I am an avid fan of Trader Joe’s – so much that I would estimate 90% of the groceries we get come from our beloved Trader Joe’s on Almaden Expressway. I contemplated this last Sunday as Clint and I were around our kitchen island in the middle of our construction zone (see Clint’s blog post on our latest home improvement project), happily munching on our breakfast which is made exclusively of ingredients from Trader Joe’s.
There are so many reasons why I love Trader Joe’s.
However, what keeps me loyal to this grocery adventure powerhouse can be summarized in two key points. One reason is that I can blow through that place and get my entire groceries for the week in 20 minutes flat; in the door and pass the checkout line. The second reason is the selection. They do not have a wide array of brands for a particular grocery items, in fact many times they only have one and at most two brands but they are well taste-tested. For example, my absolute favorite bbq sauce is “TJ’s Bold & Smoky Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce” ($2.49) which is absolutely yummy!
I am not alone in this addiction to all things Trader Joe’s. There is even a website for groupies like myself which I’ve just discovered.
Here is the recipe for how I like to start most of my mornings.
Loni’s Fruit & Yogurt Concoction
Ingredients
– frozen aisle: mangos (iron), blueberries (anti-oxidants), cherries (yumminess), pineapple (vitamin c)
– dairy shelf: organic non-fat plain yogurt (calcium and active bacteria cultures! sweetness comes from the fruit in this recipe but if you have a sweet tooth, start with their non-fat vanilla yogurt and slowly wean yourself off of it by successively putting less of the vanilla yogurt and more of the plain yogurt in)
– cereal aisle: Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal (fiber. do not get the frosted type!), Kashi Good Friends Cereal, Flax Seed Meal (fatty acids)
Preparation
1. Place fruit into a bowl and nuke in microwave. Usually 1-3 minutes depending on how much fruit you put in will do the job. The idea is not to cook the fruit, just defrost it.
2. Put a tablespoon of flax seed meal into bowl.
3. Scoop yogurt into bowl. Ratio of yogurt to fruit should be 1:2.
4. Scatter some of the two types of cereal on the top.
You can store in the fridge for about 1/2 day if you prepare in advance. Usually I wake up earlier than Clint so I make 2 bowls of this stuff and chuck the other one in front of the milk so when he goes to make his cappacino in the morning he has no excuse to “forget” to have his breakfast.
When ready to eat, mix up. For an extra special treat, you can sprinkle some sliced almonds on top too. Yum!
