We recently received a box of TJ's chocolate chip "dunkers" cookies as a gift that we thought were quite good! I like the seasoned rack of lamb (frozen) and the chili lime/lemon pistachios, but they're not new.

I go about twice monthly!! I am lucky to have one near my home. I usually buy: o% Fage Greek yogurt, almond butter, wine, lower salt chips, nuts, whole grain bread, canned soups. Super special treats are the ice cream sandwiches(I'm sorry I do not know the name but it's in a pink box), peanut butter filled pretzels, 70% organic dark chocolate bars. The white bean hummus is really good!

Right now they have pumpkin butter, which is amazing!

I am a super ameteur blogger, and I confessed my love for TJ's on my blog. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Funky Lady 21

The closest TJs to me is 4 hours away. But since it is where my daughter lives, I get there a couple of times a year. We love the Ginger Thins (thin ginger cookies).

Based on recommendations here, I also bought frozen pineapple, but I keep moving it around in the freezer. I don't know what to do with it.

Call him and tell him to buy you some chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels. They should be in the freezer section on one of the upper shelves (they're not frozen). While in the freezer section, he should grab some frozen green beans (haricort verts). They're great.

TJs frozen mushroom pastry appetizers are pretty good; we stock up on them. They have a ham and gruyere puff pastry that is good but needs longer cooking time. I'd stick with the mushroom ones.

A friend just got some crackers that she loved. Something like "1000 layer" crackers. She was raving about them.

I stock up on the Bittersweet Pound n a half bars...

I'm a TJ addict and have three within 45 minutes of my house so am there all the time.

These are our favorites in no particular order. Right next to two of the TJ stores are amazing fruit and veggie shops so I rarely buy fresh produce at TJ's

General Tsao's Stir Fry sauce,
chocolate covered espresso beans,
Wasabi Mayonnaise,
chicken sausages,
edamame,
Spinach Tortillas (yes they are green lol),
Dundee Orange marmalade (dh LOVES this),
greek yoghurt,
ginger snaps (replace graham crackers in many of my crumb crusts and awesome over roasted veggies),
parmesan cheese crack...errr...I mean crackers,
Chocolate covered cherries,
whole wheat pasta,
Chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels,
snack bars,
Garlic Naan Bread (in the freezer section),
Chili Lime Chicken burgers

We just had a party here for DD's teenage friends and I decided we'd get all the frozen snacky things I'd said no to over the last few years! The outstanding two items were the Thai chicken rolls and the Arancini, both frozen. I also love the ham and gruyere tart/pizza. Maybe that's the pastry mentioned above. Amazing!

I regularly buy their toasted slivered almonds. I eat them on my cereal. The PB-filled pretzels are great, but don't read the calorie count.

I love the Spinach Pies and like to have them for last-minute suppers. The rack of lamb is good, but I wash off the herbs before cooking. I also like some of the jarred curry cooking sauces. Not real Indian, but decent in a pinch. Any of the covered nuts are amazing...sesame-covered or cinnamon-covered.

I'm reading this too late but I love their Gruyere pizza and I also love their tabooli (sp)

OMG the greek style non-fat yogurts. OMG. Good bye sour cream!

Thanks to everyone who responded. I'm making a list of all the items suggested that I wasn't able to get to keep handy for the next opportunity.

I had to make a call right after the "1000 layer crackers" were suggested and we have 2 boxes of those. DH got some mushroom pastry appetizers as well as one w/ carmelized onion & gruyere. Got the French frozen green beans...and, yes, those peanut filled chocolate covered pretzels. DH said it was lucky he didn't open the bag to try one on the drive back because they wouldn't have made it home, LOL.

Thanks again!

If you have an Aldi's nearby, that's an alternative. TJ's and Aldi's are owned by the same company (Germany-based). Aldi's is the "cheaper" of their stores, but many of their store brand items are comparable. The packaging isn't fancy but it's the content that counts, right?

mrsmarv, there are a couple of Aldi's in Grand Rapids but I don't find any of the same stuff I get at Trader Joe's. Maybe they send different stuff to different regions?

My nearest Trader Joe's is about 4 hours from my house, about 3 hours from Elery's. We got there every couple of months.

I love the flaxseed tortilla chips, they're all different colors but they all taste the same, LOL. Their Triple Ginger Snaps are addictive, I can eat a container of those in a week or less all by myself. Elery buys wine there, the Three Buck Chuck or other kinds, whatever suits him. I'm not a huge fan of cheese but the Dubliner I get at Trader Joe's is perfect with some dark rye and a slice of good ham or proscuitto. Their Pound Plus chocolate is very good and I always have some on hand for baking. The Princess and Bruvver just love the chocolate cats, they are chocolate cookies shaped like...well, like cats. (grin) they also like the peanut butter filled pretzels, although I've never gotten the chocolate covered ones.

