Best Trader Joe’s Buys

I have been SO EXCITED about this post for so long. I love hauls. I love food. So I’m combining my two fave pastimes of shopping and food into one big beautiful grocery “haul.”

Okay maybe it’s not so much of a haul as my list of holy grails. These are my ride or die TJ’s items that I’ve been crushing on for months and even years.

I’m not big on shopping at Trader Joe’s for produce items mostly because I find they go bad really quickly – but their drink, frozen, and snack situation is on point.

So let’s get cracking.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Spindrift sparkling water

Sparkling waters have been having a moment lately. I’m late to the party, but I’m coming in hot. If you like sparkling water or fruit infused waters, you’ll lose your mind over Spindrift.

Spindrift is different than other sparkling waters because it only has two ingredients: sparkling water and real fruit. Their tag line?

“Yup, that’s it.”

And that is why I’m so in love with Spindrift. I love that there’s no “natural flavorings” or other odd ingredients. Just water and fruit. Boom. Nailed it.

KB and I have been drinking the grapefruit Spindrift the most, but I recently picked us up lemon and blackberry. I’ve also seen online they have a cucumber flavor that I’m dying to try, but I can’t for the life of me find it in stores near me.

This is VVV important. If you see a box of cucumber Spindrift call me beep me I’ll be there in 15 mins flat.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Greek yogurt with honey

Okay now I’m skipping straight to dessert. My “healthy” dessert that is.

I don’t typically have a sweet tooth, but sometimes after dinner I crave just a liiiiittle taste of sweetness. Rather than grabbing a bar of chocolate or a bowl of ice cream, I’ve been reaching for Trader Joe’s Greek yogurt with honey. Unlike most Greek yogurts that have the honey separate, this yogurt has the honey evenly mixed in.

I like to toss some raspberries into my little tub of yogurt and curl up with my little makeshift dessert. It’s definitely not the healthiest of healthy desserts – but it keeps my hand out of the pint of ice cream so I’m calling this one a win.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Reduced guilt mac & cheese

Again I’ll start this recommendation with the “it’s not totally healthy” disclaimer. Like I get it – frozen meals aren’t healthy.

But also again – this item keeps me from chowing down on less than awesome alternatives. Instead of ripping through a box of Easy Mac, I can enjoy a little bit of macaroni & cheese with none of the guilt.

The only thing that makes me sad about the Trader Joe’s Mac & Cheese is that the portion is super small. Which honestly is probably how they keep the calorie count down (lolz). But I’m a hog and I want all the mac & cheese I can get.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ $4 goat cheese

Speaking of being a cheese whore (lolz). Goat cheese makes healthy items digestible for me. I love to sprinkle a little across my salads and on top of my avocado toast. Mmm delicious.

I love me some goat cheese, but every store in San Francisco wants your right arm and first born child for a log. We’re talking like $8+ for one single log of goat cheese.

Rude.

Trader Joe’s goat cheese is the bomb dot com because 1) it tastes good and 2) it’s only $3.99. Yes. That’s right. Like half what these other bougie stores charge.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Frozen chocolate covered banana slices

Let’s bounce right on back to dessert. One of my bffs (shout out to bff + food/wellness blogger Olga’s Drunk Kitchen) recommended Trader Joe’s chocolate covered banana slices as a good craving kicker.

Bananas. Chocolate. Damn delicious.

I’m pretty sure a single box is less than $2 too. Holler at me all ya’ll cheap chocolate loving beezys.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Frozen riced cauliflower

Clearly I’m a carb lover. I mean, hello, have we taken a moment to acknowledge the name of my blog.

But once I turned 24 my metabolism slowed waaaay down and my thighs hold onto the carbs longer than they used to. It’s hard for me to find veggies that actually taste good – but riced cauliflower has been the perfect way to trick my body into believe I’m having carbs when really I’m eating vegetables.

I have a bag on deck in my freezer right now that I’m planning to turn into a “fried rice inspired” meal. I’m thinking I’ll sauté  up a little riced cauliflower with some soy sauce, veggies, and chicken for a healthier version of my fave Chinese food dish.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Frozen gluten & dairy free pancakes

Secret time – back in college I went both gluten and dairy free for a while. GASP. Yup. Bagel loving blonde went gluten free.

I had to. Starting the back half of my Senior year I felt like shit almost 24/7. I could barely keep any food down and couldn’t figure out why. Turns out it was (is) just stress induced IBS, but at the time I had to endure tests and elimination diets galore.

I’m back on the gluten and dairy train now, but I’ve still stuck with some of my gluten and dairy free day habits. For example – I only cook with vegan butter and we don’t have milk in the house (unless it’s almond milk).

Trader Joe’s gluten and dairy free frozen pancakes were another college fave and I still like to keep a box around today. Typically I’ll stick with avocado toast or yogurt for breakfast, but on those days when I just can’t I love to sit down with a beautiful pancake and go to town.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ Seaweed snacks

Snack time! Hanger is a real disease and I am often afflicted. I have to carry a snack in my purse because when I get hungry it’s all I can think about. I try not to let myself get too far down that rabbit hole so I always have a little snack on hand.

I’ve been grabbing the Trader Joe’s seaweed snacks lately mostly because I’m cheap and the big yellow sign says 99 cents. Also they’re tasty.

Enough said?

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

★ The BEST champagne – & it’s under $8

I remember my first trip to Europe. I started in London, travelled over to Paris, and ended in Barcelona. On one of my few days in Spain, I took a wine tour (I was 19 and super juiced about my new found legality while in Europe). We travelled on a bus out to the Cava region of Spain – Cava is to Spain what Champagne is to France. Cava basically is champagne, except apparently champagne is only champagne if it’s from Champagne, France.

Ya learn something new every day.

Aaaanyway – we rolled up to Freixenet and did a tour plus a cava and tapas tasting. It rocked. I’ve been in love with Freixenet ever since.

Once I was back stateside I realized they sold my beloved Spanish cava  at good old TJ’s. For less than $8. Personally I prefer the golden bottle to the black bottle, but if you like a more brut style champagne go with the black bottle.

Pro tip – the golden bottle is the perfect mixer for a mimosa.

Blondes & Bagels | All the best Trader Joe's buys from sparkling water to the perfect Greek yogurt.

And these, my friends, are my holy grail Trader Joe’s buys. From frozen treats to champagne I like to think I kept it healthy….ish. Lolz.

I did my best.

What are your fave Trader Joe’s items? Tell me in the comments below!


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