so, we are down to one kid at home.son #3 left for college almost 2 weeks ago.
he'll be attending Catawba Valley Community College, where he will be able to play baseball!
(which is all he knows he wants to do at this point :)
anyway, our daughter is a vegetarian and has been for almost 2 years.
she and i both love to cook, and my wonderful husband is willing to try pretty much anything we put in front of him!
while at home, son #3 enjoyed his piece of beef, chicken, or salmon every night, and ate fruits and veggies for medicinal purposes only.
i miss him, but my cooking world has broken wide open!
the first week he was gone, we enjoyed some wonderful vegetarian fare including israeli couscous with sweet potatoes and raisins, hummus and pita bread, penne with tomato-basil sauce and roasted vegetables, and yummy salads.
on friday afternoon, DD and i decided to take a field trip to trader joe's in charlotte. i haven't "splurged" on trips like this in a long while. but i was pleasantly surprised at what we found.
did you know that trader joe's is owned by the same company as discount grocer aldi?
they sell mainly their own brand of stuff.
we went for the fun, healthy food, but we found some great prices!
TJ's has lots of interesting items.
our choices this trip:
-mochi green tea ice cream $3.49
little balls of coated ice cream. the ice cream on the inside was good, but the doughy stuff on the outside was a little wierd. but we had to try it because joe jonas likes it.
-rice baked triangle snacks $2.69
these were like hash brown cakes that you would get at a fast food place, but made of rice. pretty good!
we had those with some stir-fry veggies ($1.99) added teriyaki tofu ($3.49, enough for 2 meals)
-balela salad ($2.19)
very healthy salad of garbanzo and black beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, parsley, mint, with a vinegar and oil dressing. only 180 calories for the whole container.
i love this stuff!
-harvest grains blend ($2.69 for 1 lb.)
we love pasta and all carbs. this is a blend of israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa.
just boil it for 10 minutes, delish.
-roasted red pepper hummus ($2.99 for 10 oz)
trader joe's has the best hummus.
tons of flavors and types.
some things that surprised me:
great prices on beans. most inexpensive beans at the grocery store have added chemicals for color retention.
the majority of trader joe's beans have beans, water, and salt.
that's all i need!
prices range from 89¢- $1.09.
some i bought were organic, some not.
half and half $1.29. bottom dollar's price is $1.38!
bananas 19¢ each.
this works out to be about the same as bottom dollar, at 30-something cents a pound.
a lot of TJ's produce is sold by price per item, not per pound.
whole bean coffee $3.99 for 13 oz and sold in the cutest reusable paper canisters!
a lot of their packaging is very cool.
coconut milk 99¢.
that is cheap!
steel cut oats $2.29
mini pearl grape tomatoes $2.49 for a pound!
very generous joe :)
2 buck chuck $2.99.
this is trader joe's brand of wine.
lots of "flavors".
all good :)
here's a website devoted to trader joe's items.
take a look around.
trader joe's fan
trader joe's newsletter here (pdf)
the atmosphere at trader joe's is awesome too.
as you walk in, they have activities for the kids....and forks and spoons to go, just in case you can't wait to eat what you got!
here's another article about trader joe's.
read the comments to see what folks are buying (and loving!)
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