Of all the things we love about fall, one thing we're not so crazy about is the beginning of cold and flu season. Some of us have already been suffering through an early bug.
We're nearly useless in the kitchen when we're not feeling well, but keeping a few heat-and-serve items in our pantry keeps us from constantly reaching for the takeout soup menus.
Here are five of our favorites from Trader Joe's...
- Pouches of TJ's Indian Fare like Palak Paneer or Madras Lentils can be heated in minutes and served with a piece of frozen Garlic Naan or perhaps some frozen Organic Brown Rice. Comfort food goodness with a little bit of spice to clear the sinuses.
- Sure, we pride ourselves on making a mean batch of rich and creamy homemade mac and cheese, but on a sick day, we're perfectly happy with a box of TJ's Organic Shells & White Cheddar. That's right, mac and cheese from a box. Save the rich stuff for when your tastebuds are back to full strength.
- We've long been fans of TJ's cartons of soup and use it occasionally to round out our meals. But when we're under the weather, it's great as a main dish, particularly a bowl of the Carrot Ginger variety.
- Speaking of soup, another standby is TJ's Instant Miso Soup.
- For a healing hot drink, our first choice is Sara Kate's recipe for Flu Season Ginger Honey Lemon Tonic, but on those rare days when we can't muster the strength to peel and chop our own ginger, we reach for a bottle of TJ's Lemon Ginger Echinacea Juice.
Hopefully, you won't need to take any of these suggestions this fall and winter. Be healthy!
Related: Cocktails and the Common Cold: Vodka, Honey, and Ginger
(Image: Joanna Miller)
May I recommend TJs frozen macaroni--it is unbelievable cheesy and delicious, fantastic comfort food.
view Mercy Street's profile
Also, the frozen cioppino is really, really good. Get a loaf of ciabatta to go with. :)
view jora's profile
For a ginger kick, the easiest thing is Ginger Yogi Tea. I'm not a big fan of most of the Yogi teas, but the ginger tea is pretty strong and makes me feel much better. Also its pretty cheap at TJ's.
view Plaid Ninja's profile
got home later than anticipated last night and i was so satisfyed after whipping up a quick and enjoyable "meal" of TJs shrimp gyoza and thawed frozen edamame.
Tonight's plan is garlic naan, briyani and korma, all care of TJs as well.
view nyalli718's profile
TJ's is the best thing ever for busy people. I keep gyoza on hand most of the time and sometimes their calzones. Insta-food for when I haven't got time/energy/ingredients to make anything else.
Another great fallback for me is scrambled eggs over rice with ketchup.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
I have to say, I was really impressed with Trader Joe's frozen foods.
LOVE the frozen naan bread, even the boyfriend (who's english, and therefore has eaten a lot of naan) said it was really good!
I was also impressed with the frozen teriyaki chicken and orange chicken.
-Ruth
view cptnruthless's profile
Trader Joe's opens in Brooklyn next Friday...
view Matilda's profile
Their fresh naan is good too. And the red pepper tomato soup is my go-to dinner for when I'm sick. That and grilled cheese...mmm!
I'm happy it's finally fall so I can start eating soup again. :)
view Amanda0730's profile
When I'm sick I make garlic-jalapeno soup. I throw a big elephant garlic clove (or about six regular cloves) and one jalapeno in the food processor with a quarter of an onion (or a spring onion if I have one), blend them up, then saute them for a couple of seconds. I pour 6 cups of broth and 2 of water over it, add 1/2 tsp of pepper, and sometimes add noodles. It is like magic for the sinuses, and when you have a terrible cold, you can still taste it!
When I'm not sick I find it pretty heinous.
view matchbookhymnal's profile
TJ's Indian Fare (shown above) is simply amazing and convenient for this vegetarian.
view david's profile
The mandarin chicken is great when you don't have time to cook a meal. I also love their pre-grilled chicken for those of us apartment dwellers who don't have the luxury of a barbeque. It's perfect for salads, making fajitas, stir fry........
view JLala's profile
Dear Lord! The LAST thing I want to eat when I'm sick to my stomach and flu-ish is indian food. YIKES.
view kkf's profile
We spent a week of colds last week making chicken soup or kale-potato soup with our frozen homemade chicken stock. Very handy!
I like TJ's 4-cheese pizza crust, which we load with shredded mozarella and other good stuff on a slow night.
view jen_g's profile
although I often turn to TJ's indian food and frozen naan for a quick dinner when I don't feel like cooking, I have to say that if you happen to have an Indian grocer nearby, buy your boxes of heat-and-serve food from them. The price is pretty much the same ($2.49 vs $2.19 at TJ's in Seattle), but they are so much better. Less salt, more complexity of flavor, and more pieces of paneer in the palak paneer. And they have more variety to choose from.
And if you're feeling adventurous, ethnic stores have so many fun food items to try for really cheap.
view Grumpy Girl's profile