ah the danger here is every time I go and try something, or someone makes a recommendation, its another thing added to the list of Must Buys...
I LOVE:
roasted red pepper and tomatoe soup
brown rice sushi
vegetable whole wheat lasagna
the frozen indian foods
the berry/cherry mix
the european style yogurt (they are always out when I go!)
sliced candied ginger
their quinoa -easy to cook never bitter
crabcakes
chili lime chicken burgers
masala patties (awesome! like the inside of a really good somosa)

the only thing I tried and did not like were goya dumplings. But still they were not bad! everything pretty much from there is fantastic.

Not food, but their shave cream in the orange container is heaven!

Pizza dough that you roll out to make your own pizza- yummy!

---

Come crawling faster

I wish we had TJ's in Canada...

---

<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

+1 on the pizza dough.

You HAVE to try the spicy Flaxseed chips. They used to be $1.99 but have skyrocketed to $2.34. TASTY. And they are the best chip ever for guacamole.

Speaking of which, their avocado prices are usually the best non-sale price you can find.

masala patties (awesome! like the inside of a really good somosa)

In which section do you find these little goodies? They sound fantastic. I love samosas.

I like their frozen pasta dinners, there is one with bowtie pasta, spinach and carrots that is very simple but good. I always stock up on the frozen salmon patties. I also like a lot of their breads. I am always looking for things that are quick, simple and healthy and have found many things at TJ's that fit the bill. I would agree with the goya dumplings, they were the one thing I would not buy again (not horrible but not great).

Khai,

The one in Bellingham is typically filled with Canadians. Have a look in the parking lot next time, so many BC plates! When I lived in White Rock, I did most of my grocery shopping there. Half of the border crossing guards got it, while the other half looked at my like I had two heads when I said that I was driving 30mi south to shop at TJs. One of them seemed like she wanted to turn me down because she thought I was lying while others would wave me through as soon as I said "Trader Joes".

Now, and when we lived in Calgary, we tend to plan vacations around visiting Trader Joes. We have a couple of shelves practically filled with caseload-quantities of our favourites!

The shopping list:

Chocolate Decadence Cereal
Peanut Satay Sauce
Wasabi Mayo
Mediterranean Cheese Style Yogurt
California Rolls - west coast only
carrot cake cookies - Boston only
Masala Tandori Naan
Vodka Pasta Sauce
Edamame
Walnut Halves
Bruschetta

the masala patties I think may even be called burgers? they are next to the other burgers in frozen food section...so good.
Hmm salmon patties...that is something I would not have thought to try but definitely will!

Those are sooo good!!!

---

Come crawling faster

yes I had two tonight! but I eat them as is. Perfect. My BF thinks as they are in the burger section that means they go on a bun with ketchup and I just CRINGE! But when we get somosas I pick the filling out and give him the deep fried bit.
Reminds me of a story, I used to live above an indian grocer and his wife made awesome somosas and I kept saying Id bring them to work one day. Then I finally did and took an order from coworkers, how many they'd like so she could make them just for us and I'd pick them up before the afternoon shift.
One guy said he wasn't sure....but he thought maybe he would like 3 'osas'. But he was not sure as he had never had osas, but since everyone else said osas were great he wanted osas too.
He wanted to try SOMEosas!

haha!! Nice!

---

Come crawling faster

What?? No votes for 2 buck Chuck?

WINE.

Not 3-buck chuck, necessarily... but they have a HUGE selection of wines under $7 bucks or so. I try and buy a case a month of all different kinds.

---

---

mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

We ended up driving to the one in Bellingham (via Sumas/Aldergrove) a few times last year when the dollar was better...HEAPS cheaper than Canadian food at the time...actually probably still is - fill up with el cheapo gas to maximise the savings too...

What's the closest you have with decent prices?

---

"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I love their frozen pasta dinners as well. The gnocchi is excellent. We are obsessed with their dark chocolate covered mixed nuts and the peanut butter cups. Can't have those things in the house.

I'm off candy for the month of January which made passing up all the tasty goodies pretty easy...

---

Come crawling faster

I love Trader Joe's. We do most of our shopping there. I like the pre-cooked grilled chicken breast, the noodle bowls, my husband really likes the frozen burritos, their eggs are really good, pasta marinara sauce, pre-cooked brown rice, cheese, and other nummy things.

I do like them for healthy foods that are quick!
Plus we save money there from our other grocery store!

I need to give TJ another look. I went in there once and everything seemed to have a ton of calories -- it looked like a bunch of pseudo-healthy convenience food. The fresh fruits and veggies were desultory. But I must have missed the good things. This thread has inspired me to give it another shot.

desultory -- I just learned a new word. Thanks! :-)

---

Come crawling faster

I love Trader Joe's, but it is easy to go overboard! I was there yesterday when I took my car for service since there's no store in our town. New finds were nutty trail mix with CHOCOLATE (!!), dried pears, and cacciatore simmer sauce. All 3 definitely tasty and at least somewhat healthy (chocolate gets an exception).

---

Triathlon (n). An athletic contest in which participants compete without stopping in three successive events.

I discovered the Piccata simmer sauce a few months ago. It's light, lemony and good!

I love Trader Joes. A friend of mine just hooked me on their edamame hummus. I like it with their pita chips/crackers, but I'm sure it's good with anything. I love their frozen brown rice - just microwave for 2 minutes and it's done. I also just picked up something called Apricot Kernels - they look like little almonds and taste like almonds infused with a bit of apricot - very tasty.

