwave-- snow peas SUPER good sauteed with Olive Oil and salt, BN squash good with basil mixed in.
-frozen tilapia (cheaper than Costco)we have a yummy orange,pecan,herb tilapia recipe
- Earth Balance-- better than butter in my opinion- non-dairy, no hydrogenated oils- great in WW choc. chips cookies in place of butter and canola oil- great in all baking really or as spread.
-frozen squares of basil and garlic-- SO convenient for when you don't have fresh- NOTHING like dried.
-The pound plus bar of milk chocolate-- BEST chocolate I've found for dipping strawberries- Seriously- the best.
-pizza dough
-TJ white corn Organic tortilla chips- super light and crispy.
-I can't believe I almost forgot...THE BOXED CORNBREAD MIX. It is the best cornbread I've had. Way better than any homemade I've tried. Pretty much tastes like cake, wouldn't say it's healthy. But paired with chili or BBQ'd anything, your meal is COMplete. LOVE it- it's part of our food storage. :)

Did I overdo it? I guarantee there's lots more.

Lillie said...

Like the frozen, microwave in 3 minute brown rice. Brilliant. Necessary.

Missy said...

Where to begin is right...good idea Ashley. I love your ideas. I'm going to get some of the Soy Voy Teriyaki. Sauces like that are just good to have on hand.

-mini muffins (great for Avery's breakfast coupled with a fruit or yogurt)
-handmade tortillas are SO yums
-whole wheat hamburger and hot dog buns for summer bbqing.
-I second Lillie: the fresh green beans, Brocolli and Cauliflower and Butternut Squash cubes are my favorite. Easy way to get some extra veggies in your diet
-The refrigerated pizza sauce (I don't know what they do, but it is so good) It's right by the pizza dough Lil.
-Frozen fish is wonderful (I've never tried the tilapia Lillie, can you share that recipe?) I get the mahi mahi or halibut and make fish tacos. Most of the fish is wild caught and not farmed too so I love that.
-Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice! Best ever
-Kettle Chips (they are $3.79 as opposed to our Ralphs where they are $5.29!)
-The Vanilla Soy Milk. Period. None better and all of their cereals. I haven't had a bad experience with one of them
-The three cheese pasta sauce. SO, SO, Good!
-The fresh tortellini is really good (next to the pizza dough) BUT, the tortellini and ravioli that is in the dry pasta section are great for last minute dinners. Pair that with the 3 cheese sauce and top with the fresh parmesan and you have a great meal (with a salad).
-Their foccacia bread is good too and easy, just pop it in the oven and serve with an Italian meal of choice.
- I just had the cornbread a few weeks ago with that white bean chili that you wrote about Ton. AND the cornbread was to die for. Loved it!
-The boxed tomato soup is good for a quick meal too with a cheese sandwich. Organic and tasty!
-Their organic milk is cheaper than the regular grocery store and certifed USDA.

I could go on forever. I love Trader Joe's so much.

Missy said...

The pretzels with the peanut butter inside of them are addicting.

The ginger cat cookies are a delicious snack

The chunky Trader Jose's salsa is our favorite

The spinach noodles are good with fettucini sauce over it

AND the vegetable cellulose sponges are wonderful for the kitchen. They come in a pack of 12 (orange/yellow color) and EXPAND in water.

The card section always has cute cards and they are only 99 cents.

The chunky applesauce (whole sliced apples in it) is really good too, especially in the summer time with the said bbq I mentioned above).

Missy said...

Oh Ash, the soy and flax seed spicy chips are our favorite too!

Missy said...

I thought of one more.

The Irish Oatmeal is tasty! It is a good winter breakfast.

Put chopped apples in it the last 10 minutes of cookies and top with cinnamon and vanilla soy milk.

Thanks to my friend Sarah, we enjoy this quite often.

ashley said...

missy you crack me up
i can't wait to go to trader joe's again soon!

Missy said...

I meant to write "COOKING" not cookies on my oatmeal recipe. Obvious what I am thinking about today? I was actually eating one while I wrote it so it was written through my subconscious. Sheesh.

Ash, you've got to have more ideas!