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You can buy real food at Trader Joe’s for a great price! Here’s a list of items to look for, plus tips for saving money on healthy food at Trader Joe’s!
By Sarah Nichols, Contributing Writer
Trader Joe’s has a special place in my heart. When my husband and I were first married, we loved doing our grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s because of the quick, tasty frozen meals they had. We would peruse the aisles hand-in-hand, stocking up on their orange chicken, tamales, and chicken kabobs. It was our weekly date night. We enjoyed the limited selection of items because it just made life easier for us.
Then we slowly transitioned to a real food lifestyle, and eventually ended up cuttingout a lot of the food that we had enjoyed eating there. Life went on and our grocery shopping needs changed. We had two little boys, and on a youth pastor’s salary, our budget had no wiggle room. I found it really hard and discouraging to eat a real food diet on such a tight budget.
I quickly learned how to compare prices, shop smarter, and stretch a dollar.Imagine my surprise when our real food journey led us right back to Trader Joe’s.Now we still mostly do our grocery shopping as a family and Trader Joe’s is one of our regular stops.
There are many real food items that are always a great deal at Trader Joe’s:
- Nuts (a huge selection to choose from)
- Cheese (a huge selection of cheeses including a lot of specialty cheese and goat cheeses)
- Kerrygold butter (cheaper than conventional stores, but Costco has the best deal overall)
- Olive oil/coconut oil
- Gluten free pasta noodles
- Organic corn chips
- Organic applesauce (no sugar added)
- Spices
- Organic whole milk unflavored yogurt
- Organic fair trade coffee
- Grass fed ground beef (for us, it’s cheaper than our local farmer’s market)
- Uncured bacon ends and pieces (it’s not pretty like regular bacon because it’s the chopped up left over pieces, but it’s cheap and hey, it’s still bacon!)
- Organic dried fruits
- Wine
- Traditionally fermented sauerkraut (no vinegar in this one, just pure probiotics!)
- Applegate organic grass-fed hot dogs
- Organic produce (especially the apples and lettuce)
- Real sourdough bread (No yeast, it just uses a sourdough starter – however it is made with fortified flour. Also, you have to read the ingredients, they have other sourdough breads that aren’t made with a starter and that contain yucky ingredients. Read why our family prefers realsourdough bread here.)
- Flowers – not a real food item, but so cheap that I couldn’t leave them out. Trader Joe’s always has a fun assortment of flower arrangements that won’t break the bank.
We also have a couple of occasional splurge items that we like to get at Trader Joe’s:
- Honey mint chocolates (sugar-free) – only three ingredients: honey, chocolate liquor, oil of peppermint
- 3 cheese organic pizza (frozen) – for less than $5, this is a great emergency meal to have on hand.
- Juice – a rare treat, but always delicious!
- Soft-baked snickerdoodles – a yummy treat that is free of the top 8 allergens.
As with any store, you always want to read ingredients.While Trader Joe’s does offer a lot of great items for real foodies, they also have a plethora of items that contain ingredients that we try to avoid. One big reason we love Trader Joe’s, though, is their stance on GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Any Trader Joe’s branded item is guaranteed to be free of GMOs (except the non-organic meat).You can read more about their policy here. They also have a huge selection of food that is gluten free and allergen-friendly.
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Tips for Saving Money on Real Food at Trader Joe’s
- Trader Joe’s does not have sales because their prices are already discounted. Not many people know this, but Trader Joe’s does accept manufacturer’s coupons for non-store brand items that they sell. (Think Larabars, Food For Life, Applegate, etc.)
- Not everything at Trader Joes is cheaper; you have to do your due diligence to shop around and compare prices.For example, Trader Joe’s sells their bananas for 19 cents each. When I sat down and figured out the price per pound, my local Kroger’s ended up having the better deal on bananas.