M

---

------------------------------------------------------------
The beatings will continue until morale improves

Sounds yummy. I love apricots and almonds...

ooh! a few things i can't live without

1) Frozen individually packaged Steelcut Oatmeal (real steelcut oats ready in 2 minutes in the microwave- 150 calories for a lot of oatmeal and low in sugar- and $1.50 for 2 packages. these are awesome)
2) Unsweetened vanilla almond breeze (almond milk) (best stuff around and soy/dairy alternative. tastes great and 40 calories per CUP! Also has a little bit of good almond fat. awesome for using in cereal and protein shakes/smoothies)
3) prepackaged egg white salads in containers that look like hummos containers. SO tasty and a good protein bomb.
4) Fage greek yogurt (0% or 2% fat).
5) Tatziki (use it for dipping veggies)
6) of course, the wine!!!

the oatmeal and the almond breeze sell out all the time- so buy a few!

---

blahblahblahg

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm heading to Seattle this weekend and can't wait to stock up on new things.

I went today and the fresh foods were definitely improved. I got apples and blueberries, fresh -- both are delish. Also picked up a ton of unsweetened almond milk -- had been buying it at Whole Foods but TJ had it cheaper (thanks for the tip in this thread!). Also got the TJ greek style yogurt, some nuts, and a baguette for the husband. All in all, not bad. I'd go back.

TJ is for hippies. I like Whole Foods better, they have better food.

In CA we called Whole Foods, Whole Paycheck. I can spend a lot of money there...

---

Come crawling faster

In CA we called Whole Foods, Whole Paycheck

OMG, I just had a masala patty. YUM! I picked up some salmon burgers too, I'll give them a whirl tomorrow.

not exactly good training food BUT the chocolate-covered peanut butter-filled pretzels are SAVORY!!! i like the spicy tortilla chips and cherry soy ice cream also. ah, BLURG! now i'm hungry...

---

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Michael in Fresno
"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone

Dude, you're alive!!

I just had a tasty snack of TJ's flax seed chips and the edamame hummus that Mdraeger recommended. The hummus is fantastic. I'm going to try to make it myself.

I am eating chocolate chip scones from TJ's

I love the chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels but I also love the mini peanut butter cups. I guess neither are healthy but in moderation they are both excellent.

Now that I'm in Australia (vs Vancouver, Canada) I'm a very long way away from a Trader Joe's. Does anyone know of a similar type store here in Melbourne?

---

---------------------------------------------------------------

"There's good all around you, you just have to be able to see it".

I just came from TJs and thought of this post. So many recommendations to try and remember. I couldn't find the edamame hummus which others mentioned but I am super excited to try the steel cut oatmeal. Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Yesterday I went to TJ's and I noted the price on almond milk and Ezekiel Bread as I purchased them so I could tell my office partner who mentioned he likes those things but they are pricey. They were 1.99 and 3.19 respectively.

Later in the day I was at an organic market where they have a free parking garage if you get your ticket validated with a purchase. I went to lunch nearby, and then came back, bought a box of tea, and validated my ticket. :) While in the market, I checked on the prices of almond milk and Ezekiel bread: 2.59 and almost $5!

Bottom line: there appears to be a significant savings at TJ. I have not checked Whole Foods yet since I have not had a chance to get over there. The place I was at is a full size natural market that competes with WF.

That's the beauty of TJ's; good food and good prices. Their cheeses are way less than other stores, olive oil too.

I love TJ's, but I've had bad luck buying wine from them; it seems that every third bottle or so has gone bad. The nice thing is that they always take the wine back, no questions asked.

Anyone else have this issue? Maybe it's the TJ's I go to here in Wisconsin--I have no idea what their distribution entails.

I like the experience of shopping at Whole Foods, but the prices are almost always 1/3 less at TJ's. So, I only go to Whole Foods when I want the experience (and their produce).

One of my resolutions this year is to spot spending so much $ on wine and buy all my stuff at Cost Plus or TJ's. I live in the middle of WA wine country which produces some really nices wines. I quit all my wine clubs and bought a few bottles at TJ's the last time I was there. I opened one last night, a French red. Ummm, I may have to break my resolution. It was bad. Not turned or corked, just harsh and bad. I think I've been spoiled by drinking good wine for too long. Hopefully the other bottles are a lot better...

For your sake, I hope they are too. I'm from Washington State too (a Whitworth and WSU grad who grew up in Seattle), and I'm always looking for Washington wines to purchase out here in Wisconsin. I'd say, buy local--that has it's own ethical/economic justification, eh?

I haven't found the edamame hummus either...are there chickpeas in it as well?
Here is a great edamame dip recipe! I use the forzen edamame, european style yogurt and the nuts all from TJs.

1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) shelled edamame (soybeans)
3/4 cup walnut halves or pieces
1/2 cup lightly packed parsley
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp salt
If using frozen edamame, rinse under warm water until thawed.
Place edamame, walnuts, parsley, yogurt, garlic and salt in food processor. Whirl until smooth. You can store this dip refrigerated in covered container for up to three days.
Makes 2 1/2 cups.
Per 1/4 cup: Calories: 91, Protein: 5g, Fat: 7g, Saturates: 1gm , Dietary Cholesterol: 0mg, Carbohydrate: 5g, Dietary Fibre: 2g

Yum. The edamame hummus is next to all the other hummus in the cold case. I kind of had a hard time finding it too. I looked at the ingredients and it's pretty much a traditional hummus, just sub edamame for chick peas.

Your recipe sounds really good, I may even have all the ingredients on hand...