Whole foods/Trader Joes must haves

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  • longin2bsexy
    longin2bsexy Posts: 42 Member
    bump
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
    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
    lovegrace21 Posts: 20 Member
    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
    mommycullen Posts: 48 Member
    great thread! We get all of our nuts at trader joes. all of our dairy. I love their wasabi peas. its bomb
  • albertine58
    albertine58 Posts: 267 Member
    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
    booboo68 Posts: 302 Member
    Trader Joes Chicken Apple Chardonnay Sausage. Delish
  • doronajay
    doronajay Posts: 222 Member
    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
    LentilTamer Posts: 4
    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
    affacat Posts: 216 Member
    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
    keepongoingnmw Posts: 371 Member
    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)
  • Justjamie0418
    Justjamie0418 Posts: 1,065 Member
    y are so awesome! thank you for this! will be a good read tonight at work...I can work on my list
  • Rikki007s
    Rikki007s Posts: 102 Member
    I am a Trader Joe's fan.
    I get frozen Indian meals for my husband.

    Be careful with the frozen indian food meals there. I use to buy those for my husband's dinner all the time, but one day I happened to looked at the fat content and realized that it has a CRAZY amount of saturated fat. Not just one of them but ALL of them have a bunch of saturated fat. It's not something I normally look at, but I felt it would be terrible for me to continue buying those heart clogging frozen meals for him.

    I do however love their other frozen stuff! :)
  • elmo0901
    elmo0901 Posts: 7
    When I decided I needed to change my life-weight, food, working out, I realized it couldn't just be a diet. When I was researching all types of "lifestyle" changes the only that made sense for me was clean eating and that can be done pretty much at any store, though some are easy than others. No TJ's near me but in south Florida we have great farmers markets and I do frequent the "Greenwise" section of my regular grocery store along with WF. I also shop Amazon for things like chia seeds, flax, bob's red mill products, etc as a lot of time they are cheaper then my stores. With free shipping I can't beat it.
  • dakotawitch
    dakotawitch Posts: 190 Member
    My only must have for Whole Foods is a paycheck 3 times the size of the one I actually get :)
  • meaningful99
    meaningful99 Posts: 174
    Where I live, Whole Foods has much better produce than Trader Joe's. They also have a great bulk food section. Trader Joe's is good for frozen and packaged stuff. We actually got our Thanksgiving turkey at TJ last year and people raved about it.
  • Klem4
    Klem4 Posts: 399 Member
    I am obsessed with Trader Joes lately. I am finding I can buy pretty much everything I need there for less or same cost as whole foods (which is right in the next shopping center). Every time I go, I find something new to try. lol!
    A few things from my diary and beyond:
    cage free liquid egg whites (yes i am that lazy)
    Barbara's puffins peanut butter cereal (i don't eat a bowl, but steal a few when i give it to my kids, yum, and cheaper than every place)
    Columbus brand reduced sodium turkey breast
    The cheese case is great, delicious
    Nuts! I love the Go Raw Trek mix (individual bags) I also buy the raw sliced almonds and cashew pieces for my homemade granola.
    Organic chicken
    Taco Shells
    Organic no salt added Marinara sauce
    TJ's alfredo sauce (i don't eat it but my husband liked it)
    Organic yellow corn tortilla rounds chips
    I also buy the granola bars for my kids/husband. lol
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
    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 agree! TJ's is much more cost effective for comparable products and their specialty items are beyond yummy! LOVE TJ's!
  • kechiemc
    kechiemc Posts: 1,355 Member
    Get Whole Foods peanut butter. They test for aflatoxin, which can occur naturally in peanut butter, if even one moldy peanut gets into a batch, and is a truly horrendous carcinogen even in small amounts. I'm not normally a fan of Whole Foods.

    ^This. I get the one with no sugar added. It is so delicious. I cannot believe that it is not sweetened.

    I also love the roasted red pepper hummus from TJs.
  • missalica
    missalica Posts: 12
    I lived in Canada near the US Border and make special trips down to TJs for the amazing deals and food, (groceries are much more expensive for us).

    I really like their Marsala Veggie Burgers, Dark chocolate covered berries, organic Kale, huge cheese selection, their hummus and curry selections. Go and take your time to read the labels and ingredients, I have found that some of their things that has higher sodium.
  • Thisisnotadiet
    Thisisnotadiet Posts: 89 Member
    Kalona organic cottage cheese from Whole Foods. It is the ONLY one w/o preservatives and other bad stuff... at least in my area. if you eat cottage cheese read the label of the other brands and you'll be surprised how many artificial ingredients there are in those.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    A must have is Trader Joe's ketchup. None, and I mean NONE compares...
    to each his own bud. I find their organic ketchup to be gross in its sweetness. it's not VILE but I won't be buying any more.

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