I recently asked for feedback on what you all would like to see more of, and one of the number one responses was to share more easy/healthy meal and snack ideas, plus grocery hauls!
The poll results when I asked to round up all my Trader Joe’s favorites in a blog post was 100% YES! Below are all of my favs. Some of them are seasonal, and Trader Joe’s loves to switch things up and introduce new products while phasing some out. I’ll update this periodically as I find new gems walking the aisles multiple times a week 🙂
REFRIGERATED SECTION/PRODUCE:
Zhoug Sauce: This is probably my #1 ride or die that you can’t get anywhere else. If they ever discontinue this, I might cry. Some of you might cry too because all of you that have tried it understand my love for it! It’s a super spicy condiment that’s made from a blend of herbs and spices including jalepenos and cilantro. We put it on basically everything, but the BEST is adding it to any Mexican dish like tacos or quesadillas. It’s also amazing on eggs, chicken or just with pita chips! I 100% recommend.
Spicy Avocado Hummus: Just tried this recently and really love it! It reminds me of the Sabra Supremely Spicy hummus, but it has avocado in it as well.
Vegan Kale and Cashew Pesto: I love this pesto! It’s cashew based, so it’s much lighter than your typical pesto which has tons of parmesan in it. It’s great on top of salmon or chicken, with pasta, or with the Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi which I’ll tell you about later in this post!
Guacamole-to-go Pouches: This guac is honestly probably my favorite guac of all time, aside from homemade. And I love the to-go pouches because it portions it out for you! They’re also really great for kids’ lunches.
Pre-cooked Chicken: These make life so easy! Since they don’t sell actual rotisserie chicken, I like to grab a couple of these. They’re great as a dinner with some rice and veggies, or on top of salads. The kids love them too. The lemon pepper and the balsamic are my favorites.
String Cheese: Love these because they’re a snack the whole family will eat. I usually buy the organic ones and I’ll do a pack of the regular ones for the boys, and a pack of the light ones for me.
Regular Tabbouleh/Cauliflower Tabbouleh: Both of these are so good and fresh! I love all things mediterranean. The cauliflower one is actually delicious and is a lower carb option!
Kettle Cooked Soups: These soups are pre-made and cooked from scratch. They’re such an easy lunch or dinner idea. My favorite is the chicken soup: it is grain-free and loaded with chicken, veggies and bone broth. An Instagram friend told me she added the gnocchi to it once with some coconut milk and it tasted like Olive Garden’s chicken and gnocchi soup!
Light Shredded 3-Cheese Blend: Love this shredded cheese for my weekly taco bowls!!
Non-Refrigerated Section:
Trail Mixes/Raw Nuts: All of Trader Joe’s trail mixes are SO damn good. I especially love to buy the little pre-portioned packs because they make great snacks to throw in your purse! Their raw nuts are a great price too.
Date & Nut Bites: These are a sweet, filling snack. They’re all packaged separately so again, a great snack for on-the-go!
Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread: This is the only GF bread that my husband and boys will eat. It’s really good toasted!
Pasta Sauce: Their organic tomato basil marinara is so yummy and has zero added sugar.
Coconut Aminos: This is a healthier option for soy sauce! I love to use this whenever I make stir fry. I just use a lot of this and a little bit of sesame oil (another thing you can buy there) and it’s delicious and much lower in sodium. All of their Asian sauces are honestly so good, but this one is a staple and is much cheaper here than most other places.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: This chicken recipe is one of my favorites and I use these for it. They’re not packed in oil, just straight sun-dried tomatoes.
Dried Fruit: These dried bags of fruit are the only fruit my picky ass toddler will eat! They’re crunchy and healthy with absolutely nothing added– just dried fruit.
Brown Rice Pasta: I make this for the boys with butter or red sauce on a weekly basis!
Organic Joe’s O’s: A much healthier option than the regular Campbell’s brand!
White Cheddar Shells Mac n’ Cheese: The boys love this and it’s less expensive than the Annie’s brand.
Tikka Vegetables: This is SO good on it’s own or with some chicken! I pair it with cauliflower rice and it’s such a good healthy and easy thing to throw together for dinner.
Organic Toaster Pastries: If my kids are going to eat Pop Tarts, I’d prefer they’re at least made with organic junk. 🙂
Cereal Bars: Another great snack for the kids. I put these in my kids’ lunches every week!
Bone Broth: Again, this is something you can find other places but it’s less expensive at TJ’s than almost any other store! And no added sugar either.
Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup: SO easy and so delicious. I absolutely love this soup (especially in the winter with some comforting grilled cheese). I also love to buy these croutons to put on top! My mom told me about this combo years ago and I’ve loved it ever since.
#EBTB Seasoning: If you don’t know… now you know.
