My Favorite Things: Trader Joe's

These are a few of my favorite things! Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing my must-have items that help me live life #likeavixen. This week, we'll talk about Trader Joe's! 

Let me just start out with one disclaimer. I believe that TJ's uses WAY too much plastic packaging (they're "container happy" I like to say). Opt to get your produce at your local Farmer's Market.  If you'd like to learn more about the controversy CLICK HERE. The name of the game with most of the items is to repurpose the packaging. Get creative with jars, reuse items for different purposes, or just use it until it's no longer functional. Let's get to my favesies!!

Produce (without packaging):

• Loose Avocados: There's usually all different kinds of ripeness so you can buy a few that are super ripe and a few greenies for later in the week. 
• Loose Sweet Potatoes: I usually make sweet potato fries, mashed sweet potato or this week, for example I'm making Shepherd's Pie with a sweet potato lid! 
• Loose Apples: PERFECT for juicing or with almond butter for a snack.
• Bananas: We don't go through a ton of bananas because Jeremy doesn't eat them.  I buy them green and put them in smoothies and when I have leftovers I take the peel off and freeze them for banana bread. 
• Loose Onions: Oh I love onions so much, ROASTED is hands down my fave. I also make pickled red onions every couple of weeks that seem to magically disappear. 

Pantry:

• Everyday Seasoning: An absolute staple! Everyone I've introduced it to is hooked (including my Mother In Law in Mississippi that gets regular shipments!). The ingredients are clean and it's delicious on everything savory. I reuse these jars to grind up dried herbs from my garden! 
• Everything But the Bagel Seasoning: Another staple that's amazing on everything. I might actually like this seasoning better than Everyday, go try for yourself! 
• Ethiopian Organic Fair Trade Coffee: It's affordable and has all the qualities I look for in a whole bean coffee. I also love that it's not bitter. 
• Coconut Oil: I love the triple filtered for cooking and the regular jar for my beauty regimen. Unless I'm making an Asian style dish I don't love a ton of coconut flavor. The triple filtered is very mild! 
• Garlic Olive Oil: This is SO good drizzled over tomatoes or roasted veggies. The garlic flavor is super strong and sometimes I just don't feel like mincing garlic! 
• Tunisian Olive Oil: Pretty sure this is my favorite EVOO ever. There's a local shop here in SB that kicks this ones butt in flavor town but you can't beat the value and flavor of TJ's Tunisian. 
• Turmeric Powder: Perfect for golden milk and curry bases! Another super affordable spice option but I'm not 100% sure about the quality! 
• Free Range Organic Chicken Broth: I typically make my own chicken broth but I always keep this in the panty and sometimes even use it as a broth base for homemade to get some extra flavor. This is the newer one in the white box (not the red one). 
• Hemp Seeds: I love easy superfoods! These go all up in my salads, smoothies and healthy treats. 
• Coconut Milk: TJ's organic coconut milk is absolutely delish. I will say that it can be kind of chunky though! If I'm using C Milk for smoothies for the week, I'll usually open up several cans, immersion blend them and store it in a carafe. That way I can easily add silky smooth C Milk to all kinds of things. 
• Ghee: Ghee is a pain in the butt to make at home. I try to but sometimes I just need the easy way. The glass jar is perfect for repurposing too (paint the inside, add some soil, succulents and a ribbon!).
• Hatch Valley Green Salsa: Mmmm, super spicy green salsa with chiles from Hatch, New Mexico. 

Snacks: 

• Olive Oil Potato Chips: Two ingredients- EVOO and potatoes. So simple and if I'm craving salty/crunchy (ALWAYS), these are a healthier option than a normal chip. 
• Raw Cashews: Probably my favorite nut! You can make cashew milk, add them to salads and smoothies or just grab a handful for a snack. 
• Turkish Dried Apricots: When you see bright orange apricots, RUN. They add sulfur dioxide to keep the color and it acts as a preservative. TJ's Turkish apricots are sulfur free! 
• Almond Butter: I LOVE raw, crunchy almond butter! My favorite snack to make is frozen almond butter banana slices.

