We're all a little nuts for Trader Joe's around here; their cheap, smart wine collections never fail to please, and their inexpensive pantry staples are often very good deals. So when I met Andrea Lynn, author of an entire cookbook using Trader Joe's products, I had to find out what her favorites were. Read on for a little more about this fun cookbook, and see Andrea's top five picks at Trader Joe's!
First — a whole cookbook for Trader Joe's products? Considering how often TJ's rotates their product selection (we hate it when things disappear, never to be found again!), how practical is this book? Very, it turns out. Andrea aimed this book towards college students, with extremely simple recipes designed to help even the most beginner cook learn how to match up their shopping with their cooking.
She points out easy, healthy meals that can be thrown together with literally four ingredients, like the Lentils with Chicken Sausage pictured above — a bowl of lentils topped with seared sausage and woken up just a bit with a squeeze of lime. She takes whole foods and solid ingredients, and makes it really, really easy to turn them into a meal with the help of a prepared product, like TJ's jarred arrabiata sauce. The best part is that even though this book is focused on Trader Joe's, many of the ingredients she calls for can be found anywhere — not just Trader Joe's.
While we don't focus a lot on prepared ingredients, we do think this is a fantastic way for young cooks and college students to start learning the rhythms of shopping and cooking, and seeing how you can put a meal together with just a few inexpensive foods.
The book is illustrated with quite a few photos and cute line illustrations, and Andrea's recipes are smart and simple in the best ways.
• Get the book: I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook: 150 Cheap and Easy Gourmet Recipes, $12.21 at Amazon. By Andrea Lynn, published by Ulysses Press.
Andrea Lynn's Five Favorite Products from Trader Joe's
Writing a cookbook revolving around all things Trader Joe's makes one very well-versed on (ahem, addicted to) Trader Joe's products. These are five Trader Joe's items you'll always see in my cart:
1. Trader Joe's Mango and Cream Bars
I practically live on these in the summer. The bars take the concept of a creamsicle and bring it up a few notches with the tropical combination of frozen mango and sweet cream. Plus, they're not too big, so eating one is relatively guilt-free (which is why I usually end up slurping down two at a time). The only downside is that they're stick-less, so you don't wind up with arts and crafts supplies.
2. Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Butter
I've never been a fan of straight-up peanut butter. I don't mind it incorporated into a recipe but the stick-to-your-mouth consistency of pb just doesn't work for me. So I was thrilled to discover sunflower seed butter, which has a smoother, less gummy consistency, along with a more mellow taste. I slather it on bread for a quick snack, and I use it to make sunflower seed butter cookies, which can go head-to-head with pb cookies any day.
3. Trader Joe's Savory Broth Chicken Flavor
Oh, how I adore these convenient packets. The box takes up so little room in the cabinet compared to the equivalent number of chicken broth cans, which weigh a lot for someone who lugs their groceries home. Don't get me wrong--I still make homemade chicken stock from scratch for soups. But when I need chicken stock to flavor rice or sauces, this is what I reach for.
4. Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken
There's a reason the Mandarin Orange Chicken is Trader Joe's number one selling product--and that's because it's like a Chinese restaurant has set up shop in your kitchen. Just pour the coated nuggets onto a baking sheet, cook in the oven and then toss with the enclosed orange sauce. Serve with rice, and it's cheaper (and tastier) than ordering out. Sometimes, I even toss the chicken in different sauces from Trader Joe's, like their General Tsao's Stir-Fry Sauce, and mix with sautéed broccoli.
5. Trader Joe's Chocolate-Covered Edamame
When someone first told me I couldn't miss TJ's chocolate-covered edamame, I was a little skeptical. But they taste ten times better than they sound. I'm generally a sucker for the sweet-salty combo, so these crunchy, savory dried edamame coated in dark chocolate definitely hit the spot for me. It's an added bonus that I'm reeling in the protein from the edamame. At least, that's what I tell myself.
Thanks for visiting, Andrea!
• Visit Andrea: Andrea Lynn's Website & Food Blog
Related: Spotted at Trader Joe's: 5 Great Staples for Our Pantries
(Images: Ulysses Press; Andrea Lynn)
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Having sampled the chocolate-covered edamame from Andrea's personal stash on a recent road trip, I can vouch for their deliciousness. Way cooler than chocolate-covered peanuts!
i gotta pick up the mandarin orange chicken. i wish they made a vegetarian version for my husband!
Hmm I wonder if I'm the only one who's not completely blown away by their Mandarin Orange Chicken. It was pretty good, but to say it's better than takeout... I have to disagree.
We love TJs in our house, in fact we just loaded up a cart there today. It's literally the only place we shop regularly and 90 percent of our food is form there, but every time I have ever seen a list of TJs top finds, they are NEVER things we have bought. Goes to show how many amazing treasures there are there!
