Trader Joes <3

Joebob8

I love Trader Joes. It is the most incredible supermarket ever. I can buy the healthiest most delicious food and spend half of what I would anywhere else. My shopping list:

1. Bags of precut broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (cut off a corner of the bag, nuke for 3 min and voila)
2. Blackberries
3. Blueberries
4. Bananas
5. Bags of precut kale
6. Almond milk
7. 2% Greek yogurt
8. Precooked, preseasoned individually wrapped chicken breasts (so good I eat them cold sometimes)
9 Pre cooked chicken burger patties
10Bag of hard boiled eggs
11 Frozen ginger soy miso cod (best fish I've ever had!!)
12 Low fat shredded mozzarella
13 Tomato sauce
14 Vanilla power crunch bars
15 Pre cut apple slices
16 Frozen cooked quinoa
17 Microwaveable eggplant and spinach lasagna
18 High fiber pita bread
19 kashi go lean crunch cereal
20. 100 calorie dark chocolate bars


...and lots of delicious things for my less health conscious husband


It's incredible! I shopped at whole foods for YEARS and spent god knows how much money on absolutely nothing. I've shopped at gourmet stores, health food stores...nothing has ever made me so happy as trader joes. Every day I am excited to open my fridge, there's always an easy, healthy choice waiting for me. Im not even sure why I'm sharing this except that I guess for years I thought it was only a good store for people who wanted to buy bags of frozen fried Chinese food and giant chocolate bars, this has been a life altering experience and I highly recommend to all.

cwsreddy

ldula88

I totally second your love of TJ's. I would give my right arm to have one close to me, but the closest is about 45 minutes away

Joebob8

Idula, I live in downtown Manhattan and have to travel by subway to 23rd st to get to mine, about half an hour if I don't dawdle (i dawdle). And the line is insane. Whole Foods is across the street from me and there is a generic supermarket downstairs. I don't care! I get all my shopping done for the week. So much of the food is frozen or packaged to last an eternity (my pre cooked chicken is good for a month) that's it's worth the schlep.

likeabanner

The closest TJ to me is also about 45 minutes away. I would even love to have a Whole Foods or Wegman's but they are about 30 minutes away. So sad.

Francl27

The closest TJ to me is also about 45 minutes away. I would even love to have a Whole Foods or Wegman's but they are about 30 minutes away. So sad.

I was thrilled when I moved to where I am... Wegmans and Whole Foods 10 minutes away, and they opened a TJ right there after a few months here...

writergeek313

The closest TJ's to me is 70 miles :sad: Friends bring me some things when they're near one, especially quinoa, which is $2 or $3 cheaper than I can find it around here.

I used to live in upstate New York and shopped at Wegmans all the time. I was so spoiled! There's one not too far from where I live, but because of how busy all the roads are that I have to take to get there, it usually takes me at least 45 minutes to get there. I only go every few months and try to stock up when I do. I'm thinking I may start doing the same thing with TJ's.

Pearsquared

If we're talking distance, the closest Trader Joe's to me is a four-hour drive away. Over 200 miles. xP I used to live twenty minutes away, and loved going there. I wasn't watching my eating, though, and would absorb their orange chicken and chocolate covered potato chips. xD

mamahannick

Wahhhhhh, I keep hearing amazing things about TJ, but I have yet to have the privilege of going to one. The nearest one is over an hour away! Not feasible for me.

dandandee

I went to my first ever Trader Joes last week while on vacation. oh my goodness. I wish we had those in canada. I had heard such good things about that store from MFP and man it did not disappoint!

mschicagocubs

If you don't have a TJs by you ... do you have an Aldi's?

While the selection isn't as great, they are owned by the same people. Healthy, cheap options!

HealthySideofLife

There's a TJ's not far from me (maybe like ten minutes), but I rarely ever go there. I think I might start going again. I love that store! (fun, but stupid fact: when I went there for the first time, they asked me if I've been there before, and when I said no, they gave me a tote bag. Being a tote bag fiend, that won me over, without even seeing their food).

dandandee

If you don't have a TJs by you ... do you have an Aldi's?

While the selection isn't as great, they are owned by the same people. Healthy, cheap options!

Is Aldi's also American? I'Ve never heard of it before

condoleezachiapet

One life, one love, trader joes. I drown in their ready-to-serve rice and quinoa dishes. Not to mention their chocolates. And sauces. And prices.

Just everything. It is an all encompassing love.

ThinLizzie0802

Closest TJ's is 200 miles away from me too whaaaaa
Our specialty stores here are so expensive and have little choice but fight really hard to keep TJ's out
orange chicken fresh veggies yogurt stars chocolate covered pretzels yuuuuuuum

RockWarrior84

I get some stuff when I travel out of state. i found an awesome jalapeno tartar sauce to go on salmon burgers, OMG

Wish i had one closer.

Sarahnade42x

Your shopping list looks so similar to mine! I'm closer to a Whole Foods, but when I'm at TJ's I always look for their Harvest Grains couscous, red quinoa and garbanzo bean mix. So good!

