Whole foods/Trader Joes must haves

Alta2000

I love the WF peanut butter, both the one you do it yourself at the machine, and the ready made store brand, "365" the crunchy variety. It is salty and runny, yum. They have many vegetables that TJ does not have. Prices depend where you are. I live in an area with multiple TJ and WF locations within a 4 mile radius so many items are similarly priced in both stores, and considerably below the prices in all the other supermarkets.WF has great fresh meat and bread, and a variety of cheeses to splurge once in a while.

friedmal4

Tj's salsa is fantastic!

downinaggieland98

Here in Phoenix, AZ we have Sprout's Farmers Market. The prices, quality and selection are incredible. I buy all my fresh and organic produce there. They also have bulk grains, nuts granolas, etc.

We just got these here near Houston and I LOVE them!

jennyrebekka

2 words - - EDAMAME HUMMUS - - at Trader Joe's

TrishyWest

Bump. I like their creamy basil pasta sauce and coconut oil.... from Trader Joes.

penguinlally

Trader Joe's all the way - I try to avoid Whole Paycheck (as we call it now) I will go to Whole Paycheck for homeopathic items - but as of late our Pantry is pretty much TJ's & Sprouts! We buy produce locally and at the Farmer's Markets...NOt too much at Trader Joe's that we don't like and - always have the Thai Curry sauces in the cupboard and lite coconut milk and the coconut milk beverage ( great for drinking, cereals and cooking)and there is always TJ's cheeses in the fridge!

wiltl

Favorite item from TJ's is the pre-portioned garlic and basil in the freezer section. They also had cilantro (which I can't use since I'm one of those that thinks it tastes like soap). These things are nice to have when you don't have fresh options or can't use all of a bulb of garlic before it goes bad/forget to do something with it.

Goddess tahini dressing is great for a quick hummus, too.

CM9178

Trader Joe's has some good stuff.. but it is NOT CHEAP by any standards, compared to shopping in a regular grocery store. Unless there is something specific that you can only get at Trader Joe's, I wouldn't bother. They do have some good stuff though - I get Better n Peanut Butter there, and I like their mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Where do you live? Here, it's so much cheaper than our grocery stores, with the exception of Walmart, but we call it "ghetto Walmart" for a reason and tend to not go there...

I live in NJ, it is much much more expensive than the regular grocery stores here.
I can go to TJ's and buy 10 things and it ends up costing like as much as entire shopping trip to the grocery store.
That's why I only get stuff there that I can't get anywhere else.. which isn't much.

cats121

Love both but tend to do more of my weekly shopping at Trader Joe's. I think the TJ stores can vary based on what part of the country you live in an I'm in SoCal and here are my favs:
Organic arugula
Organic tuscan kale
Pomegranat seeds (pricey but I put them in vanilla yogurt or just eat them as dessert)
TJ unsweetened white and green tea (already prepared)
LOVE their hummus - eggplant and spicy are my two favs
Reduced Guilt multi-grain pita chips
I like a lot of their dressings - this one is a favorite, Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette
Frozen foods - great to have on hand when you don't have much time:
Reduced Guilt Mac n' Cheese
Grilled Eggplant Parm & the Spinach lasgane (not in a box but in a red & white checkered "boat" with cellophane wrapping)
Mahi Mahi burgers
Trader Joe's whole wheat waffles
Brown Rice Medley - this is frozen rice and takes 3 minutes to prepare - they have the same rice in the regular section but like to have this on hand when I'm short on time.
"veggie" breakfast patties
TJ salsa - both the red and the green are good
Vanilla bean non-fat yogurt and if they have it, the pumpkin is really good!

Good luck!

Schmidt722

We used to live 3 blocks from a Whole Foods and it was a mixed blessing. The quality and proximity was great, but paying $5 for a couple apples... lame. Whole Foods is great, if you've got bank.

I think of Trader Joe's as a place to get "open the package and eat" foods, rather than ingredients to make your own meal. Not that they don't have basics there to cook from scratch (they do), I just think that TJ's strong point in their frozen dinner aisle, pre-made salsas, and novelty things of that nature. If you're more into making your own stuff, then I find TJ's a little lacking.

