# Your Favorite Trader Joe's Products? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531 "2007-08-14T05:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/21 "2007-08-14T17:14:28Z")
All the dried berries are great. The sweet and hot… pecans? I think? Cocoa almonds. Triple ginger snaps. I want a Trader Joe’s in Toronto. I have to get loving friends to ship stuff for me. We have a Whole Foods, so why don’t we have a TJ’s? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/22 "2007-08-14T17:28:06Z")
World’s Biggest Cashews, roasted and salted Dry-roasted unsalted almonds Frozen margherita pizza, made in Italy, but with TJ’s brand name on it Black olive tapenade in a jar TJ’s organic milk " " cottage cheese Mochi ice cream Organic chickens ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/23 "2007-08-14T17:53:31Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] I go out of my way to buy their peanut butter. It’s just peanuts and salt (if you please), for under $2 a jar. If you eat that you can’t go back to regular peanut butter without thinking “wow this tastes like sugar and hydrogenated oil!” [/QUOTE] I love that peanut butter! It’s really good with their apricot preserves, as long as you don’t look too closely when you’re eating because it’s sort of a disgusting color. My family goes out of their way- 40 miles round trip out of the way- mostly for the peanut butter, the oatmeal bread, coffee, whole-wheat crackers, basil, and chocolate, every two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/24 "2007-08-14T17:57:29Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Man, that is just about the only thing we’ve bought at TJ’s that the whole family considered inedible! I think I started a thread on it a while back. Led my son to comment that TJ’s could market chocolate covered nuclear waste and some people might buy it and claim it tasted good! 😃 For me, it’s the milk and dark chocolate coated almonds. And those flaky cookies sorta shaped like a bow or a butterfly? [/QUOTE] I love ginger, so I’ll consume it in just about any form as is. (Not powdered, though- it’s too dusty to eat plain. ;)) When I was in Montana for several months at school, I ended up buying 1/4 lb of it in a kitchen supply store that we’d stopped at to kill time before meeting Neil Gaiman, even though I knew that I was too broke at the time for my library fines, let alone chocolate covered ginger- and it still wasn’t quite as good as TJ’s. I think, though, that I’ve ended up like the McDonald’s-loving preschoolers- I would eat chocolate covered nuclear waste, as long as it was TJ’s. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/25 "2007-08-14T18:10:28Z")
Their potato salad–with green onions and very little mayo. multi grain sesame pretzel nuggets Dark chocolate orange sticks Tofutti cuties Eggplant cutlets Salad with endive, romaine, gorgonzola and walnuts reduced fat Celtic cheddar cheese Dolmas Strawberry lemonade organic toaster pastries Puffins cereal, Barbara’s cereal cranberry orange scones Lingonberry scones Lemon curd Peach sauce—oh dear lord, it’s good! 100-calorie bags of little oatmeal choc. chip tiny cookies. !!! Belgian chocolate bars Pizza olympiad ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/26 "2007-08-14T18:18:56Z")
One of the best things about the place I work is that I’m one block away from a TJ’s! Blueberry sparkling juice Milk and dark chocolate covered blueberries The wrap sammiches Belgioso asiago cheese wedges Cat tuna, .29/can–I buy it by the case! Canned dog food that doesn’t stink! Mini peanut butter cups Garlic and tandoori naan Best price in town on Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap Barbecue chicken pizza, and sometimes they have the thai style chicken pizza Crushed garlic in a jar that tastes like garlic Low fat mayonnaise that my mayo lovin’ SO likes better than the regular stuff Peach cream cheese strudel, oh my gods… Butterflied leg of lamb for less than four bucks a pound, so tender a sideways glance will cut it. Five buck sixpacks of yummy beer Dried tortellini in multiple filling flavors Cashew/Macadamia butter Cherry jam This weekend I used the TJ’s herb flavored pizza dough, slathered it in a homemade pesto made with a double handful of fresh basil flowers (four different flavors) ground up with kalamata olive oil (8 bucks a quart from TJ’s) and fresh garlic, then covered with slices of TJ’s braided mozzarella marinated in basil and garlic, topped with tiny chopped Roma tomatoes, whisper thin sliced red bell pepper, asiago cheese (from guess where?!) sprinkled with fried garlic and crushed red pepper–it was so good, I swear I have NEVER had a better pizza in my life! TJ’s is a never ending adventure in delicious yummy stuff to make the belly happy for cheap–if there were only one grocery store allowed in the world I’d vote for TJ’s! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/27 "2007-08-14T18:34:31Z")
