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Nuts About Nuts at Trader Joe’s

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Trader Joe's Balpark Peanuts

Let’s be frank. We love nuts!

In fact, we love all kinds of nuts-all shapes and sizes. Trader Joe’s has helped with our nut love, or rather obsession,  with a great selection of nuts both toasted and raw as well as a pre-made nut and fruit snack mixes.

Two of our favorite nuts are the toasted pecan halves and the Ballpark peanuts.

First, we start with the pecans. Trader Joe’s sells pecan halves that are lightly toasted and salted and are great in a variety of recipes, or just in handfuls right out of the package.  We love to add these pecans to our morning oatmeal for a little crunch and an extra protein burst in the am. (See the post about out current breakfast at: https://www.livingtraderjoes.com/2010/02/02/breakfast-is-great-at-trader-joes/

Our second favorite nut is the Ballpark peanuts. These are the kind of peanuts that are cooked so that they have crunchy little bumps that appear on the surface of the nuts. They are crunch and lightly salted and make a wonderful snack at work with or without raisins and chocolate chips mix in…

Explore the Vitamin Values At Trader Joe’s

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Trader Joe's vitamins

Shopping for dietary supplements can be a stressful and confusing. Perhaps your doctor recommended that you take more vitamin D? Or you read an article that noted that we need more Omega-3 fatty acids for optimum health.  Then you head to a natural or whole foods type store and there are so many vitamins to choose from, that you leave the store bewildered with the task of choosing.

Luckily, Trader Joe’s has a large and diverse selection of vitamins in their stores. For the most part they are Trader Joe’s brand, with the occasional national products included in the mix.  We like that the selection of vitamins is extensive, without the myriad of choices under each different letter.

A couple of vitamins that we enjoy on a daily basis include the Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid,  Women’s Daily ( multiple) and the B-complex.

Another favorite when we are beginning to feel run down and think we are getting sick,  is the Echinacea & Goldenseal tablets. One pill in the AM and one in the PM. We also consume extra vitamin C at the same time as well as trying to get more rest.

Just another way that Trader Joe’s helps you take care of yourself.

10 Reasons to run to Trader Joe’s NOW!

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Or what makes a great grocery store soo great!

Why do we continue to shop at the same places? Why is it we LOVE  to shop at Trader Joe’s?  Sorry but we can’t say that we enjoy shopping at the  other large chain grocery stores in the area.  Trader Joe’s is simply different. The staff is friendly and helpful, the selection is right for my shopping needs and do we have to mention the samples? But there is more, really….

So we created a list to share.

There were many more reasons, but these were the top 10 reasons that we felt would sway new shoppers into trying out a Trader Joe’s store.  (OK- clean bathrooms make my person top 10 list for any establishment, but I was not sure they were THAT  important to everyone). By the way this list is in no particular order, just what we came up with chatting over our dinner one night….

1. Smaller Stores/ Better Selection — The Trader Joe’s stores in our area are about half the size of the chain grocery stores in our area. Yet they seem to have a great selection without having all the “extra” stuff that frankly makes me tired at the end of a shopping trip. For example, if I want green beans, Trader Joe’s sells two kinds of plain green beans. One bag has green beans, yellow beans and carrots. The second is simply green beans.  No time wasted searching through an entire isle of frozen veggies just to find the beans.

2. Great Return Policy—Trader Joe’s has a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  They really stand by this claim too. Even thought we love most things from Trader Joe’s I have returned a few items. One was a noodle dish that was way too spicy for me.  I brought back the open, half- full package and my receipt to the store, and this amount was deducted from my new purchases.

3. Friendly Staff—Who wants to shop where everyone is rude? Maybe it is the Hawaiian shirts and the “two bells” but whatever they are doing Trader Joe’s it works! Everyone who works at Trader Joe’s is helpful, friendly and always willing to check in the back for us.  Maybe that is why they are called “team members”.

4. Great Produce— The fresh fruits and veggies offered at Trader Joe’s are just incredible. The selection is great when you think of basics such as bagged lettuce, apples and those cute baby carrots, but what really gets me excited are the more unusual items that are in the store.  Recently we were shopping and I saw for the first time bags of peeled and cubed butternut squash. Now I love to cook with butternut squash, but HATE to try and peel it and chop it up. This is just one example of how Trader Joe’s is “working for me” and providing a solution to my problems. Now which recipe will we try first…

5. Clean Store—The TJ stores are all bright and clean with fresh flowers to welcome you to their shopping experience. We can’t speak for everyone but there is nothing worse to us than shopping for food in a store that has a dirty floor. I guess I can stick my clean bathrooms spot in here—and don’t forget that they sample their soap and lotions in the bathroom too.

