Favorite Trader Joe's Products

I'm gonna cunt in and say we just did this, doll.

But I happen to like the dark chocolate peanut butter cups and the orange marmalade.

i love the elote corn (frozen) i use it in all kinds of things

orange chicken and frozen fried rice, the breaded tilapia, i liked their garlic fries before they discontinued them

They seem to have canceled of most of the unique things I used to like to get there, e.g. green tea yogurt and mocha yogurt, and oil-packed roasted Mediterranean vegetables.

R3 - seems like they got a few new things my sister was raving about. I definitely will make a pit stop when I get there.

They have a few good curries. Several with jackfruit, which I like.

R5 - too scared to try the jackfruit patties. I always found fresh jackfruit smelled like my feet after 2 hours at the gym.

R6. They’re really really good. I also love TJ’s spring rolls.

Dolmas and tzatziki sauce. They have great spices, too.

I like eggs.

Sorry, none of this prefab food for me. Nothing about TJ appeals. A few of the basics are okay. Coffee. Olive oil. Nuts. But half the store is filled with crap and after leaving TJ... I still have to go to a real grocery.

Don't ever get too attached to any TJ's product, because it will likely be discontinued at some point.

I’ve been attempting low carb, and I’m loving their hearts of palm noodles and the cauliflower sandwich thins.

The one non-keto thing I can’t give up is their chocolate covered ginger. I’m addicted.

i love the frozen penne arrabiata.

Fresh cut flowers, frozen chocolate covered banana slices.

Mixed Nut Butter and Creamy Sesame Dressing might be my two favorites. Elote Corn Chip Dippers, Dark Sweet Cherries (frozen) Fudge chip vanilla ice cream (can't remember the exact name) Blister Peanuts, Green Tea Mochi, Lemon Curd, French Vanilla coffee Garlic BBQ Sriacha, and Creamy Feta Dressing. The last two things mixed together are soooo good.

I've been 360+ miles from a TJ's for the last year+ as a caregiver to my mom with Alzheimer's, so these things are all a dream to me.

Chicken Tikka Samosas!

Vitamin E oil

I rub it into my asshole everyday

r15 Have someone send you a TJ's care package. I used to send a big box of TJ's stuff to people who lived in non-TJ's areas back in the '80s. Back then they were pretty much only in California.

Salted peanut butter filled pretzels. I also like their triple cream brie.

The frozen almond croissants are legitimate. They have chocolate ones as well.

Also TJ's Oven Baked Cheese Bites with Black Summer Truffle (seasonal). My cat gets aggressive when I eat these; they’re more tempting than any cat treat, apparently.

[quote]The frozen almond croissants are legitimate. They have chocolate ones as well.

Are you talking about the ones that you bake yourself after letting them thaw and rise overnight? You're right about those--they're amazing and I've never run across anything similar at another store.

Snobby, picky or trashy if we don't shop at a marketing-dream crap store?

OP is a cultist. A MAGA Joe.

R22, yes. They are just as nice as any bakery’s, and they’re like $1 each.

The dried mangoes with no added sugar are 1/4 the price of Whole Foods. The frozen pie crust is the best that I’ve ever had, and is better than most homemade crusts even.

I haven't tried the almond croissants, but the chocolate ones aren't anything special compared to what you'd get at a good French bakery.

The chocolate covered potato chips are a caloric war crime and worth every bite.

Dark chocolate peanut butter cups & the Tarte D'Alsace (frozen section, with the pizzas).

The overall majority of their products are GMO. I'm not sure why so many people see it as being a healthier alternate supermarket. It's not.

I pretty much love anything there.

I’m especially fond of their salads and Mushroom Fettuccine.

The Fettuccine is AMAZING for dealing with carbs cravings.

They also have really good cracker shaped, dried cheese and salami packages. Perfect when you’re on the go and want something light.

There was a product call Maple Streusel Bread. At room temp it’s dry. Toast it and it’s a party in your mouth.

Pretty basic but I prefer their Japan-brewed soy sauce to all others and I like their capers that come in a wide mouth jar. Those tall skinny jars of capers in the supermarkets are ridiculous, you can’t even get a teaspoon in.

I’m a fatty so I stay away from the sweets (mostly) but I like dipping my baby carrots in TJ’s cauliflower-jalapeño dip (even though the base is cream cheese it is relatively low carb and delish). I also like a banana with some sunflower “butter” from TJs.

Those cauliflower rounds are very filling, which is nice.

r1 I liked their marmalade as well, it's been discontinued at the TJ™ that I frequent. It was very tasty, nice bitterness to it, although Chivers'™ is better on all counts.

r11 You know it. Liked their brewed Black Tea in gallon jugs-GWTW.

Just got back from my monthly stock-up. Asked them about when the pannetore, the large and the minis would be in and they said o/a 9 NOV. Last Christmas season the mini stollen were unavailable, same thing for this yearl. The large ones are coming early November as well.

My faves there are: All manner of berries; Brussels sprouts; guacamole(6 pk minis and the 8oz trays) sliced roasted turkey; many of the Indian frozen entrees; split-top hotdog buns(great for meatloaf sandwiches too) marinara sauce; mini-Brie(5pack) pita bread; mirepoix; Honeycrisp™ apples; prosciutto/mozzarella sticks; no-frills toothbrushes with curved handles; lobster ravioli(I get them for a friend and he loves them) I get the Rosemary Croutons for my SIL, she's a freak for anything rosemary-flavored, as am I.

