Some posts on this site contain affiliate links that help me earn a small commission if you purchase or subscribe to a product from one of my links (at no extra cost to you!). Read my full Privacy Policy here.
Welcome to my February 2024 Trader Joe’s haul recap! This haul was actually a little smaller than my usual Trader Joe’s hauls since I actually had quite of bit of existing ingredients/products to use up. However, I did get to pick up some new and seasonal items that I’ve been waiting to grab for weeks! And of the meals I had planned for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I put a strong focus on keeping everything high in protein (aka lots of chicken and seafood).
Here’s a recap of my February 2024 Trader Joe’s haul!
Meal Plans
I generally shop at Trader Joe’s once a month, alternating with Sprouts and supplementing items from Thrive Market. I do keep other ingredients on hand to incorporate with these meals and some ingredients are also leftover from my previous hauls.
Here’s what I planned for this haul in terms of meals:
Breakfasts
- Bagels and cream cheese with salmon
- Eggs and sausage/bacon
Lunches
- Turkey wraps
- Smoked pulled chicken salads
- Leftovers from dinners
Dinners
- Pesto chicken with Mediterranean couscous
- Sriracha salmon
- Shredded chicken tacos
- Chicken tikka masala
Haul Date: February 25, 2024
Haul Cost: $212.32
Breakfasty Things
This breakfast haul has a lot of repeat favorite items, including the newer chicken breakfast sausage patties that I’m loving! They’re great on their own with eggs or added to a bagel sandwich. I also picked up some canned sockeye salmon to add a different element of protein to my bagels.
Different breakfast combination options:
- Bagels & cream cheese
- Bagels, cream cheese, and salmon
- Bagel sandwich with egg and sausage
- Eggs and bacon or eggs and sausage
- Coffeeeee!
New to the Shelves
This month, the black garlic cream cheese hit the shelves at Trader Joe’s and I’m a big fan. It has a delicious umami flavor profile from the black garlic and is the perfect savory bagel spread. Definitely a new favorite for us! I even added it to my turkey lunch wraps. I hope this sticks around as a permanent item.
Also new in February was the Organic Five Country Blend Dark Roast whole bean coffee. I haven’t gotten around to trying this one yet, but as a coffee novice, I’m curious to see how a dark roast flavor profile stacks up to a medium or lighter breakfast blend.
Lunches
For lunches, I try to keep things light and protein-packed. Aside from planning for leftovers from dinners, my lunch focus in this haul was simple salads and wraps.
BBQ Chicken Salads
It’s a great feeling when you can pull together just two items to make a delicious, protein-packed meal! This was my first time trying the BBQ & Black Pepper Toscano Chopped Salad and I was impressed.
You’ve got cruciferous veggies, salty black pepper Toscano cheese, and extra crunchy cornbread croutons. This salad kit screams texture! The BBQ sweet onion dressing was also very tasty and it doesn’t take much to impart flavor throughout the salad. The only downside is that the dressing does have soybean oil, which I try to avoid (but it’s a small quantity overall).
New to the shelves this season is the Hardwood Smoked Pulled Chicken, which I figured would make a great companion to a BBQ chicken salad. I was right! This chicken is super smoky but also moist and very flavorful. It’s also all white meat, which equals extra protein.
I split this up into two salads for myself for lunches and I was full! Next trip, I’ll definitely be picking up more of this chicken for other meals.
Turkey Wraps
Next up for lunch – turkey wraps! I’ve been struggling lately with coming up with new things to have for lunch that are quick, easy, and high in protein. So, I always grab my trusty high-protein wrap ingredients when in doubt.
- Ingredients Bought: Turkey, lettuce, low carb wraps, and mustard
- Ingredients on Hand: Sliced pepper jack cheese, red onion, and roma tomatoes
Dinners
For dinners this trip, I chose some recurring favorites in addition to ingredients for a couple of new dinner ideas.
Pesto Chicken & Couscous
I picked up the marinated Pesto Chicken Breasts as a new-to-me item with a Mediterranean-inspired dinner in mind. The chicken was delicious! Sometimes, I think pesto can be an overwhelming flavor, but I thought this was well-balanced.
- Ingredients Bought: Pesto chicken breasts, pearled couscous, heirloom tomatoes, lemon, cucumber, red wine vinegar, feta cheese
- Ingredients on Hand: Red onion and olive oil
For my side dish with the pesto chicken, I whipped up a warm pearled couscous “salad” with mini heirloom tomatoes, a squeeze of half a lemon, red onion, red wine vinegar, dried basil, and a little bit of EVOO (with salt and pepper too of course).
And for some crunchy texture, I also made a quick pickle of cucumbers and red onion in red wine vinegar to top off the dish, along with some feta cheese. Delish!
