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Katie Serbinski, M.S., R.D., is a registered dietitian and millennial mom, blogging about healthy recipes, child and mom nutrition, and motherhood.

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Home » Food & Recipes » Kitchen Tips » The 10 Best Convenience Products at Trader Joe’s

The 10 Best Convenience Products at Trader Joe’s

Aug 23, 2015 16 Comments

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
Joey likes to play with the groceries when I unpack them… Anthony, not so much!

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….

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

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.

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
The trinity for my soups!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

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!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
Joey’s eating ice cubes out of the freezer… don’t ask!

3. Lasagna Noodles [not boiling required]: There’s one step in the lasagna making process done for you!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

4. Tomato Basil Marinara: Remember my post about store-bought marinara sauce? It was inspired by this guy!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

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!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

6. 10 Minute Farro: Quick-cooking grains SAVE me on more than one occasion. See #2.

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

7. Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce: Remember Joey’s love for BBQ sauce? I blame this version for his addiction.

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

8. Everything Crackers: Think everything bagel but in cracker form. DELICIOUS!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
Not sure if this is classified as a convenience item because I’d never make a homemade cracker… but they are too good to not make my list!

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!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.

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!

These convenience products at Trader Joe’s are easy on your budget and made with simple, healthy ingredients.
I spy Anthony!! Crawling towards Mom… imagine that!

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.

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Comments

  1. Rebecca @BeTrulyNourished says

    August 23, 2015 at 7:56 pm

    love love love the lasagna noodles! Great list here 🙂

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:41 am

      Thanks Rebecca!!

  2. Bonnie Modugno, MS, RD says

    August 24, 2015 at 8:45 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:40 am

      I had no idea!!! Thanks for sharing Bonnie. I will adapt my post to
      Mention that!

  3. Aggie says

    August 24, 2015 at 8:51 am

    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

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:40 am

      Exactly!! The pizza is key for sitters. And I’ll admit I have had a few at lunch too 😉

  4. lindsay Cotter says

    August 24, 2015 at 10:04 am

    looks like i need a trip to TJ’s!! or your house. haha

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:40 am

      Both! We can shop together!

  5. kristina @ Love & Zest says

    August 24, 2015 at 10:21 am

    love this!! lots of products I’ve never purchased– going to have to give them a try.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:39 am

      Thank girl!

  6. Sarah Grace says

    August 24, 2015 at 11:53 am

    those everything crackers are THE BEST..mmmmmm

    xo,
    Sarah Grace

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:39 am

      Yesssss!!!

  7. Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says

    August 24, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      August 28, 2015 at 9:39 am

      Oh wow!!! They sound dangerous! I need to get some of those…

  8. Shelby says

    May 29, 2016 at 3:21 pm

    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!!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      June 10, 2016 at 9:41 pm

      The granola bars are sooooo good!!

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Katie Serbinski at Mom to Mom Nutrition

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Hi, I’m Katie! Registered Dietitian, Mom, and Mealtime Negotiator. I’m on a mission to make mealtime happier, healthier, and easier with small children, despite what my 4 picky eaters have me believing. From family-friendly recipes to confessions about my unfiltered motherhood moments, I hope you grab a seat at my kitchen table!
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