Trader Joe’s discussion

Lyban zone 4

last year

I hate to start another favorite things from TJ, and i can only finf old discussions like 7 or 10 years ago.

can someone help me find some of the later discussions. i was sure there was one in the last year.

Featured Answer

User

last year

Some of TJs items are other brands rebranded and sold cheaper. For example, their chocolate chip cookies are the same as Tate's. If there's something you really love, you might be able to find out what the original product is and buy it elsewhere.

Comments (41)

maire_cate
last year
last modified: last year
These may be the most recent. I just typed 'Trader Joe" "Search in GardenWeb" at the top, but there more listed.

March 2022

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6250323/trader-joe-s-opens-here-tomorrow#n=32

April 2022 - from the KT

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6256045/new-item-for-me-from-trader-joe-s#n=44

Nov. 2021

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6197539/what-to-include-in-a-trader-joe-s-gift-bundle#n=56
Funkyart
last year
I don't think it hurts to have a fresh new discussion with seasonal updates and new finds! I say this selfishly because I haven't been to our new TJ's yet (due to temporary limitations in what i can eat) but hoping to go very soon!
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I don't buy anything frozen at TJs or premade - I go there for inexpensive organic fresh vegetables and fruit, breads & tortillas, cold cuts and cheeses, and dried fruit and nuts. I buy chocolate there as well. I don't like their ice cream, and I don't like their mayonnaise, but those are the only two things that I prefer to buy elsewhere that I can think of. There are many things they do not have, such as grits and cornmeal, and I do not remember seeing frozen juices, but their bottled cranberry juice is the best and a great price. I think I got blueberry juice there also. I don't buy anything from the above list either. Lars
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I believe it! It's supposed to. I just meant that the recipe photo wasn't professional and making it look good in a photo takes some skill. Here's a recipe on Hubert Keller's site: http://www.hubertkeller.com/recipes/recipe_detailsf9d7.html?show=TV-Episode-201-B There are many recipes. Lardons are classic, many just call for bacon, some use ham--they're interchangeable depending on what you can get, your budget and your taste. Most recipes have some kind of creme fraiche or white cheese. The ricotta and half and half is another way to get the same kind of texture. I'm not sure what you mean about the texture because puff pastry is lofty, not flat, whereas the thin, crisp crust you describe is the traditional texture. Thin and crisp is a function of how thing you stretch your dough and the heat you cook it at. To keep it from lifting, dock it with a fork all over.
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My brother is quite the wine collector and has a huge wine cellar in his Culver City home which was stocked originally with his finds at Trader Joe's as far back as the 60's or perhaps earlier. I think he found TJs when he was getting his masters at Cal Tech and a whole group of his friends were into wine and the bargains that TJ offered in them. Decades later, we celebrated my sister's 70th birthday with a special wine my BIL had bought there and saved for a special occasion. The cork was crumbly, so the kitchen staff was involved in helping the wine staff open it, and we were the talk of the 5 Crowns Restaurant staff. The bottle was now worth $2000, and still affixed was the price tag from Trader Joe's, something less than $10, I don't remember exactly.
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RNmomof2 zone 5
last year
Don't get your hopes up on finding what you want. I was at one in Indy Tuesday and the freezer aisle was 50% empty. The entire middle section didn't have one thing in it and the rest of the cases were maybe 50% full. Interesting but sad to see.
Bestyears
last year
I vote for a fresh discussion too. I love their frozen fruit -quality and prices are great. Particularly blueberries (they have the small ones) and pineapple.
deegw
last year
last modified: last year
I was in one in Asheville two weeks ago and it was pretty well stocked. I wonder if it's a supply problem or not enough employees problem? Probably a combination of both.

My vegetarian/vegan kids got us to try the dairy-free mini cones. They are really good and only 60 calories. It's about 20 calories per bite.

https://vegnews.com/2021/7/trader-joes-mini-vegan-ice-cream-cones
just_terrilynn
last year
I hope this is ok to post here but wanted to give a heads up. This is about something we all know of but might let our guard down on due to the locations and setting of many Trader Joe's. Yesterday on my neighbors site there were several woman stating that they had their wallet stolen from their purse sitting in their shopping basket at our local Trader Joes. Even though we all know not to leave an unattended purse in a shopping cart I can sort of see, due to the location, how one could get a false sense of security. There was also a lady from a little further west Trader Joe location who said it happened to her. From what I gather it's well known Trader Joe's does not have exterior or interior security cameras and rely on integrity. I know my TJ's does not have exterior cameras as we had inquired not long ago after someone ran into the back of our car and left.

