Trader Joe's Haul!

Yesterday to help celebrate my birthday I took myself down to Trader Joe's for some interesting cheap food. I got a ton of stuff for $43, and that includes a bunch of fancy tulips for about $8. Here's a picture!

These remind me of when I lived in Holland when I was a teenager and you could buy a huge bunch of tulips for practically nothing at the outdoor market. The Dutch put huge bunches of tulips in wide mouth vases (not even vases really, more like crocks). It's not exactly a cheery place, and tulips help to brighten things up. I think the bulb export business is waaaayyy bigger that the flower export business, so there are a ton of flowers sold CHEAP. That was a really good thing about Holland. I probably would have gotten 4 times as many flowers for the same price there. ANYWAY, that's not what I mean to write about!

Yesterday afternoon I started researching the really GOOD stuff at Trader Joe's. I always hear about things that are fantastic (Frozen Garlic Naan) and things that are disgusting (fresh-baked Naan) so I wanted to be sure I had a good list before I went. And boy did I find some good stuff! Some highlights:

• Snap Pea Crisps
• Just Banana- dried flattened banana slices that are awesome. They're not fried like banana chips or sweetened, which is fine because bananas are so sweet on their own. My IBS book has a recipe for something like this, but these are so cheap and good that it's worth getting them at TJs.
• Dried, slightly sweetened ginger
• Sea Salt Pita Chips
• Garlic Naan (yup, the frozen one)
• Veggie Pad Thai bowl
• Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Bowl
• Shrimp Potstickers (I'm excited about these....)
• Frozen Pre-cooked Edamame
• Store Brand Organic Greek Yogurt - Honey Flavor. I realized the Fage with Honey that I love is all fat and I really have to stop eating it. (I'm reducing. Like a 1950s housewife. Much better word than dieting.) On top of that it is expensive. SOB. So I need a good substitute. The TJs Greek Yogurt texture is perfect, but the honey flavor is waaaaayyyy too sweet. I'll have to explore other flavors.
• 4 Formaggi Pizza

Not bad! This stuff will last for a long time, especially since a lot of it is frozen. I need to try their cheese. I also hear really good things about their kitchen cloths. I wish that grocery stores in TN could sell wine because I want to try the cheap delicious wine you can get at TJs in other states, but I guess I'll have to live with Frugal McDougals instead. Poor me!