I love Trader Joe's

I said it once but I'll say it again, I cannot tell you how much I enjoy shopping there. I look forward to going there and wondering through the aisles to see what new delightful treats I may find. I recently made a trip to a new Trader Joe's that is slightly further than the one near the house, man was it worth the extra drive. It turned out to be the largest Trader Joe's that I've ever been to, not that I've been to an extensive amount (maybe about 4 or 5) but this one topped the list, the selection at this place was unlike anything I'd seen before.

This is bad news for Mike, or more like my credit card bill. My Trader Joe's bill has been going up increasingly. Although I try to justify this to Mike by saying 1) a lot of the products they sell are cheaper than what you find at Stop & Shop (and not to mention usually healthier with a larger selection of natural and organic products) and 2) almost 100% of my purchases there are what I consider "real food" to make great meals with, and ones that are also quick and easy (versus at the Supermarket, I feel like I spend $100 and I walk away with almost next to nothing and a lot of times nothing to make a substantial meal out of).

Also, one of the things on my 30 before 30 list was to "Cook with/eat more organic & unprocessed, natural foods."I have to say I've been doing a much better job of this. Maybe not as much with the organic food, but definitely a lot better with the natural products. I've been trying to make a conscious effort to read the ingredients and try not to buy things with a lot of chemicals and preservatives and shopping at Trader Joe's fits in perfectly with this.

Pretty much everything I have tried from Trader Joe's has been fantastic (although there have been a few duds but I'm always looking for new things to try). I will say I wasn't a huge fan of the chili lime chicken burgers or the chicken cilantro dumplings but everything else is great, for the price you really can't go wrong trying anything new there. It's so hard to narrow down the list of all the great things I've tried there, and my regular staple list has grown tremendously, but here are my absolute favorite products from Trader Joe's:

Freezer Section
Organic Brown Rice
Gnocchi Sorrentina
Chicken & Vegetable Pot Stickers
Vegetable Fried Rice
Eggplant Cutlets
Panko Crusted Tilapia Filets

Fridge Section
Fresh Southwest Salmon
Pineapple Juice - Guaranteed the best pineapple juice you've ever had!
Chicken Sausage
Cage Free Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs (yes I'm lazy)
Grilled Balsamic or Lemon Chicken

Pantry Section
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Yogurt O's Cereal - Strawberry
Cereal Bars - Apple - And they're only $1.79!
Cat Cookies (for people)
Light Champagne Vinaigrette Dressing
Organic Broth (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable)
Solid White Tuna
Low Calorie Lemonade

New Finds - I picked up a couple new things on my last trip that I'm looking forward to trying
Soyaki Sauce
Better 'n Peanut Butter
Cuban Style Black Beans
Roast Pork Florentine
Turkey Meatballs
Chicken Shu Mai
Thai Shrimp Gyoza

I also keep meaning to try the egg white salad and someone told me that the Gyoza sauce is really good. I'll have to look for those next time.

This was a fun quick and easy recipe that I made from all Trader Joe ingredients. I had been dying to make a tortellini and spinach soup recipe for quite some time now. When I saw this I knew I had to make it. It was such an easy throw together soup to make. I will say I prob could have used a bit less tortellini and bit more spinach (I like a lot of spinach) but the flavor was great. I served mine topped with some parmesan cheese. The leftovers though were a bit more tortellini with sauce than it was a soup but still an excellent way to eat up the leftovers. I'd def make this again!

Tortellini Tomato and Spinach Soup
Source: Trader Joe's Fan

One box of Roasted Red Pepper Soup
One package of Cheese Tortellini
1/2 a bag of baby spinach
1 can diced tomatoes (I used their fire roasted)

Bring the soup to a boil Pour in the tortellini and cook following package directions About one minute before tortellini is done, stir in spinach. Yum!