While we all know and love the food you can get at Trader Joe’s stores, not every item you get here is as great as other products. In this article, you will learn about the items from Trader Joe’s that are not the best quality or tend to cost more than in other shops.
As such, avoid buying seafood and meat, vitamins, packaged sushi, and burritos from Trader Joe’s stores. Instead, you should get some of the better Trader Joe’s products like dark chocolate almonds, pretzel sticks, pastries, and frozen teriyaki chicken dinners.
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What is Trader Joe’s Known For?
Trader Joe’s is known for providing high-quality food products and unique items that separate it from other grocery stores. Customers at this shop find that it has higher quality products and rate it as superior compared to other places.
The prices at Trader Joe’s stores are mostly lower than other shops but found to be 5 percent higher than Walmart and 15 percent larger than at WinCo’s. The wide variety in Trader Joe’s products makes it unique. Here, you can find tons of different foods like candies, chocolates, pastries, dinner ingredients, snacks, and more.
8 Things You Might Want To Skip Buying at Trader Joe’s
The top eight things you may wish to skip purchasing at Trader Joe’s include:
- Seafood and meat products
- Vitamins
- Burritos
- Packaged sushi
- Sliced fruit
- Zoodles
- Honey-drenched nuts and fruits
- Broccoli and cheddar cheese quiche
Below, you will learn why these foods are either inferior in their ingredients, unhealthy, or too pricey compared to the same foods at other shops.
1) Seafood/Meat
The seafood and meat products at Trader Joe’s are not worth buying because you can find the same items for much cheaper at other locations.
For example, the Trader Joe’s BBQ Cut Fresh Atlantic Salmon Filets are rather expensive and cost $9.99 per pound. Stores like Fresh Thyme and Kroger have similar or even the same cuts of Atlantic salmon for as much as three dollars less than at Trader Joe’s stores. Who wouldn’t want to spend $6.99 instead of $9.99?
In addition, one customer reviewed their seafood paella and found the shrimp tasted inferior.
2) Vitamins
When it comes to the vitamins sold at Trader Joe’s, you’ll find that they have fewer capsules per bottle and tend to cost more than vitamins found at other stores. The vitamins here also tend to have less nutritional value than ones found elsewhere.
For example, you can find a comparable bottle of vitamin B supplements for $4.67 at Target compared to $5.99 at Trader Joe’s.
3) Burritos
A Trader Joe’s burrito tends to lack the typical health benefits of some of its other products. You’ll find that, in only one burrito, the amount of calories is a whopping 600. Each burrito also holds 18 grams of fat and more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium.
As such, if you want to stay healthy, you’ll find that making your own burrito at home with some corn tortillas from Trader Joe’s is a healthier option.
One customer found that the Pollo Asado burrito from Trader Joe’s didn’t have enough chicken, and the other ingredients didn’t mix well when combined.
4) Packaged Sushi
Since Trader Joe’s does not make its sushi right in its own kitchens, you will find that the packaged sushi sold here is not as fresh as you’d like. These items may also cause you to get sick, as Trader Joe’s had to recall its poke bowls and ready-to-eat sushi products from their stores in 2019 due to possible listeria contamination.
According to a prior employee, even Trader Joe’s workers are told to avoid buying the sushi sold in the store.
5) Sliced Fruit
The sliced fruit at Trader Joe’s tends to come in miniature containers and come in smaller amounts than the original fruit. They also cost a bit more than the entire fruit you can purchase at a different store.
For example, a one-pound container of Trader Joe’s sliced watermelon or pineapple costs $3.49, while an entire pineapple can cost $2.99, or watermelon can cost $3.99 elsewhere. Avoid the small containers of sliced fruit if you’d like to save some money.
6) Zoodles
The zoodles from Trader Joe’s are also pricey, and it makes more sense to get entire zucchinis. If you have a whole zucchini, you can merely use a julienne peeler knife to make your own thin zoodles at home. In fact, the cost of buying zoodles versus an entire squash is twice as much, pound for pound.
