More Trader Joe's Please

Trader Joes is my happy place. That is, until I get to the checkout counter and realize I have spent three times as much money as I intended. Seriously though, if this store had a reward program I would definitely be platinum.

I love Trader Joe’s because they have all your staple foods, great meats nuts and veggies, and hundreds of other unique products that are so easy to throw in your cart and so much fun to try! While a typical grocery store may carry 40,000 items from all different food vendors, Trader Joe's only stocks about 4,000 items, and 80% of its own brand name. By skipping the middle man Trader Joe’s is able to pass along pretty significant savings to their customers.

There is a pretty common misconception in the public that their products are expensive, which is definitely not true. You will find that many products are way cheaper than your typical grocery stores, especially their frozen fruit and veggies. I think the key to shopping at Trader Joe’s on a budget is:

a. Not shop when you are hungry
b. Have self control
c. Limit yourself to a specific number of "unique items"

I myself usually never follow any of these rules. Hence, breaking my food budget on a pretty typical basis. I will justify however, that if you are looking to cook a quick and healthy dinner, stopping by Trader Joe’s on your way home is perfect. Here were two of my dinners this week that took less than 10 minutes to make:

*Garden vegetable mushroom & asiago chicken sausage with colorful sautéed peppers

*Angus beef with onion, asparagus, and mushroom mix topped with General Tsao stir fry sauce

Trader Joes also has a great website which shares their history, recipes, locations, and announces new products. My favorite part of the website is “how to make bestovers” aka leftovers. They provide a grocery list of items you can buy that will make you one dinner and two different lunches using the items from the grocery list.

Another fun fact about Trader Joe’s is if a product doesn’t sell well, they take if off the shelf! So if you really like a product, tell your friends and family about it so it never leaves. My favorite is the Speculoos Cookie Butter Ice Cream.  It is literally LIFE CHANGING and after browsing their website today I found out they have cookie butter CHEESECAKE too! Who has the next upcoming birthday in my life? I need an excuse to go and purchase this!  I can imagine it will be next on my much loved dessert list.

 

Leave a comment below with YOUR favorite Trader Joe’s product/s.