<p>Some of my better buys (sorry no prices)
Soft whole Wheat Bread (very few ingredients, all wholesome)
Frozen Mangoes (can’t find them anywhere else!)
Organic Milk
Kefir
Raw Almonds (geting pricely lately though…not TJs fault)
Organic Black Beans (canned)
Canned low salt wild salmon (good stuff!)
Coffee
Frozen cakes (great for when you don’t have time to cook…small cakes cost 15.99 at Whole Foods…about 6 bucks at TJs)</p>
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<p>I don’t really cook. I don’t find it fun or enjoyable and it’s a waste of my time as far as I’m concerned. TJ’s (I have one within walking distance of my home) provides me with some healthy frozen alternatives that are super easy to prepare. Add some vegetables and a salad and I’m pretty much good to go. No apologies on my part.</p>
<p>btw guys, I’ll post my findings later today or tomorrow. (As promised.)</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>My top 10(I used to live in SF and got TJ’s all the time, now it’s a once a month trip)</p>
<p>1) Mid-East Feast
2)Fruit Leathers
3)Snapea Crisps
4)Banana Chips
5) Joe’s Tamales
6)Joe’s Enchiladas
7)Miso Soup
8)Mangos-they are so cheap here!
9)Ratatouille
10) Joe O’s</p>
<p>Wow. I don’t have a TJ’s in my hometown. Four Hours away is where I have to go to hit the store. But this fall I was in a town that had a TJ and I bought great cheap wine (case) mostly red and Italian. Then I bought chocolate (very good) and Balsamic vinegar which was good and cheap. BTW, I am a person who cooks everyday. I’m always amazed at all the people who don’t cook. I just don’t get it.</p>
<p>The meat scares me at TJ’s. The sell before dates are way further out than at most stores. I’m wondering what they do to the stuff. Their fresh fish is also not the freshest looking in my area. </p>
<p>I go for the dried fruits, nuts, flowers, hummus, brown rice, frozen fruit…</p>
<p>Well, my I Love Trader Joes cookbook arrived. I figured out a few recipes I wanted to try and went to TJs. Most disappointing trip ever, as they just did not have all the ingredients I needed and I spent a long time searching. That’s the problem with TJ’s. You can’t really count on them to have what you need for a specific recipe. On a brighter note, my boys made apple pie the other night using TJ’s pie crusts and it was the best apple pie I ever had (but we didn’t use the TJ recipe on the box.) The author of the book says she thinks their pie crusts are the best. It’s a seasonal item so today I stocked up.</p>
<p>OK, I did a preliminary search as promised. I’m not entirely satisfied with my results, as I think I need to go to a larger TJ’s (and I know there are some in my area) to be more objective. However, with the smaller store I did visit, I noticed the following:</p>
<p>the packaged produce completely turned me off. However, I am terribly spoiled. I live practically inside a produce basket environment which includes two 40,000 square feet stores which can beat most priced-by-the-pound produce at TJ’s. “My” two stores have 6 colors of bell peppers (white, purple, and orange, in addition to the 3 “main” ones), every conceivable kind of spicy pepper locatable North of the Border, several kinds of parsley, cabbage, 6 sizes of artichokes, edible flowers, multiple widths of asparagus, probably 15 varieties of apples (without exaggeration) – and none of it is pre-packaged. Etc. Etc. Absolutely all of it is in bulk. Every odd kind of ethnic vegetable & spice is there, so those of us used to making our own Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai dishes are in heaven. </p>
<p>In addition to this, there are other littler produce stores, and specialty International stores (Korean, middle Eastern, etc.) in my region, so I would only see TJ’s as “unique” for things that are literally their brand. I remember when there was basically one TJ’s in the area, and I did enjoy their sweet breakfast loaf breads. (Interestingly, I didn’t see these in my recent trip to another TJ’s.)</p>
<p>What I definitely would believe, though, is that probably their wine prices are superior to “my” produce stores. And certainly their inventory or variety – but that is the only food type that I would say that about, at TJ’s. For me, that’s the bottom line: inventory is a considerable aspect for me. That’s because rarely can a store put everything on sale, unless it’s going out of business. But in a store that is huge, you can buy only on sale and eat for a song: you will find some veggies that you like, some fruits, some meat, some dairy, some condiments, soups, cold cuts, starch that are within your price range.</p>
<p>Yes, I saw the 19-cent bananas, and they were brown. I would buy those if I were making banana bread, but I rarely make banana bread. Sorry.</p>
<p>The dairy (milk, half-and half, etc.) was exactly the same price.</p>
<p>Here are some price differentials:
