Clean-eating food at Trader Joe's

em3120

I’m heading to Trader Joe’s in a couple of days and I was wondering what you guys like from there. This is actually my first time going because it is almost 45 minutes away from where I live. I have converted to 90% clean eating and I would love your “clean” recommendations!

zzzkitty

I buy a lot from Trader Joes, so it's hard to pick just a few things. But - I depend a lot on the frozen microwave brown rice, which cooks up nicely and tastes great - it's quick for those nights when you just want dinner fast. Also have great frozen fish for good prices. Love the Caribbean fruit floes (80 calories) for a sweet treat. The "Guilt Free" frozen entrees make it to lunch at work when I don't have leftovers. I could go on...

stbarry

I LOVE the Cioppino. I take the stew as a base, add additional low fat seafood (ie shrimp or scallops), and stretch the number of servings I get from a package. Suggestion: remove the seafood, heat the gravy, then add the seafood, shrimp & scallops last, to perfectly cook each.


Cioppino Fish Stew Serving Size: 1 cup, Calories: 170, Fat: 6g, Carbs: 8g, Protein: 22g

I also love the frozen vegetables. The Romanesco Cauliflower has 25 calories, the Eggplant Zucchini Melange is 70 calories and DELICIOUS.

em3120

This may sound like a stupid question, but is the majority of stuff from Trader Joe's clean? Some? All? I've never been before and am curious about how things work there.

Firefox7275

Clean foods are largely wholefoods not branded, processed stuff with ingredients lists, you are sort of asking for an oxymoron. Just buy nuts, seeds, dried fruit, wholegrains, beans, lentils, fish and so on.
http://www.traderjoes.com/

em3120

Thanks for the advice everyone. Has anyone tried their salsa or hummus?

zzzkitty

I like to eat as many whole foods as possible, but many of the items at Trader Joes have only "real" ingredients - no chemicals that you can't pronouce, no high-fructose corn syrup, etc. Check the labels and you will find many items that have good wholesome ingredients only. I am sensitive to food additives, but I find many many items that I can eat there. (For example, I watch for the caramel coloring in the deli meats and tea - the Tea Java (regular, unsweetened) doesn't have it, but another brand does. (Why add brown coloring to brown liquid anyway?) But the Tea Java green tea has a food additive also.) I probably spend longer checking out the labels than most people, but it's worth it! Most of the non-whole foods that I do eat come from Trader Joes. It is so much cheaper than health food stores.

almondbuttalovah

I eat as clean as possible and buy all my food from Trader Joe's. you can take a lot at my diary entries if you need ideas on what to add to your list (:

zzzkitty

I haven't tried the hummus as I make my own, but I have tried the salsa. I didn't like the cheapest one in the small bottle, which I think is called Salsa Authentica, as it was very watery. I tried the other one that has roasted corn in it is pretty good - I can't remember the name. I like to stick to organic when possible, so it is probably the other organic choice.

annepage

Loving the unsweetened vanilla almond milk from there right now. 45 cal/cup is a steal.

realme56

Thanks for the advice everyone. Has anyone tried their salsa or hummus?

Salsa Especial and Pico de Gallo are my faves, any of their hummuses are great. I use hummus in place of mayo on sandwiches!

realme56

Loving the unsweetened vanilla almond milk from there right now. 45 cal/cup is a steal.

YES!!! I use it with a tablespoon of peanut butter for an awesome hot drink, make my steel cut oats with it..... chia tapioca!!

clh126

I've been addicted to their edamame hummus lately. I like to buy nuts, seeds, oats, dried fruit, and frozen vegetables at trader joes. Their almond milk is also almost half the price of that at the regular grocery store here and they have a pretty good reasonably priced cheese selection.

HarlowS

Trader Joe's is great and has a lot of minimally processed stuff. Beware though, there is quite a bit that is still considered "junk". My husband calls it "healthy junk". You need to read labels carefully. There are meats from out of the country, enriched flour/wheat, and foods with lots of sugar. Look for items with 5 ingredients or less if you are aiming to eat cleaner.

I love the Mediterranean hummus, Soy milk, cheeses, vegan vegetable rolls, fish, 100% whole wheat bread, ak-mak crackers, $.19 bananas, etc. Oh, and you can't go wrong with a bottle of 3 Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw Wine)

sarahc001

Love:

Reduced Guilt guacamole (LOVE! esp in an egg white omelet!)
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Cage free egg whites (I admit it, I'm lazy)
99% fat free ground turkey breast, mirepoix, egg whites, oatmeal, and seasonings to make "meatloaf muffins"
Low Carb tortillas
mediterranean hummus
hardboiled eggs (I remove yolks and add in the hummus
Turkey Jerky
various nut butters
roasted red pepper and tomato soup
cheeses
cooked lentils
steamed baby beets (with goat cheese and some balsamic vinegar- yum!
fage greek yogurt
possibly not "clean:
Turkey Meatballs fully cooked
chicken tikka masala with frozen prawns for extra protein (thaw in warm water)
chicken and vegetable wonton soup-frozen
meatless corndogs- frozen

sarahc001

Oh, and you can't go wrong with a bottle of 3 Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw Wine)

Used to be 2 buck chuck...not that they're allowed to sell wine in our local TJ's :grumble:

veggieluver2

I honestly don't think there are many"clean foods" at TJ's. Most of the frozen items are loaded with salt and fat. Unless you're just buying fruits and veggies. I expressed my opinion to one of the employees about all the items loaded with salt. She told me they are not known as a "health food store." She was nice enough to provide me with a list of saltfree and gluten free items.

