Trader Joe's is like THE place to go! Their foods are yummy, cheap and they clearly list all ingredients - thanks, TJs! :D
Some of my favorite things there are:
Almond meal. All Natural. Yum. Not the blanched kind, but still yummy and at a great price! In case you can't see, each bag is 16 oz, 1 pound - for only $3.99! It says right on the bag, great for baking and breading - and they're right! I often use this to bread some chicken breasts for faux fried chicken and it's delicious in my Almond Torte ... which reminds me ... I haven't made that in a while! Why not! Oh, I need to get on that!
Orange Peach Mango Juice. Need I say more? Delish! Half a gallon for $2.69.
Orange Juice. Hubby wanted me to post this. He loves this orange juice. Me? I think it's a bit too sweet and still prefer Simply Orange. But, I guess I gotta give in on some things as long as they're safe! ;) Anyway, this is only $1.99 for half a gallon.
Ridge Cut Potato Chips. These are AWESOME!! The ingredients - unpeeled potatoes, oil (sunflower or safflower) and salt. How cool is that?! The taste great and are really good for lots of different applications - munching on, with sandwiches, oh and GREAT for dipping - we particularly love them with tuna salad. I get a 1 pound bag for $3.29.
Pound Plus Chocolate Need I say more? hahaha These are 500 grams, which is over a pound, thus "Pound Plus." And for only $3.99? Super score! They have 72% and 61%. I actually usually get the 61% because I think it tastes less bitter. But then, I'm still getting used to non-milk chocolate! ;) Anyway, I think that one comes in a brown wrapper? I'll get a photo of that one next time. Just stay away from the blue wrapper one. That one is milk chocolate!
Gluten-Free Pancake and Waffle Mix - 18 ounces for $2.99. This stuff tastes pretty good, but to be honest, I still prefer Ginger Lemon Girls Master Mix Pancakes (except I use 1 full cup of hemp milk), but what I really love is that TJs offers this. I LOVE that I can tell people that there is a commercially available gluten free product that is easy to use and tastes good!
Gluten Free Brownie Mix. 1 pound for $2.99. Again, I like these brownies but I don't find this mix as good as brownies that I can make myself (especially Elanas Brownies), but again, like the Pancakes & Waffles Mix, I LOVE that I can tell people that there is a commercially available gluten free product that is easy to use and tastes good!
Ahi Tuna. Hubby and I love this stuff. It comes pre-marinaded so it has instant flavor, and it's so easy to cook! Just thaw and cook! In the summer, Hubby will throw it on the grill (I especially like when the ends get a bit crunchy) and in the winter, I just broil it in the oven. At $5.49 a pound, we're happy campers!
Almond butter! I usually get crunchy, unsalted for general eating and for this recipe but sometimes I also get smooth unsalted and make these. It's all natural and only $4.99 for a 16 ounce jar - can't ask for much more than that! :)
Other great things they have are:
- I have seen that some Trader Joes carry GF breads, but so far, all the ones I've seen have yeast in them. So, I can't comment on them!
- I have heard that Trader Joes makes a brown rice pasta that is supposed to be pretty good (though not as good as Tinyaka by some reviews), but the TJs that we go to doesn't seem to carry it, so I can comment on those either.
- Vitamins/Suppliments - Again, I haven't purchased any of these, but several are listed as GF.
- A GF Flourless Chocolate Cake - This has dairy in it, so I haven't tried it, but it looks awesome!
- Rice Drink. I forgot to ask for a picture of this. This is the first non-dairy milk that I actually liked. This is NOT the Rice Dream rice milk. This is in the refrigerated section and comes in 1/2 gallon containers. It is TJs brand and the vanilla container is beige and purple. This milk is thinner than the other drinks in my opinion which, for me, makes it easier to actually drink straight. I get unsweetened vanilla and it's great on cereal too or in recipes and bonus - it's cheaper. Can't remember the price right now but I know it comes out cheaper than the quart boxes and I think it tastes much better! :) I'll take a pic at a later date so you'll know what I'm talking about!
*** Many thanks to my darling Husband for these photos. Lately, he's been doing all the TJ runs and he took all these nice photos with his camera phone just so I could do this blog post. Yup, he's a keeper! ;)
3 comments:
Clara- I am so happy to have found your site. I am gluten, dairy, and soy intolerant and have found very few blogs for this... I'm relatively new to this world so I just wanted to thank you!
I am glad to see your post about Trader Joe's. My husband and I are moving soon to an area that has a Trader Joe's, and my husband is excited that we will finally be able to buy some GFDFSF things for me that are on the cheaper side of things. But honestly, I am really nervous about eating their products b/c so many of their products have the allergy warning about "made in a facility.." or "manufactured on shared equipment with....". So what do I do? My intolerance symptoms can be so subtle that I am afraid I might be eating something unsafe for me and not even know it (it's a long story. Even some of their products claim to be GF, like their almond butter, but when I read the label it mentioned the almonds were roasted, and I know that sometimes that means with wheat. If you've had an OK experience with their products then I won't have to spend 10 hours on the phone going through every product and making sure they really are safe. Any thoughts? Sas
Hi Sas,
I have been very happy with Trader Joes (TJs). They are very good about listing potential contaminations, their prices are fair and I love that they will refund your money on something you don't like (I've done that more times than I'd like to admit!). They also offer a gluten free food shopping list - a list of all their gluten free items. Many of the items of course include dairy and/or soy, so watch for that, but at least it eliminates one of the three! You can find the list here: http://www.traderjoes.com/Attachments/NoGluten.pdf As far as the allergy warnings, you have to remember that they put that their to a) cover themselves and b) to protect you. Often, the lines are cleaned pretty thoroughly between foods so as to kill most of what is left behind. That said, some people are highly sensitive or for those with Celiac, and it should not even be considered. It's really something you'll have to decide and discover for yourself. I have found that personally, I do not have a problem with things that are made on the same lines and I consume them safely - but that is not the case for everyone. Now, as for roasted things meaning wheat, I have not heard of that being the case. Often, roasted foods are just put in dry or sprayed with oil - so if you avoid soy oil, that may be a risk - but as far as wheat, I think "roasted" does not necessarily indicate that. I could be wrong, but I have yet to hear of that.
Generally I LOVE TJs and shop there often. Therefore, when I needed some canola oil to make a special vegan cookie for someone with severe egg allergies I picked up a bottle of oil at TJs. After I had made the cookies I noticed the label for the oil said it was made using machinery that also processes eggs, etc. I never would have guessed that oil would have this type of cross contamination. Now I have wasted an afternoon making cookies that this person can't eat and can't even make another batch without buying some oil somewhere else.
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