Fridge:

• Pickled Cauliflower Medley: Pickle everything, I'm all over it. Crunchy, salty, cold and awesome chopped up onto a salad. 
• Sauerkraut: Again with the crunchy, salty, cold AND it's packed with gut supporting probiotics. Excellent on avo toast or by itself. 
• Kerrygold Butter: Unsalted and grass fed, Kerrygold really paved the way for grass fed dairy products. If you're gonna do dairy, definitely keep it grass fed and even better if it's raw and organic! 
• New Zealand Organic Sliced Cheddar (grass fed): same as above and I love this cheese with apple slices. 
• Avocado's Number Guacamole: I usually make my own guac because I love cooking so much but this is a delicious, no fuss option with clean ingredients. 

Self Care:

• Vitamin E Oil: I keep this in my manicure kit and if you get yourself a pair of silk gloves, try massaging this into your hands and wearing the gloves overnight. Baby soft!! 
• Dr. Bronner's Soap (bar & liquid): The OG of the natural soap world. We use this for dish soap, laundry detergent, in the shower and when we're camping in the van. It's super versatile and won't harm Mother Earth. 
• Lavender Salt Scrub: Another item I typically make (coconut oil, essential oils, brown and white sugar) but this stuff is pretty dreamy. The ingredients are pretty clean too, lots of different oils! 
• ​Coconut Body Butter: This one's ingredients aren't super clean but I like to use this after a hot bath. It's literally my favorite smelling body butter EVER. 

Frozen:

• Grass-fed Ground Beef: I've spoken to several TJ's and they all seem to agree that the frozen, organic, grass fed ground beef is superior to the refrigerated one. It's from a single source in New Zealand rather than several sources for the latter. Again, if you can get your products locally, this is always a better option. 
• Riced Cauliflower: SO easy! My favorite way to prepare this is as cauli cakes. I add almond flour and an egg and make patties. Bake them for 40 minutes at 350 for a perfect side dish. 
• Cauliflower Pizza Crust: It's so crispy and delicious! There are a few added starches but I think this is one of the best cauli crusts out there. 
• Organic Superfood Pilaf: Quinoa, kale and butternut squash. I love this as a side dish or as a main and keep it in the fridge for when I'm feeling kitchen lazy. 
• Organic Mixed Berry Blend: Perfect for smoothies and an easy way to get a variety of berries! 

​Bevvies: 

• Well Read Organic, Sulfite Free Red Table Wine: Although it's only 12.5 %, it's SO delicious and it doesn't give me a headache! Hands down, my favorite wine right now. Oh yeah, and it's $6!!
• Spindrift Raspberry Lime Mineral Water: I like that it's in cans vs. plastic. It's a great mixer or on its own and comes in a 4 pack. 
• Organic Green Tea & Lemonade: This is Jeremy's favorite! There's not a ton of added sugar and is pretty tasty over ice with fresh lemon. 
• Monopolowa Potato Vodka: It's made from potatoes and it's pretty mellow AND it's only $10. Win win win! 
• La Ferme Julian Rose Wine: This is the wine I usually bring to a potluck or enjoy when it's a little warmer. It's cheap, delicious and the bottle is super pretty :). 

Naughty Treats:

• Salted Caramel Gelato: Just a whole lot of yum. Jeremy actually doesn't love it but it's the go to dessert for a dinner party with Mom and Dad. 
• Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Covered Almonds: These don't tend to last very long at our house so I buy them sporadically. I actually don't have a huge sweet tooth but I know someone who does lol. 
• Gone Bananas: I haven't seen these lately and maybe that's a good thing. They are DELISH!! It's how I started using the raw almond butter instead actually. Just banana slices and dark chocolate ready in the freezer. 
• Sublime Ice Cream Sandwich: This is probably my favorite dessert. I buy them a couple times a year. The mini chocolate chips around the edges are what get me! 
• Ghost Pepper Potato Chips: They're have the perfect level of heat and they're super crunchy and waffle cut. These are usually camping treats! Jeremy says these are the best with the bacon ranch dip, I wouldn't know lol.  
• Peanut Butter Pretzels: These are my road trip kryptonite thanks to my friend Haley. 

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I hope these items add a little joy to your world! Lots of love,
Lauren

PS-I am in no way associated with Trader Joe's and I was not paid to write this post.