Trader Joe's
Posted by Anonymous on May 22, 2007 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
Okay, so I've decided that I must make a trip to Trader Joe's - I've heard everyone rave about it and now I want to check it out. I didn't realize there was one only 40 miles away from me, so I am going to plan a trip soon.
My question is - what are your "must-buys" from Trader Joe's? I looked on their website but it doesn't list any of their products. I want to make sure I don't miss anything!
They have vegan cookies?!? I go there lots, and I haven't seen any...maybe because I tend to walk right by that section because I figure there won't be any vegan stuff there. I must look next time!! Thanks for the tip :)
At the TJ's here (Issaquah, WA), they are usually found on the shelf with all the bread, scones, etc. They are quite good if you like "chewy" cookies, which I do. I wonder if TJs only offers them at certain locations. I should ask next time I'm there.
Do you live in Issaquah? My parents live in Sammamish.
They have vegan cookies?!? I go there lots, and I haven't seen any...maybe because I tend to walk right by that section because I figure there won't be any vegan stuff there. I must look next time!! Thanks for the tip :)
At the TJ's here (Issaquah, WA), they are usually found on the shelf with all the bread, scones, etc. They are quite good if you like "chewy" cookies, which I do. I wonder if TJs only offers them at certain locations. I should ask next time I'm there.
Do you live in Issaquah? My parents live in Sammamish.
Currently, I live east of Issaquah. But before I lived here, I lived in Issaquah. And I lived in Sammamish before that (for about ten months)!
I love the sweet and spicy pecans. They are yummy on salads or straight out of the bag. The spinach and artichoke dip, if you eat cheese, is delicious as well. They also carry "convenience" items, such as cut up apples. I buy a bag, put them in my freezer, and then dip then in organic peanut butter when I'm craving peanut butter. I love their soy yogurt. Someone else mentioned the veggie flaxseed tortilla chips. they are yummy. I also love the pita chips (both sesame and cinnamon sugar). They also make a freshly prepared veggie sushi, not sure if it's vegan, but it's good. Cheap luna bars ($1 each) and they have tons of flavor. Don't confuse with larabar of which they have only three flavors, but still cheap. Everyone in there is always friendly and will help you find anything. Oh and if you eat cheese, most of their cheese is made with vegetable rennet. I like that, cause I don't go for cow stomach enzymes in my food. :) Enjoy the experience. It's a great store!
Last night I had the Green Curry Simmer Sauce and it was AWESOME! Also their Pomegranate White Tea is good.
Last night I had the Green Curry Simmer Sauce and it was AWESOME!
I love that stuff! You know what I found out to make it even better? Mix it with some WildWood plain soy yogurt. Oh god, soooooo good :D
We make a trip to TJ's every Friday. We love it there and always end up with more than we went for! We almost always by the Earth Balance, soy milk, tofu, larabars, nuts, flax tortilla chips, popcorn (we like the full-fat stuff), soy ice cream...I think it's a cherry chocolate chunk...yum!, cereals, oils, vinegar, spices, basmati rice, jasmine rice, cous cous, dried fruits, organic broccoli slaw (my husband requests this every week), frozen fruits & veggies, and the list goes on and on! I would recommend taking your time in there. Ours even has vegan muffins. I think they are blueberry bran and mango with something. As a general rule they have really good prices and a fairly wide variety of foods. It's one of our favorite stores!
ok, first allow me to say that the produce at trader joes is terrible, none of it is good quality, and while many of the fruits and veggies are organic, they are often imported from south america, in planes and boats and trucks that pollute the whole way. however, i live one block from a weekly year-round farmer's market, so this is all said under the assumption that you have locally grown produce available to you. which you probably do, and can find here:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm
now that i have set completely the wrong tone, let me tell you all the things i live about trader joe's
microwave satay (the kung pao and pad thai are good but not as good as the satay)
oat and flax bran
pasta for somewhere around 50 cents a pound
vegan chocolate chip cookies (even before i was vegan i was addicted)
huge selection of milk alternatives (almond rice and soy all in flavors and organic varieties)
tofu tempeh and seiten, some good baked tofus
burger and sausage alternatives
NUTS and dried fruit
i also love that the price tags below an item generally say "vegan" so you don't have to read so many labels, although each store does have artists that make their own tags, so this might not be a company-wide policy
and tofutti cuties! the best thing ever in teh entire world, i can eat a whole box in ten minutes
I forgot these $1.99 purchases
Trader Joe's Indian Fare Punjab Choley is really good, though really spicy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's vegan. It's a tomato-based sauce.
If you're vegetarian, the Jaipur vegetables are very good.
If you're vegetarian, I don't recommend the Palak Paneer. It tastes like wet dirt.
If you're vegetarian, the naan tastes great. I don't but it anymore because it has dairy in it.
YES, Trader Joe's has vegan cookies.
Typically with the bread/muffins/other cookies (in brown/white bags), you can find:
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (has walnuts. but are awesome.)
Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (if you want to pretend you're healthier than the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies people)
Vegan Trail Mix Cookies (contains no chocolate :-\ )
With the boxed/bin cookies, vegan cookies include:
Chocolate Cats Cookies (in the shape of kitties!)
