Two months of 2021 down, 10 more to go! As we close out February, I’m excited for winter to be over and for spring to blossom. The days are starting to get brighter, and the temperature is warming up. More importantly, spring flowers are going to start popping up at Trader Joe’s (it’s all about those peonies, am I right?).
In terms of my last Trader Joe’s haul for February 2021, things are very salad focused for lunch prep. I, of course, balanced this out out with a stock up on some of our favorite treats, along with some new goodies.
Enjoy!
Haul Date: February 20, 2021
Haul Cost: $240.69 (if I can ever get out of Trader Joe’s under $200, it will be a miracle).
New Items
NEW items are marked accordingly in my post, and I’ll be reviewing them in a separate monthly recap post (like I did for January). 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 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
- Keto egg bites with ham & cheese
- Eggs with spinach and veggie sausage
Lunches
- Chicken Caesar Salads
- Italian Chopped Salads
- Shrimp, Quinoa & Black Bean Burrito Bowls
- Tuna Salads
Dinners
We do 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.
- Gyro Flatbread Sandwiches
I had a lot of other items still stocked up for miscellaneous dinner options for the second half of the month, so I didn’t need much for dinners.
Beverages
In this haul, I stocked up on some of our favorite sparkling beverages but also allowed myself to get a special treat since I had extra room in my budget!
- Blueberry Lemon Sparkling Water (a recurring new favorite)
- Cranberry Lime Seltzer Water
- Meikakuna Japanese Whiskey (NEW-ish to the store/NEW to me) – a splurge!
I’ve been becoming more of a whiskey fan lately and am determined to become a connoisseur!
Ham & Cheese Egg Bites
Ham & Cheese Keto Eggs Bites are a recurring favorite and such an easy breakfast to make. If you’ve read any of my previous haul posts, you’ve definitely seen them pop up!
Items Bought: Pasture-raised eggs, Black Forest ham & shredded cheese.
Items on Hand: Green onion, coconut flour, baking powder & cream cheese.
Eggs & Veggie Sausage
While the egg bites above are an easy grab-and-go breakfast for my husband for the week, since I work from home, I can prepare my breakfast fresh daily.
It only takes a few minutes to sauté up spinach, add a couple of eggs to scramble, and heat up a veggie sausage patty. I’ll top my breakfast bowl with some sliced avocado, and even melted cheese in my eggs, for a complete meal. Easy and veggie-friendly!
Chicken Caesar Salads
Chicken Caesar salads are an easy salad to make ahead as minimal ingredients are involved.
Items Bought: Romaine lettuce, chicken thighs, Caesar dressing, and Italian cheese blend
Italian Chopped Salads
Aside from Cobb salads, Italian chopped salads land at the top of my husband’s favorites list for cold lunches!
Items Bought: Romaine lettuce, peppered salami (I really like the Columbus brand), pepperoni, mozzarella cheese balls (packed in water), grape tomatoes, black olives, marinated artichoke hearts & balsamic vinaigrette.
Shrimp Burrito Bowls
I still had quinoa and black beans left over in my pantry from my previous haul, so I loaded up on a few additional ingredients to prep shrimp quinoa burrito bowls for lunches for the week.
Items Bought: Argentine shrimp (frozen), cotija cheese, jalapenos, salsa, cilantro, guacamole
Items on Hand: Quinoa, black beans, bell peppers, yellow onion & canned diced tomatoes
Tuna Salads
Tuna salads are the one meal I eat most for lunches during the week. They are super easy to throw together and very light in calories. Tasty and healthy! I also really just love the canned albacore tuna from TJ’s.
Items Bought: Romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, canned albacore tuna & balsamic vinaigrette
Items on Hand: Sweet peppers & canned Greek chickpeas
I love adding beans to my salads and typically have bought he refrigerated Balela bean salad mix from Trader Joe’s. However, I like that I can now get the Greek chickpeas in canned form which are less perishable.
Gyro Flatbread Sandwiches
I finally decided to try the Gyro slices! Since I have been eating meat more, I have discovered the wonders of gyro meat. Trader Joe’s has a pre-made option, which you can find in the meat section. Just sizzle it up in a pan for a minute and you’re good go to.
Items Bought: Gyro slices (NEW to me), flatbread (I love this bread for pita-style sandwiches), lettuce, tomatoes, red onion & harissa.
Items on Hand: All the ingredients (minus cucumber) I need to make my sour cream tzatziki sauce for topping.
Sweet Treats
Even though I try to prepare healthier meals during the week, I’m still too tempted by all the goodies that Trader Joe’s comes out with every month. I’m always searching for that perfect balance!
- Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins (these were new in January)
- Blood Orange Cake Mix (NEW item!)
- Crispy PB Chocolate Peanuts (NEW item)
- Dark Chocolate PB Cups (one of our favorite sweet treats)
- Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce (NEW-to-me item) – to top on ice cream!
- Sour Scandinavian Swimmers
Frozen Treats
For this haul, it was time to stock up on our favorite frozen treats! We always have popsicles in the freezer, and allow ourselves an ice cream sandwich or bowl of ice cream every now and then.
- Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches (one of my all-time favorite TJ’s items)
- Fruit Frenzy Bars
- Lime Fruit Floes
- French Vanilla Ice Cream
- Organic Vanilla Fudge Chip Ice Cream (NEW-to-me item)
Chippies
When you have an afternoon snack attack, nothing beats a good bag of chips! They might not be the healthiest option, but a few chips won’t hurt every now and then.
- Jalapeno Corn Puffs (these are a must try if you haven’t had them!)
- EBTB Potato Chips (newish to the store, but this is my second bag. I’ll review these in my February new item post.)
- Ghost Pepper Potato Chips (a favorite of ours, and they really aren’t too spicy)
Fruit
We aren’t big fruit eaters, but absolutely love Honeycrisp apples. These are a great morning or afternoon snack with some almond butter and honey!
I also got some lemons for lemon water, and to use in my sour cream tzatziki sauce for our gyro pitas (see above).
Household Goods
Two household items that are a necessity for me:
- Laundry Detergent (I wish my store still carried the larger bottles of Free & Clear)
- Biotin – a daily supplement I take to help strengthen my hair and nails
Misc. Haul Items
Lastly, here are the miscellaneous items I had leftover from my haul:
- Brown Jasmine Rice (my favorite brown rice!)
- Apple Smoked Bacon (bought just in case my husband wanted to have bacon & eggs on the weekend)
- Habanero Ghost Pepper Salsa (for snacking with chips)
- Kosher Dill Pickles (for afternoon snacking)
You can also see my new little houseplant in the background!
Be sure to stay tuned for my February new item recap, coming soon!
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