- These are the top 10 things you should be buying
at Trader Joe's in 2022.
And I am trying and buying every must-have item
at the store.
The first item on my list is the ultimate must buy
if you love Mac and Cheese.
And it's the Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese for $2.99
for the package.
This concoction of greatness includes chilies
from New Mexico.
And to my surprise, this now places as one of
the best Mac and Cheeses I have ever consumed.
I highly recommend this.
It's not too spicy.
It's got a bit of a kick,
and it's a great play on one of our
favorite classic dishes.
If your kids love Kraft Mac and Cheese,
a more family friendly version of what I just showed you,
is the Wisconsin Cheddar Mac and Cheese
for 99 cents per packet.
I also bought and cooked this up on my stove
just as you would, any other regular Mac and Cheese.
I'll tell you the flavor is great.
It's a more traditional approach.
And many of you who are used to seeing me sample food
products from the trunk of my car,
have likely noticed that I am elevating things today,
and I'm building myself a more romantic
food eating experience.
For point two, I found myself in the bakery section
of Trader Joe's as a followup from a suggestion,
from a store associate who said,
I absolutely need to try a Brookie.
A Brookie is a brownie and a cookie,
and these $3.99 beauties are sold
in packs of eight at Trader Joe's.
This is essentially a brownie with an outer layer,
comprised of chocolate chip cookie.
It's spectacularly delicious.
My only complaint is that I may never be
able to eat a regular brownie again.
Thumbs way up!
I've always had a soft spot for soft, cinnamon rolls.
And the next item is a jumbo cinnamon roll for $4.29.
You get a pack of five for these.
You bake them up in your oven.
These are a little bit larger than your
typical cinnamon roll.
They do include the icing, which you add after the fact.
And I love these!
These mini Hold The Cone ice cream cones for $3.29
are served in a pack of eight.
They're available in vanilla or chocolate chip.
And these are a play of enjoying the bottom of a drumstick,
with a bit of ice cream up top as well.
Whoever invented these is a highly creative person,
and I appreciate everything they stand for
when it comes to delectable desserts.
Our next product is also something I'd
never heard of before, but I'd read about it online.
And it's a Pancake Bread for four bucks,
that I also wanted to buy and try before I recommended this.
This is a buttermilk loaf, with a slight pancake flavor.
It tastes like you're eating a pancake baked
into a loaf of bread.
While I struggled to fully describe my
culinary journey on the pancake bread,
it is unique, and it straddles the line between
a breakfast and a dessert, erring more on the dessert side.
Now sticking with desserts for another moment,
the Chocolate or Vanilla sheet cakes
that you see right here for $4.49,
are great for a smaller get together.
I opted for chocolate, which I decided to eat all on my own.
It was moist and the icing was
worth the price of admission as well.
This is a really solid chocolate cake for under five bucks.
Now I should mention this video is not sponsored.
Trader Joe's is not paying me to make this video.
And over the course of the week,
I continue to buy and try the most beloved
and trendy of Trader Joe's food items,
which brings me to point three.
Starting with the snack that you see right here,
Chili and Lime flavored tortilla chips for $2.99.
These are most likely a Trader Joe's take
on the Takis tortilla chips if you've ever tried these.
The ones at Trader Joe's have a really nice flavor profile.
They are tangy, but they are also highly addictive.
So let this be your warning.
Next on my snack list, are the
Jalapeno Seasoned Corn and Rice Puffs.
These are a huge favorite within the Trader Joe's community.
At two bucks per pack, they've got a subtle spicy kick.
And finally, another snack cult favorite,
the Elote Corn Chip Dippers, at $2.49,
are not only great for dips, guac or salsa,
but to really determine just
how good they are on their own,
I tried these without any other accompaniments,
and I've concluded, they are fantastic!
Next up it's point four!
I sound like I'm the host of a really bad game show.
But there's nothing bad about the Chicken Parmigiana
you see right here for seven bucks.
It's a quick meal idea.