Roasted Plantain Chips: You guys have probably seen me talk about these and refer to them as “crack chips” because they are SO. DAMN. ADDICTING. They taste like potato chips but are almost better IMO…something about how crunchy and salty they are. They just came out with a super spicy Jerk flavor that’s equally as amazing! And it’s totally fine to eat the entire bag because they’re basically bananas and bananas are fruit and fruit is healthy. Mwahaha
Raw Nut Butters: Trader’s raw almond butter is made of nothing but almonds and it’s soooo gooey and delicious. If I’m craving a healthy sweet snack, I love to dip a couple of pitted dates into this. It’s also amazing in smoothies, or just by the spoonful if you’re a freak like me.
EPIC Bars: Love the chicken sriracha one the most! Packed with protein and nutrients and such a good on-the-go snack.
Olive Oil Popcorn: This popcorn is so addicting! It’s lightly salted and cooked in olive oil, so you’re avoiding a lot of the added ingredients in your typical microwave popcorn.
Enjoy Life Protein Bites: Another amazing snack to bring with you in your purse! These taste like chocolate…and I’m obsessed.
Corn and Chile Tomato-less Salsa: LOVE this stuff. So good for taco night, or even with eggs for a breakfast bowl!
Salsa Verde: I love to cook chicken in this for taco night if I”m not feeling beef or ground turkey. It’s also great on it’s own!
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds: I have zero self control when it comes to these. Don’t even buy them if you aren’t prepared to eat the entire package.
REFRIGERATED MEATS/FISH:
Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage: My boys love these cut up with some ketchup and they think they’re hotdogs but are a much healthier alternative! You could also thrown them into a pan with some quinoa or rice and sautéed veggies.
Wild Alaskan Salmon: A great price for wild-caught salmon! If you usually buy farm-raised salmon, try wild caught sometime. It’s caught more sustainably and it also has so much more flavor and color! I always bake salmon at 375 for 13 minutes. Comes out perfect every time!
Hard-boiled Eggs: Sometimes when I’m feeling super lazy I will buy the bags of pre-hard boiled eggs. They make for a super quick/easy/healthy snack.
DAIRY/DRINKS SECTION:
Coconut Milk and Coconut Creamers: Great dairy-free alternatives without a ton of added crap ingredients!
Green Juice: Their green juice is low in sugar and is also low in cost! Typically green juices these days are like $10 (so ridic), but at Trader Joe’s they’re like half the price.
FROZEN SECTION:
Frozen Rice Bags: Cooking rice from scratch takes forever. Just take these straight from the freezer to the microwave and your rice is ready in minutes.
Frozen Bags of Fruit: We love to buy these and use for smoothies!
Acai Packets: Again, great for smoothies! Low in sugar and packed with antioxidants.
Cauliflower Rice: This is such a great way to cut back on carbs/grains and get some veggies into your meals. I just put it in a non-stick pan straight from frozen, add some salt and pepper, and sauté for a few minutes until warm!
Cauliflower Gnocchi: This might be he most amazing thing Trader Joe’s has ever created 🙂 If you’re craving a hearty Italian dish but don’t want the heavy calories, this is PERFECT. They’re great with marinara sauce, pesto, or even just some salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. When you cook them, don’t use water! Just sauté in olive oil until they’re cooked and lightly browned on the edges. The sweet potato kind is amazing too! It comes with butter and sage in the bag and again, you don’t need to add any water!
Asian Stir-fry: A great vegetarian dish. So easy to heat up for a quick dinner!
Shakshuka Starter: This is such a fun brunch dish! Just warm this up and then crack your own eggs on top. So good.
Channa Masala: I just discovered this a couple of months ago when they were sampling it! I’m always kind of intimidated by Indian food but when I sampled it, I couldn’t believe how good it was. I love this with some cauliflower rice and chicken, or some naan.
Multigrain Waffles: They boys eat these for breakfast all the time! I add butter or peanut butter and they’re a super quick and easy option for kids.
Fish Nuggets: My kids love these for dinner with some ketchup!
Multigrain Blend with Vegetables: This blend makes for such a hearty and nutrient-packed side dish. It’s a mix of barley, rices, and veggies and it is absolutely delish!
Quinoa Duo with Vegetable Melange: Another awesome side option! This is different types of quinoa mixed with veggies.
MISC:
Their flowers and succulents live longer than any other grocery store!
Flavored Waters: Spindrift Lemon is my favorite!
And of course…. WINE!!!! My favorite wines right now are Dark Horse Cabernet (red) and Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (white). You can get both of these at most stores, not just TJ’s!
Hope you guys find a few new ideas for your meals and snacks in this post! Let me know whatever you try– I always love to hear your feedback!
xo
