The Trader Joe's Product Discussion Thread (S/D)

I used to buy frozen burritos from TJ's every now and then until I got freaked out by all the sodium.

Like I said on the Friday night thread, TJ's gluten-free ginger snap cookies are CRACK IN A BISCUIT.

I don't give a crap about sodium but I like tj's for easy solutions to common problems: quick cook steel cut oats, cheap and decent olive oil, samosas I can make in my toaster oven, shit like that. Also decent cheap wine. (not chuck, but lots of other $3.99 brands)

ehh...turns out the nearest trader joe's is pretty far anyway. (10 miles, but probably almost a 30 min drive due to traffic lights, etc.)

I made a special trip to TJ's on Sunday to get a pint of their chocolate sorbet and the fucking hippies stopped carrying it.

― Darin

this is my husband's main addiction. they were still carrying it at our TJ's but he is trying to wean himself off.

also: i highly recommend this pizza thing (i forget the name/brand), that is a super thin crust, caramelized onions, couple cheeses and prosciutto. it's amazing.

I will confirm -- that flatbread thing IS good.

arancini with fontina cheese --> delicious

these taste surprisingly like the ones my mother-in-law cooks

anybody know what happened to the cocoa powder covered hazelnuts? last seen maybe 5 years ago. :/

can't tell if that's an endorsement or not (xpost)

she's italian so yeah, tj's are better than i would expect

also: i highly recommend this pizza thing (i forget the name/brand), that is a super thin crust, caramelized onions, couple cheeses and prosciutto. it's amazing.

I like these too, they're not called pizzas, um, tarts maybe? Some kind of French-ish name.

I like the made-in-Italy pizzas, they have a few types, thought they seemed to have stopped carrying my favorite, the goat cheese and black olive one.

they have this new product that's polenta balls, spinach, and peas in a tomato cream sauce. i bought it based on trying a sample a few visits ago, and it's fuckin great. will buy again.

"fuckin great" may be an overstatement, but it is pretty nice.

also i just saw those arancini mentioned upthread and wondered how they were. however, trying to steer away from carby/cheesy things in the new year and toward the resolution cliche of veg/fruit/grains.

if you're looking for healthy options at tj's, you could do much worse than the frozen soba noodle dish. it's vegan, 250 calories or something (their pad thai has 600!) and tasty enough for lunch if you add a little soy sauce/sriracha.

i don't mind it at least.

Will try that, A.

i am a big fan of the annie chung's miso soup bowls, which they have at TJs and other grocery stores. they're low-cal also (i want to say like 220 calories) and filling, though they're probably pretty high in sodium, given that it's miso soup

i like those! the udon is my favorite. i always add hot sauce and spinach.

frozen mac n cheese is amazing

― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Wednesday, March 11, 2009 1:30 PM (10 months ago) Bookmark

http://imgur.com/FQdMl.gif

I had the Chicken Enchiladas in the refrigerated (not frozen) section last night and they were fantastic.

the trader joe's instant miso soup is great and v low cal but also v v v high in sodium.

also: i highly recommend this pizza thing (i forget the name/brand), that is a super thin crust, caramelized onions, couple cheeses and prosciutto. it's amazing.

I like these too, they're not called pizzas, um, tarts maybe? Some kind of French-ish name.

I like the made-in-Italy pizzas, they have a few types, thought they seemed to have stopped carrying my favorite, the goat cheese and black olive one.

― nickn, Monday, January 11, 2010 8:43 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Been munching on these a while now. I love the black truffle flatbread, great for 2-3 people depending on what you eat with it.

The prosciutto one is more of a true tart - cracker-thin crust, but the rest are more like thin pizzas. All very good.

DUD: Trader Joe's brand Comte cheese. Tastes like cheese-flavored candle wax.

miso is naturally very high in sodium to begin with so...

their frozen mac n cheese is truly amazing

i have two boxes of their mac in the freezer.

Have not had best luck with TJ's cheese - although the "Italian Truffle Cheese" is hard to stop eating.

The Old Amsterdam Gouda is pretty good, but Their Stilton was sub-par (but half what a good one costs). It's not really a place for high-end cheeses.

yeah, the cheese section is 2nd rate, i mostly go for the cheap booze and some stuff my kids like

They don't have many, like "real" cheeses in the chese snobby sense - like the kind that stink a lot and taste better when you leave them out.

I wouldn't say 2nd rate, just not top-end. I also like the Black Diamond Swiss (sliced), and most are acceptable (and priced accordingly).

x-post

I have only recently starting going to TJ's, here are my yays and nays:

nay:

Vietnamese sandwich-style wrap (it was just gross)

eh:

candy-cane jojos (they were good but a bit too minty)
microwavable pad thai (sold in a little blue take-out container, tasty but it was all noodles and sauce, some veggies would have rounded it out nicely)

yay:

vegetable masala burger (indian spiced veggie burger, YUM)
goddess dressing (i use it as sauce for a wrap i make with the masala burger)
spice chai latte powdered (chai powders are so hit and miss, theirs is very very good)

I bought a wrap at a coffeehouse in san francisco that I loved, and I recognized the veggie burger and found the right dressing so I could make it myself. i make it at home with a tortilla, tomatoes, spinach and red onions, it's delicious.

The frozen chana masala is pretty yum, as are the boxed daals and curries in the pouches.

The frozen mac and cheese is so holy shit yum.

Cornbread is way too sweet. I prefer mine more savory.

It taste like a breakfast muffin.

vegetable masala burger (indian spiced veggie burger, YUM)

These are pretty crappy imo. Much cheaper than most veggie burgers but they really aren't the same thing. 1st ingredient is potatoes; v. little protein.

if you want protein eat a real burger.

Frozen avocado halves: sounded like a bad idea, was a bad idea.

Two things have been getting to me lately:

1) How everything has so much packaging (like why do I need to buy two zuchinnis on a little tray with plastic wrap -- can't you just sell me zuchinnis?)

2) How bad I feel from eating too much of their frozen stuff - probably because of fat and sodium. This is not actually healthy food.

1) otm
2) but it's tasty!

spice chai latte powdered (chai powders are so hit and miss, theirs is very very good)

yeah I luv this stuff, it was out the last time I went :(

they have a frozen pesto tortellini that's quite nice. yeah i know frozen food is not great for you but i keep some things around for nights when i don't feel like cooking.

1) How everything has so much packaging (like why do I need to buy two zuchinnis on a little tray with plastic wrap -- can't you just sell me zuchinnis?)

hey my trader joe's had a sign up that said they are going to start offering more individual fruits and vegetables in an effort to be more eco-friendly. the only problem w/ this is that they sell them individually, not by weight, which probably makes things more $. but maybe not. anyway, i think my store is about half and half now in terms of loose vs. prepackaged produce.

my TJs has gone in the other direction. kiwis in plastic trays! how am i supposed to tell how ripe they are?

i bought a tray of bran muffins from tj's a few days ago and just noticed the mold growing on them. serves me right for not checking the expiration date?

fucking obsessed with the "Soy Nuggets"

considering how incredibly busy our local TJs is, i'm always surprised by how often we buy stuff from there that is moldy.

classic: the frozen lava cakes

i bought some baaaad oranges the other day ;_;

i got some bad tomatoes a few weeks ago :(

This is why, although I like many of the things the sell, I find myself going there so infrequently; because I'd have to go to another food mart anywa to get fruit/veggies and some other staples.