Trader Joe's favorites

[ett]

Blasphemy!
I love TJs and think it's worth the drive. 20 minutes is nothing either- that's how far I drive to get to mine.
Weekend days are horrific at mine; Friday night is dreamy though!

My TJ's is only 5 minutes away but I would absolutely drive 20 minutes if there weren't any closer to me. My TJ's can get just as busy on the weekdays as on the weekends. The least busy time I've found is either close to closing time or Friday dinner time.

[khm]

My TJ's is only 5 minutes away but I would absolutely drive 20 minutes if there weren't any closer to me. My TJ's can get just as busy on the weekdays as on the weekends. The least busy time I've found is either close to closing time or Friday dinner time.

Oh, I drive at least 20 minutes for mine, it was the day off work thing that caught my eye. Lol. Rock on.

[Snow mom]

TJs is 45 minutes for me and I mainly shop there for pantry and frozen things. I agree with a previous poster that anything that looks good to you is likely to be good. I’m not sure if they ever restarted samples post 2020 but that store probably has the highest conversion rate of giving me samples and succeeding at getting me to buy the product. Most things are good so it’s just what you like and how the price points fit where you usually shop. A lot of times I don’t care for their produce based on how it’s packaged. And I find their meat prices expensive. That’s why I stick with pantry + frozen section

Things I usually have on my list (I probably go 4-5 times a year):
-bottled curry sauces and coconut milk
-baking powder (DH prefers this to all other baking powders)
-nuts/dried fruits
-packaged cookies that come in the large round plastic bins
-bread/bar type mixes
-olive oil
-sesame oil
-Soyaki sauce
-panko bread crumbs
-canned beans
-boxed soups
-jam preserves
-salsa
-seasonings (I didn’t see the 21 seasoning salute on anyones list and DH is obsessed with this one)
-my kids like the orange chicken (not very authentic Chinese if you are looking for that)
-frozen veggies, especially spinach, broccoli, and the “super sweet white corn”

[bcafe]

We were just at the Plano location on Saturday around 3:00 and it wasn't busy at all. They were out of a lot of my usual picks though. I believe they are still having supplier issues.

[AnnieW625]

Forgot to add the frozen French cut green beans. Except for their peas (which are not petite peas….and the non petite peas seem way too starchy for me) I do buy a lot of my frozen veggies from there.

The Kung Pao Chicken, fried rice and Chimichurri rice are pretty good. I usually mix the KPC with the fried rice or the Yakisoba noodles (from Costco).

Chicken Tikka Masala.

21 Seasoning Salute is good too as I have used that in the past, but have a bunch of Penzey’s equivalents (for spices) right now but when I am out I will probably just stick to Trader Joe’s spices for what I can. They aren’t perfect and I feel like they are still missing some staples that I will have to get elsewhere but for the price the quality is great.

Yes I still think they are having supplier issues and it is always different things that are out of stock (for awhile it was frozen oatmeal and hash browns, and now it is the burritos, and a few weeks back my store was completely out of grapes and tomatoes and those are in season now here).

I live 5 minutes from Trader Joe’s and go maybe twice a month. Despite my crazy long list I still have to supplement with either Target, Walmart, or a regular grocery store (Stater Brothers-SoCal regional chain, Von’s, or Ralph’s). I never know when my store is going to be crowded so I just go when I need to go.

I had been using the Trader Joe’s Mango Cream shave lotion for the last 20 years, but when I was out in January and had to order groceries for pickup from Walmart (due to DH’s Covid) I found out about Cremo shave lotion (after looking Alba Cream Shave on Walmart’s website but they didn’t have that but had Cremo instead) and I like it even more than the Mango Cream shave. It is just thicker and I swear it has cut down on mild nicks and my skin feels smoother. On a side note I am 99% sure the Mango Cream shave is made by Alba because the old Alba containers were almost identical before Alba changed their containers in the last year or two.

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[jawilli4]

Sorry for the late response but I wanted to chime in now that I am seeing the question.

We love TJ's marinated olive duo with lemon and herbs. It's a great additional for a cheese platter.

Our current favorite product is TJ's version of Cascatelli pasta. It is the new pasta shape that Dan Pashman from the Sporkful podcast developed and that has been named one of Time Magazine's best inventions of 2021. It is exceptionally good.

I actually prefer the Sfoglini version slightly better because it holds together a bit better. However, TJ's version is extremely tasty, less expensive, and easier to find. My autistic uncle with food texture issues has fallen in love with it, which is a wonderful endorsement in itself.

Here's the podcast and other information for anyone interested: https://www.sporkful.com/how-to-buy-...l-dan-pashman/

[anonomom]

Also late, but I have to give a shout-out to the unexpected cheddar. I buy the pre-shredded and it makes the best macaroni & cheese.

We also like:
Roasted Pork Buns
Mandarin Orange Chicken
Green Onion Pancakes
Frozen Mac & Cheese
Crunchy Curls
their version of Pirate's Booty
Gyro meat/premade Tatziki
Salsa Verde (toss it in the slow cooker with some frozen chicken breasts, then shred the meat for burritos)
Dried mandarin orange slices
Nuts
Kringle

For me, TJs is an "extra" grocery trip -- I shop there maybe once a month or so for things we like, but don't need. Part of the joy is finding new (or new to you) foods to try out.

[Liziz]

I don't live near a TJs, but we usually stop when we're back home visiting family. My kids are obsessed with their ABC bars (I think that's what their called?) It's a chocolate bar filled with almond butter, near their granola bars and such. Our whole family also adores their Swedish Swimmers (gummy candies).....I think I could eat a whole bag myself!

They also have a really good bag of mixed grains called a Harvest Blend mix -- it's mostly pearl couscous, with several other things in as well (lentils, split pea, amaranth, etc.).

[Tenasparkl]

Flowers, their bouquets are wonderful as are the small plants.

This! I buy so many flowers and plants at trader joe's. They have adorable little pots sometimes that I can't resist. They also have great prices on pumpkins when the time comes.

Our staples are:
roasted unsalted almonds, a blank walks into a bar (fruit flavored cereal bars), strawberry yogurt cereal, frozen mac & cheese and chicken tikka masala, sharp cheddar slices and roasted turkey for lunch sandwiches, pre-made salads and wraps for me to bring to work for an easy lunch plus a million more things I'm forgetting.

[lizzywednesday]

...Our whole family also adores their Swedish Swimmers (gummy candies).....I think I could eat a whole bag myself!...

I think I mentioned these in my list, but should also add that I usually hate gummies and most fruit-flavored candies, but I love the Scandinavian Swimmers.