I am a big fan of Trader Joe’s from living in California; there was one within walking distance from my apartment and the cheap prices were right in line with a graduate student’s budget.  Back then I didn’t cook a whole lot and mostly bought wine and cheese, but since then I have learned that Trader Joe’s has other great items for sale.   It’s not on my weekly shopping route, but since the store opened in Midtown Atlanta 2 years ago (finally!), I try to go every 2 or 3 weeks to stock up on my favorites TJ goodies.  

Of course they still have a great cheese and wine selection.

The nuts and dried fruit section is chock for of interesting snacks.  Wasabi Wow is a delicious mix of almonds, wasabi peas, peanuts and cranberries.

I buy many of my staple items here (they are such a good price!) like pasta, rice, pesto, marinades and pancake mix.  Trader Joe’s Brown Jasmine Rice is the best; even my kids, who don’t care of brown rice, eat it right up!   And the pancake mix is really easy, but  yields perfect pancakes every time.

I buy many of my beverages at Trader Joe’s.  The kids like the Organic Tea & Lemonade.  I like the Pomegranate Limeade, but I don’t buy it much; I will seriously drink the whole bottle in one sitting!  Instead, I drink the unsweetened green tea; it has enough favor to forget that it isn’t sweet.  The Blueberry & Pomegranate is my favorite.

I don’t buy much meat at Trader Joe’s, but the chicken sausage is delicious–especially the mango.  Sometimes I put that in jambalaya or with Trader Joe’s Biryani Curried Rice and it’s soooo good.  The Biryani Curried Rice is found in the frozen food section and it’s great as a side dish also.  It takes about 5 minutes to make so I always keep some in the freezer.

The frozen vegetables and fruit at Trader Joe’s are interesting and a great price.   I keep these French Green Beans in my freezer for my daughter, who loves green beans, and the frozen fruit  for my smoothies.

In the summer my kids eat a popsicle every day and Trader Joe’s has some good ones.  The Fruit Floes are refreshing and pretty guilt-free at 80 calories and fat free.  The Mango & Cream Bars and Raspberry & Vanilla Cream Bars are delicious and only 60-80 calories each; they are small, but just enough to satisfy a craving for a frosty, sweet treat.

Rarely do I leave Trader Joe’s without buying a bouquet of flowers; I love having fresh flowers in my house and Trader Joe’s has a good selection at awesome prices.

Besides all these great products (and much more) for sale, the store is easy to shop, there are always great samples to taste and there is a place to tie up your dog while shopping (since owning Chili Dawg I am more appreciative of dog-friendly establishments).   Thank you Trader Joe’s for–finally–coming to Atlanta!