Trader Joe's Favorites

Welcome to my first post of 2019. I have been very busy this holiday season and I took some time off of writing my regular posts to spend time with my family and catch a much needed and much deserved  break from the day to day. I am really lucky to have been able to spend quality time with a lot of extended family I don't get to see as often as I'd like and it's always a good time.

When I'm buying groceries, I look for the best quality ingredients and I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables in all forms. I also like to look for the best deals in the process. As a result, I don't buy everything from one grocery store. Trader Joe's is one of my favorite grocery stores for high quality food at good prices and they always have fun things to try.

I am always trying something new from Trader Joe's so my favorites are ever changing. Here is an updated list:

1. Peanut butter. Trader Joe's has a variety of options for peanut butter, all at varying prices. One of them is only $1.99 but it is free of added sugar, hydrogenated oils, and palm oil. Peanut butter like that at my regular grocery store can cost up to $5. The only ingredient is peanuts and (for 2 of them) salt. At my local Trader Joe's, they are on the top shelf of the nut butter section and they come in creamy and crunch varieties, salted and unsalted. I like to get the salted creamy one because the salt brings out the flavor of the peanut butter that I really like, and creamy is very versatile and perfect for what I like to use nut butters for.

2. Nutritional yeast. There's nothing special about Trader Joe's nutritional yeast and I have yet to find one I don't like but I usually but it from Trader Joe's because it's half the price I can get it for at other grocery stores, sometimes even less than that.

3. Dried hibiscus flowers. I love these so much. They taste like craisins but their appearance is unique and fun. My cousin loves them too! My grandparents and my aunt and uncle each got me a bag of them for Christmas. Because these are sweetened and not available unsweetened, I consume these in moderation as an occasional treat.

4. Freeze dried mango. I love mango so much and I love that in Trader Joe's freeze dried mango, it's only one ingredient: mango. Granted I love the juiciness of regular mango but it's just not always practical. The freeze dried one is a great alternative for road trips or flights. If I had no self discipline I would eat the whole bag in one sitting

5. Gingermints. These are available at the checkout and I swear by these every time I go on a road trip or flight because they help with the nausea that I tend to experience when I'm in a moving vehicle, especially on planes. These are a little spicy and made my throat burn the forst couple times I tried them but now they seem a little bit sweet to me as well and they don't burn my throat at all.

6. Kombucha. Trader Joe's makes some epic kombucha flavors. Their greens one with spirulina and chlorella is actually a good one. The apple flavor in it is dominant. With the GT's green kombucha, it's the other way around and I really don't like how fishy it is. The Trader Joe's one gets it right. Their pomegranate hibiscus and mango flavors are also really good. They also have some seasonal flavors I've never tried but I have no doubts about them.

7. Tofu spring rolls. I don't get them often because like most convenience meals, they are a bit pricey but when I really need convenience, these get that job done.

8. Frozen açai. This is another item I don't get very often because it's expensive but it lends a nice flavor and beautiful purple color to my smoothies. I recommend using the packets for your açai smoothies because it blends better. The powder form is a bit grainy in smoothies. However, the powder form is really good for baking, not that I've ever seen it at Trader Joe's.

9. Three seed beet crackers. These are my favorite gluten free cracker thus far. They have a nice flavor that pairs well with hummus and the purple color is also fun.

10. Ginger turmeric tea bags. I've never actually tried these but my aunt and uncle got me these for Christmas and I'm excited to try them. I've made turmeric lattes with the turmeric powder in my spice rack but I'm interested to see if these are just as good.

So those are nine favorites and one item I'm excited to try. Comment your favorite items from any grocery store.

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