I buy the Greek yogurt whenever I need a new starter for my own homemade yogurt, it works better than anything else I've tried and I love their pumpkin butter, jessica bought me a jar when she came to stay several years ago and got me hooked. the boss loves the dark chocolate and chipotle covered hazelnuts too.

I used to buy their roasted red pepper and eggplant spread and Jessica brought me a huge stash because I love the stuff. I did find out, though, that the Mediterranean Market carries Akvar, which is the same thing and a lot cheaper!

Annie

Garlic Naan bread - but not in freezer, but on fresh bread shelf .... and the fresh tzatziki.... I could live on that. We had a TJ's set up housekeeping right across the street from my favorite grocery store......life doesn't get much better than that!!!!!!

I know I'm late but thought I'd share our favorites:

Frozen appys:
Onion and gruyere pizza
Birds Nests
Artichoke and spinach dip (perfect for microwaving in a small ramekin)
Tempura shrimp
Spanikopita (in a pinch because our Sharon's are the best)
Dim sum (in a box)
Pot stickers (in a bag)
Mushroom flatbread

Also...
Fresh pork tenderloin (no added anything)
Organic nitrate/nitrate free hot dogs
Fage yogurt
Frozen artichoke hearts
Vinegar and Salt chips
Hot and Sweet mustard for dipping pretzels

Sue

Just to clarify, Aldi and TJs do share an underlying parent company but that's it. They operate as completely independent companies with no product cross over.

amck, report back on what you thought of the products you got.

So many of my favorites have already been listed here, but I did want to add a few more...

Cacciatore Sauce - Just simmer with chicken, couldn't be easier.

Fetucchini Alfredo - Frozen. Again, just simmer on the cooktop. Yum!

Gnocchi In Some Tomato Sauce I Forgot The Name Of - Also frozen, also simmer on top of stove. Very tender.

Pita crisp crackers

Great prices on goat cheese

Nicole

We like their Spanish and Greek olive oils that don't have the hot bite of Italian evoo.
We also like their breakfast bars, especially "A Fig Went into a Bar," though they also have apple and blueberry.

Don't forget their non-food items too - we just got a package of Super Amazing Reusable Kitchen Cloths. I think they give Sham-Wow a run for its money.

I think they discontinued my favorite Kitchen Lemon hand soap, but they still have the French Liquid orange blossom honey soap.

Teas: they have decaf green tea, which I use with peppermint tea to make Moroccan ice tea - great on hot days. But they discontinued Earl Grey decaf :-(, gotta hit the Indian markets for that.

My cats absolutely love the 100% tuna canned cat food. None of them tolerate any of the pre-formed shreds, slices, and cubes of most commercial brands. But they love the TJ tuna. It's just animal grade flaked fish -- the real thing. And it's super cheap!

The pumpkin pancakes are fantastic.Also next time try the corn bread mix and the other seasonal bread mixes that are out now....gingerbread,pumpkin and apple.

Have to say that the "1000 layer crackers" are so very good! They don't look very fancy but have just the best texture and a grainy/nutty flavor that complements, but doesn't overpower, a good cheese. They are my new favorite cracker.

I'm not crazy for pretzels and generally choose other snacks over them, but those chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels are something else. The filling has bits of nut and the chocolate is smooth and fine. The texture and little hint of salt from the pretzel makes it all sing.

We didn't end up using the frozen appetizers. DH made a run to his favorite cheese place and got such a nice assortment that with bread, crackers, grapes, sliced pears & apples and nuts we were good to go for the number of people we had. I'll report on how I like them when we try them.

Thanks to everyone who keeps posting their favorites. My list of "must try" items is growing!

I haven't been to TJ's in years, so I just took a drive over lunch break.

Out of the 1000 layer crackers. The stock boy had never heard of them, but there was a sign on a shelf so hopefully they'll have them soon. :(

Out of chocolate/peanut butter pretzels. :(

No one, including manager, had ever heard of chocolate/raspberry/potato chip bars. Said it must be a west coast thing at this point. :(

I bought the General Tsao sauce. I just tasted it, tastes quite good though not similar to any I've had before. It might be a bit spicy for DW, but we'll see.

I also bought the frozen rack of lamb as well as some lobster ravioli. If those turn out good I might start shopping at TJ's more often as they do seem to have reasonably priced convenience food. I have a choice of two TJ's less than ten minutes from home, so that's fairly convenient as well.