Things I Love Thursday: Trader Joe’s Part 2
I Love Trader Joe’s so much I had to write two posts (to check out part 1 click here) including all the great goodies I find for the fam (mostly for the boys)! And who knows, I am always finding new things to try so I may have to write another post sometime soon 
!
So, it is officially pool season, so this post has some great pool snacks that are a “healthier alternative” than the traditional types of snacks but yet pool and kid approved. Because how many of us love to eat a bag of Cheetos after running around at the pool all day?
- Baked Cheese Crunchies – Okay I can’t put the bag down! I admit it! And the boys LOVE these! I don’t have to feel guilty about letting them eat as many as they want (which is only a sandwich bag full for both of them – I do have limits ) while playing at the pool. These have less calories, fat and sodium than regular Cheetos!
Baked Yummy Cheesy Goodness!
- Salted Popped Potato Chips – these caught my eye this week. Because Carter really enjoys crackers and chips. They really are popped – no frying or baking! And they are gluten free! Not that we have allergies but for you info. They have less fat than Lay’s Potato chips (10 grams vs. 4 grams and 150 calories for 20 chips vs. 120 calories for 22 chips)! So for a “snack” these are much healthier. And Carter LOVES these! Evan won’t try them because they don’t look like chips – go figure.
Popped salty yummieness!
- Joe Joe’s - A great alternative to Oreos – no hydrogenated oils and all natural ingredients. You really can’t taste the difference. In case you missed it – this is the latest recipe I used these for – Homemade Chocolate Oreo Pudding Pops! YUMMY!! Again, in moderation, these are a great healthier alternative.
Chocolate goodness
- Organic Creamy Unsalted Peanut Butter – I match this up with Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Bread and jelly that is organic and less sugar so pretty much only has 2 ingredients (mostly real fruit!). I didn’t take pics of either the bread or the jelly, sorry! I make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for picnics. A great balance of protein and carbs!
TJ's Organic PB
The last two items aren’t pool snacks for the kiddos but parent favorites (ie. Mine and Jeremy – ha)
- Soy and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips - These are one of my favorites, especially paired up with some homemade guacamole! Yummy! In one serving these have 6 grams of protein and 500 mg of Omega 3′s!
Tortilla chips
- Just the Clusters Vanilla Almond Granola – Jeremy LOVES granola and hands down this is his very favorite. I have tried buying every type of granola and he continues to request Trader Joe’s. But unfortunately the box only lasts a couple of days ! And since it is granola and no coupons
it is expensive, but I guess Jeremy is worth it!
Granola
Just in case you think I don’t bring the real healthy stuff from this list to the pool, I do bring applesauce, raisins, and other fresh fruit to the pool .
For more favorites, check out Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries.
So what are some of your favorite pool snacks?
What a great place! I cannot remember how I found Trader Joe’s however, as a flight attendant and someone who tries to eat as much Gluten Free as possible for my health (due to auto immune diseases), I now look for them in other cities! My favorite so far is the one in Arlington, VA. When we stay in D.C., we actually sleep in VA. Only two blocks from the hotel, there is an awesome T.J.’s and a microwave and fridge in the room. So, I can purchase good food that I can actually enjoy guilt free and cook it right in my room for a fraction of the cost.
T.J.’s even has entire sheets printed out of all of the Gluten Free Items in the store and it is at least two pages filled. For my family, I even found cheese ravioli for $1.99 so it’s much better priced than Whole Foods a lot of the time.
Thanks for the post. My son LOVES Cheetos but I never buy them or any type of chips because I think they are all junk and will make my own. Thanks Again~
Christina NTBW (Twitter)
I’ve never been to Trader Joes but my friends tell me about it all the time. I need to go!!!!
Visitng from TILT
I think I need a snack now…. Hehehe! Those all look so yummie! Have you tried making your own granola? I really want to do that because it IS so expensive in the store.
Take care!
Dee
Try the vanilla joe-joes. Seriously, they are fantastic. B and I like the vegetable and flax tortilla chips a lot. They are green and red and orange and each color has a different flavor. I can’t remember if they have soy in them. I try not to eat much soy these days because of hormones.
B has also just gotten into the Stoneyfield Farms (organic) squeezable Yo-kids yogurt. They were on sale at Meijer last week.
We don’t have Trader Joes here, but I here they are great. I use a local health food store that has a lot of items that we love. I’m going to have to check out some of these snacks as I’m wanting to be able to get better snacks for the kids.