EMAIL THREAD

Trader Joe's tomorrow...

What should I put on my list?

I've heard their almond butter is amazing.

Fri. Dec 23, 1:23pm

oh my i have suggestions

they have really good cajun spiced salmon.. all you do is throw it in the oven. If you're buying for someone else i'd say the piece is usually enough for 4 people, and is about 7 bucks. Their salted, crunchy peanut butter is GREAT. Their peaches in white grape juice are a really great dessert when you need something sweet, and pretty light. The pears are good as well... with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top and a tablespoon of low fat vanilla frozen yogurt... lots of other delish things... i'm going tomorrow!

Friday, December 23, 2005, 1:32 PM

Do you like spicy foods?

Their Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce is fantastic with their frozen Chicken Breasts (or thighs).

Nuke about 6 Chicken breasts (or thighs) until it's cooked, add the simmer sauce. Cook until hot. Then add a couple of cups of their frozen green beans, and some frozen mushrooms (if they still have the Asian Mushroom mix, it's awesome as well).

If you can get their Frozen Jasmine or Brown Rice, then nuke that for 3 minutes and you have quite a tasty meal. :-)

All from Trader Joe's!

Another yummy thing:
Their Bruschetta sauce (tomatoes chopped up with garlic, olive oil and basil).
Take one of their french breads slice into small slices... sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top and broil. Then once it's done, put a small spoon of the bruschetta on top. Quite flavorful and very yummy! (I'll bet the bruschetta would make a great addition to salad as well!

Friday, December 23, 2005, 5:44 PM

IF you like Korean foods,
Try the Trader Joe's "Bulgogi"--it's beef seasoned with garlic and sesame I think...

It comes in large slices, so I suggest slicing the pieces to a smaller size before putting it on a George Foreman Grill. Eat it with Trader Joe's Jasmine Rice, and some veggies and a side bowl of the Trader Joe's instant Miso Soup...

OR... you can wrap it up the bulgogi in green leaf lettuce with some rice... :-) Yummy... :-)

Friday, December 23, 2005, 5:47 PM

I love their pre-prepared veggies (salad greens, brussel sprouts, etc) that are packaged for 2 - very reasonably priced also

Their berry medley (blackberries, blueberries, rasberries) is excellent - I hate opening a bag of berries that were not preserved at their peak and this has never happened with TJs berries. I love berries as a snack or in cereal, salads, wraps or desserts - they add sweetness without empty calories and are packed with antioxidants. Reserve some of the juice and combine it with cider vinegar and olive oil for a lovely vinegarette! Add some roasted Tahini for a thickener (another TJ goodie).

They have large bags of frozen raosted red, yellow and orange peppers cheaper than you can buy them yourself, and you don't have to take the time to roast them - I love this!!! I toss roasted peppers into lots of sauces and one-dish meals and soups.

Their stir fry veggies are very good and make an incredibly fast, easy meal. Just add chicken. Their gyoza (pot stickers) are pretty good too. Not quite as good as homemade, but better than most resaurants.

I love their vacume-sealed portions of salmon, halibut, ono wahoo and tuna - all excellent quality and packaged for 2 (sometimes 3). You can have poached fish and a chopped salad finished in ~10 minutes. This is my ultimate middle-of-the-week savior!

Their meats are all free range and it shows! Not nearly as fatty as meat raised in a feedlot and just all around better quality. You may not find prices as low as some stores sale prices, but at least where I live you can't beat their everyday prices. I buy meat there for the quality though! Same goes for dairy and eggs.

Marinara!! NO SUGAR!! Take a look at almost any packaged spaghetti sauce and you will see that sugar is right up there on every single one. Not so with TJs - the tomatoe really comes through and I often use this as a base for a more elaborate recipe. I try to avoid sugar, cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, etc, and this is one of the few sauces that doesn't have sugar right near the top.

I really love the multi-grain hot cereal. I hate oatmeal, but like something like this in the winter.

Their selection of chopped nuts is lower-priced that grocery stores and the pieces are uniform enough to satisfy the most picky bakers.

Their olive oil is high-quality and offered at good prices.

I love their canned artichoke hearts as a bit of added 'omf' in one dish veggie and pasta meals and on pizza. They have jars of pitted Kalamatas much lower than regular grocery stores too.

I adore Trader Joe's - I do 75% of my shopping there and go to the big chain stores for the few items I can't get at Trader Joes.

Friday, December 23, 2005, 7:08 PM

Here's my regular list - based on Weight Watchers food plan

Light french feta
armenian string cheese
reduced fat organic cream cheese
smoked salmon
whole wheat mini pita bread
chicken sausage
check the organic section for gala apples, cherry tomatoes
marinara tomato sauce (canned)
udon noodles - buckwheat or soba -pick the one with the highest fiber
the packaged tuna curry is good - a little bit higher in fat, but good with added veggies
whole wheat couscous
fat free free range organic chicken stock - and lots of it
sundried tomatoes
cuban style black beans - they rock
cans of chickpeas, cannelinis, etc.
frozen foods:
organic broccoli
organic asparagus
organic spinach
organic blueberries - for oatmeal
frozen cherries - great for dessert
frozen brown rice
edamame
the mini frozen pizzas - they are only about 250 calories, great for a fix
vegetable shumai/dumplings - in the clear package - you get a lot for small calories
curry chicken and brown rice frozen meal - this one is good!
vegetable lasagne - this one is good, too, lots of veggies for higher fiber

steel cut oats
cereal
Fage greek yogurt - it is AMAZING. add your own fruit and sweetener for a healthier yogurt snack
Plugra butter
organic fat free milk
There is an organic (I think) dark chocolate - single source from venezuela. Silver/grey packaging with a yellow label. BUY IT! Healthy, super high quality chocolate, even has 1g of fiber.
Turkey jerky
multi seed tortilla flatbreads -fab w/ smoked salmon instead of everything bagels
Lara bars - whole raw foods, no soy chemical cr@p
Kashi chocolate turtle rolls - for the soy chemical cr@p but they are good

Food for thought! ;-)

Friday, December 23, 2005, 10:39 PM

OP here...thanks for all the suggestions! I'll let you know what I come home with (although I'm on a budget so I'll try a few things this time and then a few more next time, etc...). I wish I could buy everything!

Saturday, December 24, 2005, 7:46 AM

TJ's

Thanks so much for the info --everyone keeps telling me I would love this place - a 45 minute drive - but it sounds worth it and I am on ww too... very cool info

Tuesday, December 27, 2005, 1:56 AM

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