[stolly]

I think Trader Joe's is opening a store near us. I've heard it mentioned a lot on this forum so I'm wondering if you can post your favorite things you buy there...Trader Joe's brand or other brand products. I want to be prepared when the store opens! I know there is a gluten-free list of their products on their website, but I'm curious what everyone here likes since all of you are great resources. A friend sent us Trader Joe's brownie mix for DD and it was fabulous. Thanks!!

[gadgetgirl]

Oh, Trader Joe's, my favorite! I'm there at least twice a week:

- Precut/washed salad
- Frozen tri-color pepper strips
- "Just a handful" cashews (little 1.5 oz packages - perfect for portion control)
- Salted, roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) - I use in place of croutons on my salads
- Frozen, pre-cooked organic brown rice
- Shelf-stable pre-cooked organic brown rice
- Shelf-stable pre-cooked wild rice
- Organic raspberries
- Nitrate-free ham & turkey
- Organic chicken breasts & tenders
- Egg whites in the carton (they have the best price by far!)]
- Eggs
- Valrhora 85% dark chocolate bars
- 70% dark chocolate batons (portion control!)
- Wild caught salmon (frozen)
- Tri-color veggie tortilla chips with flax seeds

I'll stop now! I love them so much that I always look for them when I travel. I'm in California for the weekend and have been to 2 different stores so far!

[elonwy]

My fav thing from them is their brown rice tortillas. Nom.
The granola is pretty good too.

[wolfie]

Here are my favorites from TJ:

Chocolate Meringue Cookies
gluten-free Gingersnaps
Frozen Pancakes
Frozen Waffles
gluten-free French Rolls (in the bread area, not frozen) ~ I do freeze these after a day or so they last longer.
gluten-free Granola
Lara Bars, though they don't have a huge selection of flavors
Brown Rice Pastas (not as good as Tinkyada, but cheaper and works well for spaghetti, mac & cheese)


I wish they had the brown rice tortillas at my location, but they don't

[gfmolly]

stolly, on Sep 20 2008, 09:29 PM, said:

I think Trader Joe's is opening a store near us. I've heard it mentioned a lot on this forum so I'm wondering if you can post your favorite things you buy there...Trader Joe's brand or other brand products. I want to be prepared when the store opens! I know there is a gluten-free list of their products on their website, but I'm curious what everyone here likes since all of you are great resources. A friend sent us Trader Joe's brownie mix for DD and it was fabulous. Thanks!!

I love Trader Joe's!!! Mine is about 45 minutes away, so we don't get there very often.

Here's my list:
Banana Waffles
Pancakes
Basmati Rice
French Rolls
Dark Chocolate covered Cherries
Marinara Sauce
Tropical Mix Granola

[Breila]

We do most of our grocery shopping at TJs now, and save money in the process. I find that though my selection is a bit limited there, I can certainly get a week's worth of food within my budget, and it's better quality food than when I try to do that at the regular grocery store. My favorites in the gluten-free category are

polenta (we LOVE polenta lasagna, and it is a relatively quick and easy dinner)
gluten-free granola
pancake and waffle mix
gluten-free pasta, it tastes similar to Tinkyada to us and is half the price!
Banana waffles (half the price of the Lifestream ones DS likes)
Pancakes
taquitos

Other than that, we buy a lot of the frozen seafood items, and veggies (my kids LOVE the soycoutash, and DH and I adore the fire roasted corn), fresh veggies and salad makings, cheeses, nuts, dried fruits, chips, everything we would love to get at the traditional grocer but can't always afford, LOL.

[missy'smom]

I always stock up on the wild and basmati rice blend. It has no seasoning but contains lots of dried veg and parsley and cooks up in about 14 min. I use it in meatballs, stuffed peppers and rice salads. It's so flavorful by itself and adds alot of flavor to dishes.

[Hummingbird4]

I love TJ's! Here is my list:

String cheese (light or regular)
Laughing Cow light cheese wedges
Cottage cheese - 1 1/2% milkfat
Frozen brown and jasmine rice
Gluten free gingersnaps
Bagged lettuce blends
Tea
Hummus
Envirokids gluten-free cereals
Frozen chicken breasts
Frozen salmon and other fish/seafood
Frozen pre-made chicken meals (check the labels, a couple of them are gluten-free)
Gluten-free waffles - especially the banana waffles!
Wine
Black licorice scottie dogs (yes, they're gluten-free!)
Trail mix
Foil packaged indian meals
Taquitos and mini tacos (check labels, it seems that one of them contains gluten)
Several of their salad dressings - my favorite is Tuscan Italian
Veggie chips
Salsa authentica and pineapple salsa
Flax and soy chips
Gluten free brownie mix
Frozen black cherries
Brown rice pasta
Chicken chili
Beef chili
Soups that come in quart-size boxes - butternut squash, roasted red pepper tomato
Emergen-C packets (I've read that only one flavor - raspberry I think - is not gluten-free)

[digmom1014]

"polenta (we LOVE polenta lasagna, and it is a relatively quick and easy dinner)"

Okay Breila-please, let us know the polenta lasanga recipe! I would love to make that!

[lizard00]

LOVE,LOVE,LOVE Trader Joe's... AND they're opening one 5 minutes down the rd from me in jan... YAY! Right now I'm driving about 25 min.

Anyway, what I stock up on:

Goat cheese
Hummus
Frozen chimichurri salmon/ahi tuna steaks
Rice
Dried cranberries/blueberries
Agave Nectar (it's half the price there)
Lara Bars
Peach Salsa YUM!
Rice/soy milk
and of course... WINE!!!

[CeliacMom2008]

We just discovered Trader Joes this summer. The closest one is almost 3 hours away though. We LOVE the kettle popcorn and dried fruit thingies (look like fruit roll up shaped packages, but they're really strips when you open them).

[Fiddle-Faddle]

digmom1014, on Sep 22 2008, 08:14 PM, said:

"polenta (we LOVE polenta lasagna, and it is a relatively quick and easy dinner)"

Okay Breila-please, let us know the polenta lasanga recipe! I would love to make that!

I second the request!

[stolly]

Thank you so, so much everyone! I am making my list from all that you've suggested--everything sounds so good!! I am so excited to go shopping when our store opens!

[Nancym]

They have a gluten free foods brochure you can pick up in the store.

[stolly]

The Trader Joe's is opening on November 14! I am making my shopping list--thank you for all of your suggestions above. Any other favorites???