Love Song To Trader Joe's

In my last post, I talked about how enamored I have become with Trader Joe's since going veggie. Honestly, they have made it very easy to find things that are vegetarian and vegan, their prices (which, before I shopped there, I imagined to be high due to the organic nature of their offerings) are ridiculously affordable, and they have a broad range of items available for purchase so my meals aren't simply constructed of lettuce and some soy meat product day in and day out. To top it off, their staff has been so informative and pleasant everytime I have gone shopping. They don't come off as pretentious, they are more than willing to give recommendations, and every time I check out with something new, the cashier always makes a comment - "I love barbeque sauce on my tempeh!" or "This soy yogurt is really delicious" or "I make scrambled eggs with this soy chorizo".

I would also like to say that I thought being vegetarian would be REALLY expensive. It has been quite the opposite. I am still learning how to buy veggies - I do have to go to the store more often to buy fresh produce, so I don't waste items that go bad before I eat them, but meat free protein products are alot cheaper than real meat, and the shelf life is longer. A package of tofu at Trader Joe's is like $1.99. That is less than half the price of an on sale package of boneless skinless chicken breasts. A box of quinoa has lasted me for weeks. Soy Yogurt is $.99 at Trader Joe's, which is about the same price as the greek yogurt I used to eat and adore.

Here are some of the items I have come to rely on from Trader Joe's. I highly recommend, and will describe recipes using many of these at some point on this blog, I am sure. I have already told you about the heirloom cherry tomatoes, but please don't forget those. They truly are fantastic.

Trader Joe's Curry Simmer Sauce - Fantastic with Tofu and Veggies

Trader Joe's Mini Chocolate Soy Sandwiches

Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo - Jeff can't even tell the difference, and I mean that. We use it for taco salad, breakfast, and chili.

Trader Joe's Soy Yogurt- I like the peach best, and the strawberry

Trader Joe's Almond Milk - I cant only drink a little bit, its more rich that regular milk, but its really good!

Trader Joe's Gyoza Dipping Sauce - Use this as a marinade, adding to stri-fry, or a dipping sauce

Trader Joe's Vegetable Gyoza - I'm not sure if this is vegan - I believe it is. Tasty, either way.

Trader Joe's "This is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese" - it's not that "healthy" for you, it doesn't replace the real thing, but its good on breads or as a sandwhich spread.

I have some other things I haven't tried yet, and some things I have tried that aren't that great, but we'll get to that.