There are so many things they sell, that you never see in other stores. Whatever team they have deciding what goes on their shelves is doing a bang-up job. Of course we hate it when stuff gets discontinued but that's the nature of retail. If price point can't be achieved, or sales are shitty, or too seasonal then out it goes. Grrrrr!

I think TJ™ has excellent prices across the board, considering their location(Center City Philadelphia) I'd have thought they'd be much more expensive. The store is small, no room to expand unfortunately, but they pack any amazing variety into it(no wine sales though) They have another slightly larger location about 10 blocks away, went there once and hated the parking set-up.

Aldi's peanut butter cups are the same as TJ's.

That is the only Aldi item I have found to be the same as TJ's.

Agreed on the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Delicious. Also the mini ice cream cones are very satisfying. Also there sourdough bread.

You can’t get everything there but a number of things are very good.

A better thread might be on what not to get there: their salads and bagged lettuce are within hours of spoiling. And the aforementioned bread, while great, needs to be checked for the best by date always.

Nothing.

They’ve cancelled everything I used to buy there. About 100 items over the years.

Oh wait - I buy a few boxes of the Irish teacher if I happen to be near Trader Joe.

Irish tea bags

Soy egg nog at Christmas.

Vegetable wash concentrate

I liked the long-discontinued frozen palak paneer. Their lamb vindaloo is a bit pricey, but I keep some on hand when I don't feel like cooking - just add some nuked frozen peas to the plate as well.

The burrata and prosciutto flatbread made in Italy, the brioche bread, many of the cheeses, the fresh enchiladas in tomatillo sauce, scallion pancakes, orange chicken, fried rice, tempura shrimp. Don't care for any of the pasta concoctions.

Trader Joe's doesn't have the best quality for most items, but the price/value makes up for it. The chocolate isn't the best, but you'd much more to get better quality stuff.

Also, their novelty stuff is good - I like their dark chocolate dunked JoJos with peppermint flakes that they have around the holidays. I always buy a couple boxes for the freezer to eat later. They often have random stuff that I've never seen - this summer they had this jalapeno, lime, and onion in oil in these little jars that were great on a variety of meats and salmon.

The WORST thing is that TJs often has unique stuff that they suddenly decide to discountinue. They used to have a pineapple seltzer that was fantastic - gone. They had these dark chocolate crisps that were shaped like Pringles - gone. It allows rollouts of new products, but it's so irritating when it happens to somethng you really liked.

[quote] scallion pancakes

Long discontinued at my Trader Joe’s.

Canned sweet corn.

Still miss their bean chips.

[quote] Those tall skinny jars of capers in the supermarkets are ridiculous, you can’t even get a teaspoon in.

I like them, because they give me an opportunity to use an iced tea spoon. It's the culinary equivalent of dialing the phone with a pencil.

Their seasonal Ube Mochi pancakes are LEGIT.

R43, that's odd. All of the TJ near me have them. One of their most popular items.

There is one opening across the street from my office next month, could be trouble!

The scallion pancakes come and go. Easy to make in my airfryer attachment to my Instant Pot.

The lite guacamole (made with some yogurt) tastes very good, and doesn't turn brown like regular guac in the refrigerator in a day or two.

The lo-carb tortillas are very good, too.

Yes, the little ice cream cones are great. The pumpkin pie ones sell out pretty quickly, as do the tubs of regular pumpkin pie ice cream. They are limited time items.

The Triple Ginger cookies are not good, not gingery, and are overrated, IMO.

They got rid of those ginger gluten-free (that part of which didn't really concern me), but they melted in your mouth and were delicious.

I eat a cup (or a half cup, if I'm not that hungry) of their High Fiber Cereal every morning.

I just tried their vegan enchilada casserole, it was OK, probably won't buy it again.

I also just tried their chile & cheese tamales, and I'm a fan. Those I definitely will buy again.

I second the hearts of palm pasta noodles.

It's been years, and I still mourn the discontinuance of their ratatouille.

[quote]The overall majority of their products are GMO.

This is simply untrue, R29. Products under the *Trader Joe's* label are NOT GMO.

[quote] I'm not sure why so many people see it as being a healthier alternate supermarket. It's not.

Well, I agree with you, here! Although TJ's products are not GMO, many of them are LOADED with fat and/or a shocking amount sodium -- far from "healthy". (but they do taste good)

.

Few of the products I was considering purchasing during the last 2 visits stated that they were non-GMO. Rule of thumb is that if they do not mention it on the package, they are very likely GMO.

Their frozen food is not very good. I got some kind of blueberry pie ice cream that was disgusting, with clay-like chunks of dough.

Tomorrow I’m making my once every three month run to TJs - any recommendations of condiments/ pantry items that would be good for the holidays/entertaining?

R56 if they still have the kouign ammans, they’re very good.

Oolong iced tea

R56, the frozen artichoke timbales are pretty good.

Thanks r57 & r59! I recommend the red pepper spread with garlic and egplant - so yummy with flatbread & feta.

[quote]The overall majority of their products are GMO. I'm not sure why so many people see it as being a healthier alternate supermarket. It's not.

And why would anyone with a brain care? There has never been a single credible piece of evidence that GMO is harmful to your health.

If you were better informed you will know that GMO products have synthetic origin and your body responds differently to food that is genetically modified, such as increasing inflammation. Also the nutrition value is usually less and the digestive system does not absorb the nutrients as well. That is part of the reason you may find yourself hungry, because no matter how much you eat, you're still not getting the nutrition you need.

r62 No one cares about your opinion. Please cite scientific EVIDENCE.

Their frozen Chocolate Croissants aka Petits Pains au Chocolat are as good as any you get from a bakery in France and better than most.