Trader Joe's

"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

I would recommend highly their juice in bottles. I believe there are four
of them; 1) pomegrante, 2) sour cherry 3) cranberry 4) 3 in one- I forget
what it is called, but it has pomegrante, cranberry & blueberry I believe.
These are $3.99 and are well worth it in strength. If I didn't go there for
anything else, this would be it. There are other things, but for me, this is
the most valuable.
Dee Dee

On Mon 17 Apr 2006 09:05:31p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

I would recommend highly their juice in bottles. I believe there are
four of them; 1) pomegrante, 2) sour cherry 3) cranberry 4) 3 in one- I
forget what it is called, but it has pomegrante, cranberry & blueberry I
believe. These are $3.99 and are well worth it in strength. If I didn't
go there for anything else, this would be it. There are other things,
but for me, this is the most valuable.
Dee Dee

Uh, Dee, Serene said they don't drink juice.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Serene said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

I see you don't care much for sweets, but the Trader Joe's chocloate
covered orange stick and chocolate covered raspberry sticks are great.

Rusty

Dee Randall said:

"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I would recommend highly their juice in bottles.

We don't drink juice (James is diabetic, and I prefer water), but I'll
ask Carin if she wants some. Thanks!

serene

On 17 Apr 2006 21:08:43 -0700, "Rusty" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I see you don't care much for sweets, but the Trader Joe's chocloate
covered orange stick and chocolate covered raspberry sticks are great.

Thanks! Maybe Carin will want them. I know I'm in the minority, but I
just *hate* fruit and chocolate together, with no exceptions. (James
is diabetic, so we don't usually have candy in the house at all,
except for times like now when I've just hit the half-price Easter
candy sale. ;-)

serene

In article <[email hidden]>,

Serene said:

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Hm, you covered most of what I get there....

Well, they have a large selection of nuts and the prices are lower
than just about anywhere else. I like mixing unsalted macadamias
with salted pistachios, and a few raw almonds. Seems like each
variety of nut can be found either roasted or raw, salted or
unsalted.

We also get wild rice there. You can get the dry grains, or in a
sealed bag perfectly pre-cooked.

You don't want junk food... well, try the Tofutti ice cream bars
anyway. I have never had a nicer non-dairy ice cream. I haven't
seen them anywhere else. They have other good frozen desserts too.

In the frozen section they have good frozen fish. And they have
some Trader Joes brand products, like little mushroom pastries that
you bake in the oven.

If you drink soy milk, the prices are good, and there's a Trader
Joes brand available for even less.

Near the checkout counter you'll find some low-carb sugar free dark
chocolate that I think is pretty good.

Various berries (like blueberries) are in season and low-priced at
TJs also.

I suggest you just go and browse around, and buy what strikes your
fancy.

-A

Serene said:

[snip]
Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.
[snip] What should we keep an eye out for?

They carry Portlock brand smoked salmon from Seattle in both nova
smoked and hot smoked styles. Excellent. Some of their other salmon
is farmed (from Norway, I think) but the Portlock smoked is from wild
salmon.

They often have quite large, good quality shallots in little mesh bags.

They have frozen racks of lamb that are great to have in the freezer
for unexpected but special occasions.

Their frozen (raw) fish and (raw and cooked) shrimp are very good to
excellent quality.

I think their butter and eggs are good quality and good value, but that
may vary regionally, I don't known.

Other miscellaneous things: maple syrup, a wide variety of coffees, a
good selection of dried fruits, nuts--roasted or not, salted or not.
Cheese selection is okay, but I have not had good luck with their
crackers, which tend to be imitations of big brands and not so well
made.

I don't like a lot of their prepared cooked (and then frozen) foods,
but that's more for taste than quality. -aem

Serene said:

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

The dried seeds and nuts are pretty good. The dried
wild blueberries are excellent (not to be confused
with the dried regular blueberries shelved right next
to them). The house brands are usually quite good.
Their saffron is first-rate and much cheaper than
Whole Foods. Their canned chicken broth is good and
cheap. Their frozen entrees are often quite good,
and their frozen seafood is also good.

I don't buy their meats (few if any of their red
meats are nitrate-free), cheeses (their packaging
gives an off-taste to the cheeses), or fresh
vegetables (poor selection, mostly pre-pack
rather than bulk or loose).

Their price on Valrhona 71% bittersweet chocolate
is much cheaper than Whole Foods. They also carry
bittersweet chocolate bars in a silver wrapper
from Chocovic which are cheap and quite good.

On 17 Apr 2006 21:08:43 -0700, "Rusty" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Serene wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

I see you don't care much for sweets, but the Trader Joe's chocloate
covered orange stick and chocolate covered raspberry sticks are great.