Take a couple of minutes to make your own zoodles to save a decent amount of dough.
7) Honey-Drenched Nuts and Fruit
If you’re looking to avoid too much sugar in your diet, don’t add the nuts, fruits, and honey jar to your cart. This particular item has fruits and nuts drenched in honey within the jar. It has 300 calories in only a quarter of a cup serving of nuts, honey, and fruit. This same serving comes with 26 grams of sugar.
For better health, avoid this jar of sugar and calories.
8) Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Quiche
Once again, if you are interested in purchasing healthy ingredients, you should avoid the broccoli and cheddar cheese quiche. This particular item has a whopping 910 milligrams of sodium, which means you’ll eat about half of your daily sodium intake in only one meal.
Further, this quiche comes with 15 grams of saturated fat and won’t provide you with the health benefits you seek. It might be better to make your own omelet or a fresh quiche at home.
What Products Are Good at Trader Joe’s?
While there are items you should skip at Trader Joe’s, you’ll find plenty of great products as well, including:
- Happy Trekking Trail Mix
- Gluten-free Brioche Bread
- Traditional Tunisian Harissa
- Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausage
- Rosemary Marcona Almonds
- Cauliflower Gnocchi
- Blueberry Lemonade Sparkling Water
- Organic Split Pea Soup
These particular food products have plenty of flavors and are healthier than other items. Whether you’re looking for a snack, a starter, a main meal, or a drink, Trader Joe’s has good options for you to choose from.
Trader Joe’s Product Reviews
The Trader Joe’s Olive & Herbs Mixed Nuts have both positive and negative reviews. Some find that this snack is a wonderful salty and savory product while others found it too strange-tasting and lacking a nice texture.
Reviews of the Chicken & Chimichurri Empanadas state that they lack much chicken, are too thin, and are a bit too salty. However, reviewers of the Thai Vegetable Gyoza from Trader Joe’s found them to be delicious and great with a sweet chili sauce.
Trader Joe’s Stores Near You
You can find a Trader Joe’s store in 43 states and many cities all around the country. Typically, you can visit a Trader Joe’s store in:
You can check out the many locations of Trader Joe’s stores on the company website. You can also use Google Maps to find the nearest location of a Trader Joe’s store near you.
FAQs
What Is the Best Day to Shop at Trader Joe’s?
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally the best days to shop at a Trader Joe’s store. In particular, you should arrive in the morning before many items get bought. On these days, the shelves are well-stocked, and you’ll find fresh produce as well. You’ll avoid some of the larger crowds you would usually find on the weekends.
Is It Worth Shopping at Trader Joe’s?
It is worth spending time shopping at Trader Joe’s since the store has plenty of specialty items and unique ingredients you won’t find anywhere else. This shop has flavors combined in their snacks and sauces that stand out from other products. You are bound to enjoy Trader Joe’s food
Why Do People Like Shopping at Trader Joe’s?
Trader Joe’s may have popular demand among the consumer base due to the eclectic tastes found in the products and low prices on very unique foods. Products at Trader Joe’s range from salsas, cheeses, and cookie butter to frozen meals and tasty pastries.
People who shop here also love the adorable decorations and signs they find all over the store.
Is Trader Joe’s Meat Quality Good?
Trader Joe’s meat has adequate quality compared to other meats in different grocery stores. The meat quality standards here require no artificial ingredients, preservatives, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), MSG, antibiotics, or artificial growth hormones.
While the meat quality is generally good, you may find it costs more than in other stores.
How Does Trader Joe’s Quality Compare with Aldi’s?
If you’re looking for organic items, Trader Joe’s has more options than Aldi. However, if you’re searching for quality greeting cards, Aldi has heavier-duty and nicer-looking ones than Trader Joe’s. Furthermore, Aldi’s stores have more affordable items. Both stores have high-quality foods, but the perishable items at Aldi tend to go bad more quickly.
