<p>*Oh to be young & athletic! *
I remember when I used to eat two sandwiches after track practice to hold me over until dinner.
It was a shocker when I stopped running.
:o</p>
<p>Edamame Rangoons are unbelievably delicious. One of my children is also addicted to the Tarte aux Champignons which is in the frozen pizza section. It is a flatbread with mushrooms, emmental and parmesan cheese.</p>
<p>sportsmom2016, I tried the lite macaroni and cheese and it is not nearly as good as the regular. Better to eat half a regular one to save calories.</p>
<p>Avoid the quick cooking steel cut oats. I had to use very low power in the MW to avoid a volcano, so it wasn’t all that fast and the texture was weird. (I also am not a fan of quick cooking oats.) The best way to cook no-fuss steel cut oats is in a fuzzy logic rice cooker on the porridge setting.</p>
<p>The chocolate bars in the orange paper that come three to a package are THE BEST. I think they are $1.79. Yummm!!!</p>
<p>Also forgot to mention the “Simply Almonds, Cashews and Chocolate” trek mix. They come in “just a handful of” individual packets. </p>
<p>All their produce is also a bargain. I usually am a Whole Foods shopper but cannot justify buying produce there anymore after seeing TJ’s organic produce at more than a 50% discount.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, I actually really like the “Lite” TJ’s Mac and Cheese. I’d say it’s worth a try</p>
<p>Veggy curry is still at my TJs (to poster above wondering about it being discontinued)</p>
<p>Also, Amazon is carrying TJ foods that can be shipped! Very handy for care packages to the kids.</p>
<p>new item: Gluten Free Chocolate cupcakes w white icing. $3.99. </p>
<p>Haven’t bought it yet, as I’ve been on lo-carb diet to 2+ weeks - have lost 7 pounds - 5 to go. will splurge once I get there!</p>
<p>My guys always loved the mac and cheese and I buy the “lite” version for myself at times. It’s good, like the regular but less of it. Sometimes I see people buying it in bulk and know for the price, it is a good buy.</p>
<p>I have never been to a Trader Joe’s, but there are apparently a couple not all that far away from me. I’m pretty frugal and mostly an Aldi’s shopper, but have an itch for exploring some new tastes. What would you folks recommend? Flavors and spices, condiments, cheeses, salad dressings, special treats. </p>
<p>I read they have pizza dough – how hard is it to build your own pizza? Do I need a roller? What spices and extras would/did you use?</p>
<p>Guess who owns Trader Joe’s, lorem… Aldi’s (the parent company owns both) [Aldi</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi]Aldi”>Aldi - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>2prepMom, what a great idea to order on Amazon for the kids. We have prime too :)</p>
<p>LoremIpsum - we did not care for the pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. We preferred what we can get from our local grocery store. </p>
<p>Many of the TD and Aldi products are exactly the same thing packaged differently (frozen strudel is one that comes to mind offhand). They just cost a little less at Aldi.</p>
<p>some of my standbys:</p>
<p>milk - cheaper than grocery stores, but higher than Costco.
cheeses - good selection & quality
bananas - $0.19. cheaper than Costco.
bagged salads - organic arugula is excellent and last 1+ week w/o getting mushy
fresh brussel sprouts in bag - $2.49/#
frozen thin string beans - $1.99/#
frozen sliced bell pepper
frozen sliced leeks
frozen pizzas - gluten free & hand tossed
frozen GF waffles
gluten-free ginger snaps</p>
<p>bought S1 TJ frosted flakes last week and he declared them good. </p>
<p>haven’t found their meat to be a great deal and some of it is pre-seasoned/sauced.</p>
<p>It’s very easy to build your own pizza. No rolling pin needed. Let the dough come to room temp/rise. Then dump it out onto a floured surface and gently stretch it into the shape you prefer (ie the shape that will fit in the pan you are using). Trader Joe’s has jarred sauce, cheese, etc. Just pick what you would order on a pizza…</p>
<p>Oh–precook any sausage before putting it on the pizza.</p>
<p>We like the TD garlic mustard sauce (great to dip pretzels in). You can make a fabulous balsamic salad dressing using the TD balsamic vinegar (sold in a liter bottle), extra light olive oil, water and a packet of Good Seasons salad dressing mix. Follow the proportions on a Good Seasons cruet.</p>
<p>I did not read the whole thread, but in our house, three bags of Chicken pot stickers are maintained throughout the year. Can’t get enough of it, they ran out of the stock very often.</p>
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<p>I’m aware of that, jym. My first exposure to Aldi’s was visiting Albrecht’s in Germany in the 1970s when I was a student there – the concept of bagging your own stuff was really strange back then. But they didn’t have a Trader Joe’s there, and I don’t recall every stumbling across one while shopping elsewhere.</p>
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<p>Now that would never have occurred to me. Until I tasted the results, perhaps.</p>
<p>Love their big bags of frozen haricot verts, their nuts, “simpler times” is a pretty good cheap lager they sell, their Triple Ginger Snaps are the best ginger snaps I’ve ever had, they have good cheap coffee…</p>
<p>Oh… I’m just spewing favorites… I’ll stop…</p>
<p>Here’s a fun video by a Trader Joe’s fan:</p>
<p>[If</a> I Made a Commercial for Trader Joe’s - YouTube](<a href=“If I Made a Commercial for Trader Joe's - YouTube”>If I Made a Commercial for Trader Joe's - YouTube)</p>