Joebob8

Here's hoping that a TJs opens near all of you! To the Canadian poster, my (Canadian) husband claims that some guy in Ontario opened up a store called "robber bob's" or something like that where he travels to the u.s. to buy trader joes products and resells them. But my husband also recently told me that hedgehogs are a legume, so who knows

Cortelli

A Trader Joe's opened less than a half mile from my house about 5 or 6 years ago. If I'm short of something for a meal I want to make, I can *walk* down to get it and maybe pick up a cheap but decent bottle of wine since I made the walk. It is literally the second closest commercial establishment to our little house in the suburbs (shares a parking lot with a drugstore). Heaven! I am convinced that it increased property values in our neighborhood :flowerforyou:

vvvalentines

Here's hoping that a TJs opens near all of you! To the Canadian poster, my (Canadian) husband claims that some guy in Ontario opened up a store called "robber bob's" or something like that where he travels to the u.s. to buy trader joes products and resells them. But my husband also recently told me that hedgehogs are a legume, so who knows

It's "Pirate Joe's" I think, and they do resell TJ's products but at a much higher price (since the guy pays retail in the US and then resells.)

vvvalentines

If you don't have a TJs by you ... do you have an Aldi's?

While the selection isn't as great, they are owned by the same people. Healthy, cheap options!

Is Aldi's also American? I'Ve never heard of it before

Actuallyy...

They're both American arms of German supermarket chains that operate under the same banner. It's a somewhat interesting story (if you like reading about strange business deals and such) but the gist is, in Germany there are Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud, and in America, Aldi Nord operates as Trader Joe's and Aldi Sud operates as Aldi.

qtgonewild

cookie butter. ftw.

CMoeDee

The closest TJ to me is also about 45 minutes away. I would even love to have a Whole Foods or Wegman's but they are about 30 minutes away. So sad.

I. Miss. Wegman's. So hard. I mean, I love my TJ's - cheddar rockets forever, but oh man, Wegman's.

LishieFruit89

If you don't have a TJs by you ... do you have an Aldi's?

While the selection isn't as great, they are owned by the same people. Healthy, cheap options!

Please show me proof because I've heard this before but haven't found anything stating it's true.


I TJs.
Frozen fish.
Nut selection.
Trail mix selection.

krawhitham

I used to work for TJs and it's an awesome place to work, and thats almost exclusively where I shop!

Recently I've been getting into the Miso soup broth, the roasted red pepper and tomato (reduced sodium) soup, Wasabi mayonnaise (cuz I dont like regular mayo), brown rice pasta, freshly ground coffee and their DARK CHOCOLATE mmmmm..

Also, their alcohols are almost always cheaper than anywhere else. I get pretty quality tequila, whiskey and red wine at half the price of the liquor store down the street from me!

I think I should go get my old job back

polarsjewel

I went to my first ever Trader Joes last week while on vacation. oh my goodness. I wish we had those in canada. I had heard such good things about that store from MFP and man it did not disappoint!

I second this!

MartialPanda

While i love TJ's a lot of their products are very simple and easy to make but i'm a freak and insistent and roasted all my own things etc. I like the time i spend on it. I'm sure theirs is delicious. Their meat options are sorely lacking my particular TJ's so that's sad. Not enough types and such go on. Although i have to say the ribeye i got from them was BANGING.

The one.....thing i've seen is there cheese seem to be slightly overprice. That's probably the only thing I have a slight problem with. Also THE LINES. Good thing the people are friendly or else i would've booked.

Overall though i gotta say I love going to TJ's. Their vintage beer was pretty cool too.

judyde

Also, their alcohols are almost always cheaper than anywhere else. I get pretty quality tequila, whiskey and red wine at half the price of the liquor store down the street from me!

I was feeling pretty smug since I'm 30 min from a Trader Joe's, but the ones in PA don't sell alcohol. Boo hoo!!! We still have state run liquor stores - so barbaric!!!

I love the triple ginger snaps. Only about 23 cals each. Whatever calories I have left, I use up with those. I ran out and went to TJs the other day, and they were out! I asked a guy about it in a panic, thinking maybe it was a seasonal thing, and he assured me they will have them back in. They were just voted the most popular item at TJs, so they had a run on them.

lilbearzmom

I was just there yesterday- LOVE IT! The one I go to is 35 or so miles away, but I travel up there for work and occasional appointments, so I time my TJ shopping trips for those times. I also have a lunch date with my husband while I'm up there. I love TJs!!!!!!!!

vvvalentines

The closest TJ to me is also about 45 minutes away. I would even love to have a Whole Foods or Wegman's but they are about 30 minutes away. So sad.

I. Miss. Wegman's. So hard. I mean, I love my TJ's - cheddar rockets forever, but oh man, Wegman's.

I've heard so many great things about Wegman's, but as a Midwesterner living with a Californian, I've never been to one. What makes them special/different?

vvvalentines

If you don't have a TJs by you ... do you have an Aldi's?

While the selection isn't as great, they are owned by the same people. Healthy, cheap options!

Please show me proof because I've heard this before but haven't found anything stating it's true.


I TJs.
Frozen fish.
Nut selection.
Trail mix selection.

Look up Aldi on Wikipedia--it has a more-or-less comprehensible rundown. Aldi and Trader Joe's in America are kind of like cousins.