Frozen fish. We call it “going fishing”. We go to TJ’s every couple of months and buy $100 worth of frozen fish. We keep it in the freezer and it thaws in between breakfast and supper if you want to take some out. Most of it is wild caught. We’ll get it all. . .salmon, tuna, halibut, mahi mahi, shrimp, haddock. We don’t buy the stuff that is pre-marinaded. And, I like the mochi, although we found a local tea house place that sells it now, and it’s a bit better. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/28 "2007-08-14T19:12:26Z")
Limeaide, marinated tri-tip, cashews, mesquite flavored mini-rice cakes, frozen chicken and rice burritos, sirloin steaks, Amsterdam gouda… ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/29 "2007-08-14T19:17:58Z")
Charlotteberry cake, made with raspberries, blueberries and these little black ones, and lady fingers. One of the best inexpensive desserts ever–I’ve had them for my birthday cake a few years in a row. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/30 "2007-08-14T19:24:51Z")
[QUOTE=Leiko] My family goes out of their way- 40 miles round trip out of the way- [/QUOTE] I guess this is where I get to crow that the closest grocery store to my home is a TJ’s, less than 1 mile away. I love their frozen desserts as well. Have had the obscenely decadent chocolate ganache torte or something or another a few times. Great place to pick up hostess gifts, or for something different when entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/31 "2007-08-14T21:39:43Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] Limeaide, marinated tri-tip, cashews, mesquite flavored mini-rice cakes, frozen chicken and rice burritos, sirloin steaks, Amsterdam gouda… [/QUOTE] I just had some of the limeade last night and was thinking how yummy it is. I also like the Olympiad pizza, Cherry Cider, chocolate-covered nuts (almonds or peanuts), lime yogurt, camembert(sp?) and brie. Hubby really likes the stilton with apricots and same with cranberries. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/32 "2007-08-14T23:13:21Z")
[QUOTE=SmartAleq] One of the best things about the place I work is that I’m one block away from a TJ’s! Blueberry sparkling juice Milk and dark chocolate covered blueberries The wrap sammiches Belgioso asiago cheese wedges Cat tuna, .29/can–I buy it by the case! Canned dog food that doesn’t stink! Mini peanut butter cups Garlic and tandoori naan Best price in town on Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap Barbecue chicken pizza, and sometimes they have the thai style chicken pizza Crushed garlic in a jar that tastes like garlic Low fat mayonnaise that my mayo lovin’ SO likes better than the regular stuff Peach cream cheese strudel, oh my gods… Butterflied leg of lamb for less than four bucks a pound, so tender a sideways glance will cut it. Five buck sixpacks of yummy beer Dried tortellini in multiple filling flavors Cashew/Macadamia butter Cherry jam This weekend I used the TJ’s herb flavored pizza dough, slathered it in a homemade pesto made with a double handful of fresh basil flowers (four different flavors) ground up with kalamata olive oil (8 bucks a quart from TJ’s) and fresh garlic, then covered with slices of TJ’s braided mozzarella marinated in basil and garlic, topped with tiny chopped Roma tomatoes, whisper thin sliced red bell pepper, asiago cheese (from guess where?!) sprinkled with fried garlic and crushed red pepper–it was so good, I swear I have NEVER had a better pizza in my life! TJ’s is a never ending adventure in delicious yummy stuff to make the belly happy for cheap–if there were only one grocery store allowed in the world I’d vote for TJ’s! [/QUOTE] I have a friend who practically lives there, though she doesn’t work there–yet. Can’t believe I forgot that cherry jam and the creamy, creamy chocolate peanut butter cups. The cutely boxed Pannettone with a ribbon on it makes a lovely Christmas gift. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/33 "2007-08-14T23:27:19Z")
Their peanut butter cups and miniature peanut butter cups are a marvel. So are their pecan clouds (think Turtles - pecans and caramel covered in chocolate). Last time I was in California, I got hooked on their chocolate covered English toffee. Why can’t we have a Trader Joe’s here? _sniffle_ I do love them so. Their human sized portions, their yummy prepared salads, their heavenly frozen foods. I have to fly out to California to get some of their stuff. It ain’t fair! ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/34 "2007-08-14T23:32:24Z")
Their Vegetable Bird’s Nests that you can find in the frozen food section. Little tempura discs of pure deliciousness…mmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/35 "2007-08-14T23:34:37Z")
