As I type this I am eating a Trader Joe’s veggie pizza burger on a Trader Joe’s gluten-free bun and Trader Joe’s sweet potato fries. You could say that I am doing my research for what I am about to write.
Trader Joe’s changed my life. No longer was I condemned to spending more dollars than necessary at Whole Foods and Publix on the goods that my gluten-sensitive body requires, but rather I was introduced to the heaven that is Trader Joe’s. Without fail, I can always find something new to try after every visit. I am more than willing to overlook the staple nightmare-inducing parking situation in order to get the foods that I crave. I don’t think that I have dropped as many f-bombs in my life as I do trying to get a parking spot in order to get through the gates of grocery heaven, but I am always more than willing to fight through the parking battle, emerging victoriously to march my way through the grocery aisles. Because really, consistently finding parking at a Trader Joe’s is one of the better things that I am going to accomplish in this lifetime.
I feel like Shakespeare wrote the whole “though she be but little, she is fierce” about Trader Joe’s. Those big box stores have nothing on my favorite place. Their prices are insane and surprise me every time I walk in their store with my broke-college-girl budget. From nutrition to beauty products and house-hold items, they have it covered. Their shampoo and conditioner is to die for. I finally feel like I am one of those girls with a signature scent who has her life together because all of my bath products smell of mint courtesy of their Tree Tingle shampoo and conditioner.
Going to a Trader Joe’s can be likened to opening a gift – you never know what you are going to get. Will they have the Protein Power Chocolate and Banana Power Muffins that my boyfriend loves so much in stock? What about the gluten-free pretzels that I love to munch on and dip in the Spicy Chunky Guac that is a staple in my shopping cart every time I shop? This does not matter to me, nor does it deter me from shopping; it’s just another reason for me to come back later in the week. And who knows, maybe I will discover something new roaming the shelves? (Mac and Cheese Balls, anyone?)
No ingredients in their food seem unnecessary. Even in their beauty products I am amazed that I can pronounce the ingredients list. Their food ingredients are straight-forward and essential to the food. The vegetable root chips are just that, vegetable roots. Same goes for the hummus, the vegetable fried rice, the Vanana Vanilla-Banana yogurt, and everything else: the ingredient list makes me feel like I am consuming something that is good for me.
What sold me, really, was their easy labeling of all things gluten-free. Their gluten free pretzels rival the name-brand that sells for almost $6 in your average Whole Foods. The real treasure can be found over by the baked goods. I swear that I could eat an entire package of their gluten-free blueberry muffins with absolutely zero regret. I could fill up all of my Trader Joe’s-branded reusable shopping bags (that are actually super cute) with these muffins and spend all of my money of them with no regrets whatsoever. It’s totally possible to live off of only muffins, right?
So thank you, Trader Joe’s, for becoming one of my favorite places. I think of you daily and have turned in to a favorite outing for both my boyfriend and myself. It has gotten to the point where if either of us admit to going without the other that we end up screaming something along the lines of “How could you?” at each other and huff and puff until eventually one of us is driving to our favorite TJ’s.
The bottom line is this: I would totally be willing to enlist in a Trader Joe’s cult. I think it is safe to say that I would be their most loyal member.
