Do I want to go shopping at Trader Joe's?

[Deleted]

I think generally people like TJ's. Frozen selection is reasonably priced and pretty good but that is all I will buy there now after finding moldy tomatoes and bread. So freakin' nasty.

[zeewifeandmama]

I like it for their frozen/prepared food options. I do not shop for produce there, it is not worth it. Also, their pasta sauce is not expensive and IMHO really yummy!

[isabel]

We don't have one here yet, but I'm pretty excited to get one. I've heard great things about the freezer section, prepared foods, and TJ brand packaged stuff. I doubt I'll shop there a ton when it does go in (slated for sometime next year I think), but I'm guessing there might be a few items here and there that I make an effort to get over there for.

[5thofjuly]

Yes, you do! You want frozen goods, Greek yogurt, cheese, and wine.

[Deleted]

I go for certain things. My kids love the Greek yogurt, frozen turkey meatballs are a staple, the Roquefort walnut dip is fab and I like the Mediterranean hummus. They have a good selection of vitamins. Chicken potstickers, individual quiche, olive tapenade, crackers, nuts. I do not like their produce, cheeses or breads.

[Nonny]

I like their bad for you snack products - yogurt stars, dark chocolate edamame, power berry trex mix (and now just the powerberries since I've discovered you can buy them separately), this pear cider they have at Christmas.

Lots of people like their Greek yogurt, but I think it's awful. I'll stick with Fage or Chobani.

[Deleted]

See, my kids will not touch the Chobani yogurt. I think it tastes chalky. I love the Fage, though.

[The Impossible Girl]

May 14, 2012 1:37:30 GMT -5 Nonny said:

this pear cider they have at Christmas.

I love their pear cider.

I've never had a problem with their fresh produce, but I have had pita bread (not regular) get moldy on me in like a day (Returned it with no problem). I still buy bread there though.

[lala]

TJs is on one of our weekly stops. It's less than 10 minutes away and easy to get to. We buy milk, yogurt in big tubs, cheese, tofu, hummus, bread (had it go moldy early once), cereal (the $1.99 varieties), bananas, apples, bagged arugula, cereal bars, frozen lunches for DH, fish on occasion, big chocolate bars for baking, pasta, waffles for DDs (one of the only reasonable priced waffles w/o extra crap like food dyes), treats or chocolates for holidays and other occasions.

That is more or less our "usual" run down, but some trips are just $15 and others are $75. I don't buy meat there generally. I haven't had major issues with their produce, you just have to know what is a good deal and what isn't.

[almond]

They are opening 3 here soon and the hype is crazy. I must not be getting it because it sounds like Costco lite.

[lishie]

I would never be able to do all my grocery shopping there (for example, last week I needed yeast to make homemade soft pretzels, and at TJ yeast is a holiday item), but I do like trader joes. I'm not a huge fan of their produce or fresh meats, though I do sometimes purchase them. I LOVE their gigantic chocolate bars, black tea, root vegetable chips and a lot of their frozen items. When I need to make something quick, I buy their precooked breaded chicken and throw it in the oven to heat it, and then either slice it for a chicken salad or serve it with pasta, sauce and cheese as parm.

[SJ]

We buy everything there. I find it to be much cheaper than the "big" stores in our area.

I am not very picky and have no time or desire to shop at multiple stores.

On rare occasions if I am entertaining or cooking very complex recipes, I will find that Trader Joe's is missing one or two items on my list. Then I pop into Whole Foods or Jewel or just do a Peapod order, but TJ's can handle 98% of our grocery needs.

[rex]

May 14, 2012 6:43:47 GMT -5 SJ said:

We buy everything there. I find it to be much cheaper than the "big" stores in our area.

I am not very picky and have no time or desire to shop at multiple stores.

On rare occasions if I am entertaining or cooking very complex recipes, I will find that Trader Joe's is missing one or two items on my list. Then I pop into Whole Foods or Jewel or just do a Peapod order, but TJ's can handle 98% of our grocery needs.

This is me exactly. I love TJs.

[starburst]

I go to Trader Joe's mainly for their hummus, frozen fruit and vegetables, frozen orange chicken, string cheese and nuts. The candy cane Jo Jos they have over the holidays are also really good. I wish the TJs in my area carried wine!

[Jem]

May 14, 2012 6:43:47 GMT -5 SJ said:

We buy everything there. I find it to be much cheaper than the "big" stores in our area.

I am not very picky and have no time or desire to shop at multiple stores.

On rare occasions if I am entertaining or cooking very complex recipes, I will find that Trader Joe's is missing one or two items on my list. Then I pop into Whole Foods or Jewel or just do a Peapod order, but TJ's can handle 98% of our grocery needs.

This is us too. Beyond prepared food, their TJ brand is great. Plus, they have impeccable customer service. I brought home bad peppers one time and at my next visit I mentioned it and they refunded me the cost, no problem. With that said though, I am leery of their produce and stick to just getting onions, potatoes, and bagged spinach there.

[clickerish]

We go to TJs often. Their organic dairy options are far better priced and their eggs last longer than those at other stores we go to. We also buy wine, cereal, rice pasta and frozen vegetables there. Sometimes coffee. Their paper products are also reasonably priced (although you have few options).

That being said, I could never do all my shopping there. Their produce is borderline bad when you buy it, and that's a huge part of our diet. The spice section in our TJs is next to nonexistent, and given how much Indian food I cook, they just can't sustain our shopping needs.

And no, it's nothing like Costco. You aren't going to have to buy bulk

[nicksmom]

If you can go during the week, I would go. The one near me is small and so crowded on the weekends. We usually go to stock up on frozen premade stuff to keep in the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking.

