<p>I am afraid to look again at the Fearless Flyer - did my eyes spy Eggnog Ice cream? </p>
<p>I like their black bean soup as is, but I poured a carton of it into my last batch of homemade chili. It thickened the chili some and tasted good.</p>
<p>The pumpkin bread pudding in the freezer section is TDF! Pass on the pumpkin yogurt. The pumpkin herb tea is just okay. The peppermint jo-jos are back as is the sipping chocolate! A box of jo-jos is under DD’s pillow to welcome her back from school, and I will send her back with the sipping chocolate.</p>
<p>It still seems to me that the most heralded items are sweets and desserts. As for cheeses, other dairy products and produce, I’m lucky enough to live near both a Whole Foods and a Fairway, so have no shortage of options for those items. I don’t buy much frozen stuff, especially items that have a lot of artificial ingredients, as the Trader Joes items I looked at yesterday had. I did try some mushroom tartlet appetizers, but thought they were pretty meh. I don’t have the time or inclination to make a special stop for just a few items, and since I can’t do a full fledged weekly shop there, I don’t see adding Trader Joes to my travels.</p>
<p>I have options - 2 excellent locally-owned grocers within 5 miles- but I still get plenty from TJs. A birthday at work this week & I was too tired to fix anything, so I brought in a cheese tray (many of the same cheeses are at WF and reg grocery, but are 1/3 less at TJ), some chianti salami, brioche toasts, raisin pecan crisps. A big hit. </p>
<p>The mirepoix mix saved time at thanksgiving - no chopping required. I make a trail mix for my running group from the nuts and dried fruits - so much cheaper than buying the ingredients anywhere else. </p>
<p>I was taken in by something new - a tin of “jingle jangle” chocolate covered yum: pretzels, jojo pieces, mini PB cups, popcorn. Open at your desk and be prepared to be the popular one for the day. </p>
<p>TJ pancetta, frozen Dorot basil and garlic, and a tin of tomatoes made a quick sauce for dinner last night.</p>
<p>holiday JoJo’s: chocolate covered with candy cane pieces.</p>
<p>nearly sold out.</p>
<p>MommaJ, you are right that the TJ offers a dizzying array of frozen desserts, candies, cookies, and other sweets. This category is heavily overrepresented. But I go there at least once a week and most of the time I don’t buy any of these things. For me, TJ is a great source of certain basics. Their nuts, cheese, other dairy product, and dried fruits are very well priced. Their organic milk is great, it seems to stay fresh for a long time. They have a number of items like boxed stocks and soups that are also carried at WF but cost much less at TJ. Their brown rice pasta and tortillas are staples in our house. Their guacamole is great, and their boxed prepared French lentils (salad section) are fantastic. They have a decent selection of produce, including many organic items. I buy their bagged greens all the time. They have crabmeat in cans that I buy frequently. I rely on their salsas and sauces (enchilada sauce, curry sauce). They are a great source for olive and other oils, vinegars, mustards, etc. They have a good selection of rice. They have good chicken and turkey breast. In the winter I buy their spiral spiced ham. There are many, many good basic foods there, even though they devote way too much shelf and freezer space to sweets and beer.</p>
<p>No beer or wine at the TJs here in Maryland because of state liquor laws. The treats have saved my “no time to bake today” behind more than once.</p>
<p>Don’t get their frozen Coq au Vin. The sauce is good but the chicken’s texture is just nasty.</p>
<p>I love many of TJ’s items and their prices. I would say out of 100 items I’ve bought, maybe 1 item is yucchy. Everything else is delicious. I wish Whole Foods prices were just a bit more reasonable and I’d shop there more often. Both of those stores are @a half hour away, so I make a list and head to both, buying most at TJ’s. I get a lot not on the list too! ;)</p>
<p>Harvestmoon: Are the Edamame rangoons spicy? I can’t do spice and I thought I saw where they add red pepper or chili…I LOVE the Edamame Hummus, which is not spicy at all.</p>
<p>^^^^
No, they are not spicy at all. Everytime I go to TJ’s though, they are sold out!</p>
<p>^^Thanks, good to know. I will look for them the next time!</p>
<p>Bought the Thai Chili Lime Cashews for a party last night. Ugh…had an aftertaste of lemon Pledge. H & S1 don’t agree and think I’m crazy. </p>
<p>The fresh hari couve (skinny string beans), however were great. Steamed them up and poured a sauce of meted butter combined w TJ honey roasted sliced almonds. This is a keeper recipe and will be staple for holiday dinners.</p>
<p>Haricot vert. :-)</p>
<p>Just tried the spinach and kale bites. They were really good, and I didn’t expect them to be.</p>
<p>thanks…I was too lazy to look it up and have already take out the garbage with the wrapper. (too late to edit for my laziness!)</p>
<p>has anyone else had problems with their sliced cheese getting moldy just a few days after opening? Seems like every pack of muenster lately goes bad. (the store is great with returns, so I just keep replacing it)</p>
<p>Do they do any sort of pre prepared Christmas meals? We will be visiting our son over Christmas in his new house. He actually works Christmas day, but i’d still like a Christmas dinner even if it’s just my husband and I. Don’t really want to worry about shopping when we get there right before Christmas, so was thinking of ordering a prepared meal. (my last experience of this from a local grocery store was not very positive, but his town does have a whole foods and a trader Joes so i was thinking of checking them out).</p>
<p>Whole Foods is probably your best bet for a fully prepared meal that’s made fresh.</p>
<p>Trader Joes would have a bunch of frozen stuff that can go in the microwave. (I describe much of their food as ‘semi-prepared’). My local TJ is small and fairly easy to get in/out in a short period of time. What sort of food are you looking for? This group can probably pull together an exact list you can hand your son of what to pick up at TJ.</p>
<p>I was thinking just a pre prepared turkey dinner with sides that can be reheated. Whole Foods has one that can be pre-ordered from their their website for $99.99 (turkey, mash, gravy, cranberries, dressing, and beans). they have some other interesting looking sides as well that can be added. Any experience with those or their deserts (like sweet potato pie - never had that and wondering if I might prefer it to pumpkin). Whatever we get, I’d like to preorder it to pick it up rather than mess with lists and a big shopping ordeal.</p>
<p>Son works 12 hour shifts and will be on night shift 4 days ending on Christmas night. Haven’t quite figured out the exact timing of our visit but don’t want him having to go do a lot of shopping as his shift plus travel time does not give him much time on work days. If we get there Christmas day he’ll need to pick it up. Otherwise we will. [I have a newish job with no time off accrued yet so am taking unpaid leave (or they may possibly give me comp time for all the overtime I have worked - not sure how it works and they are not either as there have been a LOT of changes over the last year and everyone is trying to figure everything out - don’t really care as long as I get the time off). Anyway, I was thinking of leaving noon Christmas Eve when the office closes which meant we would actually get there Christmas day (it is a 1200 mile drive) but it dawned on me yesterday that taking an extra day and a half off would mean I Could add 3 1/2 days to the trip with the weekend. Of course son would be working the first few days, but there is plenty to do in the area (Charleston) and we can do the touristy stuff he hates - and of course, the BEACH.]</p>
<p>Anyone know where/how to get Trader Joe gift cards not in an actual TJ store? We don’t have a store locally, but D would like one for Christmas. Not finding a link to gift cards on their home page…</p>
<p>They are not available online so your only option is to purchase at an actual store. If there is not one near you but you know of one near a friend or family member, maybe they could buy one for you?</p>