Every couple of weekends I drive to the opposite side of the city to brave the crowds and severe lack of parking at our local Trader Joe's. I have the same "must buy" list every time, and usually stock up on 2-3 of everything. I've for sure reached hoarder status on the chocolate croissants.
If I'm flying solo or my toddler is being especially good, I let myself get sucked into the rabbit hole of interesting frozen foods, flowers, and somehow end up coming home with 3 different types of hummus?!
Anyway, a couple weeks ago my friend
Maegan asked for recommendations for what to get at TJ's and though I know there are a lot of posts out there like this, I
love reading them and always find something new and good to add to my list. So here are some of my tried and true Trader Joe's favorites!
Chocolate Croissants - These are super simple and so dang good, you set them on a pan uncovered overnight and bake them in the morning for like 15 minutes. They come out looking like they are straight from a bakery! I'm obsessed. The mini croissants work the same way and are also delish.
EVOO - I think this runs you about $8 which is a great deal for the size and I love the spout!
Frozen Fruits - TJ's has a great selection of frozen fruits that are perfect for smoothies. Or like in our case, you have a child who only likes fruits on certain days and the fresh ones would go bad too quick!
Riced Cauliflower - my newest obsession! I made fried "rice" out of this and its so, so good not to mention easy!
French Macarons - every.single.time.
Mini Churros - These are so fun! I burnt them the first two times I made them so its probably best to make them after the kid goes to bed. You won't want to share them anyway...
Balsamic Glaze - Love this on salads, veggies, pizza.. pretty much everything.
Mini Meatballs - Perfect for appetizers and kids, I always have a bag of these in our freezer!
Blooms - TJ's is a basic blogger's dream during peony season but I love getting different flowers like garden roses, ranunculus, and some eucalyptus to help a small bouquet look more full.
And last but definitely not least...
wine! I've gotten a lot of good wines, even the cheap Two Buck Chuck isn't that bad IMO. Not all stores carry wine because of state regulations so if you're one of those people, stock up while you're on vacation elsewhere!
My absolute favorite rosé is the
J.L. Quinson Côtes de Provence Rosé but I've heard the Griffone Rosé is also good!
And not pictured because I ate them already:
Sweet Potato Ribbons,
Hatch Chile Mac & Cheese,
Spanikopita, Edamame Hummus and
Mediterranean Hummus,
Mac & Cheese Bites,
Blondie Bar mix, and
this salad mix (a recent find now that I'm trying to go all healthy and such). If you've never had it, try the
Speculoos Cookie Butter but I tend to stick to the
Speculoos Cookies myself!
And because I'm super basic, you better believe I stock up on any and all pumpkin things in the Fall.
Okay now tell me your favorites! What do I need to buy in bulk on my next trip?!
Also the gingerbread cookies at Christmas. Every single year. Good roundup!
ReplyDeleteahhh i want those croissants! we live pretty close to a Trader Joe's and I've only been once so far. I need to change that! I'll add a few of these things to my shopping list! xo
ReplyDeleteSnap pea crisps, soft strawberry licorice and jars of flame grilled peppers!! Yum!
ReplyDeleteYou had me at croissants. Those look yummy! I don't go to TJs often, but I love reading what everyone recommends from there!
ReplyDeleteI love their chocolate croissonts!! And their floral section is the best. I can't wait to try that rose in a month!!! I miss rose (and wine in general) so much!
ReplyDeleteLove these posts!! And now I NEED to buy those croissants. And that Rose is one of my all time favorites! Great roundup!!
ReplyDeleteAlways love recommendations for TJs!!
ReplyDeleteI love and want it all...especially that rose'! ;)
ReplyDeleteI love their rose’ (and roses the flower too!) and always get their organic tuscan kale!
ReplyDeleteSo many delicious things! I wish we had aTJ's near us!!
ReplyDeleteI love these posts! I always get super overwhelmed going in and trying to find good stuff to try. I'll have to pop in during a weekday. Is there ever a slow time there?!
ReplyDeleteExcited to try the riced cauliflower. We love the chimichurri rice, Chicago popcorn, reduced sugar jelly and black bean soup :)
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a great rosé recommendation! There are so many things I love at TJs -- the mozzarella chubs, the gouda parmesan cheese, frozen raspberries, cookie butter ice cream (!!!), cashew butter, their Secco wine (it's a slightly-sparkly Prosecco! $4.99!), bags of avocados, their full-fat and 2% greek yogurt, $2 brown eggs, coconut oil spray, ginger mints (for pregnancy nausea), their pound-plus dark chocolate... my sister loves the Tanzanian coffee, too. You should revisit this and post your favorite pumpkin finds now that it's fall!!!!!
ReplyDelete