My fav item is the brown rice medley.

chosengiver

Could you pick up 2 bottles of Trader Joe's California Estate Olive Oil for me?
The closest Tj's to me is 3 hrs away.
Much Appreciated

Ashley578

Their salsa is AMAZING but plan on eating it in the next few days because it only stays good for a couple days

chosengiver

I use hummus in place of mayo on sandwiches!

^^^^What a GREAT idea!

californiansun

Thanks for the advice everyone. Has anyone tried their salsa or hummus?

The hummus is THE BEST. Buy lots! My favorite is the "spicy" and the "red pepper". The salsa is pretty good, too! But if I was clean eating, I would just make my own salsa! They also have edamame that I love (frozen). It's a good and healthy snack!

Go look on their website, and it will list what they have. That’s the way to go.

Riqtoe

I buy my Ezekial Bread there since it is not frozen. I also eat clean so like the others posted the store has tons of "unclean" items. Yes, you can buy all your produce there but it will cost a bit more. My children LOVE the Mandarin Orange Chicken (Frozen), which is a special treat in our house. I only use one pack of the sauce.

Gt3ch

Honestly not the biggest fan of TJ's. Lots of tasty processed & canned junk masquerading as "healthy." Lots of their less-processed stuff is still super high in calories and sodium. IMHO their more about convenience foods than health. When they first started it was really novel to get organic anything at a semi-reasonable price. Times have changed.

Where I am TJ's fresh produce section is usually small and unremarkable. But they have lots of pre prepped fruit, veggies, lentils, etc. which is nice if you need the shortcut. Their pre-made soups and salads in the refrigerated section are pretty good. Their nuts and dried seaweed snack are OK. But mostly I get indulgences there I don't particularly consider "clean."

Psalm17v22

90% of my diary is from trader joe's! Before I cut out meat (seeing what affect food has on my cholesterol) I LOVED their Chicken Apple Sausage, it tastes great with scrambled eggs. Their handsome cut fries taste great. I use their fire roasted bell peppers and onions instead of chopping my own. Also their handmade flour tortillas get a top rating in my fooducate app. Also on my grocery list are the reduced sodium pistachios, peach salsa (its great to add to chili's), and their fruit is really good!

God bless,
Karen

meshashesha2012

they also sell a california protein bread in their store. it reminds me a lot of the ezekian bread but there's like 5-10 g of protein a slice

i usually get
- frozen chicken thighs
- reduced sugar rasberry(blueberry or strawberry) preserves
- tub of greek yogurt
- cheap fruit and frozen fruit to add to protein smoothies
- uncured apple smoked bacon
- canned trout

Psalm17v22

Thanks for the advice everyone. Has anyone tried their salsa or hummus?

I love their peach salsa!

God bless,
Karen

FitnSassy

roasted garlic hummus
albacore tuna in water
organic frozen broccoli florets
ezekiel bread low sodium
raw nuts
steel cut frozen oatmeal

em3120

I buy my Ezekial Bread there since it is not frozen. I also eat clean so like the others posted the store has tons of "unclean" items. Yes, you can buy all your produce there but it will cost a bit more. My children LOVE the Mandarin Orange Chicken (Frozen), which is a special treat in our house. I only use one pack of the sauce.

I've heard their Ezekial bread is quite good. What is it exactly?

pink59eldo

I'm about 90% clean as well. Besides the normal fruits and veggies, I just went today and I bought dried unsweetened mango slices, coconut oil, Ezekiel bread, green tea and corn tortillas. It was a little tough because the place is soooo busy. I suggest going pretty early that way people aren't waiting for you to pick out whatever you're looking for. Next time I go I'll go earlier and take more time to read labels. Let us know what you end up finding!

SomeoneSomeplace

Could you pick up 2 bottles of Trader Joe's California Estate Olive Oil for me?
The closest Tj's to me is 3 hrs away.
Much Appreciated

You know you can order offline right??

OP- I'd look at their "Better Than PB " spread or even their regular PB and almond butter...

I like there Vanilla Almond Granola Cereal a lot, their cereals in general are great. They have really yummy dressing. Non daity yogurt and ice cream that's really good. IDK about the clean foods there specifically but anything you buy is super yummy!