I actually had enough leftovers to have for lunch the next day and both the chicken and couscous were excellent cold!
Gochujang Salmon
Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon is my favorite type of salmon to eat but I really only enjoy it when my husband cooks it. I find that restaurants typically overcook salmon and just don’t get seasonings right. So, every now and then, I’ll buy some salmon fillets and ask my husband to whip up some salmon and rice.
- Ingredients Bought: Salmon, gochujang paste, Korean gochujang sauce, and green onion
- Ingredients on Hand: Red onion, butter, and jasmine rice
We normally have Cajun-style salmon, but I was feeling inspired by Korean flavors from a meal we recently had out at a restaurant. We usually keep a gochujang paste on hand for mixing up our Asian-style stir fry sauces, but the Korean Gochujang Sauce was new for us (the bottled sauce includes a mix of rice vinegar with sesame oil).
My husband found a great recipe for a butter gochujang sauce to bake the salmon in and it was simple and amazing. You can mix anything with butter and it seems to elevate flavors to a whole new level.
Chicken Tacos
It wouldn’t be an Appetites at Home grocery haul without some taco ingredients and shredded chicken tacos are one of our favorites. My husband (aka my personal home chef) cooks the chicken thighs (or breasts) whole in a pan, then takes them out to shred. Once shredded, he adds the chicken back into the pan to impart more flavor with extra seasoning (and sometimes green salsa).
- Ingredients Bought: Chicken thighs, carb savvy tortillas, heirloom tomatoes, sour cream, and guacamole
- Ingredients on Hand: Pickled jalapenos, shredded cheese, and red onion
These tacos are always so tasty and high in protein!
Chicken Tikka Masala
This is another repeat favorite meal of ours because it’s just so simple to make. I like chicken breasts for this, but my husband prefers thighs. You can go either way really!
To make this, season and cook the chicken whole in a pan, then cube and add back into the pan with the tikka masala sauce to coat. We serve this over rice, but you could also add in potatoes and carrots if you want a different carb with your tikka.
- Ingredients Bought: Chicken breast, Tikka Masala sauce, and green onion
- Ingredients on Hand: Jasmine rice
Beverages
My beverage haul from Trader Joe’s this time around was pretty simple – sparkling water, Trader Joe’s Prosecco, and the NEW Power Red Juice.
The Lemon and Ginger Seltzer Water is my favorite sparkling water from Trader Joe’s as it’s organic, has good flavor, and is zero calories. I go through these fast!
In my quest for trying all the bubbles at Trader Joe’s, I picked up their very affordable Prosecco and it might just be my new favorite prosecco! It’s very light and refreshing and more brut than sweet, which is what I like. Easy drinking at a great price.
NEW at Trader Joe’s this season is the Power Red Juice, which contains a mix of beet, strawberry, watermelon, elderberry, and cranberry juices with hibiscus tea. I haven’t gotten to try this yet, but I’ve heard really good reviews so far.
Misc. Items
The remainder of my haul includes some very random items but two very exciting NEW products!
- Broccoli for stir fry (we ended up doing a shrimp and broccoli stir fry over rice)
- Sea Salt
- Dried Mango (one of our favorite snack items)
- NEW! Aluminum-free deodorant
- Pretty purple flowers to make me feel like spring is coming soon
- NEW! Calamansi mango sorbet
NEW! Calamansi Mango Sorbet
As a big fan of ice cream and frozen treats, I always get excited when Trader Joe’s releases new pints of ice cream (or in this case, a sorbet). This calamansi mango sorbet is a new seasonal flavor that came out in early 2024 and I was lucky to snag the very last one at my store! It’s absolutely delicious – a little bit tart but also sweet.
Calamansi is a small lime/lemon-like fruit mostly found in Southeast Asian countries such as The Philippines and Malaysia. I’ve seen calamansi-flavored foods start to pop up at various places and I’m so glad! You’ll definitely love this if you’re a citrus fruit fan looking for a nice refreshing treat.
NEW! Aluminum-Free Deodorant
Trader Joe’s is entering the aluminum-free deodorant scene with a new unscented deodorant stick. I’ve used this a few times so far and it works pretty well! A lot of aluminum-free deodorants contain baking soda, which many have a skin allergy to (including myself). Instead, Trader Joe’s deodorant contains arrowroot, which is a great alternative to baking soda.
Keep in mind this is not an antiperspirant so you’ll still sweat a bit, especially in the warmer months (reapplication may be necessary). I think I’ll throw this in my backpack to carry around with me as a travel stick.
And that concludes my roundup of all the items from my February 2024 Trader Joe’s grocery haul! Did you get to try any of the new items I mentioned here?
No Comments