Well, my first of May Trader Joe’s Haul wasn’t the most exciting of hauls. It was, however, a relatively healthy haul with a couple of snacks and sweet treats thrown in.
I found there to be a little lull in early May in terms of new release items from Trader Joe’s, which is probably for the best because I do get a little overwhelmed trying out so many new things all the time!
Here are the deets from my early May 2021 Trader Joe’s Haul!
Haul Date: May 1, 2021
Haul Cost: $208.72
New Items
NEW items are marked accordingly in my post, and I’ll be reviewing them in a separate monthly recap post. This goes for new items to the store, and new-to-me items that I will be trying for the first time!
Meal Plans
I generally shop at Trader Joe’s two weeks at a time (I just hate going to the grocery store weekly).
Also, I do keep other ingredients on hand to incorporate with these meals, which I detail in the sections below. Some ingredients are also leftover from my previous haul(s), so I try to make good use of the rest of my items to eliminate as much food waste as I can.
Here’s what I planned for this haul:
Breakfasts
- Eggs w/ Spinach and Cheese
- Yogurt, Berries & Almonds
- Fruit Smoothies
Lunches
- Buffalo Chicken Wraps
- Cold Teriyaki Chicken Noodle Bowls
Dinners
- Shrimp Tacos
- Chile Lime Chicken Burgers
- Fish with Asparagus, Lemon & Goat Cheese
We do also cook three meals a week with Blue Apron and tend to order takeout at least once a week, so these meals are meant to be in addition to those.
Eggs w/ Spinach, Cheese & Salsa
A super easy go-to breakfast for me, especially since I work at home, is to scramble eggs with spinach and cheese, and top with salsa! As I’ve mentioned before, we get eggs from a local farm delivered monthly but I do occasionally buy eggs from TJ’s when I need to. I also went with the Lite Mexican Blend for cheese to minimize the fat content.
Yogurt & Berry Bowls
Yet again, I went with yogurt and berry bowls for easy make-ahead breakfasts for my husband to take to work. Very easy and very tasty! We really like the vanilla Greek yogurt from Trader Joe’s also, and the sliced almonds add a nice crunch to the “dish.”
Fruit Smoothies
When the weather starts warming up, I get in the mood for a little smoothie action! I really am a fan of fruit smoothies, and the frozen fruit from Trader Joe’s is perfect for that purpose.
I also enjoy the coconut beverage options at Trader Joe’s. They do have the vanilla flavor as well, but I went with original to cut down on sugar content.
Not Pictured: Pea Protein Powder from Trader Joe’s that I already have on hand.
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Wraps are an excellent and easy make-ahead meal to take to work for lunches! For this, I got chicken thighs (which my husband cooked up in seasonings and Frank’s Red Hot Sauce), sprouted wheat wraps, romaine lettuce, red onion, lite cheddar cheese slices, and blue cheese dressing.
Not Pictured: Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (does anyone know if Trader Joe’s carries any type of buffalo hot sauce?)
Teriyaki Chicken Noodle Bowls
Teriyaki chicken noodle bowls were a new addition to our lunch rotation. We were inspired by a cold soba noodle salad dish that we get at BJ’s Brewhouse!
Ingredients Bought: Chicken thighs, Soyaki sauce, soba noodles, green onion, rice vinegar, and Persian cucumbers.
Ingredients Bought from Sprouts: I also got some Lo Mein noodles to use alongside the soba noodles as well as some sesame seeds for topping. Check out my Sprouts Haul for more items I picked up there!
Shrimp Tacos
What do you do when you have shrimp in the freezer? Make shrimp tacos! Shrimp tacos are one of my favorite types of tacos, and I will never refuse them!
Ingredients Bought: Onion, tomato, cilantro, sour cream, salsa & romaine lettuce (not pictured)
Ingredients on Hand: Shrimp, cheese, and low carb tortillas (purchased from Sprouts in a different haul).
Chile Lime Chicken Burgers
I just had to stock up on some Chile Lime Chicken Burgers! I’ve found that they also go great in a burrito bowl with Trader Joe’s Mexican Cauliflower Rice, which is a good option for either lunches or dinners.
Lemon & Goat Cheese Asparagus
I usually have frozen fish on hand, so I picked up some asparagus to roast, along with goat cheese for a little richness and fresh lemons to add acid. I love squeezing fresh lemon on my roasted veggies!
Sweet Treats
This trip, I allowed myself a few extra sweet treats:
- Dried mango for snacking
- French Vanilla Ice Cream (this is one of my favorite vanilla ice creams ever)
- Chocolate & Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s (NEW to store!)
New Item Roundup
I must have been having an off day because I accidentally duplicated some things here that I listed above! Oh well, I’ll include them here as well. Here are all the new items I got to try in this haul:
- Rice Cracker Medley (NEW to store? – I’m not 100% on this, but I’ve never seen them in my store before)
- Coconut Cream Latte Cold Brew (NEW to me)
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s (NEW to store)
- Matcha Green Tea Soba Noodles (NEW to store)
Misc. Haul Items
Lastly, here we have that random assortment of items from my haul that don’t necessarily go with a meal:
- Sparkling Apple Cider Vinegar Beverage (Lemon + Strawberry)
- Extra Hot Habanero/Ghost Pepper Salsa (for snacking with chips)
- Brussels Sprouts (to eat with fish already on hand)
- Kiwis (for snacking)
- Pickles (for snacking)
- Peony Blossom candle (one of my favorite spring candle scents)
- Soy Sauce (needed to stock the pantry with this item)
- Cold pressed avocado oil (for cooking – and it didn’t really make its way into the photo very well!)
- Better Than Leftovers Dog Treats (love giving these soft bites to my puppers)
And that’s a wrap! Be sure to check out my Trader Joe’s New Item reviews, which I do each month.
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