These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
I was first exposed to Trader Joe’s [TJ’s] when I was in grad school in Cleveland, Ohio. My roommate and I would make a date out of it and spend a few quality hours getting to, shopping, and returning from Trader Joe’s. When I moved to California I continued my shopping trips to “TJ’s,” which took less than an hour since California seems to be saturated with them [and people I might add]. Now that I’m back in Michigan and a loyal Kroger customer, I don’t frequent TJ’s as often. BUT I still make time for the trip down memory lane when I need convenience products. AKA TJ’s is doing the work for me when it comes to cooking for my family….
Convenience products at Trader Joe’s are my favorite for two reasons: 1. They have minimal [or simple] ingredients and 2. They are reasonably priced. When I know I have a busy week or two on my radar, I’ll make a special trip to TJ’s [along with my usual trip to Kroger] to buy my shortcut, recipe-expediting foods! So if you have a store near you, I’d suggest picking up a few of my favorite convenience products at Trader Joe’s. They are perfect for busy people who want to eat healthy! They are also perfect in some of my no-recipe meals….
1. Mirepoix: I use this as the base for most of the soups I make— such as Roasted Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup.
2. Frozen Quinoa: Now Quinoa doesn’t take long to make especially IF I remember to make a big batch on the weekend. If I don’t, this microwave version has it ready in 4 minutes!
3. Lasagna Noodles [not boiling required]: There’s one step in the lasagna making process done for you!
4. Tomato Basil Marinara: Remember my post about store-bought marinara sauce? It was inspired by this guy!
5. Frozen French Toast: I’m all about homemade French toast, especially my baked French toast sticks. But TJ’s version is easy for those busy mornings when I don’t have a batch of my French toast saved in the freezer!
6. 10 Minute Farro: Quick-cooking grains SAVE me on more than one occasion. See #2.
7. Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce: Remember Joey’s love for BBQ sauce? I blame this version for his addiction.
8. Everything Crackers: Think everything bagel but in cracker form. DELICIOUS!
9. Bambino Pepperoni Pizza: As much as I love making homemade pizza, I like having this frozen version on hand when we need a quick lunch idea!
10. 50% Less Salt Dry Roasted Almonds: As much as this registered dietitian wants to promote unsalted nuts, I enjoy a little salt on my almonds…. And was thrilled to see lightly salted almonds at TJ’s!
So there you have it. My top 10 convenience items at Trader Joe’s. Call me lazy, but there’s something about a quick-fix cooking product I can’t live without. Or apparently there’s 10 of them!
PS. Thanks to my friend, Aggie from Aggie’s Kitchen, for inspiring me to write about what I buy at Trader Joe’s! Here’s what’s in Aggie’s shopping cart when she shops at TJ’s.
love love love the lasagna noodles! Great list here 🙂
Thanks Rebecca!!
I enjoy Trader Joe’s, too, but I noticed something about their quick cooking grains. The process likely increases the glycemic index of the food because the integrity of the grain is broken. I recently purchased TJ basmati brown rice not realizing it was a quick cooking variety. This may not be a deal breaker for many, but I would have rather purchased the unadulterated whole grain.
I had no idea!!! Thanks for sharing Bonnie. I will adapt my post to
Mention that!
Oh I love seeing your TJ list!! I’m super impressed with the quality of their products, like you said most of their sauces are minimal ingredients. We are in love with that bbq sauce, I will try their marinara because as much as I would like to say this Italian girl makes it from scratch every time, I need help sometimes when I’m in a pinch. Those little pizzas would be great for babysitter nights 🙂
Thanks so much for linking to my list. xoxo
Exactly!! The pizza is key for sitters. And I’ll admit I have had a few at lunch too 😉
looks like i need a trip to TJ’s!! or your house. haha
Both! We can shop together!
love this!! lots of products I’ve never purchased– going to have to give them a try.
Thank girl!
those everything crackers are THE BEST..mmmmmm
xo,
Sarah Grace
Yesssss!!!
Love seeing what other people love from trader joes! I recently tried their sea salt & turbinado sugar dark chocolate almonds – remember reading about them on someone else’s blog! They are so good, but dangerous, lol!
Oh wow!!! They sound dangerous! I need to get some of those…
I absolutely LOVE TJ’s!!! I could shop there every day 🙂 I love to buy my veggies there, I always buy the cereal bars for Grumpy’s lunch box (and I will get a snack craving once in a while and grab one of those!). Everything around the perimeter of the store I love. I only buy their whole oats (organic), they are the best and its all Grumpy will eat for breakfast. I could go on and on, but as you can see, you definitely got my interest with this post. Oh, and I love their marinara and the 10 minute farro!!
The granola bars are sooooo good!!