Be careful!
sushipup2
last year
Terilynn, same here. Not TJ's, but the local food co-op. 4 times in one week, it's reported. We assume some places are safe, best to be aware every where.
4kids4us
last year
My favorite jarred salsa was discontinued. We have tried several others and none compare! Two different TJ employees suggested a particular new one, saying it was closest to the discontinued one. They actually gave it to me for free to try it. Well, glad I didn't oay for it as it tastes nothing like the other and I didn't like it at all. Thankfully tomatoes are now in season and we can start making our own again. Might have to learn how to can this summer.

We like to buy all our nuts at TJ's. My favorite is the dry roasted unsalted shelled pistachios - I like to put them on my salad.

Cheese is another thing I always get there. Currently, with our garden starting to produce, I like to buy their ciliegine - the little/mini mozzarella balls. I mix them with sunburst tomatoes and basil from our garden to make caprese salad as a quick, no cook side dish with dinner. I like asiago to grate and put on pasta.

Their hummus is quite good too.

Their pantry items are a staple in our house - avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, reduced salt soy sauce - all things I regularly buy there.

Greeting cards are super cheap - I like to keep a few birthday cards on hand.

We don't really eat frozen prepared foods so can't help out there. The only thing frozen I do get is the orange chicken - my kids love that so I keep it in the freezer for the random night H and I aren't home for dinner and they want an easy meal. I also buy their frozen edamame - both the shelled kind (we add to Asian recipes we make at home) and the unshelled. I also get frozen mahi mahi there which we marinate and grill for fish tacos.
Tina Marie
last year
I need to go and look around. I have not been since the pandemic! There is one in the big city near me so it's like 45 mins from here and usually I would combine that with shopping as there is a mall and other shops nearby. But I have not set foot in a mall since then either, and I don't miss it! I am not one who enjoys shopping and can find anything I need online LOL. Since I retired 3 years ago, I cook more and use even less convenience foods. But I do love TJs and need to plan a trip soon.
Olychick
last year
last modified: last year
I tried their new (I think) drink - sparkling green tea with pineapple. It’s really good, no sweetener added, smallish cans and 10 calories. I love their organic Persian cucumbers, but they also had little mini cukes about the size of gherkins. Great for a veggie tray. Not organic tho.

I think I wrote last time about their new frozen Korean Japchae sweet potato glass noodle dish. It is SO good that they seem to have trouble keeping it in stock. https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-japchae-korean-sweet-potato-glass-noodles-vegetable-stir-fry-reviews/ Their black bean tacquitos are back -a staple in my grandsons’s diet. We also love the Mandarin chicken, tho we seldom eat the sauce. It’s good but a bit too sweet for me.
eld6161
last year
It's a fun store and certainly fine to discuss favorites from time to time.

Our ususals:

Vegetable gyozas

Frozen Just sauce turkey bolognese

Frozen turkey meatballs or the Italuan style

The small cookies in the round clear canisters. Mini chocolate chip, oatmeal etc

Mini biscotti

Fridge section, interesting selection of raviolis

Frozen spinach artichoke dip

Various vegetarian and vegan options

I peruse the frozen section and sometimes also but there vegetable combos.

I like having a few frozen things to keep on hand when schedules changes etc.
eld6161
last year
Justterri, excellent reminder. Whenever I shop, I put my purse in the shopping cart and cover it with my shopping bags or it gets hidden by merchandise as. I shop. I no longer leave it in the of the cart.
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
last year
last modified: last year
Bought their Organic Italian salad dressing. Very good-be sure to shake well, so you get the flavor.

Ours is fully stocked. No issues at all.
sushipup2
last year
Something to avoid, the blueberry muffins. I took DH with me a few days ago, despite knowing better, and he put these in my cart. I reminded him that we had tried them years ago and they are not nearly as good as what we can get at Giant. But he insisted. They are not very good. We'll see if DH remembers that in the future.
tvq1
last year
Lyban--PM'd you (replied to your PM on another site....)

