It’s truly bizarre isn’t it? That one supermarket can lure shoppers from far and away the way Trader Joe’s can. I mean really. I could have been crossing the border for Target and Fred Meyer for years but it wasn’t until TJ’s made it’s way close enough that I even considered tackling the trip. What a girl will do for flattened bananas and good nut butter!
Just so you know… it’s not an easy trip. From where I live in Victoria, BC I have to make a 40 minute drive to the ferry terminal, take a 1 hour and 40 minute ferry ride to the suburbs of Vancouver, have someone pick me up (thanks Cat!!), drive about an hour to the border, wait God knows how long to cross the border (we waited about an hour), then drive about 30 minutes to Bellingham, WA where TJ’s is located (further if you want outlet shopping, etc). So yeah, clearly us foodie bloggers are just ridiculous when it comes to fun, tasty, cheap groceries!
We also waited 90 minutes at the border to come back to Canada!
This trip I thought I might try to bring back some perishables but once I started shopping I decided just to stick with the easy-to-transport dry goods. We did find Chobani yogurts at Fred Meyer but then I totally forgot them in Cat’s fridge! Clearly I need to go back again sometime soon.
Old favourites and must haves: Flattened bananas, Sunflower Seed Butter, dark chocolate edamame (for the boyfriend), pita bite crackers, roasted plantain chips, Clif MOJO bars, and Clifs Kid Zbars.
I skipped my all time favourite almond butter this time because I already have a jar in my cupboard and I discovered that they make Valencia Peanut Butter with the same crunchy, salty, roasted flax seed deliciousness.
Favourite new find: Marcona Almonds with Rosemary! Hands down my new favourite Trader Joe’s item. I wish I had bought more than one bag!
Other fun new finds: Simply Almonds Cashews and Chocolate Trek Mix, Peanut Butter Cups Trax Mix (with huge dried cherries!), dark chocolate almonds with sea salt and turbinado sugar, 21 seasoning salute, pink sea salt grinder, curry simmer sauce, mini tortellini, Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake Mix, gorgonzola crackers, Strawberry Yogurt O’s cereal, sweet potato chips, and organic popcorn with olive oil.
Phew!
Least favourite new item so far: Roasted Seaweed Snacks. Not a fan. :(
Didn’t forget the puppers! Chicken Jerky for dogs.
And of course no trip to the USA is complete without a stockpile of Red Vines and alternate flavours of M&M’s (not at TJ’s…found at Fred Meyer while stalking the Chobani). I will probably hoard that mint and coconut until the end of time.
So am I a nutter for taking a day trip to buy groceries over the border while my girlfriends find outlet stores for Coach and Lululemon instead? Or do I have my priorities totally straight?!
I should probably clarify that the trip was really to visit Cat…and TJs was just a nice bonus. I’m not completely cray-cray. :)
4 comments:
I think that sounds like a blast! I'm glad you had so many fun finds. Yumm!
Wow! This makes me so thankful that I have a TJ's within 30 minutes from me. I am also NOT a fan of the seaweed snacks....ewww. But at least we tried them before judging, right?
Such a timely post for me! We're going to California on Saturday for TWO WEEKS (YAY!!!!) and TJ's is at the top of my list. Hubs went last year and brought me home the sunflower butter and the roasted flax almond butter (BEST AB EVERRR), so I can't wait to restock on those. I've got a few other things on my list and I think my list just multiplied :-D
Obviously you know my answer to that question :) I think you would be crazy NOT to plan trip around TJ's. So many good ideas!
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