I've shopped at Trader Joes for several years, mostly buying half-n-half, whipping cream, eggs, and flatbread. TJ's prices on those products are about half the price of the big grocers', and that alone is enough to make me *love* TJs. A couple of years ago I started buying flowers there, too (see this post for why). And I'll occasionally purchase an exotic cheese, some Greek olives, or a bottle of 2 buck Chuck, but that's about it.
I always wondered why people were filling their carts at TJs. Did they really do all their grocery shopping there? Why would they buy produce in cellophane? Are the prepared entrees any good? Is organic worth it? Can you get everything you need, or do you still have to go to another grocer? (You see what happens when a grocer doesn't provide its shoppers with People magazine to peruse during the checkout process...the shoppers don't have anything to do except peruse other people's carts).
I thought I'd give it a try. Last week I needed a few items, and typically would have gone to TJs for the eggs and then on to Henry's for the produce and shrimp.
The first result I noticed was that I paid way too much for my shrimp. I usually buy whatever size Henry's has on sale (unless I need a specific size for a recipe). But TJs only had one type of uncooked shrimp, which were rather large and thus rather expensive at $9/pound. They were already peeled, which was a bonus, but they also came in 1# bags, and I needed 1.5 pounds. So I have 1/2 a bag of shrimp leftover in my freezer. That's fine, because I can always throw it into a pot of jambalaya, which is Cajun for "Whatever I have in the freezer." (it can also be translated, "Whatever I can shoot in the backyard").
The shrimp was needed for this recipe. So yummy! Things 1 and 2 were making dinner for GWH and me for Valentine's Day.
Here was the line-up for a romantic dinner:
Caesar Salad - you can get the Caesar dressing, romaine lettuce, croutons, and parmesan/romano cheese at TJs for reasonable prices. Their dressing was marvelous.
Butternut squash soup from a box - I thought TJs price on this was reasonable until I tasted it. Yuk. Avoid, avoid, avoid. I wouldn't eat it again for free. Which is surprising, because I really like their Creamy Tomato soup in a box.
Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo - I'm pretty sure you can get all the ingredients from TJs, except I didn't see green onions. I didn't buy things I already had on hand, such as feta. The shrimp, as already discussed, was too expensive. Ditto for the tomatoes - I will always buy those at Henry's. The prices on tomatoes at TJs made me hyper-ventilate. On the other hand, their basil is reasonably priced compared to other grocers because it comes in a huge packet. But obviously if you can, you want to grow your own because you can buy a plant that produces all summer long for the cost of one packet.
Watch for upcoming reviews of Trader Joes' Vanilla Clusters cereal, and Trader Jose's frozen cheese enchiladas. If I can make your life a little better by doing the legwork for you - hey, that's what my life is all about.