Rusty

I really like their pound plus chocolate bars, especially the 70% bar.
Great for baking..and eating.

Okay, my list:

I like their Greek style yogurt. They also have the Total yogurt, but
I think their own brand of Greek style yogurt is extremely good.

They also carry Plugra (a European style butter), at very reasonable
prices. And some of their olive oils are decent.

And they carry King Arthur flours, at reasonable prices.

And the dried fruits...try the slab apricots..oh my..those are so
good.

I am trying to think of more..

Christine

Serene said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

I see you don't care much for sweets, but the Trader Joe's chocloate
covered orange stick and chocolate covered raspberry sticks are great.

Rusty

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon 17 Apr 2006 09:05:31p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

I would recommend highly their juice in bottles. I believe there are
four of them; 1) pomegrante, 2) sour cherry 3) cranberry 4) 3 in one- I
forget what it is called, but it has pomegrante, cranberry & blueberry I
believe. These are $3.99 and are well worth it in strength. If I didn't
go there for anything else, this would be it. There are other things,
but for me, this is the most valuable.
Dee Dee

Uh, Dee, Serene said they don't drink juice.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Uh - Forgive me, Wayne, and Serene, I didn't read past the words, alcohol or
soda - I missed the word, juice!!!. But that's just fine, I'm not perfect
as others are. My reading comprehension must be failing me this time of
day -- sorry I missed it. Wayne, did you really have to point out my
foillibles (I can't spell either).
But all is not lost, maybe someone else will read my contribution and like
it in spite of its redundancy. :-))) Ooops, perhaps I'd better look up the
word 'redundancy.' Too many proofreaders here, don't want to get called on
that either.
Off to refresh myself so I can more clearly answer ng questions tomorrow in
between cooking and estimators tramping thru the house and recooping from
the flu.
Good night, Mrs. Callabash!
Dee Dee

Serene said:

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

Ugh. Not *another* one.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Thorson said:

Serene said:

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

The dried seeds and nuts are pretty good. The dried
wild blueberries are excellent (not to be confused
with the dried regular blueberries shelved right next
to them). The house brands are usually quite good.
Their saffron is first-rate and much cheaper than
Whole Foods. Their canned chicken broth is good and
cheap. Their frozen entrees are often quite good,
and their frozen seafood is also good.

I don't buy their meats (few if any of their red
meats are nitrate-free), cheeses (their packaging
gives an off-taste to the cheeses), or fresh
vegetables (poor selection, mostly pre-pack
rather than bulk or loose).

Our TJ's has some Niman Ranch beef and pork. Good stuff and well
raised. When I find it there I do buy it but you have to look because
they also have their brand which is not so nice.

I really like the little cubes of frozen chopped garlic. So very
convenient. Sometimes I get the frozen parsley too for those recipes
where you just need a tablespoon and I don't want to buy a whole bunch.

I'll second the nuts and dried fruit recommendations.

We really like their hummus and mini pita breads. Their corn tortillas
are good as well. Oh, and my son really likes the honey whole wheat
hamburger buns.

Their butter prices are generally good and I guess I've never gotten a
funny tasting piece of cheese. Just lucky I guess

My son loves the chicken caesar salads for lunch. His other favorite is
the cheddar cheese popcorn although I suppose that's junk food. I like
the organic white corn tortilla chips. They also have some good fresh
salsas.

marcella

Serene said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

CHEESE! That was the first reason why I started to frequent TJ and
their price/quality still kicks ass . Now I love their TJ brand
basalmic vineger in the lshort/squat square bottle. I also like their
TJ brand EVOO in the tall/thin square bottle. Look at eggs, OJ,
milk... they are at *very fair* prices. Vegetables may seem
expensive, but they're organic so you'll get what you pay for.

Cruise the isles. TJ isn't like Whole Foods. You can get a ton of
good stuff for your money.... the problem is that it's like CostCo.
You find so many bargins that you end up spending way more than you'd
planned, just "saving" money.

🙂
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

Mark Thorson said:

The dried seeds and nuts are pretty good.

Their nuts are a real bargin. That's the place to go when you need
pecans!
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

Serene said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

They make a jarred Bruschetta spread (tomato-based) that is pretty
good, and their frozen pot stickers, egg rolls and haricots verts are
great. I like the Wizard Hats cookies - not too sweet and a bit
buttery.

-L.

