One of the questions I get a lot is, “What are your Trader Joe’s must haves?” Luckily, I consider myself a professional shopper of sorts and TJ’s is my favorite!
I met Joe in college right about the time I turned vegetarian. We have grown together through my exploration of veganism, chocolatism, lunch break shopping trips, pit stops after therapy appointments (ironically, when I would stock up for a binge) and more.
Anyways, here are a few of my classic Trader Joe’s favorites…
Just Mango Slices– make sure to get the unsulfured & unsweetened kind!
Trader Joe’s 100 calorie packs of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies! 
There is a lot of deliciousness packed into these little things. Plus, pairing it with a glass of low fat milk gives ya some protein to balance it out 
Honey Wheat Hot Dog Buns – which were a vital part of tonight’s dinner. If you don’t want to eat hot dogs for 4 days in a row you can freeze the rest. Or you can make a Breakfast Hot Dog!
Dinner was a chicken sausage with the above mentioned bun…
Dipped in spicy hummus and paired with some PopChips stolen from Ben…
Crap, is that a diet Hansen’s soda? Better check on my New Year’s Resolutions…
I normally always roll my eyes when someone is like, “This apple was as good as a chocolate sundae for dessert!!!”
No. No it’s not.
But, I do have to admit that I love green bean fries as much as potato fries. I cook them up with 21 Seasoning Salute and slather them in ketchup. Close your eyes – you can’t tell the difference.
See ya in the morning!
Just made this for dinner tonight, it was delicious and so quick to make. Thank you for posting. I substituted the fried green beans for steamed but I can imagine the green bean fries were amazing.
Roasted green beans have to be one of my all-time favorite foods. Definitely as addictive as potato fries. But you’re right, fruit will never equal chocolate!
I miss TJ’s sooo much. They don’t have any in Florida. 🙁
One of my Trader Joe’s essentials used to be the Charmingly Chewy oatmeal cookies (now they only have chocolate chips). As much as I adore TJ’s and shop there pretty much every other day, it kills me that they discontinue things so often. And boo to seasonal items. I want to be able to buy pumpkin butter and gingerbread mix year round.
Yay! Thanks for this! I was planning on heading to TJs after work today and now I have some new things to look for. My daughter is slightly obsessed with their dehydrated fruit…She’ll be eating the mangoes and say, “Yummm I LOVE mangoes!”
I almost always have the unsulfered unsweetened mango in my pantry as well. My other TJ faves: cheap Almond Breeze almond milk, cheap organic Pink Lady apples (good, but not choc sundae good), Laughing cow, Ezekiel bread, Larabars…so these things aren’t TJ exclusives but they’re sooo much cheaper there than anywhere else.
I don’t know if you have a Costco card, but they sell the Almond Milk there now.
Need to try green bean fries! Okra fries are my new favorite things!
Trader Joes must haves, I love their peanut flour ; ) Their berry blend high fiber cereal, and their chocolate covered goodies like the goji berries!
I definitely have my TJ staple items. Hummus, Greek Yogurt, Tuscan Bread…..I have the store down to a science but then they always come out with new products every time I go. So it’s pointless because I walk out with way more than I ever intended to. Oh well, at least its cheap!
Are you talking about the WW Tuscan Pane? Yeah, we’re obsessed with that bread.
Oooh those green brean fries look great. How do you get them to be crispy and fry-like? I feel like any time I go to bake potatoes for fries they’re still mushy and such!
I “fry” them in a pan with non-stick spray on the pan, then I spray the green beans directly. High heat and lots of seasoning 🙂
those fries look so good! 🙂 now i want a hot dog….by the way great picture!
it’s fun to see someone else’s TJ’s buys. i always always always get their meatless meatballs
I have a love / hate relationship with TJ’s. I love everything there- and I hate that I always end up buying sweets I don’t need and that I spend my whole paycheck there!
Lindo post, saludos desde México 🙂
21 Seasoning Salute is THE best! And those 100 calorie cookies are way better than any other 100 calorie cookies!!!