EVERY PRODUCT they sell has:
- No artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives (no red dye, no HFCS, etc)
- No genetically modified ingredients
- No MSG
- No added trans fats
ON TOP OF THIS (!) they treat their employees exceptionally well for a grocery chain. The health care coverage I had while working there was the best coverage I have ever had... and I have a professional technology career. Full-time employees make very good money, and get 15% of their salary automatically added to a retirement account.
AND it is, in most cases, the same price or cheaper than a regular grocery store. They save money by not advertising and working directly with vendors.
So... healthy food, treat their employees well, and inexpensive. Why are you NOT shopping there?!
This is going to be the first in a series of (non-sponsored) posts about my favorite items at TJ's. Since they are private label, their products change frequently which I love. It means there is always something new and great to try.
Let's start with the basics:
We get most of our staples at TJ's, and they offer many products in organic versions. The tomato basil hummus is an exciting new development for me. They have been selling it in California for at least a decade and it JUST came to the east coast. I generally make my own regular hummus but I DIE for the tomato basil flavor. The rest of my pictures are a lot of processed foods because we're in crunch mode with moving, so I wanted to make it clear they are a grocery store, not a processed food store!
Next up, my favorite secret single dinner.
When Jon is gone, I almost always eat some brown rice, edamame and something else from the freezer. Right now I have the pork potstickers but they are available in veggie and chicken. And the pork buns... new item that I love love love.
And then there's our Friday night fattening meal in:
These chicken mini tacos are the shizz. If I were to talk you into buying 3 items at TJ's, this should be one of the three. The panang curry sticks are a new favorite.
But Laura, what about the kids?
Fish sticks with real fish in them. Oreos with no HFCS, no artificial dyes, and no preservatives. And I'm super excited about the new turkey meatloaf "muffins" with mashed potatoes on it.
I already mentioned one item you MUST buy. Here are the other two I would say should be on your must buy list:
Villa Cerrina Montepulciano... the best $5.99 wine you will ever buy. I've lost count of the numbers of bottles Jon and I have consumed over our decade together! And the peanut butter goodies! They are like Tagalongs except crunchy.
And the very best part of TJ's? If you try something and don't like it... for whatever reason... bring your receipt and empty container back to TJ's and they will refund your money.
After we move, I will do some more posts that feature less of the processed foods. Those who shop at TJ's, what are your favorite products?
21 comments:
We don't have Trader's here in KY and that makes me full of the sad. I guess I can live vicariously through you :). Good luck this week!
We Love TJ's also. Their juice is a big hit with Holden and we love the tamales and easy heat and serve rice. I als can't get over the great price on wines and goat cheese. The pricing is just right for a family that wants to eliminate fake foods but can't always shop at Earth Fare or Whole Foods.
mini peanut butter cups...i can't buy them anymore because i eat the entire container! we just bought our pumpkins there- $2.99 for an organic pumpkin!!! at whole foods they were 10. love tjs!
Meanie! You made me so jealous. We stock up whenever we travel. And you didn't even mention another great feature (for us): their great allergen labeling. Love their dried fruits, sauces, salsa verde, artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans... I should check my pantry aa I'm forgetting our other favorites! J loves apple walked into a bar etc.
I'd say I share about 85% of your opinions on this post. The rest, I simply haven't tried in order to form an opinion. My favs: Morning Star (veggie) bacon, sausage, and buffalo wings, seaweed crisps, vegan oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies, Good Earth tea, sun-dried tomato hummus, Tahini dip, Arribiata and vodka spaghetti sauces, Naan bread (LOVE), frozen Bird's Nests...I could probably go on and on.
I, too, like the those frozen thai "sticks." They are new!
(I can't remember the last time I went to a regular grocery store.)
Three cheers for Trader Joe's! The Paneer Tikka Masala and Garlic Naan are my favorite frozen go-tos.
The chicken pot stickers are a favorite in our house too. I also love their avocado salsa and pico for chicken tacos and scrambled eggs, fruit leathers for the kids and chicken burger patties. Definitely have more stuff I want to try.
Brooke is correct - the mini peanut butter cups are the ABSOLUTE BEST! But I also rarely buy them due to 'eating-whole-container-in-one-sitting' disease.
I go about once a month and get plain whole milk yogurt, 50% less salt almonds (b/c no salt almonds aren't that tasty and regular salt almonds are too salty) organic spinach & organic sweet potatoes (those are both on the 'dirty dozen' list) and whole grain pastas (which are insanely cheap there!)