- On the flip side, a lot of otherproduce at Trader Joe’s priced “each” instead of per pound(like squash and cauliflower), can save you money. On those items, if you search around for the biggest pieces, you can get the cheapest price per pound!
- It’s not saving money if it’s not something you usually buy. I have to tell myself this often. Trader Joe’s has so many tempting treats that it would be easy to go way over budget if I gave into every whim. We do splurge every once in a while, but we definitely don’t (can’t) make a habit of it.
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your area, Aldi is another great store to buy health food at a low price! Fore more posts on frugal spending on real food, click here!
Do you shop at Trader Joe’s? What is your best tip for saving money on real food there?
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Reader Interactions
32 Comments
Angelia
Thanks for the info!
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Sarah N.
You’re welcome Angelia! 🙂
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Sarah Koontz {Grounded & Surrounded}
I love Trader Joes. I don’t have one where I live, but we shop there every time we visit family (2-3 times per year). I am gluten free, so I have found that many of their gluten free products are priced better than I can find at my local grocery store. I am also IN LOVE WITH their gluten free oatmeal. THE BEST OATMEAL you will ever eat! Thanks for the tips….now, when we eventually get a Trader Joes….I will know EXACTLY what I need to do to not blow my whole grocery budget there 😉
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Sarah N.
Our local Trader Joes just recently got gluten free oatmeal, and I have to agree – it’s delicious and a great bargain! I hope you get a Trader Joes soon!
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Nicole
Trader Joe’s actually *does* have periodic sales. They are few and far between – a few times a year at most. If you visit their website and view the “Fearless Flyer” it will have their current sale (if there is one). My closest TJ’s is nearly an hour’s drive so I don’t get to go often, but I always check their website first just in case they happen to have a sale.
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Sarah N.
Nicole,
That’s so interesting! I knew they had the occasional “special” like on their turkeys that they bring in for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I’ve never seen a sale. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the next Fearless Flyer. Thanks for letting me know!reply to comment
LLPETES
I’m a mate at a store in Las Vegas and unfortunately the fearless flyer is not filled with “sales” items. They are featured items for the particular season. Trader Joes does not have sales because all of the items are already priced low.
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Mary Ellen
The Fearless Flyer is always their ongoing price. I have spoken with many clerks. Nothing goes on sale – they do this because Trader Joe’s believes that their current price is the best price they can give you.
For example, right now the Black Bean and Quinoa Chips are in the flyer for $2.99. They have been that price for over 5 years.reply to comment
Beth
where have you found sauerkraut at TJ’s? I asked at our local store and they said they didn’t have it. I’d be interested in asking our store to order some.
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Sarah N.
Hi Beth,
In our store, the sauerkraut is in the refrigerator section near the hot dogs. It’s good stuff! I would definitely talk with your store about ordering some.reply to comment
Lisa
I had absolutely no idea that TJ’s accepted coupons! Thanks for that info. Loved this article by the way!
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Laura
I was out of town all weekend and didn’t have time to do my usual meal planning and coupon clipping. On Monday I was out and about near Trader Joe’s and decided just to pop in without a list and grab some things for the week. I was thoughtful about what I picked up and ended up spending a very reasonable amount on plenty of food! For me TJ’s is where I go when I want to mix it up and have a little more fun shopping. The nuts can’t be beat!
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Barbara
Our family LOVES Trader Joe’s. My children would eat the Organic Creamy Tomato Soup everyday if I allowed them. And let’s talk about the Cookie Butter. Is there any better (and easy) desert or snack than a spoonful of this from the jar. I stock up on many of my fruits and veggies from Trader Joe’s. It is our preferred grocery store!
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Erin
Trader Joe’s is one of my favorites too!
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Rebecca
Thanks for this post. Lots of great Ideas!! We love TJs in Las Vegas!! We moved to Nevada from Florida where there aren’t any TJ’s. I shop there often now. A few of 20 k- cup coffee sampler for 8.99 C’MON that’s a awesome price!! Everything is good The frozen Mac N cheese…..the BEST I’VE EVER HAD and 20 oz for 2.99!! And I don’t want to forget the Wine Country Chicken salad….heaven!!!
