An Ode to Trader Joe's

I've always been a huge Trader Joe's fan. Lots of cheap, good food, which is a college girl's dream. It's especially helpful since the abundant prepared/frozen food is great since I'm not the best cook. Everyone and their mother is absolutely obsessed now since Burlington finally got one (whereas I'm just excited because it's like my best friend came back from abroad). The even more dangerous part is I work literally 50 feet from the Burlington location, so I find myself going about 3 times a week. I'm going to share a few of my favorite items/the ones I'm always going back for, and let me know yours!

Organic Strawberry Lemonade. This stuff pretty much got me to stop drinking soda. It is so so good I've gone through about four bottles since I moved in three weeks ago, and the price for a large bottle is about what you would pay for one drink at a restaurant/

Scallion Pancakes. I discovered these a couple of weeks ago and I was literally screaming in the store. Scallion pancakes are one of my favorite foods when I get Chinese but they can be difficult to come by if you're not eating out. These come in a bag of four in the frozen aisle and you literally just put them in the oven for seven minutes and get authentic yummy goodness.

Chopped Onions. This may seem kind of stupid, for only $2 you get a big tub of pre-chopped onions. This is amazingly handy for the very rare time I do cook, because it makes my life that much easier and you're not paying that much of a premium for convenience.

Italian Country Salad. The prepared section is my go-to place for a quick and easy lunch during my break. I keep coming back to this salad because it is eclectic with parmesan and white beans, vegetarian, and only $4. Most salads contain meat so it's nice to find a filling one for us veggies.

Pudding. Pudding is a great dessert because it's relatively low in calories while still filling. I've tried their rice pudding, tapioca pudding, and belgium chocolate pudding and have loved each one. The belgium chocolate one tastes exactly like chocolate mousse.

My only complaint about Trader Joe's is I'm always seeing new things and tricking myself into thinking everything is so affordable that before I know it, I've filled up my cart and end up spending $20 (which can add up if you go three times a week!). Also, watch out for the sweets they strategically place by the check out line. I'm on to you with your impulse buy marketing strategy but I'll be damned if I didn't pick up some delicious Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter cups the other day and enjoy every one.