Their selection of cheeses. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/36 "2007-08-15T08:20:21Z")
[QUOTE=phouka] Their peanut butter cups and miniature peanut butter cups are a marvel. So are their pecan clouds (think Turtles - pecans and caramel covered in chocolate). Last time I was in California, I got hooked on their chocolate covered English toffee. Why can’t we have a Trader Joe’s here? _sniffle_ I do love them so. Their human sized portions, their yummy prepared salads, their heavenly frozen foods. I have to fly out to California to get some of their stuff. It ain’t fair! [/QUOTE] Their miniature peanut butter cups are awesome on pancakes- the not-quite-as-thin-as-a-crepe style pancakes I make, anyway. You sprinkle some on while it’s still hot from the griddle and roll it up. Fantastic. I wish TJ’s would do mail order. Then you wouldn’t have to fly to California and I wouldn’t have to go most of the year without Greek yogurt and other perishables my mother can’t mail to me. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/37 "2007-08-15T09:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=Leiko] Their miniature peanut butter cups are awesome on pancakes- the not-quite-as-thin-as-a-crepe style pancakes I make, anyway. You sprinkle some on while it’s still hot from the griddle and roll it up. Fantastic. [/QUOTE] That’s the recipe of the year! You win! I hope you are a female, because I 'm in Reese’s Pieces for you. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/38 "2007-08-15T12:30:48Z")
[QUOTE=SmartAleq] One of the best things about the place I work is that I’m one block away from a TJ’s! [/QUOTE] Same here! The funny thing is that I am the newest person at my place of work and now several co-workers are also hooked on the place. I work quite a distance from my home and there is no TJ’s anywhere close to there. [QUOTE=SmartAleq] TJ’s is a never ending adventure in delicious yummy stuff to make the belly happy for cheap–if there were only one grocery store allowed in the world I’d vote for TJ’s! [/QUOTE] I have to agree. I love finding new and yummy items there. Besides their selection of fresh fruit (kiwiberries are so yummy!), and some of the other things already mentioned, here is a short list of our favorites: Soy crisps (The garlic, feta, and olive oil flavored are my favorite. **Jayjay** prefers the barbeque flavored) Snapea Crisps Veggie Marsala Burgers Grated Parmesan and Romano Cheese Frozen Roasted Corn Whole Wheat Couscous and Pasta TJ’s All Organic Pasta Sauce 99 cent dozen of large eggs FF Greek Yogurt My work buddy loves the frozen fish prices too. His SO loves when we stop there and “pick up something for dinner”. He told me that the Chocolate Lava Cake is simply to die for! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/39 "2007-08-15T13:42:38Z")
What would I do without TJ’s? I don’t want to find out. Their peanut butter (I alternate between creamy and crunchy unsalted) is my favorite snack, straight from the jar. I go through a couple of jars a week. Their limeade is the flavor of summer. Their frozen meals in a bowl are my favorite microwave dinners. Especially their Massaman Chicken and their Lemongrass Chicken. My other favorite nuke-it-quick dinner is their cheese tamales. Great comfort food! In their deli section, I recommend their hot salsa, tabbouleh, hummus, dolmas, and pulled pork. Great stir-fry dinners, especially the kung pao chicken and the beef teriyaki. I generally add some of their stir-fry veggies to each, and some of their frozen shrimp to the kung pao chicken. Their selection of coffees is awesome. These days, I’ve been drinking the safari blend. Frozen chicken burgers. Thaw, grill, put on a bun with mayo, guacamole, lettuce, and tomato. Snapea crisps. Naan. Pizza fixin’s - the dough, a ton of spaghetti/pasta sauces you can use for tomato sauce (I most often use their vodka marinara sauce), grated mozzarella cheese, packs of pepperoni, frozen green/red/yellow pepper strips. Take it home, heat up the oven, thaw the peppers, roll out the crust, put it on a pizza pan, stick it in the oven for a few minutes, pull it out, add the tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings, stick it in for a few more minutes, and you have great pizza. And not very fattening, either, which is a big plus. Goat cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531/40 "2007-08-15T18:42:00Z")
- Old-fashioned Irish oats, which you simmer for an hour on the range - Blue potato chips - Mochi ice cream - Ginger granola - Triple ginger crisps - Alsatian torte - Marinated ready-to-grill beef and pork - Chocolate bars - French rolls - REED’S GINGER BREW! - … a fig walks into a bar … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-trader-joes-products/415531.md?page=3)