Trader Joe's/Whole Foods Market

melbhall
melbhall Posts: 519
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I have finally moved to a city that is big enough to have both of these grocery stores. I want to go check them out. Do you have any suggestions of must have items that you purchase from there? Please post your favorites!
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Replies

  • mazomama
    mazomama Posts: 138 Member
    i dont know of any must haves, but i could spend for ever at whole foods!! Ive never been to trader joes, but we have one....

    Bump
  • The goat cheese with honey is to die for :) Their Jalepeno chicken sausage is good too!
  • CassieLEO
    CassieLEO Posts: 757 Member
    OMG, If you like Hummus, Trader Joe's White Bean, Basil and Garlic Hummus is INCREDIBLE!! It is THE most delicious hummus ive ever had.
    Their EVOO is extremely good tasting too, and flavors up salads and stuff very good! (Im doing the Mediteranean diet so it calls for small amounts of this in my diet)
    Trader Joe's is great because price wise you can beat it. PLUS, their flowers are beautiful and very good quality and CHEAP! I buy a bunch of flowers whenever I can from them.
  • ericaq
    ericaq Posts: 29
    Trader Joe's has a 3 layered hummus that is amazing. Cilantro/Red Pepper/Plain - seriously, so good. Mix that with some of their Flax Seed tortilla chips and you are good to go!
  • sillygoose1977
    sillygoose1977 Posts: 2,151 Member
    I love Whole Foods but they are really overpriced. They have the best bread, though. If you have a Sunflower Market, check that out instead.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    you mean Whole Paycheck... LOL it can get expensive in there.


    Trader Joe's EVOO is an incedible deal, it's like half the price of even Costco... their prefab salads are all tasty and low cal too
  • jreese5226
    jreese5226 Posts: 328 Member
    Trader Joes is definitely the best place to get nuts, sunflower seeds, and almond butter. They also have a great selection of protein bars and other dietary supplements. And they tend to be cheaper than Whole Foods. Happy shopping! :happy:
  • krise31
    krise31 Posts: 53 Member
    Ok well as far as Whole Foods goes I looooove Oikos organic Greek Yogurt in the Honey flavor with 3 tablespoons of good for your waist trail mix. Whole foods has an aisle dedicated to nuts and dried fruits.

    I also like Puffins cereal in peanut butter and chocolate. You can also make your own peanut butter and they have a great salad bar.
  • Loveebbs
    Loveebbs Posts: 300 Member
    I love Whole Foods but they are really overpriced. They have the best bread, though. If you have a Sunflower Market, check that out instead.

    I know....that's my only problem with Whole Foods that some of their products can be expensive. There is not a Trader Joe's in my area so I can't compare the two.
  • kimjoan
    kimjoan Posts: 192 Member
    Trader Joe's has a brown rice in the frozen section - you just pop it into the microwave for three minutes and it is perfect! I always have some on hand.
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    I love both places. Whole Foods more though but I try to stick to Trader Joes because it's cheaper IMO.
  • masonsmomma
    masonsmomma Posts: 184 Member
    I absolutely LOVE Trader Joes. It's my favorite store hehe :) I love Trader Joe's MultiGrain Crackers, I spread Laughing Cow cheese on them and it's the best. I also like their selection of dried fruit and nuts. I put them in my oatmeal and to me, no other stores selection compare lol. I could spend hundreds of dollars there haha they have so much good food :)
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
    I love love love trader joes. They have a great selection of healthy snacks (some even preportioned) like nuts and string cheese and dried fruit. They also have great frozen meals that are the perfect size for 2 servings - heat them up, add a salad and dinner is done!
  • Whole Foods is a full grocery but tends to be quite expensive. Trader Joe's is a small market but tends to be very affordable, gourmet, ethnic and specialty items.

    Some of my favorite things at Trader Joe's: mango & cream bars (frozen, small but only 60 cals), sweet potato gnocchi (frozen), nuts and dried fruit (love the green mango, montmorency cherries, wild blueberries), five seed almond bars, frozen naan, hummus with cilantro and jalapeño, pretzel thins.
  • Trader Joe's has a southwest marinated salmon which is amazing. I can live off of it! It's also good to pick up frozen organic goods from TJ's.

    Whole Foods has an amazing already prepared section, the cranberry quinoa to go is delicious. Also, the rotisserie chicken is great as well.
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    I love the self-serve whole grain aisle at Whole Foods....you can buy just exactly the amount you need....so you don't end up with a three pound bag of (for example) barley when you only needed a half-cup for a recipe. It's great for trying new things and not wasting. :)
  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
    Wishes that I had a traders joe where I live. The only one in Pa is in Pittsburgh and my fiance and I only go out there twice a year.:sad:
  • melbhall
    melbhall Posts: 519
    Sounds like Trader Joe's is going to be my kind of place. I'm all about value. I will definitely be getting their EVOO, as I'm making a salad that calls for it this weekend, and I LOVE HUMMUS!!! Can't wait to go visit. Thanks for the honesty, I think I will skip Whole Foods Completely!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I have a serious love affair with Trader Joe's and could list off about a bazillion things from there, but my core TJ's must haves are:
    Roasted Plantain Chips
    Shrimp and Surimi Louie Salad (though I don't use the dressing, it is tasty)
    Salmon Patties (in the freezer section)
    Nulaid Reddiegg Egg Subsitute - it's usually at least $2 cheaper than any other brand anywhere
    Ranchero Egg White Salad
    French Macaroons (in the freezer section, 45 cal each but an amazing delectable treat when you need something sweet)
  • Crowhorse
    Crowhorse Posts: 394 Member
    Whole Foods IS expensive, but they try to buy locally when they can, and they also treat their employees very well, from what I understand, therefor I don't mind the expense as much. They talk the talk AND walk the walk, which gets my respect.

