What should I order from Trader Joes?

[JessicaS]

We don't have a Trader Joes here but someone is setting up a service that will deliver TJs to my city from St Louis.

What should I order? What is good? What is bad?

[kjbrown92]

I guess it depends what kind of food you like, if you have any dietary restrictions, etc.

[MyLilPwny]

From my local Trader Joe's, I get organic free-range eggs, cream-top French Village plain whole milk yogurt, organic sour cream, New Zealand grass-fed beef, organic free-range chicken, organic brown rice pasta and organic tomato sauces, various raw cheeses, various organic produce (avocados, zucchini, onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, garlic, bananas, pears, apples...)

[lotusdebi]

I don't know how healthy it is, but I really like the Trader Joe's powdered Spicy Chai Latte mix.

[jolenegreen]

I wish i had a trader joes

[serenbat]

Any of their sauces are great- we stock up on the punjab spinach

organic sprouted wheat pappardelle pasta is great

organic raisins are cheaper there than any other place for us

nut butters too

this time of year they have organic gingerbread mix that is very good

[JessicaS]

Thanks everyone!!

Keep the ideas coming since many of us in this area haven't really shopped at TJs much and have no idea what is good.

It is so hard to get groceries unless it you can see it and hold it first.

[zinemama]

If you buy tomato sauce, there is nothing like the fresh taste of the Tuscan Marinara. It comes in a can (for some reason I was always more inclined to buy jarred) and I am telling you, there's nothing like it for lasagne, pizza, etc.

Also, the fresh ricotta is a whole lot better than the usual grocery store stuff.

[mumkimum]

Their golden raisins are a good price and very juicy. Dried blueberries and cherries can be a good deal there too, as well as figs (the turkish figs though are not so good as the others).

We like a lot of their snack nut mixes, especially any thai lime and chili or the hot pepper & lemon almonds.

Their hot chocolate mix (organic, I believe) is good. There was also a gingerbread coffee last year that was tasty. There are a lot of good fair trade and organic coffees, and they carry a pinon coffee from Santa Fe that's dh's favorite.

We like the jarred indian sauces too (esp. punjab spinach too), and will get their fake spaghettios, cuban black beans, and refried black beans reguarly.

Mini whole wheat bagels are a good deal and freeze well too for later.

Dunno if you're wanting advice on anything frozen. . . would that last the trip to where you are? We have a lot more frozen favorites.

[notjustmamie]

I miss TJs.

What we used to get regularly:

• Sheep and goat cheeses (Basque Shepherd's Cheese, Pecorino Romano, Chevre)
• Maple syrup (we liked the "Grade B" for a stronger maple flavor)
• TJ's brand pizza sauce
• Vegetable chips (Terra chips)
• Snap pea crisps
• Sesame-ginger dressing

Have fun "shopping"!

[bu's mama]

Lots of great suggestions!

My tj staples also include...
honey pretzel sticks
cereal bars
dried fruit & trail mixes
Joe's O's
TJ version of mini wheats (forget what they're called)
yogurt
frozen biryani

[sunnysandiegan]

We buy the following (not all the time, but in the last year or so):

organic veggies
lobster ravioli (I pair it with lobster bisque from Costco for an easy dinner or lunch; not homemade, of course, but delicious! )
various fresh meats (kind of rare)
parmesan cheese (a small chunk lasts us a long while and stays fresh and yummy since we grate just what we need...)
Joe's Os cereal (like Cheerios; we actually used to buy a lot of cereals there, but haven't been eating much cold cereal lately)
organic beef broth for some recipes (we don't eat much beef with the bones in order to make beef bone broth)
milk
cream
eggs
yogurt
canned beans
spaghetti sauces
pasta
applesauce (organic smooth stuff for DD/DH and adding to oatmeal for me; but my true passion is the chunky stuff...it is cheaper than making it from scratch and we use the jars for a zillion things)
nuts (the almonds there used to be the best deal around....we're kind of burnt out on almonds, though, and have been buying non-certified organic nuts at our local farmer's market)
nut mixes (I used to LOVE one of the cranberry mixes and one of the dried cherry mixes! I stopped buying them awhile ago, though....just got bored, I guess)
flax seed tortilla chips
organic fresh-pressed grape juice
pita chips

I don't know about frozen stuff, but here is our list from the last year just in case:
organic corn and other veggies, but the corn is amazingly yummy
fish (all kinds, we feed our kitten raw meat and it often comes from TJs, we also eat it)
organic fruits for smoothies and sauces/syrups
some convenience meals - quiches, pot pies, bean and corn enchiladas, cheese enchiladas, spinach lasagna, mac & cheese, and cheesecake for last-minute parties

[jocelyndale]

My Trader Joe's staples include:
brown rice pasta (spaghetti and fusilli)
toasted sesame oil
sunflower seeds
pepitas
sultanas
raisins (the plumpest I can find)
apricots (slab)
brown rice tortillas (only if cold/frozen)
chocolate ice cream from the rainbow brand
marinated mushrooms
roasted peppers (jar)
canned artichoke hearts
some rice noodle bowls
rice mac & cheese
tuna
corn salsa
salsa verde
dried mushrooms
concentrated stock/broth packets
freeze-dried fruit
those new apple clusters. DS calls them boulders.
pickles (dill spears and bread/butter, though I like Ikea's swedish pickles better if I'm eating sweet)
cans of diced green chiles

Former staples included a variety of roasted tomato/eggplant spreads, mango-pepper vinegar, freeze-dried mango, mango passion exotique frozen dessert thingy, lime chili cashews . . . but allergies have robbed me of my favorites.