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Erin
Can’t believe they haven’t made it down to Florida, yet! Glad you have one now!
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Nina
I believe Florida has a couple TJs, one is in Orlando only a couple miles from me 🙂
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Barbara Meyer
There is a Trader Joes in SARASOTA, Florida.
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Victoria Mininger @ Simplified Life.net
Sarah,
Thanks for this great post. We have a Trader Joe’s in the next town but I have to admit I have not been there in a while. Sometimes I just don’t know where to start since we shop for a family of six. But I am pinning this article as a quick reference to remind me before I head there. I will be sharing this with my readers over on The Simplified Life Facebook page. Thanks again! ~Victoriareply to comment
Erin
Thanks for sharing the post. Sarah is so encouraging!
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Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
I only wish we had one near us! I’m thankful we have a lot of other great options but being able to shop at TJ’s would be so nice. We almost got one in a great part of town but the nearest residents voted the rezoning down so Trader Joe’s just moved on somewhere else.
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Ann D
Did you know that Trader Joe’s is owned by the same family as Aldi’s? It’s true! A German family – Albrecht.
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Erin
LOVE Aldi!
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Emily
Sarah, could you share specifically which Sourdough is the one to buy? Thanks!!
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Sarah Nichols
Hi Emily,
There are several different sourdough breads, but there is one that only has flour, sourdough starter, salt, and water as the ingredients. It’s kind of a circular loaf and the label is blue and red with the words Sourdough Sliced on it. I hope that helps!reply to comment
Kristina
I love TJs
My kids love the frozen “really expensive ” chicken burritos.Their frozen fire roasted peppers are quick and easy and don’t let off a lot of water when adding to eggs etc…
Love their nuts and as a treat the dried young coconut strips (yum!)
We always get their plain organic yogurt, organic milk, and Kerry gold butter, also they have the best raw cheddar and it’s under $5 a lb!!!!My husband loves the organic blue tortilla chips and pineapple salsa. When I want a treat the chocolate covered almonds are to die for! Head over to the wine shop and get the organic wine the green Finn table white is very good! Also the red boxed wine is great!!!
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Kay
we recently moved from San Jose to Sutter Creek and so miss Trader Joes.
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Amy
I think this is a great list, but just a couple of things I would add to update. Right now, eggs are CRAZY expensive at most stores, but they’re still 1.99 at TJ’s (even less than our Aldi). Same with Half and Half and heavy cream. No carrageenan in theirs and it’s much cheaper than any stores I’ve compared (including Aldi and Wal-Mart). Their natural peanut butter is delicious and a great price. Also buy my Almond milk and plain greek yogurt there.
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Leslie
Please enlighten me…I don’t understand why so many “real food” advocates like Kerrygold butter and cheese. I realize that it comes from grass-fed cows, but are the cows not also given antibiotics and hormones? I haven’t found anything to the contrary, so that leads me to believe that it’s likely. Also, I love TJ’s too, but our local super Target has a lot of the name-brand organic items for less. Might be something to check out of you have a super Target near you.
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Erin
Grassfed means they are avoiding GMOs in the feed.
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Grumpy Gill
Wow! What a crazy website! I didn’t know you could have this many ads on one page! That bandwidth alone would send my server to an early grave.
I wanted to see how to save money at Trader joes, and I’m looking at Equifax, Best Buy, Ashley, and other ads. What’s funny, if one wants to save money on your website, she/he will have to wade through tens of thousands of dollars of stuff. Oh look, a Saks Fifth Avenue ad!
Tell all your advertisers that I won’t be buying things from this website. I’m going to a Trader Joe’s right now (grew up near one, and have lived near one for almost 40 years), and with a Fearless Flyer and good tennis shoes, I should be able to navigate deals on my own.
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