But, to answer your question: We enjoy TJ's frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi. I use our air fryer to crisp it up nicely, and most often serve it with pesto.
Judi
last year
Even though we all know not to leave an unattended purse in a shopping cart I can sort of see, due to the location, how one could get a false sense of security.

Pure folly! Doesn't matter where you're shopping. Take the damn bag with you!
Judi
last year
last modified: last year
The frozen Thai green curry is back. It's almost as good as homemade.

https://www.clubtraderjoes.com/2021/12/trader-joes-vegan-green-thai-curry-review.html

My husband is addicted to the mini coffee ice cream cones.

https://www.bakeat350.net/2021/04/trader-joes-coffee-bean-mini-hold-the-cone-review.html
daki
last year
Things I always try to get if they are there….
- the Korean scallion pancakes/ pajeon - stuffed with veggies
- Tarte D’Alace (ham and gruyere cheese flatbread)
- I also like to buy the lightly smoked German Prosciutto, which is pretty much German schinken marketed with a different name.
LynnNM
last year

I use a large carabiner every time I shop anywhere I use a cart. They're inexpensive and lightweight. I use one to attach my shopping bags, and sometimes my purse behind them, to the cart right in front of where I stand when pushing it. BUT, I never walk away from my cart and my purse. Ever! I can’t imagine doing anything that foolish!
Jilly
last year
Lynn, that's brilliant! DH is a climber, I’ll have to ”borrow” some of his carabiners. :D
mtnrdredux_gw
last year
I think it's almost a philosophical view, coupled with where one lives. I leave my purse in my cart all the time, very rarely lock my car or my house. I was also raised this way. Studies show that people grossly overestimate these risks. My kids reports that their friends think they are nuts for not locking their cars, LOL.

To my recollection, the only crime I have been a victim of was in college, in Phila. I was in a dangerous part of the city, so my car was locked. And stolen.

All that said, "I can totally see why people might say "why take the risk" ...but I just don't even think about it much myself.

And I totally reject the idea that Trader Joe's has any particular issue with this.
ninasmom
last year
Mtn, car thefts & stealing catalytic converters is crazy in CT right now-even in daylight.

Maybe not in your area yet, but lock up to be safe.
mtnrdredux_gw
last year
The latest data I can find was published inlate March of this year:

Preliminary crime statistics from state and local police departments last year showed car thefts declining between 4 and 10 percent from the 7,773 incidents reported in 2020,

The same article said that the 2020 "spike" may really just have been an illusions, because the outlier was really 2019, when thefts were unusually low.

I googled a few articles and cannot find data that supports your view. I don't begrudge anyone for locking their car and I can understand it, but I won't be.
Judi
last year
I googled a few articles and cannot find data that supports your view. I don't begrudge anyone for locking their car and I can understand it, but I won't be.

Until it happens to you.

https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/car-theft-statistics/
Kswl
last year
I haven't liked anything I ever bought at Trader Joe's. Most of the stuff I had on my list (gleaned from fora like this one) were not on the shelves at a large TJ in Atlanta. After the third trip I stopped trying to like it and haven't been back. We are very lucky to have a good farmer's market every week, spring through late fall, and I don't like frozen foods except peas and puff pastry :-)
mtnrdredux_gw
last year
last modified: last year
Yeah, I don't know why people want to convince me the world is so terribly unsafe. The poster mentioned my state, I looked it up, and I see nothing. End of story.

I've told you I can understand your POV and I am not trying to convince you to unlock you cars and homes and sprawl your purses. You do you.