Arugula = +1.00/lb
Avocados @3.99 for 4 of them = $1.00 for each, vs. .69 ea and .89 ea (and 1.00 for larger ones) at “my” stores
Whole chicken @$2.69 was about +1.00</p>
<p>Certain other items in the veggie & meat area seemed comparable, but it was hard to tell because the units are different, so I would literally be having to get out a calculator, and as it was, I was creating quite a stir. That was actually the funnest part of the trip: I had come directly from work, looked so corporate with my suit on and notebook in hand writing things down at every shelf, that I met lots of people. Customers thought I was management, and started getting into discussions with me. The stockers decided to be real nice to me, after asking me first if I was “writing price lists.” Naturally I said yes. A family decided to “milk” me for information on produce stores in general (again, after asking if I worked there), and by that conversation I learned a heck of a lot about alternate produce stores in the area. I told people the truth: that I had been “sent” by my discussion forum to compare prices and products. They thought that was really intriguing.</p>
<p>So here’s my bottom line so far, and again, it’s only a preliminary judgment: It’s late when I get off work, so I often have few options unless I’ve bought ahead & have dinner virtually waiting for me at home. It’s definitely too late for my fave produce + meat stores, so lacking other alternatives (or expensive Whole Foods), I would probably choose TJ’s now and then as a better alternative to a conventional supermarket. Second, I tend to be interested in their brand-unique choices, such as their Carne Asada packaged meat, a food which I like and don’t really have the preparation essentials to make myself, even though I can buy that cut of meat pretty cheaply. Ditto for some of their dry packaged goods. As to salsas, I can find much, much greater variety elsewhere. For example, their organic popcorn with olive oil looked interesting. It’s just not a store I consider as much for staples (and I consider produce to be staples).
:)</p>
<p>Just back from my second time ever trip to TJ’s. First visit was when I was on vacation in California and this one was in St. Paul, MN…a small store. Went with D2 who is getting ready to go back to school. Wanted to try some fun and different items. We opened a bag of Lightly salted crunchy green beans for a snack. They are great! Bought some dried cherries, trail mix and a nut mix to take on plane. D2 got a frozen Margharita pizza to try. Fun trip and open to trying some of these unique items. Didn’t need to go out of our way so would try it again.</p>
<p>bah humbug-just was in TJ’s. They have discontinued their liquid glycerin soap. I loved it.</p>
<p>Thanks epiphany!</p>
<p>Did you take any notes on “staples” like olive oil, maple syrup, jasmine or basmati, or other rice? Or maybe semi sweet chocolate, or dried beans?</p>
<p>BTW, you said “several kinds of parsley”. I am aware of just Italian/flat and curly; What are the others, and what are they used for?</p>
<p>Anyone interested in a thread on experiences with “CSA’s”? ( Community supported agriculture).</p>
<p>Shrinkrap–sure! We belonged to a CSA for many years and had a terrific experience with it.</p>
<p>I bought the Mandarin Orange Chicken last trip and we are trying it for the first time tonight for dinner!</p>
<p>^^I bought the Mandarin Orange Chicken (#1 seller the last 2 years) and was disappointed.
It’s just fried chicken pieces with some orange sauce that comes in the packets like the ones from your local Chinese takeout.</p>
<p>^^ I agree.</p>
<p>Me too but thought I was alone in that sentiment. I’m admittedly tough to please when it comes to prepared foods.</p>
<p>Worrywart, I also thought I was the only one who did not care for Mandarin orange chicken. I thought the exact same thing about it as silvervestersmom.</p>
<p>I like the mandarin chicken, but I prefer the tempura chicken. I don’t follow the directions, I stir fry the chicken in a little oil, then add frozen haricurt(sp) string beans, stir fry then add the sauce. OMG, its delicious. i have also tried it with the frozen broccoli.</p>
<p>Ok, here’s my verdict on the mandarin orange chicken. Good enough for a quick meal - I would buy it again, but yeah, pretty much crispy chicken pieces with the sauce. Honestly, we buy Orange Chicken from Costco and it’s just about as good. </p>
<p>Also, for some reason, I thought the sauce was going to already be ON the chicken (looking at the picture on the packaging. It was totally unexpected to cut the bag open and see the little sauce pouches.</p>
<p>But, hey, for $4.99 with a side of rice and veggies, a tasty meal - and best yet, the whole family will eat it!</p>
<p>“I thought the sauce was going to already be ON the chicken”</p>
<p>I think that wouldn’t turn out very well.</p>