Twins Take on the Store: Traders Joe's

One of our favorite places to shop is Trader Joe's.  They have great snacks and tons of frozen items that can be heated and served at any time.  However, it's not always the easiest place to navigate if you need to get in and out in a hurry.  Here are our hits, misses and the stuff we buy every week!

Hits:

• Fresh Flowers: TJ's always has a million different beautiful bouquets in the $6-15 range.  They make a perfect hostess gift and fancy up your house in no time.  Always grab a couple of bunches when you go in.  Ry likes to arrange her own with a few different colors, but Jess usually sticks with the pre-made mixed bouquets.  

• Chips and Dips: The teachers at Jess's school always stock up on TJ's snacks to make the weekly staff meeting more manageable.  There are no less than 15 different varieties of dips, hummus or salsa available at any given time.  One of the fastest ways to prepare for a party is stopping by Trader Joe's and grabbing some dips and chips!

• Wine and Beer: Their selection is wide and affordable.  If you're a beer fan, you can often make up your own 6-pack, choosing from any of their single bottle offerings.

• Nuts and Trail Mix: This might be Jess's favorite aisle in the store!  The nuts are great quality and come plain, roasted, salted, unsalted--you name it!  There are lots of mixes too, which are great to grab for a snack.  Oh, and dried fruit!  They have basically every dried fruit under the sun.  This is a great spot for kids snacks, too.  

Misses:

• Produce: Although they have a decent variety, the produce is often not in stellar condition.  Despite their best attempts, we think that produce might not survive the shipping it needs for a big chain store.  We prefer to buy produce in our local stores or farmers markets.  

• Meats: Much like produce, we prefer to get our meats locally.  In a chain store like TJ's the supply seems to be a little smaller and lower quality.  

• The Weekend Crowds: The worst thing about our local Trader Joe's is how busy it is on weekends.  If you can swing it, try to head over on a weekday morning or duck in right before closing time in the evening.

Here are some of our favorite Trader Joe's picks!

Top (L to R): Salt & Pepper Pistachios, Salty & Sweet Trek Mix, Candy Cane Joe Joe's, Arancini, Pork Gyoza
Bottom (L to R): Kettle Korn, Rose', Lemonade Iced Tea Mix, Toasted Oatmeal Flakes

Do you shop at Trader Joe's?  What's your favorite item?  Let us know below and happy shopping!