A fun hobby I developed in the past year is shopping at Trader Joe’s. I usually spend around $30-50 whenever I enter the holy land that is that grocery store. I always start my trip by grabbing a bouquet of flowers at the front and then make my way around the store (a few times). I love to browse the products and go in with some previous research. Tik Tok always lets me in on great Trader Joe’s must-haves. Sometimes, my best friend will even meet me there and we make a date of it. As a busy college student, it’s nice to have easy and healthy snack and meal options in between Zoom meetings and sleeping. Here are a few of my go to snacks.
Tortilla chips and roasted garlic hummus
It sounds simple, but at Trader Joe’s, there are a variety of dips to choose from. I’m a garlic girl, so I’m down for any dip advertising a garlic flare. My favorite is the Roasted Garlic Hummus. It pairs well with their Longboards Organic Tortilla Chips or the Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.
Gone berry crazy (dark chocolate covered strawberries) and corn puffs
The strawberries are frozen right at peak ripeness and covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. These little jewels are great for topping sundaes, oatmeal or just in-between-meal snacking. They are so easy to pop in and out of the freezer on a hectic day. They also have Gone Bananas, which are banana slices covered in dark chocolate. I like to eat two or three strawberries with a handful (or two) of Sour Cream & Onion Corn Puffs.
TJ’s Mochi (variety of flavors)
Another freezer-find, as a person who can get a tummy ache from a thick scoop of cow’s milk ice cream, these little disks are light and sweet and only leave me feeling satisfied. They come in all kinds of flavors: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, green tea and more. When eaten as a dessert, I might pair them with some Bamba.
Bamba
Trader Joe’s is famous for stocking brand names with their own branding. So, this Israeli kosher snack from my youth was an important find when I first went to Trader Joe’s. A great way to describe it is like a peanut butter cheeto. Light and peanut buttery, these melt in your mouth puffs are sure to satisfy those sweet & salty cravings.
