Favorite Trader Joe’s items?

my favorite tjoe's food is their frozen cauliflower bowls. 280 calories for the bowl, low in sodium, pretty good for protein, carbs are fairly low although not keto. a very tasty, roasty-tasting carmelized onion sauce that surprised me since i'm not a huge fan of onion. lots of textures. and this meal doesn't taste like cauliflower, a plus since i don't like it.

catsandtea111 wrote: »

@springlering62 thank you for sharing! A lot of new things to try. Do you mind sharing what you like to add the garlic &/or ginger cubes to? I love both flavors and had no idea about these.

The garlic is as good as fresh pressed, so just about anything: spaghettis sauce, lasagna, enchilada sauce, carnitas.

Several nights a week I make pumpkin pudding for dessert. It tastes like pumpkin pie without the crust.
1 box sugar free vanilla pudding mix
1 can puréed pumpkin
1 serving plain low fat Greek yogurt (170gr)
1 c ice water
Shake of pumpkin pie spice
Liberal dose of cinnamon and powdered ginger
Squirt of vanilla
2 cubes of ginger

Mix well and refrigerate for half an hour.

I divide into three servings and eat it with canned whipped cream (15cal per serving) and a tsp of honey ginger crystals (I prefer Victoria Taylor brand but Amazon and my local international grocery sell another brand). It would probably be good with a tbsp if graham cracker crumbs, too, but I love the tang of ginger.




Also TJ’s citrusy shampoo is very good. Don’t care for the minty one. It feels like it burns, to me.

I also like buying their little lavender dryer sachets to keep in drawers. I refresh them with a few drops of oil every year or so. They last for years.

I really only recently started shopping at Trader Joe's a bit more, as I had been on an elimination diet and I could only have certain ingredients at a time without additives. Does anyone know how hard it is to just find coconut or oat "milk" without any additional ingredients?! Their chicken broth has all regular ingredients, no caramel color or stuff like "organic yeast extract" (which I've learned is really a form of MSG). I just bought some freeze-dried broccoli, but apparently it's only 3 servings in a bag! Their nuts and seeds section is great, as again, you can find them without added ingredients.

If you have an Aldi's nearby, I'd HIGHLY recommend checking them out, too. They have these coconut caramel crisps that had only a few ingredients (so I could have them fairly early on in my diet) and I think their snap pea crisps are better than the name brand. Love Aldi's, just wish they were a little closer!

I get their Chicken Burrito Bowls. It has a good amount of protein and fiber. They use black beans which is my preference.

Also Breaded Chicken Tenderloin Breasts. It microwaves in 2 minutes and is pretty good. It appears to be less processed than other breaded chickens.

The Almond Butter is less expensive there than anywhere else I shop. The grocery stores seem to figure it is a premium food, so they overprice it.

Trader Joe's Peanut butter: I normally get Teddy Peanut Butter, but I think Trader Joe's is "more natural" because it is not as thick. One may like it better, but would be personal preference. I am okay with both. I think it is $2

Adding: Grass Fed Angus Beef Burgers (Frozen) Not a health food, but I do get these here. 290 Calories 23 Grams of fat, and 19 grams protein. Probably not much better than any other burger, but like any burger, the can be a small part of a balanced diet. At least I put it on a whole wheat roll!

I get their bagged walnuts and cashews, but they have all the others too, as well as trail mixes with nuts and and dried fruit.


They also have a delicious frozen "Tiramisu Torte", but I haven't gotten that in a while.

catsandtea111 wrote: »

Thanks, @frank19556! We share some taste and you reminded me of a couple things along with an intro to tiramisu torte - that sounds amazing! I’m more of a savory versus sweet person and have been wanting to keep something sweet in my freezer for when the sporadic craving comes up! 😋

On the torte, you have to be careful if you defrost in the microwave, it can get too soft. It is in whole pie form, so if I want one piece I cut it and only partially defrost in micro, then put in the fridge for an hour. Best to take it out in enough time and just put it in the fridge. Just a bit of caution for you.

In the treat category, they used to have a chocolate mouse cake that was just as delicious. I haven't seen it in a while, but I would cheat for it if I saw it again - once.

fittocycle wrote: »

I buy Unexpected Cheddar cheese (shredded), Perfect Foods bars, almond milk, K cup coffee, avocados (best price anywhere), dark chocolate, half & half for coffee, almond flour tortillas (texture like regular flour tortillas), organic apples, wool dryer balls, trail mix, GF bread, potato chips on occasion and ice cream. I normally don't buy much ice cream but I love that it contains only ingredients that I can pronounce. Actually, read the ingredients on their products. There are very little if any additives!!

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@catsandtea111 LOL You're welcome! I'm actually someone who thinks all food is beneficial in some way unless you're allergic to it or you outright die after eating it.