On Mon 17 Apr 2006 09:42:39p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon 17 Apr 2006 09:05:31p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
>I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
> Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
> expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.
>
> Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
> cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.
>
> Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too
> -- I usually pretty well ignore those threads).
>
> We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care
> much for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless
> it's really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?
>
> Serene

I would recommend highly their juice in bottles. I believe there are
four of them; 1) pomegrante, 2) sour cherry 3) cranberry 4) 3 in one-
I forget what it is called, but it has pomegrante, cranberry &
blueberry I believe. These are $3.99 and are well worth it in
strength. If I didn't go there for anything else, this would be it.
There are other things, but for me, this is the most valuable. Dee Dee

Uh, Dee, Serene said they don't drink juice.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________

Uh - Forgive me, Wayne, and Serene, I didn't read past the words,
alcohol or soda - I missed the word, juice!!!. But that's just fine,
I'm not perfect as others are. My reading comprehension must be failing
me this time of day -- sorry I missed it. Wayne, did you really have to
point out my foillibles (I can't spell either).
But all is not lost, maybe someone else will read my contribution and
like it in spite of its redundancy. :-))) Ooops, perhaps I'd better
look up the word 'redundancy.' Too many proofreaders here, don't want
to get called on that either.
Off to refresh myself so I can more clearly answer ng questions tomorrow
in between cooking and estimators tramping thru the house and recooping
from the flu.
Good night, Mrs. Callabash!
Dee Dee

Dee, I'm very sorry. My comment wasn't meant as a criticism. I thought
perhaps you might think of something else at TJ's that Serene might like
instead of juice.

Personally, I love their juices, and I hadn't tried the one you mentioned.
Now I will, because it sounds delicious.

I misread things all the time, so you have company. I've been called on
it, too, and not in a nice way. Please don't take it to heart. It wasn't
meant that way.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Serene said:

I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.

Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.

Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too --
I usually pretty well ignore those threads).

We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care much
for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless it's
really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?

Serene

My pantry wouldn't be complete w/o TJ's Kalmata EVOO, capers, Dijon
Mustard, roasted red peppers, pine nuts (hands down, the best price
around), wild rice, cous-cous, dried pastas, kosher flake salt,
balsamic vinegar, organic sour cream, cheeses, chicken, beef, and
veggie stocks, and, of course, the fabulous frozen garlic cubes. I'll
be surprised if you can't find plenty of products that you'll be very
happy with, but if you run out of ideas, you can aways snag an armload
of TJ's daffodils @ 6 stems for a buck and bring a little sunshine into
the soggy Bay Area...

Nancy T

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon 17 Apr 2006 09:42:39p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon 17 Apr 2006 09:05:31p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

>
> "Serene" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> news:[email hidden]...
>>I was saying (here or in chat, I forget) that I would shop more at
>> Trader Joe's if I had lots more money, because I can't justify the
>> expense for what are mostly luxury items for me.
>>
>> Well, a neighbor just brought us a thank-you gift for watching her
>> cats while she's away: $90 in gift cards to Trader Joe's.
>>
>> Okay, folks, now's your chance to recommend stuff (I'll google, too
>> -- I usually pretty well ignore those threads).
>>
>> We don't drink wine (or alcohol at all, or soda or juice) or care
>> much for sweets, and we're not that interested in junk food unless
>> it's really kick-ass junk food. What should we keep an eye out for?
>>
>> Serene
>
> I would recommend highly their juice in bottles. I believe there are
> four of them; 1) pomegrante, 2) sour cherry 3) cranberry 4) 3 in one-
> I forget what it is called, but it has pomegrante, cranberry &
> blueberry I believe. These are $3.99 and are well worth it in
> strength. If I didn't go there for anything else, this would be it.
> There are other things, but for me, this is the most valuable. Dee Dee

I thought

Quoted message said:

perhaps you might think of something else at TJ's that Serene might like
instead of juice.

Personally, I love their juices, and I hadn't tried the one you mentioned.
Now I will, because it sounds delicious.> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬

Thanks, Wayne,
There are four different juices in four different bottles -- 1) 100%
pomegrante; 2) 100% sour cherry; 3)100% cranberry 4)triple berry which is
pomegrante, cranberry & blueberry all in one bottle.

My other liking that I find nowhere else is their Irish Breakfast tea bags
80/$3.29. One bag is enough for a 4 cup pyrex pitcher. If you like Green
Tea, they have a pretty-good quality tea bag of Lung Ching, I think it's
called (Dragon Well Tea). I believe it has their TJ's name on it. We use 2
bags per 4 cup pitcher, but with Dragon Well, it is custom that it can be
used 3 x. It is a weak tea, so one doesn't know when it's finished!

Last time I splurged on their organic butter $4.49#. It is good. The only
problem is DH will at one meal use almost a stick's worth. Hope it's true
that butter is better than margarine or I'm going to be a widow soon.
Dee Dee