    Me, though, I try to buy at the local farmer's market when it is open. The peaches are fantastic when in season, and one day I'd like to put a half a beef in the freezer. I can't wait until it's open again. Not necessarily organic, and not necessarily cheap, but about as fresh as you can get in peak season. Can't beat that.
  • GreenTeaForDays
    GreenTeaForDays Posts: 166 Member
    TJ's has frozen paneer tikka masala. Each box is 270 calories and it is delicious! I eat it for lunch a lot during the week at work and can't believe I'm only eating 270 calories. Their chicken tikka is good too. If you like spicy, their lamb vindaloo is good, as well as their paneer saag. Mmmm, I love Indian food if you can't tell. I think TJ's frozen variety is almost as good as you would get in most restaurants.

    I don't think it is fair to call WF expensive. Yes, if you want to buy specialty foods they will be expensive no matter where you shop. But its nice to have variety sometimes and try some new things (like bison, homemade soap, flavored agave nectar... etc). I love their beer variety too. Check out Indian Wells Valley Brewing Company's mojave gold and mojave red!!! Its a small brewery owned by one of my high school teachers. I still can't believe WF carries them, they're tiny!! (/ advertisement) The store brand, "365", is really great and not expensive at all. I think the quality of products that they have available are often worth the price but yes, for a simple shopping trip I'd often choose TJ's.
  • Megooo19
    Megooo19 Posts: 199
    Trader Joes has bags of frozen pomagranite seeds! Yummy!
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    Better'N Peanut Butter is my favorite product...they have it around here at both places. I like it better than peanut butter and it has half the calories and fat!
  • I LOVE TJs! Everything there tastes amazing. I especially love their frozen meals. Calorie controlled, very authentic tasting, and better than most restaurants i've been to. Some of my favorites are: butter chicken, all their frozen indian meals, eggplant parmesan, thai veggie dumplings(live off of these), plantain chips(one of the best things i've ever eaten), and apple blossom(perfectly little servings of apple pie, the crust is so good).
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    My two favorite stores...

    I wish people would stop calling whole foods "whole paycheck" and too expensive. What it really is we got too used to cheap junk. Veggies and fruits picked before ripening, farmed fish, hormone and antibiotic injected meat. Many of the organic items at trader joes are similarly priced to whole foods. I think it's worth paying extra to have fresh high quality organic foods that contribute to my health.

    Rant aside, my fave item from whole foods are: any organic fruit/veggie, fresh poultry, grass fed meats and fish, basmati rice, black mission figs, tofu shirataki noodles (really low calorie), galeo's salad dressing (also low calorie), fresh ground almond butter, gluten-free items, and the hot food bar.

    At trader joes I love the precooked chicken, brown rice, hummus, frozen wild fish, and Valencia peanut butter (so yum!). There are also some great chips and chocolates that shouldn't be mentioned on a weight loss forum :blushing:
  • I'm in love with Trader Joes they have everything that you would want and need... They're very affordable I buy all my fruits and veggies from them as well as they're frozen foods marinaes and salad dressings.. I'm addicted I'll be moving to Florida soon I don't know what I'm going to do once I move because from my understanding they don't have a " trader joes " down there :-l So I hope they have places that's better or close....
  • I love the "tahini free" hummus...you save a few calories by omitting the tahini. The Trader Joes low fat Spinach Pie (I think it is 240 cal) is a staple in my diet. Also the Italian Spiced chicken sausage cooked up with TJ's frozen roasted peppers/onions is something my whole family loves.
  • mazomama
    mazomama Posts: 138 Member
    well well, Trader joe's is on my list today!!!:love:
  • julesandrich
    julesandrich Posts: 188 Member
    I LOVE Trader Joe's and every time I go I get:

    organic non-fat milk, organic low-fat vanilla yogurt, organic non-fat vanilla greek yogurt, bran flakes (cereal), pecan praline granola, mixed berries (for smoothies and my cereal), orange flavored cranberries (for my oatmeal), and spicy sweet walnuts for snacks. I also love the lite cheddar cheese sticks for snacks as well.

    I also get the chocolate cat cookies for people for when I want a sweet snack. Trader Joe's also has a great selection of fresh organic fruits and veggies as well as frozen. I try to eat organically as much as possible.

    I have a whole foods down the street from me, but I don't shop there much as I have found it to be very expensive. I did not add to the list the stuff I buy for my 8-year-old (he has his own list of must haves each time I go-lol) but as you can see I buy most items from TJ's.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    Whole Foods also carry's Amy's organic frozen meals. Most are pretty calorie-laden, but there are a couple labelled "Light & Lean" and they are DELICIOUS...waay better than any other low-cal frozen meals I have tasted. This week I had a black bean tamale and a spinach lasagne, way under 400 cals.
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