6. Great Atmosphere– The entire shopping experience is thought out at Trader Joe’s.  They play great music, have colorful signage and make you enjoy your visit.  They designate one employee to “welcome” in the shoppers and have even started to bring the samples around like appetizers at a fancy party- complete with silver tray.

7. Samples—OK… Confession time…. we just love the samples at Trader Joe’s.  Every day they have hot coffee and also a cold drink for shoppers to try.  In addition there might be a cookie, or a cracker and cheese to try (even wines in some stores) or even a sample of some new product that just arrived. We usually try the daily samples just to be polite (yeah, right) but have discovered some great products as a result.

8. Prices— So all these reasons to shop at Trader Joe’s and now we are going to tell you that the prices are in many cases LOWER  at a Trader Joe’s  than other stores. WHAT? You have been avoiding shopping at Trader Joe’s  because you thought the prices were high- well now you can go and check for yourself.  For example, a pint of sour cream at our Tucson Trader Joe’s is $1.49. The sale price at other stores in the area is $1.99.  We use a PRICE BOOK to calculate the savings.

9. Great Customers—This one is weird we know, but we feel like the customers at Trader Joe’s are friendly and helpful and just nicer than those in other stores.  We frequently have  another customer came up to us and volunteered to say how good a product was or to suggest a wine that they enjoyed.

10. The Bells – Trader Joe’s has a fun system when they need more help at the front, help with a carryout etc… they will ring a bell. So instead of hearing an annoying voice over the intercom in the store, you will hear a bell ring 1, 2 or 3 times depending on the situation.  We mainly here the call for “2 Bells” which means someone in the front of the store needs some kind of extra help.

We will come back to these 10 Reasons in more details in future posts. But for now we hope that Trader Joe’s just keeps up the good work and that you might be interested in checking out your local Trader Joe’s store for yourself .

You can save TIME, MONEY and have FUN shopping for a change!

OK Readers, this is our list of why we love Trader Joe’s . What are some of the reasons that you love Trader Joe’s?? Please include your favorite store location in your post, so we can get a better sense of where our loyal readers live. Thanks!

Breakfast is GREAT at Trader Joe’s

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oatmeal, banana, pecans, maple syrup

We are addicted to our breakfast.

What is it you ask? What can be so good so early in the morning?  Wait for it… OATMEAL!

You can’t believe it can you??

Let us clarify. This is not just any oatmeal. This is organic, long cooking and hearty oatmeal that stays with you throughout the AM. This is the kind of oatmeal that cold cereals only dreams about becoming… This oatmeal is a star at the breakfast table.

OK maybe we are just getting carried away?

But we really do like this oatmeal. Because it is long cooking, sometimes we cook a batch the night before. Sometimes we cook up an even bigger batch for 2-3 mornings when there is NO extra time. Usually, we bring the oatmeal and water to a boil in the pan and then turn off the heat, and then go for our morning power walk. When we return, the oatmeal is nearly finished with only about 5 more minutes left to cook.

Then the real fun begins.

The toppings! What better way to keep your breakfast new and different then by changing up what you top it with? We have tried bananas and apples, raisins and dried cranberries an assortment of nuts, apple butter (WOW- just delish) and even granola (yes made from oats too) in a zillion combinations. What about whip cream and chocolate chips?

Right now for our breakfast we are serving up a most excellent batch of oatmeal topped with sliced banana, toasted pecans, blueberries and a swirl of maple syrup. Yum. If you have not tried a bowl of oatmeal in a while, we suggest you start. It is a great way to start a wintery morning when it is dark and cold, and we live in Tucson! Now just so we are clear here, this is not a Trader Joe’s brand, it is  a product that has the “Trader Joe’s seal of approval” and is sold in their stores. We also purchase all the wonderful toppings at our Trader Joe’s store as well.

Oh yeah…. want to know the secret to delicious oatmeal that we discovered in some cookbook, some show or on the Food Network?

Don’t stir it too much.

Really, just leave the oatmeal alone and “shake” the pan once or twice. OK… stir it quickly to make sure that it is not sticking on the bottom, but then stop and just swirl or “shake” the oatmeal around the pan. It is a myth that making oatmeal uses the same skills as making risotto. You do not need to stir it constantly. If you do, you only wind up with a gummy, pasty mess that no one wants for breakfast. When you “shake” or swirl the pan, the oatmeal grains are more separated and are still nutty.

Warning:  Go slowly when learning this technique, as we have spilled oatmeal on the stove a couple of times when we first started… Ugh….

Let us know if you have tried this oatmeal and how you like it. What toppings do you love on your oatmeal? Please leave your comments below and let us all know.

Have a great, OATMEAL start to your day!

oatmeal, pecans, bananas, blueberries