Trader Joe's Breakfast - Part One: WEEK DAY

Pretty much, every week day morning, my kids eat the same thing.  Toasted Ezekial Sprout Bread (cheaper at TJ than anywhere else), with Natural PB (not from TJ) and Organic Reduced Sugar Blueberry Jam (from TJ.)

And my husband and I eat it too.

Make sure to keep the bread frozen, and then toast it twice in the toaster oven (flip halfway through.)

Three of the WORST snacks at Trader Joes - BAD, BAD, BAD, Don't do it!

Just don't waste your money...

There's just nothing good about these PB Pretzels.  I threw them away.

These weren't terrible, but not good enough to buy again.

Are you craving Cheetos and hoping for a healthier, baked alternative?  Well, it doesn't exist.  These might be the worst thing I have ever purchased at TJ.

The How-to of Trader Joe's Produce - Part One

I should mention that I shop all over, at every grocery store in town.  There are certain things I need to buy at certain places.

And Trader Joe's is no different.  I don't like all of their produce.  Here are my tips for quick produce shopping at TJ's.

YAY:

• Bananas - they are crazy cheap.  Like 19 cents each.
• Organic bagged Carrots - these are delicious and soooo cheap.  89 cents a bag.  You do have to peel them, but it is totally worth it because they taste WAY better than those gross baby carrots. (see photo below).
• Avocados - organic or not, I have always had great avocados there.
• Persian Cucumbers - these come about 5 or 6 to a sleeve and they are tiny, cute and delicious.  I have not found their equal - at any other store, including the big fancy organic grocery store. (see photo below).
• D'Anjou Pears - Have you had one?  They are SO good from anywhere, and make the Bartlett taste inedible, but they are large, juicy and meaty at TJ.
• Grapefruit, oranges, lemons and Clementines - all good.  We love Clementines and the ones at TJ are terrific and cheaper than our local grocery store.  Why can't someone grow them year round?  Hate those Mandarins that sneak in every year and fool me into thinking they are Clementines.
• Blueberries - delicious and fairly priced.  Sometimes, they even have large containers, great for freezing.  (see photo below)
• Zucchini - These usually come two to a sleeve and I have always been pleased with them.  I make zucchini muffins a lot.
• Onions and garlic - YAY!  Nothing more to say...

NAY:

• Strawberries - these are hit or miss.  Twice, they went bad really fast (like super fuzzy and gross after a day or two.)  Keep n mind that you can get a full refund if you return the item - even an empty box.  And you don't even need a receipt.  But, I never do that because that would require a trip back to TJ prematurely, and I just don't have the time.
• Grapes - for what you get, they aren't worth the money.  My kids go through purple grapes FAST and the little containers they carry at TJ just don't cut it for us.
• Apples - see entry about grapes.  Not worth the price at TJ.

A few of my faves in the produce section of TJ.
 

 

Amazing Popcorn - Who knows about Chicago Style Popcorn Mix?

I love caramel corn.  I hate cheddar corn.  Together, it is magic.  Magically delicious.  I only wish the bag was bigger.

My kids 5 favorite snack foods from Trader Joe's

This is hard.  There are a lot of great snack foods at Trader Joe's!  And a few not so great (stay tuned for that blog entry too).

These are tried and true favorites of my two boys.  Also great that they are nut-free because our school is a nut-free campus.

Favorite Meal for Lunch - Pizzadillas

Once in a while, I feel guilty because I am in a cooking rut, making the same things week after week.  Recently, I decided we were in a lunch rut.  Sandwiches, mac-and-cheese... you get it.  So I started Googling for inspiration and came up with some ideas.  Then I went to Trader Joe's.  I combined what I found online with my imagination, and now have a few new staples.

The biggest success was Pizzadillas.  Get it?  A cross between Pizza and Quesadilla.  An Italian-themed Mexican dish.

Here are the two main ingredients that are specific to TJ.

 

DIRECTIONS:
Heat up a medium non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
Spread butter or whatever your preferred spread is over one side of two tortillas.
Put one tortilla in the pan and sprinkle mozzarella cheese around.
Add pancetta (a few small handfuls) and any other ingredients you want (black olives, red peppers, etc.)
Put second tortilla on top and cook for about 5 minutes.
Flip and cook for 5 more minutes.
Cut into triangles and serve plain or with pizza sauce for dipping.

Corn is a veggie, isn't it? The best canned corn is at Trader Joe's!

My kids aren't huge vegetable eaters.  My older son will eat salad with carrots and cucumbers.  And that is it.  He doesn't like potatoes or corn, shocking!  But my little one LOVES corn.  It's the sugar, right?

Well, Trader Joe's has THE TASTIEST canned corn ever!  My husband and I fight over whatever is left after my three-year old gets his share.  We should just make two cans next time...

You can add a little butter and salt to this before serving, but you really don't even need to.  I also love to put this in tacos, fajitas and quesadillas.