i love [like, LOVE] to see what other people buy at various stores. i already share what i am loving from target in my tarzhay thursday series, but i wanted to share some of my trader joe’s staples. also, did you know that you can get some tj’s products on amazon?! i did not, and i do not live close to a trader joe’s [45ish minutes to the nearest one], so for some of those pantry items, it is kind of nice i can order them. i usually try to get to trader joe’s on a sunday, but if not, i usually skip a week. i actually documented two different trips i made since i had some items that carried me through. anyways, here goes!:
produce
- bananas
- apples
- squash [we normally get spaghetti squash throughout the year, but i’ve now been picking up delicata squash and butternut squash for roasting]
- butter lettuce [both a bag and a head of it for our loaded chopped salads i’ll make + my weekly lunch salads]
- arugula [read more about why you should eat arugula here]
- baby kale
- baby spinach [mostly for smoothies. i’m not as big of a fan for spinach in salads everyday and prefer kale and arugula for my greens] #hack: when you get to the end and you can tell it’s just about to go bad, freeze the bag. you can toss it in smoothies!
- belgian endive [i always intend to use them as chips for the guac i get, but i end up chopping them up and putting them on salad. they are a great prebiotic!]
- some sort of cole slaw or stir fry mix. i don’t actually make up the cole slaw; but rather sauté it for a few minutes and add it to the egg roll in a bowl or stir fry i’ve been making.
- cherry tomatoes
- tiny avocados [love the ones from trader joes!! plus they’re easy to toss into a bag for a quick snack]
frozen
- cauliflower and kale pizza crusts. we make these at least once a week, and joey even likes them. they also save well for leftovers. my favorite is to do a kale crust + olive oil + arugula + fried egg + ebtb seasoning.
- butternut squash pizza crusts. as good as their veggie-filled counterparts above.
- argentinian shrimp: highly recommend to keep and have on-hand in your freezer for when you need some quick, but GOOD, protein to add to a dish. they cook up nicely and are pretty big for what you can get at a grocery store, so it’s well worth the ten bucks. i like to make it with the cauli mashed potatoes with some arugula. check out my post on that here.
- mashed cauliflower: quick, easy, and so, so good. even my picky two year old will eat this, and i don’t feel so bad about giving it to her since it’s not another white-bread carb [the only thing she likes to eat right now, besides fruit snacks]. season it however you like; it’s pretty much a blank canvas. i add in goat or blue cheese since they melt well, and use whatever nut milk i have on hand.
- veggies: typically a few cents cheaper than i can get at other grocery stores. i like to keep a few bags of the stir fry veggies in my freezer so that i can throw those, along with the argentinian shrimp, in a pan and boom! stir-fry. it’s been a lifesaver a few times when i didn’t have a plan for dinner.
- chocolate covered bananas: delicious. except i can’t eat just one, so i know that the box won’t last long. i mean, it’s fruit, right? #healthy
pantry
- everything but the bagel seasoning. because, duh.
- sparkling water. good flavors, no weird additives, and they come in liters. not to mention they look kind of chic in my cupboard.
- lemon pepper // mushroom umami powder // chili lime seasoning. i usually pick up a new seasoning every time i go; it’s my impulse buy at tj’s
- chili lime cashews. they’re a tiny bit spicier than i like, which means i won’t eat tooooo many. just kidding i usually do. there’s an almond version, too.
- cashews + slivered almonds. i have this habit of making my own trail mix by taking a handful of almonds, handful of enjoy life chocolate chips, and handful of coconut shreds and going to town. the slivered almonds give the perfect ratio to the rest of the trail mix. i should clarify: it’s more of a drive-by; i never actually “mix” these except for as i stand in front of my pantry and treat it like a trail mix bar. please tell me i’m not the only one.
- nut butters. since logan’s been diagnosed as peanut/tree-nut free, i have been getting my sunflower butter from tj’s only because it’s the only place i can find that doesn’t have anything else added in. also, sunflower butter is highly overrated. it’s a little saltier, and gives a GREAT texture to a #fab4smoothie. recipe for the ultimate one here. i’m also a fan of the mixed nut butter as well.
- fiber bread. i don’t actually eat it that often, but i get it for joey. it makes me feel good that it has 5 grams of fiber per slice.
plants
trader joe’s is my go-to place for plants! i’ve always stuck to fake plants in my house, since i’m not much of a green thumb, but since reading about how they purify the air, i figured it can’t hurt to get a couple, especially since trader joe’s always has smaller [and more manageable] ones. of course, i picked up a fiddle leaf fig as my first plant, so i’m starting with the hardest house plant to keep alive, like, ever. it’s been three weeks, though, and she’s still standing!
these are the items i keep in my kitchen on a regular basis. i love to try new things from trader joe’s and am slowly but surely hopping on the bandwagon. i love the atmosphere, how nice everyone is, and the fact that i can be basic as heck and pick up some peonies/sunflowers/whatever is in season (not to mention a baby fiddle leaf fig and aloe plant that are now brightening up our kitchen) for a fraction of the cost of whole foods. i do my shopping on sunday mornings, so you can expect me to be insta-storying all the fun, new items i find there as well.
thanks for reading, friends!