Trader Joe's

They have oodles of dried fruit. I basically live on banana chips and kettle corn from there as snacks. They're a re-sale-r, so lots of their food is going to be frozen, but not all of it is too high in sodium. Some of their frozen food is heavenly (i.e. any of the Indian food), and the turkey chili (while high in sodium) is chock full of protein and amazing.

Dried fruit is always good, but check to make sure what you get isn't loaded with extra sugar. Their fresh produce isn't always the best, but they do have a variety of healthier snacks like veggie chips and trail mix (again, just check the ingredients for added sugar). I personally am a sucker for their gallon of unsweetened green tea and natural peanut butter. The ingredients are literally peanuts and salt (I get salted), but it's smooth and creamy like "regular" peanut butters (but without the sickening sweetness from the added sugars in Jif and the like).

They have these little ice cream bars, mango and cream or raspberry and cream...they are amazing. Also they have chicken cilantro dumpling in the freezer section which are great and also frozen brown rice you do in the microwave which is great. And they have these chips that remind me of sun chips that are good

My heart is sad that we have no Trader Joe's here

Be careful at Trader Joes... a lot of their food isn't any healthier than what you'd find in the junk food section of a grocery store. Their prices are high as well.

That being said I love their gnocchi.

I'm a big TJ's fan. It may depend on where you are -- my TJ's locations generally have very fresh produce. I do gravitate to the nuts and dried fruits sections (I always get the unsalted nuts). The do have a lot of good things in the freezer section but others have already noted them. I hope you enjoy your trip! You may friend me if you wish.

I do 90% of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. I love it. I don't generally buy processed foods though.

I love Trader Joe's. I find their prices to be pretty good too!

I love their....

hummus
baked potato chips ...they have regular and bbq
fresh fruit/veggies
turkey burgers (frozen section)
reduced guilt entrees....they still have high sodium though (as do most frozen entrees)
nuts....you can get salted or unsalted with many of them. Just watch portions!

I'll have to think of more! I just go and look at what looks yummy to me!

Yes, those portions will get you every time

i love their veggie sticks/veggie chips although i now usually buy them from regular grocery store cause they carry rosemary and olive oil flavored ones. you can have a decent size portion for not many calories

i personally try to stay away from dried fruit and stick to fresh because they lack the water i want to get in a day

My staples when I go there (and I just went the other day)

- Frozen Fish - Ahi Tuna and Salmon
- 72% Dark Chocolate bars
- Fire roasted tomatoes with Green Chilis
- plum tomatoes in a can with Basil - OMG use a blender to blend this up it is a great base for a fresh healthy mariana sauce
- Kalamta Olives
- canned Salmon and Tuna
- Raw Almonds and Pecans
- Garlic and Spinach chicken sausage
- fresh fruits and veggies
- Almond Meal
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- sundried tomatoes

the Dried Fruit is good - but you need to watch as they have different versions - ones with and without added sugars - dried fruit are pretty high in sugar to begin with because it is so concentrated and it is very easy to overeat dried fruits since it is such a small serving size

-TJ's brand nonfat plain Greek Yogurt (add your own cut up fruit)
-Barbara's Shredded Spoonfulls cereal either as a cereal or as a way to reduce the calorie intake with dried fruits. For example, this plus some of their low salt almonds and some raisins makes a great low cal trail mix if you go easy on the nuts and raisins.
-Ak-mak stoned sesame crackers
-low fat babybel cheese wheels (in the little net bag)
-low fat cheese sticks
-Fruit floe ice pops (lime is my favorite)
-fruit and cream ice pops (raspberry and cream or mango cream are awesome)

Remember to always pair carbohydrate with protein and fat to make the snack satisfying longer. Cheese plus fruit or cracker plus cheese...

Oh. My. God. I LOVE TJs!!

You can check my food diary, but here's what I usually get:

TJ's Bran Flakes Cereal
Cut up butternut squash
Frozen Brown Rice
Frozen Brown Rice Medley (just look for the brown and purple box)
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (in the dairy case)
Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies (for when I want something sweet, you get 12 mini cookies for 150 calories)
Frozen French Green Beans
Low Fat String Cheese sticks
Kale!!
Salad mixes
Fruit
Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen, for when I want chinese food)
Greek yogurt
Fresh Raspberry, Apricot, Strawberry or Blueberry Preserves
Espresso Pillows (tiny toffee-chocolate-covered-espresso beans for when I just want a taste of something sweet, 22 for 75 calories!)

I could go on and on and on... seriously.

Totally forgot:
Chicken Lime burgers (frozen)
Salmon Burgers (frozen)
Butternut squash risotto
Asparagus risotto
Breaded chicken breast tenderloins

And:
Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Cinnamon Raisin Whole Wheat Bread
Sprouted Breads

I love TJ's! Way better prices than my grocery store and Target.

If you get chocolate cravings, they sell 100 Calorie Chocolate bars (both milk and dark chocolate). I don't get too many snack-type foods though. I love getting my veggies there--baby carrots, brussels sprouts, English cucumber, etc. I also get Kashi GoLean cereal, unsweetened almond milk (has half the calories of nonfat milk), and in the refrigerated section they have "Spicy Ranchero Egg White Salad," which is only 100 calories for the whole container. I use one container of that with 2 low-carb tortillas--makes a great lunch.

Have fun shopping!

I do 90% of my shopping at TJ's since my hubby is a manager and he picks it up for me.

These things are great:

Hummus
frozen fish
reduced fat cheese crunchies
nuts
peanut butter
butter lettuce
meringue cookies
all the frozen veggies
olive oil
greek yogurt
organic sprouted 7 grain bread
unsweetened green tea
frozen chicken breasts and tenders

there are so many more things too but these are the things I buy all the time.
Also, they are cheaper on staples like milk and eggs too

Happy shopping!

Love Trader Joe's. Some of my favorites snacks

Just a handful of Almonds (210 cals a bag)
Dried Jeju orange snacks
Low-fat cheese sticks
Edamame hummus (I use veggies)
Black bean/ Quinoa chips (high in cals but yummy)

Not snacks: (frozen)
Beijing stir fry - really good, just add your own protein
Japanese fried rice