I have a free day tomorrow, so am driving the 2 hours to the nearest Trader Joes. Which probably says how boring my life is, if a grocery is a fun field trip, LOL. What items are must haves and what is not so great? I plan on buying quite a bit since it's not just down the street. Anybody have any favorites?

Take a cooler with you for perishables! My favorite is actually the candy, but I usually restrain myself. I don't know that I really have a favorite--just lots of good stuff, reasonably priced there.

OK, the Nectar bars, I like those a lot.

Anne

Oh yes...so glad you asked...

I love their frozen wild caught tuna and salmon, salsa verde, Cabot's 75% fat reduced chedder cheese, "Crack a Smile" eggs with 350mg of omega 3 and 350mg of lutein, unsweetened & unsulfered dried apple rings, 100% pure & unsweetened, not from concentrae cranberry juice, Ezekiel flourless, sprouted grain breads and tortillas, Fage yogurt, their frozen fruits are the cheapest by far around here.

Mind you...these are the things I buy all the time, but I have never been dissatisfied with anything I've ever gotten from TJ's!

Stuff I love from Trader Joe's:

Frozen brown rice (perfect rice in 3 minutes, no messy clean up!)
Dried granny smith apple rings
Dried wild blueberries
Natural crunchy peanut butter with salt
La Tortilla Factory tortillas (50 calories each)
Fage yogurt
Pumpkin butter
Salmon patties
Fat free balsalmic vinaigrette dressing
Walnut oil (great for making your own salad dressing)
Biscotti (dipped chocolate, 100 calories each)
Frozen shrimp stir fry (perfect for busy nights)
Indian Fare boxed meals (especially Bengali Lentils)
Cut up butternut squash

I'm planning on taking an extra bag with me to Milwaukee tomorrow and will be going to the one in Northbrook (I think that's the closest to Great Lakes, IL) ... but can't buy anything that has to be kept refrigerated. I think for sure I'll be getting the tortillas, dressing, biscotti, and will look for the Clif bars. Who knows what I'll end up with?

Joy, after we get back we'll have to compare notes! I guess I don't have a life either ... my flight arrives at around 9:30 a.m. and I don't have to be to dinner with some of the other Navy parents until 7:00 p.m. Most people would go to a mall or something, and here I am getting excited about going to the grocery store!

I just love their chocolate covered soynuts. They're very addictive.
Enjoy your shopping trip.

They have a great selection of nuts and dried fruits. I love their Raspberry dressing (30 calories for 2 T). I usually go overboard on veggies and fruits there (so much less expensive than a regular grocery store). Try the fresh Brushetta sauce--I put in on their "Almost 100%" whole wheat pizza dough with a variety of cut up veggies and some Mozzerella cheese for a great, wholesome pizza (my kids actually ask for this now over Dominos pizza--says a lot coming from kids!!). You can get frozen brown rice and steel cut oats that cut down on cooking time. I'm not overly fond of their packaged pre-cooked brown rice, but I do buy it on occasion, and last week I found pre-cooked wild rice (haven't tried it just yet, though).

I love their canned turkey breast and chicken breast. They also have a good variety of hummus. The caio pepperoni is good (I add a few slices to salads), They also have a great selection of chicken sausages, my favorite is the apple maple it has pieces of apple in the sausage.

I love TJs! Unfortunately there isn't one around here, but they are openning on up near my fiance at the beginning of the year. If you drink wine, I recommend the Two Buck Chuck or Charles Shaw wine. They also have a great selection of healthy frozen food and bagged salads!

The frozen Roasted Garlic Chicken Enchiladas are really good.

We don't have a TJs in the whole state! Nearest one to me is in Seattle! When we lived in Seattle for 8 months, I was there every week. But I usually go when I get there and buy what I can fit into my luggage. I'm fond of their Cat Cookies.

There are several threads somewhere in the food section about favorite foods, too. Enjoy!!

I'm going to have to make a list. I have a TJ's about 10 minutes from me and I was not impressed. I think because it was my first time there I was overwhelmed, therefore, couldn't see much of anything I wanted.

Has anyone tried the pre-made chicken salad at TJ's? I've been meaning to try it

The first few times I was there, I didn't understand the hype. The place was so crowded with people that it made it difficult to even look at what they had. I saw they had some strange items that I probably wouldn't ever buy, so again, I didn't understand the hype.

But one day, I decided to buy a few things. Nothing special, just some crackers and some wine--I can't remember it all. Then I went to the grocery store. The exact same crackers that I paid $1.98 at TJ's were $3.95 at the grocery store. That really got me thinking. I started to compare. TJ's was less overall! This summer, I could buy a big clamshell thing-y of blackberries for $2.98 at TJ's and at the grocery store, a clamshell half the size of the TJ's one was $4.99!

These days, I go to TJ's first and what they don't have, I then get at the grocery store. I think I've cut my grocery bill by about $40 per week.

That is great! I am always looking to save money.