PS Your data, which is much staler than mine, support my claim that car theft is not likely to be a big issue given my car and the place where i live.
Judi
last year
You may want to reconsider a move to the South.
Judi
last year
Kswl, during the holidays TJ's sells an all butter puff pastry for $3.99. At least that's what it cost last time I bought it there.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/all-butter-puff-pastry-sheets-057182
deegw
last year
last modified: last year
I will point out that it's easier to be unconcerned about theft when, all things considered, it's a minor inconvenience versus a financial blow. A family member recently had a car and other valuable personal items stolen because of his cavalier attitude about safety. He was just squeaking by financially and now he has to buy another car, in a hot used car market, using a paltry insurance settlement. It's going to take him a long time to financially recover. He'll be locking his car now.
Kswl
last year
Judi I have heard many times about TJ’s magical puff pastry but unfortunately it was out of stock at the TJ’s nearest me each time i went. The store is more than an hour away…. I’ll live without it.
mtnrdredux_gw
last year
Yes, that is true, too. Any sort of risk-taking behavior is always judged against one's risk tolerance. We make decisions based on both our perceived frequency of a risk and the severity of the risk. He was unwise not to lock his car given his circumstances.

I've posted on this for years now, and I am usually the outlier so you can feel free to ignore me.

: )

People vastly overestimate the likelihood of crimes, that's all. I like to remind people of that. I am not proselytizing that you should change your behaviors.
Kswl
last year
I read my mother the FBI statistics on violent crime and she actually said she didn't care what the FBI said bc she could ”see” for herself that crime is rising. Of course she meant television news, that oxymoron to which so much ignorance is attributable.

Most people do not know that per capita Jackson, Mississippi is the murder capital of the United States— NOT Chicago.
ninasmom
last year
Good luck to your family member deegw- it is really devastating to people already concered with finances. Tough lesson to learn when it is totally avoidable and just instinctual to most of us.
ratherbesewing
last year
Lots of cheeses at Trader Joes. Do you have a favorite?
bbstx
last year
last modified: last year
I lock my car simply because it pulls in the wing mirrors which I think helps the people parking next to me. Are car parking slots getting smaller? Sure seems that way!

If I can help it, I do not carry a purse to the grocery. I put my drivers license and a credit card in one pocket of my pants and the key fob in the other pocket.

The closest TJ to me is more than an hour and a half away. I might throw a cooler in the car and go twice a year or so. I’m like a kid in a candy store buying stuff I don’t need! I have 2 packages of the puff pastry in my freezer now. Bought it only because I had heard how good it was. I guess I need to find a use for it since I will soon be without a freezer. I’m giving it to DD and DSIL for the 1/2 cow they are buying.

@ratherbesewing, regarding TJ cheese…at all costs avoid the low fat Brie! I somehow picked it up by mistake and didn’t notice until I got home. If you have an old rubber ball, just gnaw on it; same texture and taste!
Louise Smith
last year
I don't think much about protecting my purse, car, or home - I just take a moment and lock things up. It's instinct, it's how I was raised. Which was in an area of low crime. I always wear a cross body purse that never is in a cart in a store.

Will look for frozen blueberries next TJ visit.
OllieJane
last year
last modified: last year
Until it happens to you...in my twenties I was in very nice grocery store in affluent part of town that I lived at the time and had my purse (not zipped) in my grocery cart. I was looking at canned goods and not paying attention to my purse. From the corner of my eye I "thought" but wasn't sure I saw someone close to my purse and just didn't feel right about it, I looked inside my purse and my wallet was gone. I saw this lady with a cart moving very fast down the aisle and wasn't even sure it was her, but I ran to catch her and said, "Did you take my wallet?"-still not sure she did, so I was scared about that- she started to run and I ran to her and told her to give it back and she threw it on the floor. Lesson learned-never leave purse unattended!

TJ's is the only place I can find Shishito peppers and flowers are cheap. I have the prettiest bright orange gerber daisies in a vase right now!
jill302
last year
Picked up Lemon Meyer Biscotti at Trader’s last week. It is a seasonal item, I beleive it was recommended on a previous thread. Delicous!!!
olychick
last year
You can also secure your purse with the child safety belt on a grocery shopping cart. It might slow someone down who wants to grab and run with your purse.
katrina_ellen
last year
I clicked on here to see what people like, not about theft. I like the sweet potato crackers-only 1.99! Also like the reduced sugar apricot preserves - really good mixed in with plain greek yogurt. There are several things I go to Trader Joes for that I can't get elsewhere - some of my very favorites are the lower price items, like the raw walnuts and the new zealand cheddar cheeses and honey. I also like their turkey chili in a can. I try to eat mostly unprocessed food though.

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