Whole Foods must have -- selections from their cheese bar.
TJ's must have -- frozen garlic naan.

longin2bsexy

bump

endoftheside

Trader Joe's is more convenient to me (and less expensive) so I go there more. My family's favorites: sushi, pre-made entree salads, bits and pieces bacon, chicken jalapeno sausage, snack packs of nuts/dried fruits/chocolate, stuffed cod, shrimp, angel food cake, 100 calorie chocolate bars (oh, I better not get started on all the yummy treats, the list is long).

lovegrace21

Trader Joe's has some good stuff.. but it is NOT CHEAP by any standards, compared to shopping in a regular grocery store. Unless there is something specific that you can only get at Trader Joe's, I wouldn't bother. They do have some good stuff though - I get Better n Peanut Butter there, and I like their mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

That is not the case here. I get a whole cart full of awesome stuff for cheaper than if I were to get similar (but not as good) items at say..Kroger or Albertsons.

TJ rocks.

mommycullen

great thread! We get all of our nuts at trader joes. all of our dairy. I love their wasabi peas. its bomb

albertine58

Trader Joe's has some good stuff.. but it is NOT CHEAP by any standards, compared to shopping in a regular grocery store. Unless there is something specific that you can only get at Trader Joe's, I wouldn't bother. They do have some good stuff though - I get Better n Peanut Butter there, and I like their mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

That is not the case here. I get a whole cart full of awesome stuff for cheaper than if I were to get similar (but not as good) items at say..Kroger or Albertsons.

TJ rocks.

Same here- Trader Joe's is sooo much cheaper than Stop & Shop, Shaw's- basically anywhere I've ever shopped, no matter where I've lived- CT, MA, and NY! I walk out with twice the groceries for the same price as anywhere else, and it's way better quality and more delicious! Their prices are surprisingly low for so many things- what comes to mind first is cheeses, quinoa, amazing Spanish olive oil, Ezekiel sprouted grain bread, and smoked salmon- and the QUALITY is the biggest thing. No GMOs; no antibiotics or hormones in the dairy (and meat, if you eat meat). Organic and/or antibiotic-free dairy is soo much more expensive in regular stores! Also a lot of their low-fat products taste way better than supermarket brands. Their light sour cream is deeelicious- I've tried all the supermarket light sour creams and they all taste bland and boring and terrible in comparison- same calories too! Such a little thing makes a huge difference!

And to the comment about TJ's only being for processed and convenience foods- NO WAY. Yes, that's the stuff people drool over and many people tend to buy...but my cart is always full of produce and cheap staples (...and also some veggie gyoza). I have so many can't-live-without cooking ingredients from TJ's- the orange muscat champagne vinegar is the best thing ever on quinoa. and the cranberry gorgonzola vinaigrette for salads... I could go on for hours...

and yes. whole foods is expensive; absolutely avoid it if you're on a budget. I used to live next to one; it was horrible on my wallet.

booboo68

Trader Joes Chicken Apple Chardonnay Sausage. Delish

doronajay

Here in Phoenix, AZ we have Sprout's Farmers Market. The prices, quality and selection are incredible. I buy all my fresh and organic produce there. They also have bulk grains, nuts granolas, etc.

We just got these here near Houston and I LOVE them!

I'm also a fan of Sprouts! They have the best prices on produce and supplements, and pretty decent beverage selection. I shop there any time I visit Vegas or Phoenix.

LentilTamer

I haven't shopped enough at Whole Foods to have an essentials list (sooo expensive! Even though I do love WF)

Trader Joe's on the other haaand..

- The pineapple salsa is TO DIE FOR. And it goes on most anything.
-Pesto- high quality stuff that doesn't break the bank!
-Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup is TOPS. I love putting half an avocado in the soup after cooking it
-Latin Style Black Bean soup is also highly incredible + frozen corn YUM
-Mushroom Turnovers. In the frozen appetizer section! It's 250 calories for 5 of those things and I find them HIGHLY satisfying
-Veggie sushi there is always yummy.
-Forgot the hummus brand name... but I love it!

affacat

A little (awesome) secret: most Trader Joes foods are actually differently-packaged name-brand foods.
For example, their veggie meatballs are Nate's. And on, and on, and on... my wife and I love figuring out all the 'original' brands for our favorite items. Not everything is this way, but a lot is.

Definitely go with TJ where you can -- it's far cheaper than Whole Foods, by and large. Often by dollars per item, where it's a re-package.

keepongoingnmw

I like going there when I need to entertain thier frozen hor douvers(spelling?) are awesome and love the frozen deserts good potion control as well try the macarons (French macaroons)