Do you love Trader Joe’s as much as I do? Check out the staples I’ve been buying every week– including salad dressing, cottage cheese and a great deal on eggs. 

I’m a Trader Joe-aholic. I’ll admit it. And no, this post was not sponsored by my beloved TJ’s. I just love it so much and wanted to share my favorite weekly staples! 

Ever since a TJ’s opened up less than 5 minutes away from me, I’ve been going every week. Before, I was buying produce at Sprout’s and everything else at Tom Thumb. Now, I start at TJ’s and get probably 85% of everything on my list, and just have to stop at Tom Thumb for a few more things (they’re across the street from one another). 

I love that many of their products are lower in sodium and free of preservatives. I can’t wait to share my weekly favs! Let’s begin! 

Trader Joe’s Salad Dressings

I am in love with these salad dressings (I’ll be saying that a lot in this post). My fiance and I are super picky when it comes to salad dressings. They have to taste fresh and I don’t like when they’re too thick or salty or they leave a gross taste in your mouth. These are DELICIOUS.

Nick loves the ranch and Cesar dressing (not pictured). My favorite? It’s a toss up between the Champagne Pear or Spicy Asian. The Spicy Asian tastes just like peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls. Bonus? These only have 60-90 calories for 2 Tbsp (not that we’re counting but its nice to choose dressings with lower calories) and they’re low in sodium too. 

Local, Farm Fresh Texas Eggs

This week, eggs were on sale for $1.19. What?! $1.19? Yes, its true. At any other grocery store you’re easily going to pay $2.50 – $3.00 for a dozen eggs. I buy a whole dozen weekly (eating 2 for breakfast every morning) so this is a fantastic deal. 

Trader Joe’s Cottage Cheese

I feel like there’s two types of people in this world: people who love cottage cheese and people who are absolutely disgusted by it. I am the first type. I could eat cottage cheese right out of the container (I do…). I’m also really picky about the texture and have only found a few brands that I like. TJ’s is smooth and creamy! It’s also $2.99 for 32oz. 

Trader Joe’s Frozen French Green Beans

These are a godsend. We don’t usually like most frozen vegetables because they tend to be rubbery. But these, you would never be able to tell that they are frozen green beans. Once you thaw them out and steam or sautee them, you’d think they were fresh. This is the one vegetable that I know Nick will love every time. 

Soy Creamy Mini Vanilla Sandwiches

These are SO GOOD. Oh my. They’re the perfect size for an after-dinner sweet (70 calories and lower in sugar) when you just want a little something. I’ve never been able to find mini regular ice cream sandwiches, and you’d never know these were made with soy milk. 

Trader Joe’s Butter Lettuce

Oh, butter lettuce we love you so. Surprisingly, you’d think as a dietitian I would be a lover of all salad greens. I actually don’t like raw romaine, and baby spinach can be tough sometimes. Butter lettuce is soft, crunchy and goes great with sliced avocado (up next!) and some Spicy Asian TJ’s dressing. It’s $1.99 a bag and can made 4 dinner side salads. 

Trader Joe’s 4-Count Avocados

My fiance has never been a fan of the dinner side salad. I grew up on them, so dinner doesn’t feel complete without a little bowl of lettuce, cucumbers and dressing. I discovered a way to get Nick to eat side salads– put half an avocado on it! TJ’s has a 4-pack of small avocados for $2.99 — 75 cents a piece. I also use them to slice and put on my favorite breakfast– Savory Steel Cut Oatmeal with fried eggs. 

Trader Joe’s Mandarins 

You can get a 2lb bag for $2.99 which is a great deal. We both eat 2 for lunch and it lasts a whole week. It’s the perfect amount for us to eat and not go bad! I keep them in the fridge in the fruit drawer and they stay juicy and sweet. 

Pita Pal Hummus

TJ’s has a huge hummus collection. My favorite is the Pita Pal’s brand– $2.79 for a tub of hummus. They have a bunch of different flavors. You can also get a bag of baby carrots to eat w/ for $1.50. 

Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Couscous

Whole wheat couscous has almost 4x as much fiber (7g) as regular couscous and 8g of protein per cup. Typically with whole wheat products you can taste the difference, but this tastes just the same (to me!) as regular couscous! Nick loves it too. I cook it in unsalted chicken stock and serve it as a complex carb side at dinner. 

So those are my weekly staples! There are even more products I love but didn’t want this post to go on forever. When we move to Fort Worth, the nearest TJ’s will be 25 minutes away so that’ll be sad. I’ll have to make big trips to stock up! 

Do you have any favorite Trader Joe’s staples?