[madladybride]

May 14, 2012 6:43:47 GMT -5 SJ said:

We buy everything there. I find it to be much cheaper than the "big" stores in our area.

I am not very picky and have no time or desire to shop at multiple stores.

On rare occasions if I am entertaining or cooking very complex recipes, I will find that Trader Joe's is missing one or two items on my list. Then I pop into Whole Foods or Jewel or just do a Peapod order, but TJ's can handle 98% of our grocery needs.

Yep, us, too. I hate to run around to different stores. I'm not wasting time & gas money to go somewhere that has slightly cheaper bananas...

[Ashley&Scott]

I don't go there very often but we like:

fresh salsa
roasted red pepper hummus
orange cranberry bread (mix)

[mbcdefg]

We went last weekend because I discovered there's a store 20 minutes away from us. Before we moved, the closest one was 40 minutes away. It's great for snacky-type foods and frozen stuff. I wouldn't do my regular shopping there but I may go back if we're having a house party and need some appetizers.

Stuff we bought, tried and loved: mini PB cups, frozen pork potstickers, PB-filled pretzels, garlic hummus, tomato soup

Bought but haven't tried yet: jasmine rice (the theee-pound bag of dry rice, not the frozen bag), frozen orange chicken

[ejpint]

We split our shopping between TJ's, SuperTarget and the Farmers Market in summer.
I do buy a lot of our produce there in the winter - I like their bagged organic romaine lettuce, and their tomatoes. I'm just careful to really look it over, as I do find things sometimes that are moldy or are less than fresh.

Things that are almost always on my list?
Frozen naan bread, their frozen chicken tikka masala, vodka sauce, peanut butter oat bars, organic chicken, organic three-cheese pizza, organic green tea & lemonade (so, so good). Milk there is cheaper than Target.

[Deleted]

I always buy quite a bit of produce at TJ's and I've never had a problem. Hmm.

[imojoebunny]

I love trader joes. I get a lot of frozen fruit, frozen entrees. The kids love their frozen mac n cheese and I do to. I like the pasta sauces, salsas, fresh and jarred, organic corn chips, cheeses, smoked salmon, frozen fish sticks. Everything crackers. The quality is great. The bread molds because it has no preservatives, you do need to check the date, since it generally only last 3 to 5 days. I also like their nuts and dried fruit. Oh, and the wine. I am not much of a wine drinker, but I always have that on hand because people come over and I use it for cooking. I don't feel bad that only one glass gets used, unlike the regularly priced wines.

[nygalinpa]

I've never had an issue with the produce at TJs. Occasionally I will buy their meat. I think the quality is fine, I just prefer using local sources for meat. I do buy bacon there. Nitrate free, so much cheaper than WF or my local grocery store.
Great snack items such as the cereal bars which are HFCS free. The organic cereals are a good deal. The frozen rice is great. DH and the girls love their mac n cheese. I think their cheese selection is good as well.

[harrylauder]

Yes. It's our go-to place for snacks. The canadian bacon, salad dressings, frozen stuff, snacks, nuts/trail mix, greek yogurt... yum. Pretty much the only thing we don't get there is get fruits/veggies, b/c we have a CSA and farmstands for that.

[Deleted]

I love TJs. I get some produce (mainly bananas, avocados, kale, apples. some produce is hit or miss though), love their condiments section (hummus, salsas, spreads, Island Soyaki, etc); frozen stuff isnt bad and is easy for lunch/dinner, and I get a lot of stuff for DD- organic applesauce, organic yogurt, hemp milk-- at much cheaper prices than a regular grocery store.

I personally couldn't use it exclusively but its a great supplement. I wish it was closer to home (its by my office) so I usually can't take frozen stuff home with me, I only eat it for lunch.

[womet]

I go there occasionally. I like some of their frozen entrees. We always make sure we have either the orange chicken or spicy beef and broccoli on hand in the freezer for the nights we don't feel like cooking. And their frozen rice rounds out the meal nicely.

We also love their caramelized onion cheddar cheese. I hardly eat cheese, but I love this cheese. We also use their wine for cooking and having an occasional glass at night. DH and I both take unsalted nuts with our lunch-- and we love their dry roasted almonds and cashews for that.

[dragonfly08]

I love TJs. The downside, for me, is that I go in there for one or two things and come out with a lot more than that! But I suppose there are worse things than finding yummy stuff to eat. I definitely don't do all of my regular shopping there, but every two or three weeks I pop in to pick up some of our favorites - dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt, cereal bars, Magic Moo chocolate sauce, salad dressings, turkey meatballs, whole wheat tortillas, turkey corn dogs, mini PB cups, pound plus chocolate bars, cat cookies, salsa, their version of Pirate Booty, almond milk, sunflower seed butter. It's great for inexpensive wine, and I love some of their seasonal items like peppermint Joe Joe's, pumpkin cream cheese, flavored coffees, gingerbread houses/men to decorate.

May 13, 2012 23:41:20 GMT -5 @griffster said:

I think generally people like TJ's. Frozen selection is reasonably priced and pretty good but that is all I will buy there now after finding moldy tomatoes and bread. So freakin' nasty.

I've had a few bad experiences like this, too...last month a package of cheese got moldy a month and a half before the expiration date and I hadn't even opened it yet. What I love about TJs is that they'll take stuff like that back for exchange/refund no questions asked. Heck, they'll even take it back if you just didn't like it (I mentioned to a cashier once that my kids didn't like a product I bought once and she gave me my money back for it!). Stuff from anywhere can get moldy; I'll take my chances with the store that will let me replace it even if I've eaten some and/or lost the receipt! Of course, this relies on you living close enough to the store that it's not inconvenient to return it...if you're making a long trip then you might be pickier than I am.