Vanilla Cats Cookies
Ginger Cats Cookies
ABC Schoolbook Cookies
Chocolate/Vanilla Joe Joes (like Oreos)
Chocolate/Chocolate Joe Joes
Vanilla/Vanilla Joe Joes.
I am thoroughly impressed by the vanilla-only cookies. I thought a cookie without chocolate was not worth eating. I was wrong. Cats Cookies are 1.99/16 oz and Joe Joes are 2.49/20 oz. Don't recall on the other vegan cookies... three something...
Uniquely TJs items that are personal must-haves:
Sun Dried Tomato/Habanero Tortillas
Brown Rice tortillas
Fat-Free Multigrain Bread (no honey!)
Whole Wheat Pita Bread (99 cents!)
Nuts About... trail mixes (chocolate and coconut or raspberries and chocolate)
Fresh pickles (any flavor)
Fresh pizza dough, herb or "almost whole wheat")
Pico De Gallo salsa (fresh)
Fruit Floes (fruit popsicles)
Asian Stirfry Vegetables with Beijing style soy sauce (or something)(frozen)
Black Bean/Corn Enchiladas (frozen)
Vegetable Gyoza (frozen)
Banana waffles and Blueberry waffles (vegan!)
Garlic Fries (frozen)
Cafe Pajaro fair trade/shade grown/organic coffee
Mint Cocoa
Whole wheat pasta (99 cents!)
Organic yellow corn rounds (chips)
Dixie Peach Juice
Mango Lemonade
soy yogurts: peach, raspberry, strawberry. Peach is ridiculously popular (and good).
Italian Blood Orange Soda
Trail Mix Granola Bars (words cannot describe how good these are)
Has cheaper than elsewhere:
Tofurky slices (1.99)
Tofurky sausage (2.99)
Avocados (currently 2.49, but changes)
Dried Apricots (the best! and 1.89)
Tofutti cream cheese (1.99)
Lara Bar (1.29? I think?)
I forgot to mention in my ridiculously long post that, during the holiday season, TJs has organic truffles which are vegan :D But the non-organic aren't (?)
I think TJs is a pretty good store. But I recently tried the vegan chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and they were really gross! Far too sweet and with a strange oily aftertaste. The vegan muffins were OK, decent for when I don't have time to make my own. In general though I think the vegan baked goods are only mediocre. Just make your own instead.
I live about 25 minutes away from my T.J. ( Portland, Oregon) ... love their prices.
Can't believe nobody mentioned T.J's Goddess dressing.
There are three reason why one MUST go to Trader's Joes:
1) Usually the best price on raw cahews you'l find anywhere
2) Chili spiced mango. :D
3) Two Buck Chuck
from the sounds of it... man, I wish there was a trader joes in my area! there isn't even a whole foods! oh well. when I go back to school, there's a co-op store near my house, and I will ABSOLUTELY visit it on a regular basis. I hope the selection is good...
I'm a little jealous of those who have easy access to places like tj's...
I love trader joes!! And after hearing how many of you have to drive 40 miles or more just to find one makes me feel bad for complaining about one which is 2 miles from me. Lucky for me, there is a bus that goes straight there and back practically. Thanks for posting more on the other items, I tend to buy the same old, same old.
Do try their teas!! They are a cheap alternative to going to tea shops, and many can be just as tasty!
i just got some ww flour there.. it was about a buck cheaper than the other hfs nearby.. and like 1.50 cheaper than the regular grocery store. i didn't even bother checking at whole foods. same brand and everything.
thanks for the tip about the cashews - i'll be sure to check it out.
There's one not too far from me, about 20 minutes or so, yet I don't go there much. Even though I am in love with the burritos. And the stuff they have on the walls and bags that are just so cute and clever!
I like Trader Joes. While they don't have enough stuff for our full grocery shopping, I do buy all of our nuts, dried fruit, and frozen foods there. All three are less money for the same product.
My father just got a job at Trader Joes. He's approaching 60, and his other job had very weird and very long hours and was very, very, very physically demanding. I'm so happy that he's starting something new and will have normal hours--he'll feel like part of the family again. I think he was getting depressed from the isolation. Plus I may convince him to buy my Trader Joes stuff for me and get the 10% employee discount :)
I also like Trader Joe's a lot!
One thing that did happen that bugged me....
My store's flaxseed supplements were labeled "vegetarian" even though-- as many of you may know-- the actual capsules are made of gelatin (in this case, it comes from pigs).
After finding out about this, I let the corporate office know and told employees at the store... but a few weeks later, the label was still there (haven't looked since).
You can split hairs about "vegetarian" versus "vegan" (maybe some people would agree that they're "vegetarian"), but since most people take flaxseed to get non-animal-derived Omega 3 (rightly or wrongly), I think that label is pretty deceptive... and I got the impression that no one at any level of the store seemed to care.
Agreed, that's very upsetting.
I know several omni people who take flaxseed oil to avoid burping up fish oil all day... eew!
Pages