Tuesday, April 5, 2016

I Love Joe (& My Husband Does, too)!

I new man moved to our area a little over a year ago, and I fell for him fast.  It was like he had everything I had been looking for, and some things I never knew I needed.  I introduced my husband to him, and he loved him, too...maybe even more than me.  I've told countless friends about him.  I've even mentioned him in a blog or two.  He always has fresh flowers, and smells so good...like lavender, coffee, and chili.  Wait...before I go on, are you familiar with Joe?  He owns a little store, you may have heard of it; Trader Joe's...

I first heard about Trader Joe's through Rachael Ray.  She would come over for coffee and we'd chat about her favorite things there.  Rachael mentions Trader Joe's quite frequently, in her shows, but I had never been to one.  Them, my friend April (who had been to one), explained it short, sweet and accurate:  It's like Whole Foods, but less expensive.  That was music to my ears!  When McKinney got one about a year ago, I knew I needed to go fast.

Since Trader Joe's is fairly new to our area and I still encounter people everyday that have not been, today, I'm sharing with you my Top Ten Things at Trader Joe's (in no particular order):

1.  Flat Iron Steak:  This is making my mouth water just thinking about it.  It's just a steak (actually two steaks) that have already been marinaded and are ready to throw on the grill.  This is our favorite flavor, but we also like the Korean one.  There's also a Carne Asada that looks good, and several chicken options that are similar.


2.  The Dark Chocolate Lover's Bar:  I have already shared my love for this bar in a previous post, but I couldn't do this post without giving it another shout out.  Every time I go to TJ's, I buy one (or two).  Before my Trim Healthy Mama journey, I was NOT a dark chocolate fan, but this chocolate is rich without being bitter.  Because it is scored in rectangles, like a Hershey bar, it's easy to break off a few rectangles and get your sweet tooth fix.  In fact, I'm going to go grab me a piece right now... be right back...



3.  Natural Peanut Butter:  You know what goes with chocolate? Peanut butter!  Trader Joe's has an awesome all natural peanut butter with just two simple ingredients...peanuts and salt.  How's that for simple?  FYI...Because many of TJ's products (like this peanut butter and many of their breads) do not contain preservatives, it needs to be stored in the fridge.  



4.  Turkey Chili:  I like chili, but I'm not like a huge chili connoisseur (is that a thing?), and the thought of canned chili doesn't excite me too much, BUT this chili is amazing.  Yum!  Honestly, I never would have given it a second glance, but those smarty pants at TJ's were giving away little samples of it last week when I was in, and it smelled heavenly.  I actually didn't taste it in the store, because I had my two year old with me, and she was ready for lunch, and there was absolutely no way she would understand me giving her .00843 of an ounce of chili, and then meandering through the store.  So, I trusted my nose and the genius marketing guru's that filled TJ's with the amazing aroma around lunchtime and bought a can.  After devouring it, I wish I would have bought a few more.  If you're following Trim Healthy Mama, this is a tiny bit higher on carbs, than recommended, but I'm going to sprinkle a little cheese on it, and call it a crossover.  


5.  Pizza Sauce:  If you ready my post on quick, healthy lunch ideas, you know I eat pizza atleast once a week for lunch.  Oddly enough, I have found the store brand pizza sauce (WalMart, Market Street and Trader Joe's) to have the lowest grams of sugar.  This particular one from TJ's is tasty and authentic, without being a garlic overkill.  



Is it lunch time, yet?  


6.  Quinoa:  I'm a huge quinoa fan, and TJ's has an organic quinoa that is the least expensive I have seen.  If you're new to quinoa, I use it in place of rice or pasta frequently.  My Tex Mex Quinoa is always a hit around our house, or just serve it under this salmon or tilapia.  Plus, the health benefits of quinoa are huge!


 7.  Apples:  Speaking of health benefits, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!  These green apples from TJ's are so sweet and tart, they almost taste like a jolly rancher candy.  We buy the majority of our produce at TJ's and have always been impressed with the quality and price.  Plus, they have some really fun products that you don't find other places, like cauliflower rice!


9.  Multi-Purpose Cleaner:  My four year old son was diagnosed with eczema this past winter, so I have been trying to replace our household cleaners with products that contain fewer chemicals.  We have been using this cleaner to wipe down our kitchen nightly for the past few months and have been impressed with this.  It smells clean, and does a great job cutting through grease.  Last week, I purchased their laundry detergent, I am hoping it works out with Jess' sensitive skin, too.  The verdict is still out, but I'll let you know.  


