My first trip to Trader Joe’s

I love long weekends, especially when you get to add an extra day to them, visit another country, play a little ball, power shop and manage to hit a winery or two!  The weather wasn’t fantastic and my favourite bra has been discontinued (this is going to be a HUGE problem), but I am restocked on lotions and potions, had dinner at PF Changs and I visited Trader Joe’s for the very first time.

In Canada we have Whole Foods (which I love and have been known to plan many a family outing around), they sell natural and organic foods, but a little on the pricey side, the USA also has Whole Foods, but they also have Trader Joe’s, similar to Whole Foods, just not as pricey and they carry their own store brand so the selection isn’t as vast for some items.  Over the last few months I have been reading a lot of the food and health blogs, and have somewhat secretly, or maybe not so secretly, been turning into a bit of a foodie.  I have read so much about Trader Joe’s, that I had to experience it for myself.  Luckily for me, one of the ladies that I was traveling with was a Trader Joe’s veteran and was more than happy to help me navigate the aisles.  We decided to beat the Sunday morning grocery shopping mayhem so planned to arrive at the store as soon as it opened.

After an early, rainy morning run (perhaps too early, the only human interaction that I came close to was with a homeless man with one shoe who liked the look of my Salomons a little too much and a friendly Canadian man who thought I looked tired and asked me if I would like a ride), armed with my cooler I met Sharon in the hotel lobby to start our excursion.

Not wanting anything to get in my way, I left my jacket in the car (oh you know I am meaning business now) and got rid of my coffee, grabbed shopping cart (which I didn’t have to pay for) and became a scholar of TJ’s for the next 90 minutes.  As we walked through the door, I was completely taken back by the smell of fresh basil, and by the size of the basil plants. I am kicking myself still for not buying one, but I wasn’t sure how it would hold up after two days in the car, and we do have basil in Canada.

After taking a few pictures (I am quite certain that the staff thought I was on a day pass and Sharon was my chaperone) I jumped right in at the bread department, so many seeds, sooo much fiber!  It’s funny how you can be so far away from home and run into people that you know, which worked out really well because now I didn’t have to ask a complete stranger to take a picture of Sharon and I, and if anyone can take a great picture, it’s Ron.

Distracted by another fantastic smell, I wondered away from the group to find samples.  I love samples, because they allow you to do just that, sample.  (Now what I don’t like about samples are the vultures that flock to them with their shopping carts, leaving no room for others.  I really do believe that there should be grocery shopping etiquette police that are situated throughout grocery stores and Costco for this specific reason.  I mean really, it’s not like we are in the middle of a natural disaster and someone may steal the milk or luncheon meat out of your cart, so why not just move it to the side? This also applies to the label readers, I appreciate that you too are looking for the finest nutritional choices for you and your family, but please move your cart to the side of the aisle stand behind your cart, not at the side of your cart where you completely block traffic.)  Ordinarily it would have been a bit early for turkey burgers, but the toast that I had eaten after my run had already worn off and I was feeling a bit peckish, so I decided to help myself.  The turkey burgers were great (I was not a fan of the gorgonzola cheese that was melted on top) and I added a package to my cart (see marketing people, samples work).  The lady giving out the samples told me that I didn’t need to buy buns because I can get all the carbs I needed from fruit and vegetables…I do agree that fruits and veggies are great sources of carbs, vitamins and minerals, but I STILL NEED GRAINS damn it.  It was not too early for turkey burgers but it was entirely too early for a nutritional lecture from the opinionated sample lady so I politely smiled and made my way over to the wine section.

150 wines for under $6…really?  Are they good you ask with hesitation?  This would require further investigation, I purchased a bottle of Contadino Pinot Grigio for $4.99, which was pretty good and a bottle of Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio for $2.99 (I know very cheap but it was billed as the world’s best selling wine so I kinda had to buy it) which I have not opened yet, when I do I will let you know.

The food blogging world seems to be mad about nut butters and oatmeal.  Oatmeal is one of those foods that I lost a taste for when I was pregnant and the mere thought of it still sends me into a green moment. I am not a fan of nuts, no allergies, just not a fan, but I do like almonds, so I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to purchase my first jar of almond butter.  To be quite honest with you, I had a hard time finding the nut butter section and when I did I was a bit disappointed with the selection, I guess with all of the talk about it, I thought that it would be grander.  I selected the creamy unsalted variety; my report will follow later this week.

I reconnected with Sharon and she introduced me to a few things that her family enjoys that I had missed like pizza dough, fresh salsas and dips.  Just like Whole Foods, when you shop at Trader Joe’s you can be completely food stupid and come out looking like a freaking gourmet cook.  Lots of things already prepared and kits to make things, I especially liked this guacamole making kit, although didn’t buy it, it’s totally stupid proof!

So all in, I spent a grand total of $60.31.  No, this will not feed my household for the week, but it will give us a few new foods to try without scaring the crap out of my family (I had to draw the line at the organic ketchup, I think that I may find myself and my belongings out on the lawn if I replaced the Heinz).  So Sharon, I will join you again on your next trip to Trader Joe’s, and looking at my receipt I see that they are open from 8:00am to 9:00pm daily, good to know.