Will have to try the Mango Cream bars. Our faces are the Creme Yogurt (best yogurt ever for toddlers learning to use a spoon, since it is so thick it says on the spoon.) and their frozen veggies. We always grab about 20 bags of various veggies so we always have something to add to a quick meal, organic mixed veggies for under $2 a bag, yes please!
Ha. Those ice cream bars are tasty but the raspberry version is even better. Perfect little treat for kids.
My top five:
nuts of all kinds in peak condition and excellent prices, especially the glazed pecans for salad
dried fruit of all kind, especially the dried montgomery cherries and the freeze dried blueberries and strawberries
frozen pink wild shrimp
canned beans (one of the very few sources for bpa-free canned beans, other is Eden)
cheese (organic jack, smoked gouda for the kids, decent parmasan for the price, good gruyere for baking)
And finally, sadly, they no longer stock the lamb chops we ate so often. My kids miss them.
I love the Mandarin Orange Chicken...throw in some steamed broccoli, and stretch the sauce with a little soy/OJ/ cornstarch mix...very good! And with out the additions, even my husband will attempt to gt dinner together occasionally...he loves using the rice cooker.
TJ's is the best for pantry staples like whole wheat couscous, canned beans, mixed raw nuts, raw walnuts, dried fruit, etc. I just wish they had a better produce section
has anyone tried their pumpkin ice cream yet? i saw it this week and was tempted but resisted. if its anything along the lines of the lemon triple ginger snap ice cream in terms of quality, i might pick some up
Their pumpkin ice cream is awesome! The best I've had!
Not a big fan of the Mandarin Orange Chicken either. The one time I tried it, years ago, I thought that the flavor was rather bland and not very orangey.
However, I love the artisan puff pastry sheets, the frozen choc chip cookie dough, the refrigerated turkey & rice stuffed bell peppers, Thai tuna curries, veggie corndogs and the European hot chocolate mix (that's only available seasonally, drat).
Love that you wrote a whole book on this! My only issue with Trader Joe's is all the packaging on produce... sigh.
Okay I've never tried the Mandarin Orange Chicken. Sounds like something good to have stashed in the freezer for those poor/don't want to cook nights....
They used to have this chicken yellow curry soup in the refrigerator case that was amazing. Also the sticky toffee pudding cake (frozen) - I'm hoping that comes back this winter.
TJ's is the only place around here that sells my husband's favorite nonalcoholic beer, Gerstel. I love their mixed fresh mushrooms, their frozen chile and cheese tamales, their frozen garlic fries, and their triple ginger cookies. Also the fresh apricot almond tart.
A few days ago I got rosemary raisin crackers to serve at a dinner party and wound up eating the whole box within a day.
Now that I live around the corner from TJ's I'm actually taking the time to learn what's honestly a good bargain/value/tasty vs. what's novel.
I love their nuts and dried fruit, as mentioned above. Some of their wines are fabulous, some are downright terrible.
I've only tried their cheddar/gruyere blended cheese and found it to be awful. Have my eye on some brie to try.
Love their pita crackers.
My husband just about dies if I come home from TJs and don't have any of their frozen garlic naan. When our local TJs ran out one day, I mentioned it to the cashier, and he said, "you have no idea how many other people noticed!"
i have done tons of cost comparisons on TJ/Publix/Whole foods.... My tj faves for value and yum factor:
Nuts
eggs
cheese
avacados
bagged salads
smoked oysters (oh yum)
microbrew beer
vino of course!
Any my brave sister (with an enviable nomadic lifestyle) claims (and has proven) that they are the best "dumpstering" around. lol
My love for Trader Joes is fading. They have a horrible way of displaying produce. The same vegetable will be in three different locations, making it exhausting to compare prices. I've basically stopped trying because most of it rots within 2 days anyway.
Their selection is random and poorly thought out. Selection changes from store to store, even in the same city. The layout changes from store to store and they don't label aisles so it takes forever to find anything. I find it impossible to do even 1/2 our weeks shopping there.
TJ's for coffee, frozen foods, olive oils and fresh flowers. Stay away from the produce unless you love fruit flies the next day:(
Sigh, I moved from a city that had two TJ's to a small town where I have to drive an hour to find one.
I really miss their selection of vegetarian products, especially their veggie meatballs. I also miss their Indian cooking sauces, their rBGH-free dairy products, and their reasonably priced coffee. I am, however, relieved that their desserts and candies (esp. the chocolate!!) are a safe distance away!
I love seeing this post and reading what other people love at TJ's. I'm lucky to have a store close to home, yet not too close. I love thier chocolate covered bananans, their Harvest Grain Blends, and all of their dried fruit and nuts.