Who doesn’t love Trader Joe’s?  If you’re reading blogs like mine, I’m sure you’ve not only heard of Trader Joe’s but you probably have a dysfunctional love and obsession with it.

I don’t live very close to one.  Construction has started in my suburb that “promises” it’ll be here in a year, but they’ve been saying that for awhile so I’m not getting my hopes up.  Hopefully I’ll have moved to Chicago permanently at that point and then I’ll be able to walk to one all the time.  The closest Trader Joe’s is about 30 minutes away so it’s sometimes hard to justify driving there when I have 4 decent grocery stores right by me.

On Friday, however, I had the entire afternoon to myself, so I finally decided to make the trek.  I made my list and pumped myself up; to say I was excited was an understatement.

I strolled the aisles for over an hour by myself, eyeing all the cool new products that TJ’s has to offer.  Yes, I know a lot of their products are just normal, everyday things with creative labels, but whatever. Boo to the naysayers.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d show you the things that I purchased.  I got some standbys (things I know are delicious), new things that looked delicious, and a hell of a lot of chocolate.

If you make your way to TJ’s definitely grab some of these picks!

Cilantro salad dressing–perfect for Mexican stir frys or salads

Spicy peanut vinaigrette–I’ve actually never had this before but other bloggers seem to love it. It seems like it would make a great addition to a Thai-inspired salad or cold peanut noodle dish.

Parmesan ranch dressing–great dipping sauce for chicken. Also the perfect salad dressing when you’re in the mood for something a little more decadent-tasting.

Eggplant cutlets–absolutely delicious and makes a much healthier eggplant parmesan.

White cheddar corn puffs–Pirate’s Booty, but cheaper 🙂

Ginger cat cookies–Dad’s favorite!

Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce–we used this sauce when I was in DC to make a homemade salad dressing. Paired with balsamic vinegar and olive oil it was simple but so flavorful.  It reminded me a lot of the standard salad dressing in Paris.  We all loved it!

Basil Pesto–because you can never go wrong having pesto in your pantry.

Mango chunks–I’ve already added these to plain greek yogurt and they’re so yummy.  Plus they’re relatively inexpensive and will last a long time in the freezer.

Spinach and Kale Greek Yogurt Dip–this caught my eye in the store and (confession) 24 hours later it’s already halfway gone. SO GOOD. If you go to TJ’s you MUST buy this stuff!

Just Almond Meal–I’ve been looking to make some new recipes with almond meal instead of flour. My brother has a wheat sensitivity so I figured it couldn’t hurt to try a few new dessert recipes with this stuff, especially since other people have had a lot of success with it.

Roasted gorgonzola crackers–already tried them with the spinach dip. They’re great!

Cowboy caviar–I can’t wait to give this a try. It seems like it would be a great addition to a taco salad or simply as a snack with tortilla chips. It looks much more filling than regular salsa.

TJ’s bold and smoky bbq sauce–I love Sweet Baby Ray’s to the ends of the earth, but I just can’t get the thought of all its high fructose corn syrup out of my head. I’ve been trying to find a nearly identical replacement, so I decided to give this one a try.

TJ’s cold brewed coffee–Well right off the bat I can’t tell you how much money I’ll be saving with this stuff. It’s smooth, bold, and makes perfect iced coffee. The bottle alone was only around $3 and it’ll make me a week’s worth of iced coffee. Starbucks eat your heart out!

And last but certainly not least: the CHOCOLATE! 🙂

Yes I agree I went a little overboard but I promise I’ll try to maintain portion control with these bad boys.

Milk chocolate covered toffee popcorn–NO WORDS. indescribably amazing.

Sea salt butterscotch caramels–I haven’t opened these yet but I’m hoping they taste as good as they sound! Lovvvvve me some sea salt caramel.

Yogurt and chocolate covered raisins–pretty standard, but I love these kinds of raisins so I figured why not! Also I’m planning on making my own trail mix this week so these will make a great addition.

Well that’s the list! As usual I came home with a diverse bunch of groceries from Trader Joe’s to try, as well as my regular purchases. And as usual, TJ didn’t charge me an arm and a leg.  Successful Friday to say the least!

Questions: Do you have a TJ’s near you? What’s your favorite thing from there?