My love affair with Trader Joe's

I have to make a Trader Joe's run today, so thought I'd make a post about my most favorite place.

Trader Joe’s, or as I like to call it, t joe’s,  and I are bff’s. Even my cat s smart enough to adore the place (note: I usually bring my recyclable bags, but every now and then I don’t, just to make Marty happy):

Before I even get to the food, let's talk about the staff. They are all so friendly, and I love the hawaiian shirts they sport. Last week when I went, I found out that the man who checked me out, the same one who usually checks me out, is a part-time personal trainer. We talked about training, how many of them lack nutrition knowledge, and we discussed what we both do with each of the foods I purchased.

There are so many unique food finds, and the prices are great. I have yet to try something from there that I have not liked.

So what are my t joe's staples?

Oat bran - I use it for baking (I never use flour), put it in concoctions, and it also works well if you want a healthy hot cereal that has a slightly different consistency than oatmeal.

Dark chocolate edamame - this is my big indulgence.  It's not the healthiest food, of course, but it is easy to justify a little bit of dark chocolate (it’s not a lie that it’s good for you!).They’re pretty calorie dense, so you might want to portion control them. They’re the absolute perfect combination of salty and sweet. They're especially good frozen. If you’re not digging these, have no fear. T joe’s also has things like dark chocolate covered blueberries.

Wasabi wow - it's a trail mix with wasabi peas, peanuts, almonds, dried cranberries, and golden raisins. One of the only trail mixes without chocolate. I get my chocolate in the edamame. But they have a great selection of other trail mixes too, so there's bound to be one (or two or three) that strike your fancy. Until I found wasabi wow, I used to make my own trail mix. Perfect blend of macronutrients.

Unsalted cashews and pistachio nutmeats and pieces - nuts are my fat of choice. I am a volume eater and like chewing. I switch my nuts up every now and then, but these are my current faves. T joe's has an awesome nut selection, and some cool flavored ones.

Very cherry blend - a frozen berry mix. The only downside is there aren't enough cherries (which are good for inflammation and jet lag, among other things)!

Guacamole - Great source of fat and so yummy. Very similar to wholly guacamole, but cheaper. I have this when I’m too lazy to make my own. Open it up, weigh my portion, and I’m all set. I currently put it in my frittatas.

Jarlsberg lite and lite string cheese - I am a dairy fiend, and jarlsberg light is my favorite kind of cheese and the string cheese makes for a good, portable snack, not to mention the fact that eating it makes me feel like a kid again

21 season salute - the best seasoning ever. Blows Mrs Dash out of the water and is much cheaper. I buy my other seasonings there too, and I have a heavy hand with all of them, but mainly for price and not because they're as special (e.g., crushed red pepper is crushed red pepper).

High fiber o's - I am not big on cereal, as I often do not think they are the most nutritious food, but I like the maconutrients of the high fiber o's. Of course you can eat it as a normal cereal (with milk) or dry (as a snack), but I use it to add some crunch (and more carbs) to my post-workout snack.

2 percent fage, cottage cheese, mccann's irish oats, apple cider vinegar, liquid eggs, the secret of psyllium, and ezekiel bread - I lump these together because I can find them elsewhere, however, I can't find better prices than at t joe's (e.g., the greek yogurt is 30 cents cheaper than at my regular market). Some people do not like the cottage cheese, as its texture is different, but I really like it and it works well in my frozen concoction. With the ezekiel bread, which I understand is not for everyone, I have found the best way to enjoy it is to take the slices you want out of the freezer and put them in the fridge for a bit. I prefer not toasting them, as that causes them to lose their great, dense texture.

There are tons of other things I used to eat and will again, but just do not currently. These include:

Tofu vegie burgers - I'm not sure why there's one "g" in "vegie" but they are really good and I am not a veggie burger eater. There is a lot of fat, but a) dietary fat does not equal body fat, b) the saturated fat is really low, and c) look at the ingredients: Organic tofu (water, organic soybeans, nigari, calcium sulfate), organic sunflower or canola oil, organic yellow onion, organic carrot, organic kale, organic tapioca starch, sea salt, organic garlic powder.

Salmon patties - they're very good, obviously are a good source of omega 3's, and cook very quickly. They're an easy, lazy way to have include fish in your diet.

Balsamic rosemary and lemon pepper chicken - they have a lot of flavor and require nothing. I put spices on them and add apple cider vinegar, but that's it. And, even better, they're pre-cooked, so absolutely no cooking time, and esp good for those who are scared of handling raw chicken.

Valencia peanut butter - I only eat natural peanut butter, and used to eat naturally more, but when I had to be on a low residue diet (following my colon surgeries), I couldn't eat flaxseeds. Started buying the valencia pb, and was hooked. The only question is crunchy or smooth. For me, it depends what I'm putting it on or in. But you can't go wrong either way.

Blueberry flaxseeds - who knew there was such a thing? I am a huge fan. I thought I liked regular flaxseeds until I tried these. They really do have a nice blueberry flavor and are a great addition to a plethora of things.

Nothing but banana - I am not a dried fruit fan, but these are quite good. Flattened, dried bananas with no added sugar.

Canned crab - I used to cut a bell pepper in half and stuff it with the canned crab. Sometimes I'd mix it with some guacamole and/or melt a slice of jarlsberg lite on top. Was a big hit with my cat as well. Another food you can find at regular markets, but t joe’s price is unmatchable.

Soycutash - just a nice frozen veggie blend of edamame, corn, and a tiny bit of red peppers. If you want just edamame, they have that in the frozen section as well as shelled edamame in the refrigerated section.

Milton's whole grain 100 percent whole wheat bread - I like it better than other whole wheat breads because of its taste and soft texture. They're also good sized slices of bread.

Apple cranberry bran muffins - now I bake my own foods, but previously I would buy these muffins. They are very high in fiber and are quite good, although I think a lot of people might not like them because you can tell that they're bran, based on taste and texture. So they might taste too 'healthy' to some. If that is the case, you might like the blueberry wheat bran muffins better. They are not as high in fiber, but taste more like regular muffins.

Tamari almonds - as I said, I like to vary my nuts, and for a while I was completely hooked on tamari almonds, and have a feeling it won't be long until I reintroduce them into my meal plan.

Jalapeno chicken sausages - so good and have a nice kick to them. I would eat them plain, but after getting my father hooked, he prefers to add them into his omlettes. Note, however, that they are not low in sodium.

Bison burgers – I have never made my own burgers (only turkey oe veggie burgers), but these are good enough that I don’t need to make my own. Bison is very lean and a good alternative to red meat. These burgers are not low caloriem but not excessively high either, and they are also massive, filling, and have an insane amount of protein.

Orange flavored cranberries - Again, U really don't eat dried fruit, and don't particularly like cranberries at all (never even understood all the fuss about cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving), but these really are orange flavored and they're really good. I like to eat them on their own or put them in baked goods.

Harvest Hodgepodge - One of my favorite selections of mixed veggies. broccoli, carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, red peppers, and onions.

I am sure there are other things I love there, but those are the main, most important ones.

If I had my way, t joe's would include 3 more items:  wheat bran, chia seeds, and soba noodles

randi morse, randi.morse@gmail.com, newton, ma