A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across THIS article from The Huffington Post. I was thrilled to find it because I had been wanting to plan a trip to Trader Joes to REALLY see what ALL the fuss was about. I mean – I’ve heard about it and I’ve occasionally bought my quinoa and fresh flowers from it…but that was my extent of having any experience with a TJs.
People RAVE about this place and HOW GOOD their products are and so I decided it was time to give it my own TASTE TEST of sorts.
I took London with me one day. {Big mistake. I must go back again soon when I have EVEN MORE time to browse in peace}. SO MANY fun things to look at and let your mouth water over.
Here are my finds and what I thought.
{Hint: I loved EVERYTHING! I may be addicted to Trader Joe’s from here on out. Just wish there was one a tad closer to my house.
I’m willing to make the drive though now.}
Cowboy Bark.
Holy. Moly.
This stuff is like crack. {If I ever tried crack, I’m assuming it would be comparable.} Carson’s teacher tipped me off to it and so it was the FIRST thing on my shopping list to pick up.
Believe me when I say – – this is the most delicious, chocolately, salty, toffee-y treat there is. {And I don’t even LIKE toffee}. It’s incredibly addicting. You cannot have ‘just one’ bite.
It is Yumm.a.licious. and you MUST try it for yourself.
It was close to lunchtime when I visited TJ’s and Joe and I needed something to eat. I decided to give these frozen burritos a try and I was pleasntly surprised. {I’m usually not a fan of frozen mexican food.} Once they were cooked in the oven, they were delish. My only complaint was that there COULD HAVE BEEN more meat chunks in the burrito. The beans inside were super tasty though. I slathered mine up with…
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Pefect flavoring.
Joe slathered HIS up with…
….and he says he LOVED the Guac as well.
{Not so Fun fact: I’m dealthy allergic to guacamole.}
Ok people – – confession time.
I’ve never tried a frozen banana before.
I know they’re ALL the rage in California when we visit – – but it’s just never seemed appealing to me.
Until. Now.
These frozen banana bites are ridiculously delicious and Joe and I MAY have fought over who got the last one. They DID NOT last long in our freezer.
I DEFINITELY recommend them.
I couldn’t pass by these Mint Oreo mini sandwiches and NOT buy them. They have my favorite combo EVER – – Oreos and mint ice-cream. I’d be doing my self a dis-service NOT to try them out myself.
Surprise, surprise – – I LOVED them.
You know what I REALLY LOVED about em?
They’re actually SOMEWHAT healthy-ish.
You can have TWO sandwiches for only 120 calories.
Sorta healthy for a sweet snack, right?!
My husband is a sucker for good kettle corn.
{Our fave ever is at Disneyland, of course.}
He said this kettle corn is comparable to Disneyland’s.
{Whaaattt????}
I’ll admit. It was very tasty.
{He downed the whole bag within one evening.}
Quite possibly my NEW FAVORITE DINNER FIND was this Mandarin Orange Chicken.
{P.S. I’m just now thinking to myself, I should get some sort of endorsment going on from Trader Joe’s, right? Chuckle.}
My kiddos LOVE orange chicken.
Especially from Panda Express.
This orange chicken is BETTER.
You cook it in the oven and then mix it with the sauce.
It has THE BEST flavor!
My ONLY complaint was that there was not ENOUGH sauce.
Like, I wonder if they serve bottles of the sauce that you can buy and add to it? I’m going to look into it.
We served it with these BEANS SO GREEN and
they were divine.
Green beans, broccoli and caulifower with a butter herb flavoring. Yum.
Lastly – – I saw these…
and then saw this…
And thought I would try this…
Guess what?
It makes for the perfect snack.
If you don’t have time to toast bread {who does?} just dip these pita crackers right in there and it does the trick.
For reals.
It was even refreshing.
Two other side notes worth mentioning:
* I’ve alredy tried #1 on the above mentioned article and it is dangerously good. SO good so that I couldn’t buy it on my latest shopping trip for fear that I would eat the entire jar plain. With a spoon.
* Their ‘white’ name brand bread is crazy delicious.
I myself, am more of a wheat bread type of girl, but my boys love white and so I bought both. The white was better. WAY better.
So what have I missed, readers?
Do YOU have any favorites that I haven’t tried yet?
Do tell. Please!
Their S'more ice cream sandwiches are the bomb.com!
The almond croissant's in the frozen section are so good! We get them for special weekend occasions or when guests come to town and they have been a huge hit. I also love the pizza dough 🙂 I'm with you though, need to check it out with out kiddos.
I found your blog while searching for Girls Camp handouts and had to read this when I saw you discussing Cowboy Bark. Wow. Love that stuff. You should also try the Garlic & Herb Popcorn, the curry sauces, Triple Layer Hummus…and the Mango Shaving Cream. Love Trader Joe's!
Yum yum and YUM! Thanks for the tips! 🙂
By "name brand" bread do you mean trader Joes brand?
Yes, that is correct! 🙂
I LOVE the frozen steel cut oatmeal. Not too sweet, nutty & delicious. It's not all siggyt like quick oats. 3 minutes in the microwave and you have a good, healthy breakfast. My other fave is the frozen herbs. Garlic is my favorite. It smells so amazing & tastes great. It comes with 24 cloves minced & separated. See a write up here http://www.thenibble.com/zine/archives/dorot-frozen-herb-cubes.asp another thing I love are these mini pizza things (think bagel bites) but they taste so much better & are healthier. Also you have to check out the fruit floes! They are incredible. The carribean is my favorite flavor, its like jamba juice on a stick & even has chunks of fruit in it. Can you tell I'm a little obsessed with TJ's?? I am so happy we finally got one in slc!
Sounds absolutely delish. THANKS for the tips!
I have heard so much about trader joes, I wish we had it here!!
Oh you would LOVE it Heidi!