When I lived near one (15-20 minutes instead of an hour), I also bought my frozen veggies there. Asparagus, peas, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, peppers, green beans, etc. And I was vegetarian there, but I sometimes bought frozen meat (fish, chicken) for the manbeast.

Sometimes I pick up yogurt, chocolate milk, 4-way hummus, greek salad, and bagged greens. Sometimes canned beans and canned corn. I like the cuban-style black beans. Manchego and baby spinach make a nice salad. Oh, they sell pine nuts for a decent price.

The cheap olive oil has gone downhill lately.

Sweet red wine is a frequent impulse buy if they have any that day. Or if they're sampling.

If I'm stopping for lunch, I buy a package of smoked turkey, a container of the cheese that's kinda like that garlicky cream cheese stuff, and a greek salad. That takes care of two-three of us.

Lately, I buy a sea salt grinder. When it's empty, I fill it with something I mill on a regular basis. Currently I have one with Just Roasted Garlic and one with white peppercorns. I still have the lemon pepper grinder I bought. The grinders aren't adjustable and don't work for fine objects, like cumin or fennel seed. They're fine for larger spices and peppercorns. Of course, I'm probably adding minute bits of plastic to everything I eat. Oh, well.

A lot of what we buy are probably convenience foods (boxed mac and cheese). The brown rice pasta and dried fruit/seeds are part of our daily diet. I eat a lot of the marinated mushrooms.

They have dehydrated chicken strips--dogs love 'em. They occasionally have pizzles, too. Super stinky dog love.

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by mumkimum

Dunno if you're wanting advice on anything frozen. . . would that last the trip to where you are? We have a lot more frozen favorites.

Yeah they are doing frozen stuff.

They cannot do alcohol atm though

[mumkimum]

In that case our favorite frozen things are:

black bean & cheese taquitos
tofutti dairy-free blintzes (try them even if you're not dairy free)
indian veggie burgers (sortof a potato-veggie indian-spiced burger - we eat them with eggs or to bulk up other indian food)
frozen succotash with edamame
frozen cherries (best price I've ever seen) and sometimes pineapple

oh - and the morello cherries in syrup are really great too (not frozen though)

[StrawberryFields]

I get:

Organic Joe's O's (spaghetti-os)
Garlic Naan (frozen)
frozen wild blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and pineapple
Cereal (any/all are great...hello Chocolate Decadence!!!)
Frozen asparagus
Tubs of cinnamon schoolbook cookies (shaped like letters/numbers) & graham crackers
Midnight Moo (chocolate syrup for milk/ice cream/etc)
Ketchup
Bread & Butter Pickles
Olive Oil Spray
Mini whole wheat pita bread
Whole Wheat tortillas
Joe-Joe's (Oreos)


I stock up on these things because they don't have HFCS or trans fat like most of the supermarket versions, and they are way cheaper than the organic/health food brands available at my local HFS or grocery store. I know there is more that I like to buy but I am drawing a blank.

Have fun "shopping!"

[mama1803]

Kerrygold butter

This is my favorite butter and TJs has it for half the price of my local grocery store.

[PlayaMama]

Originally Posted by mumkimum

indian veggie burgers (sortof a potato-veggie indian-spiced burger - we eat them with eggs or to bulk up other indian food)

these are SO FRIGGIN' GOOD!

our list includes:

spelt tortillas
barbara's puffins
chocolate peanut butter cups
masala naan
preserves- these are the EXACT same as crofter's (jar and everything) but at least .40 cheaper than at whole foods
i LOVE three cheese pasta sauce
tomatilla salsa
indian flatbread
chimichurri rice (frozen)
organic sour cream/cottage cheese
goat yogurt- big tub
grass-fed new zealand cheese
peanut butter pretzels (nom nom nom)
samosas!!
rice pasta
rice milk- cheaper than anywhere i've found
organic quinoa
salmon roulade- frozen
brussel spouts on stems
veggie broth

honestly? my list of dislikes would be much shorter

we don't like:
frozen burritos
chipoltle salsa
actually any salsa except the tomatilla one and the red one with the yellow lid

[columbusmomma]

The thai chili lime cashews

[Samm]

I didn't see anyone mention the triple ginger cookies