My Heart Belongs To Trader Joe's

I'm not alone in this, but, yes, I love Trader Joe's. I will drive 20 miles out of my way to shop, every two weeks, at the nearest Trader Joe's. And I load up on fruit bars, applesauce, cheese, whole-grain waffles and chocolate chips. Why? Two big reasons.

1. I have sensitivity to high fructose corn syrup and likely other chemicals found in processed food. For someone who has to read labels, it's super nice to walk through a store and not have to worry about it.

2. It's way cheaper than shopping anywhere else. Especially if you want organic products. Unless my shopping list has high-ticket items (nuts, protein powder, tons of produce and meat), I can fill a shopping cart for about $100.

A recent example: Six bags. $120.
About 30 Minutes, the Usual List of Necessities, Six Bags = $120.
There are about 80 more reasons to drive out of your way to shop here, like the variety of food (where else can you buy quinoa-black bean tortilla chips?), the quality of the chocolate, the creative brand names (Trader Giotto's, Trader Jose's, Trader Ming's), the nice checkout people, all the dairy has no rBGH, the cheap liquor, etc. You get the picture.

Find other people's reasons to love TJ's here and here (hilarious). 

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