You just heat it up in the microwave,
it serves two people.
And as a great pairing with the chicken,
or something good enough to serve solo,
the focaccia bread you see right here for four bucks,
heats up, and this is also a Trader Joe's fan favorite.
One of my all time, favorite style of sauces,
is available new at Trader Joe's.
And it's the Portuguese Peri Peri sauce.
At $3.29 for a more than decently sized bottle.
And I will warn you a little bit, goes a long way.
Once I brought the Peri Peri Trader Joe's sauce home
to sample with a cracker,
I discovered that it's got a little bit more
kick in spice than your typical Peri Peri sauce.
This would be ideal with chicken as a marinade,
or as a dipping sauce.
But as I've said, this is spicier than competitors.
Meanwhile, if you love hot sauce, do not pass this up.
For point five, I want to zero in on some incredibly
authentic tasting Asian dishes.
You heat them up in your microwave.
But once they're plated, they certainly do not taste
like they came from a microwave.
The Mandarin Orange Chicken is a prime example of that,
at five bucks.
I baked this chicken in the oven,
and then I tossed it in the accompanying
Mandarin Orange Sauce.
This seriously tastes like something you'd buy
from a Chinese restaurant.
The chicken is crispy.
The sauce is amazing!
And this tastes better than so many of the other
orange chickens I've tried
at legitimate restaurants that don't defrost their food.
Another fantastic buy,
is the Japanese fried rice for $3.49.
This does not contain any meat.
But it is filling and nicely seasoned.
It cooked up quickly and beautifully.
It does have edamame inside it,
which I actually prefer to eat on its own,
rather than part of a rice dish.
So that was the only thing I didn't like.
But it is good.
If you are looking for a more authentic soy sauce,
heavier fried rice, that you'd enjoy at a Benihana,
or from a favorite Hibachi Grill.
This chicken fried rice for the same price, $3.49,
was also very enjoyable.
This one is more of a meal on its own,
and the rice was a bit more dense.
Two other dishes I regularly buy from Trader Joe's,
which I didn't need to sample because I already know
I love them,
The Kung Pao chicken you see right here for six bucks,
and the Beef and Broccoli for $7.
Where the pieces of beef definitely taste like beef,
and not the questionable protein I've come across
during bad stints of takeout in my prior life,
before I discovered I could buy this at Trader Joe's.
Now onto more health food for point six.
That's just a joke!
This obviously is not a health food channel.
But I love the Italian Breaded Fried Ravioli for four bucks.
It could be a great treat.
Not necessarily something you would eat
every night of the week.
But I consider this another must buy at Tader Joe's.
It takes around 10 minutes to cook up in an air fryer,
which I did.
And I will conclude this is definitely a top food item
on my list, despite this being in point six.
But anyhow, you get the point,
it's crispy on the outside,
it's melt in your mouth cheese on the inside.
Need I say more.
If breaded ravioli is not your thing,
the Ricotta and Spinach filled Ravioli is
a slightly lighter option for four bucks.
And similar to most of the prepared food items
at Trader Joe's, this can easily be made in the microwave.
And it certainly does not taste that way,
nor does this Fettuccine Alfredo,
also on my list for four bucks.
In the back of my mind,
I wondered if some Italian restaurants would ever just buy
something like this from Tader Joe's,
and then defrost it and serve it to you.
You can see, from what I've plated,
this appears to be really legit.
It tastes incredibly authentic, weirdly homemade.
Anyhow, I should also note that if you've been alarmed
by any of these small portions that I'm presenting to you,
I'm of course not making the whole portion,
since this is just currently a romantic meal deal for one.
Oh how I keep myself busy while my wife is hard at work.
Now for point seven,
I'm going to stick with that Italian theme for a moment.
Do not skip the Italian section of
authentic pastas and sauces.
You'll find an awesome array of authentic pasta sauces
ranging from $2 to $4 dollars.
And you'll also find plenty of pasta at 99 cents per pack.
