I love all things Trader Joe’s. Whether I need a quick snack, or I ran out of body wash, or I want some cute home decor, I can always count on Trader Joe’s to have what I’m looking for. Not to mention the theory that Trader Joe’s employees are secretly trained to flirt with you so you’re more likely to come back, but I’ll save that for another time!
Products That Aren’t Just Food
How lucky are we that Trader Joe’s isn’t just a grocery store? Blessed! Pretty much all of my bathroom essentials are from TJs. The Refresh Citrus Body Wash is the best smelling body wash I’ve ever owned, and I also use the Honey Mango Shave Cream for the smoothest shave. On my next trip, I’m planning to pick up some of the Coconut Body Butter and maybe even the Lemongrass Coconut Body Oil if I’m feeling spontaneous.
Now, I did say that TJs has cute home decor, but it’s basically just plants, and I love plants! Unfortunately, there aren’t any little knick-knacks or artwork, but you probably knew that — it’s literally a grocery store. Anyways, back to their plants. Did you know that if an employee asks how you’re doing and you let them know you’ve had a less-than-stellar day, they will almost always go pick out a bouquet of flowers and give them to you for free! Even if I don’t get a free bouquet of flowers, I like to peruse all the different, beautiful bouquets and check out what new kinds of pothos or succulents are on the shelves. Currently, I have a little succulent potted in a skeleton doing a yoga pose and I adore it.
Finally, in terms of products that aren’t just food from Trader Joe’s, they have a little something for your furry friends! Unfortunately, there aren’t any cat products and my cat is a little upset about this, but you’re in luck if you have a dog! My roommate has a dog, and I’m always recommending the different dog treats my dog back home likes.
Snacks and Meals
Not only is Trader Joe’s more affordable than a lot of quality grocery stores in Boulder, but they also have the best snacks, hands down. That leads me to another thing I love about Trader Joe’s — their inclusivity. There are kosher, gluten-free, organic, vegan, and dairy-free options, so everybody can find something! A couple of snacks that I keep stocked include the dark chocolate peanut butter cups and the chili lime rolled corn tortilla chips (basically Trader Joe’s Takis, but wayyy better than regular Takis), but I like to try new things!
I also find that Trader Joe’s makes it really easy to meal prep, something that I figure a lot of people, especially college students, need to do in order to help prepare for their upcoming weeks. One of my roommates loves the frozen beef and broccoli mix, and she makes rice with it so that she can divide good portions of the beef, broccoli, and rice into containers for her week. Personally, I have a class schedule that primarily takes in the earlier half of the day, so meal prepping on the weekends allows me to come home to a pre-made meal during the week, and I can use the time I saved to catch up on some homework and run errands. Plus, there are fresh, frozen, refrigerated, and shelved options for every meal of the day — literally, my whole diet is Trader Joe’s. Another roommate of mine prefers fresh items (meat, produce, bread, etc.) for his meals. I get a lot of my snack and meal ideas from Pinterest and Facebook, but you can definitely specify what you’re looking for if you’re having trouble with a quick Google search!
My advice: don’t walk, RUN to your local Trader Joe’s when you get the chance! It’s amazing how simple things like picking pretty flowers for my living room or trying out a new snack for a movie night can improve my mood. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to get all your shopping for the week done in one place, and you really can’t go wrong with Trader Joe’s.