Trader Joe’s Haul

Christmas decorating has begun at my house and I’m up to my eyeballs in glitter and greenery!  But, it’s the most wonderful time of the year isn’t it?  I used to decorate after Thanksgiving, but I just can’t bare to decorate so much for such a little time.  Therefore, I start a bit before Thanksgiving.

In the midst of decorating, I ran a ton of errands yesterday while the boys were at pre-school for a few hours.  One stop was Trader Joe’s.  I just love that place and have a huge weakness for just throwing stuff in my cart there.  The goodies there are endless and it’s not a good place for me if trying to stick to a budget.  It’s not the price of things there, it’s simply my lack of will power.

I thought I’d share my little haul yesterday.  I wanted to get a few things from the freezer section that I could cook up for myself on nights when Ryan is gone.  It’s tough to meal plan and cook dinners when it’s just me and the boys (Maddox has like 3 foods he likes, so it’s really just B and I).  I enjoy seeing other people’s grocery hauls (I’m a weirdo), so hopefully some of you enjoy this as well.

Here’s what I got:

Turkey Corn Dogs: $2.99 – My kids like corn dogs occasionally and these do not disappoint.

Mandarin Orange Chicken: $4.99 – This comes frozen and is one of my go-to quick meals on busy nights.  It is so yummy and feeds our family of 4 perfectly (if M decides to eat it that night).  We pair it with Trader Joe’s fried rice (see below).

Corn Pudding: $4.49 – I didn’t even look at the price of this.  They were giving samples of this stuff to customers and it won me over!  I could’ve eaten an entire plate of it.  I just grabbed a box from the worker and threw it in my cart.  This would be perfect for Thanksgiving dinner!  I already can’t wait to eat it.

Marinated White Fish: $6.95 – I’ve never had this before, but I’m interested to try it.  It comes frozen.  I would probably pair it with rice and a veggie.  I sure hope it’s good for almost $7.00.

Vegetable Fried Rice: $2.29 – I’m obsessed with this rice.  Goes perfectly with our orange chicken.  They have a chicken fried rice too.  It’s so easy to make too…throw it in a skillet with some oil (I use coconut oil).

Garlic Fries: $2.69 – We are fry lovers over here.  Sounds perfect with a burger.  I’ve never tried these before so we’ll see how they are.

Uncured Bacon: $5.49 – If there is something I’m picky about, it’s bacon.  Turkey bacon…I might as well just not eat bacon.  But I love the real stuff.  I like that TJ’s is uncured and nitrate free.  It’s still bacon, but better than a lot of other kinds out there.  I’ve had this kind before and it’s really good.

LaraBars: $1.29/each – I’ve heard amazing things about these bars and I’ve wanted to try them.  They are sold individually here (and in boxes), so it’s a good option for me to try certain flavors without committing to a box and then hating it.  I got Apple Pie and Cashew Cookies.  As you can see, I ate the Apple Pie on the way home.  It was really good.  Although, the bar is pretty small and kind of expensive.  They’d be cheaper as a box, but still a pricier bar.  Here’s a close up of the bar…

Cookie Butter: $3.69 – By far the most delicious item Trader Joe’s sells.  This stuff is really addicting.  I can’t even explain the goodness of it.  Just try some.  I like the crunchy version (and I’m not a crunchy peanut butter fan)…these are cookie bits so yum!  I like it on an english muffin or spread on waffles.  It tastes good warm (and straight off a spoon).  Have you tried this stuff?  How do you like to eat it?

Sushi: $3.99 – I did not like this at all.  I forced myself to eat 2 of them simply because I paid $4 for it, but I couldn’t eat the rest.  The rice was super dry and just really not a tasty roll.  My favorite place to get grocery store sushi is Market Street and then Kroger.  I’ll stick to those places.  Maybe I had a bad batch?  Has anyone tried their sushi?  Thoughts?

Wheat and Corn Tortillas: $1.99 – I am a flour tortilla girl all the way.  Move aside corn tortillas and give me all the flour.  But these didn’t look like the typical corn tortilla, so I decided to try them out.  I had one last night and they are delicious!  I can’t wait to make a breakfast burrito with one today!

Southwest Salad: $3.49 – If I’m going to eat a salad, it pretty much has to be prepared these days.  I thought this would be a good way to avoid bad food for lunches when I’m on the go, even at home.  I haven’t tried it yet, but hoping it’s tasty.

And lastly, I saw these Advent calendars for $.99.  I grabbed the same one for each of the boys (you know, cause they’ll fight over it if they’re not the same).  They will love to eat a piece of chocolate everyday in December!  I’m tempted to use this as bribery motivation to get the kids to do a little something extra around the house.  Is that bad?  Maybe so 🙂

So there you go.  A little peak into my shopping trip at Trader Joe’s.  My total bill was $47.77 (we still got groceries at Walmart).  Anyone else love TJ’s?  What things do you like?  I wanna know what I’m missing…or not missing.