Friday nights are typically when I get to go grocery shopping. I know- we're crazy and wild over here. A couple weeks ago I was wanting to be out of the house for an especially long time so I drove 20 minutes across town to Trader Joe's to see what all the hype was. I was amazed at the low prices and all of the ready-to-cook meals at my finger tips. I always thought of Trader Joe's as an incredibly posh, over priced grocery store, but it really isn't. The produce is actually cheaper than what I can get at Walmart and everything is a lot better quality.
The last two weeks our nightly dinners have consisted of only Trader Joe's finds. They're cheap, easy, and delicious, and all the ingredients on the packages are things that I can pronounce so I totally don't feel like I'm feeding my family poison. And yes I know I should be feeding my family wholesome home cooked from scratch meals every night, but sometimes you have to pick your battles and right now I don't feel like cooking every night, so thanks Trader Joe's. We've tried 8 meals so far and have loved them all! And just for a reference point- We have 2.5 eaters in our house right now, last week I bought 4 meals, Thanksgiving things, produce, milk, butter, and eggs, and came in at $72. This leaves us with 4 dinners, a breakfast for dinner night, leftover night, and an eat out night. That's how our weeks typically go. I definitely feel like $72 isn't that bad at the grocery store! The week before we only spent $60 when I wasn't getting the extra Thanksgiving stuff. Also I just realized that I talk about our personal finances way too much over here. Whoops.
(TJ's pulled pork pork with sweet potato fries)
- Mac n Cheese (frozen section) with Sauteed Green Beans
- Chili Lime Chicken Burgers (frozen section) with Sweet Potato Fries (frozen section)
- Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen section) with Vegetable Fried Rice (rice made by me)
- Panko Tilapia Fillets with Butternut Squash Risotto (both in frozen section)
- Frozen Vegetable Supreme Pizza (I think it taste way better than Digorno but I also happen to not like Digorno so...)
- Chicken Pot Pie (refrigerated section)
- BBQ Pulled Pork (pictured above, refrigerated section)
- Beef Bolognese Ravioli (refrigerated Section) with Tomato Basil Sauce & Sauteed Green Beans
What have you tried from Trader Joe's? What dinners do I need to add to my next shopping trip?
Love this Paige! Thanks for the ymm heads up!
ReplyDeleteI've recently started trying TJ's dinners too! They actually have really good chicken fried rice (I also think there is a veggie one too) in the frozen section if you don't feel like making it. I'm going to have to try the pulled pork. That looks so good!
ReplyDeleteI love TJ's prepared foods! I have to second the chicken fried rice, there's also a ziti bolognese in the refrigerated section we get a lot.
ReplyDeleteKristina does the Internets
I love TJ's!! So cheap and delicious. I need to try the butternut squash risotto!
ReplyDeletexo,
Angela