I only have two complaints about TJ's. 1. They quit giving away balloons. The first few visits without balloons were disastrous. In fact, that's why I started shopping somewhere else and only go to TJ's once a month when I am without the babies. 2. Ice cream selection isn't that great.
Yay for weekend bonus post! :)
The pomegrante limeade, their MANCHEGO CHEESE is the best on earth, agree on that wine (and lots of other great ones too!)their Kettle Corn (the reduced fat one) the avocadp salsa, fruit leathers for kids (like others posted!)
Trader Joe's is great. Another plus: I love that the workers there actually know us and talk with us and put up with my "helpful" oldest child.
I just bought those peanut butter things for the first time this week, but have yet to try them. A few weeks ago I bought the dark chocolate peanut butter cups and they were so awesome.
My favorite TJ's moment. Last winter I brought the baby to shop with me. As I was packing up the car to leave I discovered I had some chocolate chips in the cart that I hadn't paid for. I schlepped the kid back into the store and told the cashier about the chocolate chips. He thanked me profusely for my honesty and told me to take them for free. Then he gave me a reusable bag for free as an extra thank you. I was the one who almost accidentally stole something! You don't get that treatment at any other grocery store.
I love TJ's and go there twice a week, but wow... now I need to try some of the items you mentioned! Thanks so much for this post! This will be fun, trying some new TJ things!
I love the frozen Mahi Mahi burgers (as well as ALL the frozen seafood).
The fresh sweet corn is also awesome (and easy to remove the silks).
What I miss though is ours stopped carrying the Wisconsin cheddar cheese curds.
No TJ's here :( Guess I will have to have you take me on a tour next time I come to visit!
Love TJs! Another great thing about their products is that they are very good about allergen labeling, so you don't have to hunt for the 85 dairy protein "key words" in the ingredient list.
Their soy creamer is the BEST. It actually makes your coffee look like it has heavy cream in it, unlike plain soy milk. Their soy milk in the shelf stable box is a full $1.50 cheaper than at the regular grocery.
We also love the staples, like jam, canned tomatoes, beans, corn, organic produce like spinach, lettuce, strawberries, apples, pears, avocados, carrots, celery.
Those friggen chicken tacos are one of my faves as well! And there's no dairy, which is rare in frozen mexican anything. Also love their frozen mango halves.
We also buy the freeze dried mangos, blueberries and strawberries, esp for travel, along with the fruit leather (Lana is addicted to fruit).
The refrigerated pizza dough with the pizza sauce is yummy also. Their fresh salsa is a hit with us as well. I recently tried an Indian Masala Lentil dip, which was hummus-like, was pretty yummy as well.
And the Joe Joes are fantastic too--I can't stop eating those!
I am SO totally going to look for the $5.99 Montepulciano. Thanks for all the great recs!
I miss Trader Joes. One thing that irritated me was that they'd discontinue things so frequently. I imagine that it's related to the availability of ingredients, but when they stopped making my orange granola, I went through serious withdrawal.
Unfortunately, I live in the Land of Whole Foods. (Literally. The head office and flagship store is in Austin.) Whole Foods doesn't play nice with other stores in a similar cachet.
What I miss the most: TJ Root Beer. *drool*
That's a good wine, I agree! My favorite white is the Pancake wine...I will readily admit that I bought it for the awesome label, but it is probably my favorite inexpensive white wine overall.
I need to get to TJ's more often! They were harder to shop at when the kids were little because they don't have double carts, but now that the girls could walk, I need to get back there.
We've been buying their frozen scallops (dry and pan sear first) and a jar of their thai green curry, add some veggies and voila, a delicious dinner. Even Milo will eat the scallops.
quick little fyi that you do not even have to take your receipt and the container for them to refund you if you were unhappy with something!
Loooove Trader Joes! I love their beef short ribs marinated in their TJ soyaki sauce! And the chocolate croissants...they are frozen, let them thaw and proof overnight and pop them in the oven the next morning!
The spicy hummus dip is my absolute favorite! I love hearing about your favorite items!
Just found this post whilst sorting through old stuff in google reader. Yes, I am a little behind...
We love TJs and do a majority of our shopping there. Funny thing is I'm looking at your must-haves and I don't think we've ever tried any except the brown rice. They just have so much awesomeness to choose from.
Our must-haves are the frozen organic veggies since fresh, local is not available in Chicago many many months of the year. But I love love love the cream yogurt, specifically blueberry cream, the truffle brownie mix and Joe Joes cookies. We get them Every. Single. Time. The brownies are awesome, I usually add pecans or walnuts to the mix, and people think I have the best brownie recipe ever, never believe it's a mix.
Post a Comment