10.  Mango Black Tea:  I love hot tea, but I'm not a huge ice tea fan...except this tea.  I usually take a mason jar full of water and microwave it for about three minutes.  Once the water it hot, I throw a few tea bags and let it steep a while.  Then, I pour it over ice, add a spoon full of Swerve and enjoy.  This is the perfect spring time, back porch sitting drink!  


I don't have a picture, but I also love their fresh flowers.  They are inexpensive and hearty.  It's a nice little treat to have those on the table all week long.  They also have a huge wine selection.  I love the simplicity of Trader Joe's.  They don't carry a ton of products, so I don't feel overwhelmed and exhausted when I leave.  Also, their employees are helpful and actually seem like they enjoy their job.  

It would only be fair, for me to tell you a few of the things I don't like at TJ's.  This is just my opinion, you may love these products.  I feel bad doing this.  We love you Joe, so I'm not going to delay.  I'm just going to rip it off like a band aid, get it out there and then not discuss it further, with the hopes of not devastating poor Joe.  Here goes...The ONLY things, we have purchased at TJ's and not loved are:  KCups, spaghetti sauce, and chicken sausage.

I hope you enjoyed this little list of mine.  If you have never been to TJ's I hope you'll visit soon and check out some of my recommendations.  Tell Joe, I sent you!  If you're hooked like me, what are some of your favorite products?

Have a great day!

Emily 






27 comments:

  1. I love their coffee and vodka sauce. SO YUMMY!!

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    1. I've never tried their coffee...except for the KCups we didn't like, but we don't have a Keurig anymore. I'll have to try some next time I'm there. Which one do you like best?

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  2. Fabulous post! I have one about 25 minutes away but have yet to ever go in it. Whole Foods gets my business a few times a year so maybe I should switch?!

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    1. You need to plan a trip in! It's a treat for sure! I like Whole Foods, but it's a little overwhelming sometimes. TJ's is simple!

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  3. Perfect timing for this post! When I was there yesterday I found their produce to be really good prices and I found some cool things like pretzel bagels and habanero tortillas. Good to know the quinoa is reasonable! It's always so expensive everywhere else.

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    1. What??? Habanero tortillas! Yum! I find something new every time I go there!

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  4. Oh man, the mango tea sounds amazing!!! I have never been to Trader Joe's, but now I really want to go sometime! (unfortunately, I think the closest one is about an hour away)

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    1. Send me your address...I'll mail you a box of tea! It's so good!!

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  5. I'm very jelly of you right now. Our closest Trader Joe's is about 50 miles from us so we don't get to go very often. But when we do it's like Christmas haha!

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    1. 50 miles is a little far for grocery shopping. Ours is about 15 miles away...and that's about 14 miles too far!

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  6. I so totally and completely wish I had Joe close to me!! I just know he'd be my main man!!

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  7. I also love TJ's, my step dad actually works there in North Carolina as his "fun retirement job". Anything that you try at home and do not like you are able to return for a full refund…just FYI!

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    1. I didn't know that! How cool is that! I bet that's a good retirement gig. It seems like such a positive place to work.

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  8. Lexington has a Trader Joe's, but I've never been! I need to rectify immediately. BTW, does the pizza sauce have chunks of onions in it? I have an allergy to onions, so a lot of pizza sauces are a no-go for me.

    Tif
    www.brightonabudget.com

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    1. I just read the label, it has onion powder in it...
      I don't know if that would work for you or not??

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  9. haha that is so funny! TJ's is a favorite of ours too - I love most of their apps!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  10. I have a serious crush on your man but our long distance relationship SUCKS :(.

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    1. Oh man!! Maybe Joe will move closer to you!

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  11. I'm definitely going to look for that Flat Iron Steak next time I go see your "man" ;)
    Thanks for the tip!!!

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    1. You'll love it; it's so good!! Now I want that for dinner tonight.

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  12. I wish we had a Trader Joes....and I spy a Southern Living container. :)

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    1. I had to go back & see what it was!! Ha!! Yes, I love that one!

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  13. Confession – I have never been to Trader Joes. It’s a good drive for us and we are just never over that way. But after your post I want to go even more now!

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    1. Yes, but you have HEB's near you! I can't wait until we get one up here!

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  14. I hate that we don't have a Trader Joe's close. However, I do go shopping there when we go visit my in-laws over 8 hours away. Last time I had to get a small cooler to bring home some of the cold items. I'm thinking the next time I need to bring a big cooler and load up on those steaks!

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