Hey Zenor - thanks for keeping hope alive! I will keep a look out for the egg rolls... they are so good!!!

I appreciate the 'inside' info on TJs... thanks!

Oh, I thought of something else that is really good there. It is called "Almost Whole Wheat pizza dough". It is ready made and in the refrigerator section. I think it is only $1.09 and enough for one whole pizza. I cut mine into 4 seperate servings...bake it and top it off with their marinara sauce and lowfat mozzerella. I add slices tomatoes, zucchini, artichokes, red and yellow peppers. So tasty and really healthy!

azmom

I came here to post about the frozen rice - I loooove this stuff. It has made my life so much easier.

I also love:

Pumpkin butter
Fage yogurt
La Netura yogurt (especially the cinnamon ginger)
Dried granny smith apple rings
Dried wild blueberries
Frozen shrimp stir fry (ready to go, great for busy days)
Frozen salmon patties
Frozen mango
Ready to serve wild rice (just microwave it)
Trader Joes Fat Free Balsalmic Vinaigrette dressing
Salsa Especiale

Everytime I go, I buy way more than I had planned.

I just picked up a new TJ's find yesterday, mango chili vinegar. I whipped up a marinade with it for roasting brussels sprouts, really great way to add some sweetness and zip! And it's only 25 cal / T

I also find they offer Morningstar Farms and Tofurky veggie products for significantly less that traditional grocers, and their own brand of meatless meatballs is pretty darn tasty.

Has anyone tried the mediterranian yogurt dip? It is awesome and low fat.

mmmmm...gotta try that mediteranean yogurt dip, sounds great!
Also, their Feta cheese with mediterranenean herbs (sundried tomato & basil) is awesome and less fat then the Athenos brand at the grocery store!

hmm...we have Trader Joe's around here, but I haven't found anything particularly special they carry that I like that I can't just get at my regular grocery store. It could just be that I'm picky, I guess.

Their frozen whole, peeled shrimp is cheaper than the grocery store--I do stop in to buy a bag of that once every few weeks for a shrimp marinara pasta Jeff likes me to make. They also have pure cranberry juice for less than the bigger stores.

Other than that, I find my natural peanut butter is cheaper at the grocery store (or about the same price, so not worth a special trip). I have found cheaper frozen fruits and veggies on sale at other stores. I used to buy the frozen brown rice, but my dollar bills are more dear to me than the additional 7 minutes of time it takes to cook some Uncle Ben's instant brown rice (which is cheaper by volume). I used to buy breakfast cereal at TJ's for Jeff, but all the big grocers now carry it as well (different brand, but tastes the same). I'll go to TJ's when the mood strikes, but there's nothing I need to get there regularly that I can't get elsewhere.

Not trying to be a downer to those who love it, but trying to make those who don't live near one hopefully realize it's not the holy grail of healthy or yummy food

I wanted to share my 2 cents!
yeah - they discontinued a few of my favorite items - spicy black bean soup and the brown frozen rice has been out for a while - it makes me sad - 3 minutes to the most perfect brown rice ever!

ok - must haves!

they have lean hamburger meat - 150cals and like 4 or 5 grams fat per patty (all individualized for you already)
egg whites that are prepackaged and are cooked in microwave for 85 seconds to have perfect (and no clean up) scrambled eggs!)
i agree - have these with the whole wheat english muffins and the morning star veggie sausage patties - what a great start/brunch etc!
all of the salads are great - and packaged in little or big bags!
ok - i'm lazy - but the precooked caesar chicken is great!
i now cook/fry/saute in the soy ginger broth they have - makes yummy onions
(they have a great cheap beer I love - fat weasel)
oh oh - they have this great brown rice pasta - for some reason I love it. it's definately a different consistancy than regular pasta - but its great!
also - they have these pre-portioned japanese whole wheat noodles I use instead of pasta a lot of time too (though they were out of this for a while)
(both in pasta section)
i used to love the frozen shrimp tri-dumpling thing - but I stopped buying things I bought over and over again - so its been a while.
frozen terriyaki chicken
frozen asian veggie mix
frozen sweet corn
frozen asparugus - so easy to throw in a dish of soup.
my fav meal from trader joes goes something like this (that u can do from other stores too - i'm sure!)
i chop up some chicken or a turkey or chicken sausage, throw it in a microwavable bowl, add lots of veggies, like zucchini or asparagus, then top it with butternut squash soup - or some other veggie soup that they have (lots of choices) and nuke it for 4-5 minutes till the veggies are soft. then maybe add some hot sauce if I'm feeling different

(needless to say - a lot of my recs are for people that don't like spending a lot of time in the kitchen)

OK, I just got back from a trip to Trader Joes's and I want to thank Glory for the recommendation on the Granny Smith dried apple rings. They are outstanding and terrific for me since I don't eat any sugar. They are quite a yummy treat!! I bought a million other standbys...my my...how I love that
store!
azmom