Now for the purposes of taste testing,
I really wanted to see how good
and authentic Italian pasta for 99 cents was,
compared to a Barilla pasta I typically buy
at the same price.
I brought home the Farfalle pasta that you see right here,
and I can confidently say,
I will always be buying my pasta from
Trader Joe's moving forward.
This was eyeopening.
Before I get to some seriously good sweets.
I want to include a couple of healthier lunch options
for my next point.
The Buffalo Style chicken wrap at $5,
is in the refrigerated section.
And if you love Buffalo wings,
it kind of is a healthier alternative.
It's served with a higher quality chicken
than you'd find on a typical wrap.
We frequently pick these up.
I love these.
Now, if you love Indian food,
one of my other favorites is the Chicken Tikka Masala
for $5.99.
It's a quick heat up job in the microwave,
and it also encompasses that higher end,
Indian restaurant food quality you would never expect
to produce from a microwave.
If you are enjoying this content,
please feel free to give this video a thumbs up.
And if you have a sweet tooth,
you're going to enjoy my next two points.
Beginning with the soft licorice twists at $2.49.
These are available in either black or strawberry.
I personally do not do well with non red colored licorice,
but if you believe I'm wrong, or missing out,
please leave a comment and settle the debate.
My mom loves the anise flavor and she goes nuts
for the black soft licorice from Trader Joe's.
It's one of the few things my mom does, which upsets me.
Now, I happen to love the dark chocolate peanut butter cups.
And these are available in 99 cent snack packs,
or $4.49 cent larger size options.
If you love Reese's pieces, these are even better.
The ingredients tastes more natural,
kind of like just awesome wholesome chocolate,
and some really high grade natural peanut butter
blended together into pure perfection.
I'm a big fan of these.
The pound plus milk chocolate blocks that you see right here
are something a friend recommended I try.
And at five bucks you get one giant pound block of chocolate
split up into cubes.
It's available in a myriad of flavors.
I went for the milk chocolate,
and this is one of the thickest blocks
of chocolate that I have ever consumed.
It's hefty.
So despite how hard I tried,
this is not likely something you can enjoy in its entirety,
in a single sitting.
And for my next point, before I get to the bonus buys,
it's something you need to try.
If you've ever given peanut butter to a dog and you've
watched them do that thing where they wrap their tongue
around their teeth, trying to get every ounce of
that peanut butter.
(smacks teeth)
Kind of like that.
I know that looked disgusting,
but the cookie butter spread that you see right here
for $3.69, made my tongue more canine-like to try
and get what was on my teeth back into the rest
of my mouth.
Trader Joe's is probably going to try and sue me
for this product description, but it's amazing!
It tastes like a holiday spice cookie in a jar.
It's like a spreadable version of heaven,
and a gingerbread house.
Unlike anything I've actually ever tasted.
Very distinct flavor.
The next food item on my list is a cookie,
which I've actually mentioned in the past.
Are a knockoff of the Australian, Tim Tam cookie.
These Aussie style cookies, where you get 11 for $2.49,
are a multilayered chocolate cookie with a silky chocolate
cream on the inside and a crispy chocolate cookie
outer layer.
Now for a quick mention of the bonus buys for those of you
who are still watching after I did that thing with my teeth.
If you've ever overlooked the flower section
at Trader Joe's.
At Trader Joe's,
there seems to be a new retail emphasis
on fresher flowers available more frequently.
This is something to keep in mind for Valentine's Day,
Mother's Day, last minute, I'm sorry flowers.
And countless other occasions.
And last but not least, if you love sour candies,
like I do, the sour jelly beans at Trader Joe's
are another favorite for $1.49.
And as you can tell from the state of this packet,
I ate more than my fair share on the drive home.
And I do not regret one second of my decision.
And I hope you don't regret your decision
to watch this video.
I really do appreciate it.
If you think there's something I've missed,
please leave me a comment.
And if you want to share this with a fellow
Trader Joe's shopper, feel free!
I love you. Bye bye.