If you happen to live near a Trader Joe’s (if you don’t know, you can find out), you are one lucky ducky. If you already shop there, then you already know that. But maybe you are not quite as familiar with this quirky grocery store and are perhaps even put off by the smallish size (when compared to today’s giant grocery stores), unfamiliar packaging, and lack of brand names.

When I first married and moved to this town, one thing disappointed me: the serious lack of grocery stores! In our town itself, Giant and Safeway have a major monopoly and most stores seem to consider it pointless to even try to overcome it. I came from a town that had every grocery store known to mankind, at least on the East Coast, so it was a big switch for me. I learned to go farther and wider for my grocery shopping, which turned out to be actually a good thing!

However, I was thrilled beyond belief when I learned that one of my favorite grocery stores ever - Trader Joes - was coming to the next town over, which was really just the same as being in my own town, as close as it was. In no other grocery store can you find as many high-quality, minimally processed, healthy foods for such a great price as at Trader Joe’s. I shared my enthusiasm with everyone I knew, but was often met with blank stares. This was the first Trader Joes anywhere in the area and most people were not familiar with it. “What’s it like?“, they would ask. “Why do you like it so much?” And the big one I got most often: “What do you buy there?”

This last one came even more often after Trader Joes arrived and people had paid a visit out of curiosity. More than one person was confused and distracted by the store itself and not really sure what the whole deal was. I can understand: there are very few brand name packages, as Trader Joes sells most of their food under their own private label; plus, it’s rather a small store as groceries go. On top of that, it’s laid out a little differently, and doesn’t have your typical “Deli”, “Seafood”, “Bakery” and other departments.

If you’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s, but you have one within 10-20 minutes, then GO! If you’ve been, but you walked away confused and disappointed, Read ON! I’ll help you sort through the confusion by listing my personal top ten favorite things to buy at Trader Joe’s. These items I almost always purchase there, unless I find them significantly cheaper elsewhere for the same quality (usually not likely). These are, of course, only the items I personally find useful for me and my family - if you spend some quality time there like I do, you’ll have your own list of things you love!

*As far as I know, the prices are accurate.They do occasionally fluctuate, but this is what I usually pay.

1. White Whole Wheat Flour, $2.99
This is a relatively new item to hit the grocery scene, I think even within the past decade, and I usually only see the King Arthur brand available in typical grocery stores. While I like King Arthur flours, they cost a lot more than I like to pay, so either I buy them on sale (doesn’t happen very often, usually around Christmas time)… or I buy the same flour at Trader Joe’s! Why do I like white whole wheat flour so much? It has all the same nutrients as regular whole wheat flour, but it’s softer and considerably less whole-wheaty. I still mix it most of the time with unbleached AP flour, for my DH’s sake, but a lot of people use it on its own in all their baking.

2. Organic Carrots, 1 lb., $0.89
Carrots are on the “Dirty Dozen” list, the ones you should buy organic when possible. Trader Joe’s makes it easy because their organic carrots are the same price as other stores’ conventional carrots. I only ever buy carrots there anymore.

3. Organic Celery Hearts, 1 lb. $2.29
Ditto for the celery: it’s one of the dirty dozen, and Trader Joe’s has the organic version available for the same price as a sale price of conventional at other stores. Once again, I only buy celery at TJ’s.

4. Organic Raw Honey, 16oz, $5.99
I used to buy raw honey at Giant, the same size for $6.99. Recently Trader Joe’s started carrying the organic kind, which thrilled me to no end: I could get organic for cheaper than conventional! It’s important to use raw honey when you’re not cooking or baking it because it has a lot more nutritional value than pasteurized or heated honey. Also, if you use it medicinally (for sore throats, on bug bites, etc.), it’s almost pointless to use pasteurized honey because the healing properties simply don’t exist in as much a quantity as in raw honey.

5. Organic Turbinado Sugar, 24oz, $2.99
I could get a 2lb bag of turbinado sugar at Walmart for the same price, but I figure the organic is worth it for half a pound less. I prefer turbinado sugar because it is less processed than regular table sugar and retains more nutrients. (My research indicates that sucanat is even better, but right now, that’s out of my price range!)

Edited to Add (as of June 2013) - Trader Joe’s now carries even more healthy sweetener options at great prices, including maple sugar, maple syrup, and others. I don’t buy the raw sugar anymore, because I’ve switched to palm sugar or sucanat, but Trader Joe’s is still a great deal.

6. Rice Noodles, 16oz, $1.99
If you don’t have celiac disease or wheat allergies, then you probably don’t care as much, but it’s hard to find such a good price on rice noodles. I almost exclusively buy them at Trader Joe’s now, and make them for my Certain Little Someone, who is allergic to wheat and other things. If you want to try them out, either because you’re looking to cut down gluten or you just want a little variety, TJ’s is the place to go!


7. Raisins, 16oz, $1.99
I didn’t used to buy raisins nearly as much before I had my Certain Little Someone, but like most moms I quickly learned that as a go-to snack, it can’t be beat! I also throw it into his homemade granola and other baked goods, like muffins and cookies. I can sometimes find just as good a price or better at a conventional grocery store, but Trader Joe’s is consistent (at least with the raisins) so I pretty much always get them there unless I happen across a really stunning deal elsewhere.

8. Dried Cranberries, $1.99, 8oz
It’s a great deal for dried cranberries which are harder to find at a good price than raisins. I like to use them as a substitute for raisins (as a snack or in baking) because raisins can get really old after a while, and cranberries have such a lovely sweet-tart taste that’s hard to resist.

9. Fruit Leather, 2 strips, $0.55
Fruit leather is a much healthier alternative to fruit roll-ups, which are more sugar than fruit. Fruit leather is entirely made of fruit, so it’s a great healthy snack. Whenever we go to Trader Joe’s, I always buy one as a special treat for my Certain Little Someone and he LOVES them! They have a variety of flavors to choose from.

10.Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, 12oz, $2.29
I’m not so sure that Trader Joe’s’ chocolate chips are any healthier than anyone else’s, but they are cheaper. Unless I can get them on sale somewhere (which, coming up on Christmas and baking season, will be super easy), I buy them at TJ’s. An added benefit for me is that they are safe for my Certain Little Someone - no milk - and it’s a huge triumph to find a safe product for him that doesn’t cost more than its unsafe counterpart.

Edited to Add (as of June 2013) - Since I wrote this post, Costco has started carrying a 6lb bag of chocolate chips for $7.99, made with all natural ingredients and responsibly sourced cacao. Both TJ’s and Costco’s chocolate chips do have soy lecithin in them. The only readily available brand I’ve found that doesn’t is Enjoy Life, and theirs cost easily twice as much.

There are lots of foods and other products I could mention - like the watermelon that was consistently the cheapest or within $0.10 of the cheapest grocery store price all summer long - but check it out for yourself and find out why I love it so much! If you already go to Trader Joe’s regularly, tell me what you like to buy there - I always love to find new, exciting things when I shop there.

Oh, and one more thing - if you really depend on convenience foods, then hands down, Trader Joe’s is the best place to find them! They have the largest selection I’ve ever seen of pre-made or prepped foods that are free of preservatives, chemicals and other additives.

Find other ideas on how to build your pantry frugally at: