What are your TJ's favorites?

Here are Trader Joe’s or TJ’s top 28 (that’s an odd number, actually it’s an even number) but why 28? Why not 25 or 30?

Anyway I missed the voting but apparently thousands of other Trader Joe’s customers voted via email on their favorites. What are your favorites?

1. Frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken
2. Triple Ginger Snap Cookies – Yes! Crumble or pulverize in the blender and sprinkle over oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream, fruit salad, berries.
3. Greek Yogurt – For years I’ve been eating crappy yogurt. Greek yogurt is for your inner gods and goddesses.
4. Hummus (Chipotle, Jalapeno Cilantro, Mediterranean) – My favorite is the jalapeno.
5. Candy Cane Joe Joe’s Cookies*
6. Frozen Chocolate Croissants
7. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
8. Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds – I would put this on my least favorites list.
9. Frozen Mac ‘n Cheese
10. Charles Shaw Wines – I am so over three buck Chuck.
11. Dark Chocolate Almonds
12. Speculoos Cookie Butter**
13. Roasted Seaweed Snack – I did not like this.
14. Olive Oil Popcorn – Beats buttered popcorn any day
15. Raisin Rosemary Crisps – Delicious but $3.99 for a small box is outrageous, at this rate you would be paying more than $25 for a pound of crackers.
16. Dark Chocolate Almonds with Sea Salt & Turbinado Sugar
17. Soy Chorizo
18. Frozen French Onion Soup
19. Meyer Lemon Cookie Thins – Meyer lemon anything would taste fab.
20. Frozen Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions – This mix comes in handy for a base for omelets or stir-fry.
21. Frozen Turkey Meatballs – Yes, they’re a staple in my freezer.
22. Chocolate Covered Potato Chips – OMG! Thank goodness I never saw this item.
23. Bananas
24. Steamed Lentils
25. Frozen Palak Paneer
26. Frozen Chicken Potstickers
27. Lemon & Triple Ginger Snap Ice Cream – I wanted to buy but knew it would be a big dieting mistake. Here’s a good idea. Make a crust from the triple ginger snaps and fill the shell with ice cream and sprinkle with dark chocolate almonds.
28. Frozen Pear Tarte – My friend brought this to a recent potluck at my house. Oh, heavenly pear.

*Candy Cane Joe Joe’s are available only during the holiday-winter season. To be so seasonable and still make the list is commendable.

**Speculoos Cookie Butter is temporarily unavailable due to its overwhelming popularity. More is due to arrive soon, and it’s definitely worth the wait – it’s cookie butter! Sounds awesome and out of my caloric reach. Here’s one woman’s raves…

The thing about TJ’s is — don’t become enamored with a product as they come and go and disappear as do suppliers of the products.

Here is the 2010 list. There were 50 favorites, many repeats but the #1 and #2 products are still in the same ranking.

What are your TJ favorites?

Clean out refrigerator day

Today, November 15, is clean out your refrigerator day. I’m not making this up. There seems to be a day for everything these days.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, November 15 is this particular day because people will start buying food for Thanksgiving and the December holidays and now is a good as time as any to clean out the refrigerator.

About three months ago, I cleaned out my refrigerator — it was not pretty and I have managed to keep in sparse and sparkling.

In November 2006 I wrote a blog post for Circle of Food about cleaning out my refrigerator. I’ll share it with you:

Food Humor: Kitchen Chaos – What’s in Your Refrigerator?

At the end of every month, I somehow feel that a milestone has passed and want to conquer some project whether it be big or small. I looked at my desk and almost fainted. Then I looked at my other desk neglected across the room and had a panic attack. Thinking that the refrigerator would be a good place to start, I opened it. Ugh. The contents were not pretty and it was just as cluttered as the rest of my life but at least I wouldn’t have to decide to file or read everything. I’m embarrassed to write this but I threw away a carton of milk that expired July 27. Gross.

Here’s a list of what I tossed:

–Carcass of a rotisserie chicken
–3 eggs in a carton that expired October 11
–2 half empty cartons of shriveled cherry tomatoes
–very rotten cucumber
–½ bag of spinach dated during spinach scare
–½ bag of lettuce brown around the edges
–several mostly empty 32 oz yogurt containers with various expiration dates earlier in the month
–½ rotten banana
–unopened carton of vanilla soy milk that expired Feb 06
–Tupperware container with unidentified food source that resembled a Chiapet
–2 half empty jars of salsa one rimmed with mold
–jar of jalapenos with a mystery expiration date
–several restaurant doggie bags each with few bites of something now indiscernable
–Consorgio Jamaica Jerk 10 Minute Marinade expired/June 06/one third full
–Annie’s Natural papaya salad dressing expired Feb 06/one third full
–Trader Joe’s Ponzu Sauce half full, expired Feb 04
–San-J peanut dipping sauce no expiration date but smells funny
–Trader Joe’s peanut vinaigrette expired Sept 06 half full
–Assorted batteries expired
–Apple peach sauce no expiration date but has an odd smell
–Trader Joe’s Tuscan salad dressing expired Aug 06 mostly empty
–Kroger 100% grated parmesan cheese expired Feb 03 mostly full

As I was sharing this story with a friend who loves to cook, she was nodding her head vigorously the entire time. We both blamed it on Trader Joe’s because they have so many cool products, sauces, and dressings that it’s easy to buy some and use once or twice. Then they get pushed to the back of the bus as new items enter.

I guess I will have to break the habit of being a sauce queen.

###

So, the burning question of the day is — what’s in your refrigerator?

soy allergen alert

Arizona Canning Company Issues Allergy Alert On Undeclared Soy Protein In Sun Vista Brand Red Enchilada Sauce

People, who have allergies to soy, run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. If you don’t have a soy allergy, there is no problem with this product.

From the company press release distributed by the FDA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 19 , 2011 -Arizona Canning Company is recalling its 29-ounce cans of Sun Vista Red Enchilada Sauce (Mild, Medium and Hot) because they may contain undeclared soy protein. People, who have allergies to soy, run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.

The recalled Sun Vista Red Enchilada Sauce (Mild, Medium and Hot) was distributed in California and Arizona. All lots of this product are being recalled.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recall was initiated after it was discovered that the ingredient list on the label reads “Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein” instead of the more descriptive term “Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Soy)”.

Consumers who have purchased the Sun Vista Red Enchilada Sauce (Mild, Medium and Hot) and who are sensitive or allergic to soy are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-211-0600 (Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. (MST).