I freaking love Trader Joe’s. I unfortunately do not live close enough to one to shop on a regular basis there. There are three stores that are about an hour away from me and if I’m ever nearby one of them I always stop by and grab some goodies. I asked on Instagram (Click here to follow me) if you wanted to see the items I always stock up on when I’m near a Trader Joe’s and 100% of you said yes so here we are. I always get other items too depending on what I’m planning on making that week or if something looks really interesting to try. These are simply the items I always make sure to get!

My first tip for Trader Joe’s or just shopping at a grocery store that’s a little farther away from you, is to buy a reusable thermal bag to keep in your car so that you can safely take chilled items home without them spoiling. I bought mine at Trader Joe’s for under $9 and I love it because it zips and holds so much!

1. Red Lentil Pasta ($2.99):

I am gluten-free now so I love this red lentil pasta and always grab at least two bags. As an Italian I love my pasta al dente and my number one complaint about other gluten-free pastas is that they are too squishy and always fall apart. I think this pasta is the closest texture I’ve seen to regular gluten pasta and I love it. Plus it has more protein and fiber than normal pasta so that’s amazing.

2. ‘Everything But the Bagel’ seasoning ($1.99):

If you haven’t heard of this one you have to have been living under a rock because it has to be one of the most popular products Trader Joe’s sells. I use mine mostly for topping avocado toast and eggs, but it can be used in so many other ways! I am convinced there is nothing this isn’t good on.

3. Nutritional Yeast ($2.99):

I don’t always buy this one every time I am stocking up, because you actually get a lot of nutritional yeast for the $3. If you don’t already know, nutritional yeast is a common cheese replacement. I use it in place of parmesan or pecorino cheeses when I’m cutting back on dairy and have even used it to make a dairy-free ‘cacio e pepe’ that was delish!

4. Coconut Sugar ($3.99):

I LOVE this coconut sugar. The price is great and I use coconut sugar so much. I try to use it in place of brown sugar whenever I can, and even use it on my oatmeal every morning. I purposefully look for baking recipes that call for it instead of granulated or brown sugar because I love it so much and it’s so much better for you. Click here to visit a post I did about swapping it for brown or granulated sugar in your kitchen and why it’s beneficial.

5. Gluten Free Rolled Oats ($3.99):

I go back and forth between buying this bag of oats and the Bob’s Red Mill Quick Steel Cut Oats from Costco, but I love that these are gluten free and you get a HUGE bag for $4. It’s nuts! If you don’t follow me on IG you can go there and see my love affair with oatmeal that has been continuously blossoming for years.

6. Fruit Bars ($0.99 each):

I always keep bars in my backpack purse in case I am with a client, doing a wedding, or just out and needing a snack. My biggest thing with bars is making sure they are clean and not loaded with fillers. These have just two ingredients; the two kinds of fruit! Nothing else. They are super yummy and I don’t care that they have 20 g of sugar because it’s coming straight from fruit.

7. Green Tea ($2.49):

I always keep massive amounts of Green Tea on hand because I drink at least one cup a day, and sometimes more in the winter. You can’t beat this price for a tasty & classic big box of green tea bags.

8. Salsa Verde ($1.99):

My sister convinced me I needed this one time when I was shopping with her and I am so grateful she got me addicted to it. I love it for regular chips and salsa, but it’s especially great for pouring over a chicken breast in the slow cooker. When it’s dinner time, you shred the chicken and you have easy chicken tacos with lots of great flavor.

9. San Marzano Tomatoes ($3.99):

San Marzano tomatoes are simply the best. They make the most flavorful tomato sauce so I always make sure to have a can or two on hand for when I need to make a sauce for a special night.

10. Green Chiles ($0.89):

This is another can I keep on hand, but it’s for whenever I want to whip together a quick chili. I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand, which is extremely helpful for easy dinners in the winters and fall.

11. Proscuitto ($4.99):

This is the second time in a row I’ve not paid attention to the proscuitto and accidentally bought the German smoked version which I don’t like as much as regular proscuitto. I like to keep it on hand because I’m Italian and I really have no better reason than that. I’m addicted and it’s genetic.

12. Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour ($3.99):

You can pretty much use more GF All Purpose Flours interchangeably with a few recipe exceptions so I like to always have it on hand. The price of this one is pretty good compared to some of the ones out there.

13. Ginger Paste (~$2):

I already had a bunch of these tubes on hand so I didn’t actually see how much this one costs in the store. I always have this on hand because I LOVE cooking with fresh ginger. I absolutely hate buying a knob of it at the store however, and not using it up in time. I hate wasting food, so I love that it’s already in paste form and keeps well in my fridge. I flavor so many things with ginger.

14. Polenta Roll ($1.99):

I adore polenta and while it’s really cheap to keep the dry polenta flakes on hand, sometimes it’s really convenient to keep a log of polenta in your pantry so you can fry it up really quickly and serve it as your carb with chicken, mushrooms, veggies, etc.

15. Marinated Artichokes ($2.69):

I love having a jar of these in my pantry to quickly jazz up pastas, pizzas, salads, and more! The price is also really great compared to my usual grocery store. Extra tip: I like to use the marinated oil that the artichokes are packaged in, in place of regular olive or avocado oil for extra flavor.

There you have it! Those are my top 15 must haves from Trader Joe’s. Do you shop at TJ’s? Comment below with your favorite items to stock up on and let me know if any of these are your staples too!

Have a great start to your week,

Andrea

So May was absolutely nuts. Forgive me as I acknowledge the fact that I was not very good at blogging during it. I think I worked every day but two, which included 5 weddings, many trials, and lots of other fun makeup things. I also celebrated my 28th birthday which is nuts but was absolutely amazing! Thank you for the support and kindness you all share with my throughout the year, but especially on my birthday.

Today I'm sharing my favorites for May because I actually tried a lot of new things and have been loving them so many of them.

First off I recently decided to switch to a natural toothpaste, which I had put off for so long because I had heard so many terrible things about how bad they tasted. But I was visiting a friend who lives near Trader Joe's and decided to give theirs a shot. The All Natural Anticavity Peppermint Toothpaste with Baking Soda and Flouride (I've linked a 2 pack on Amazon for those of you who can't get to a Trader Joe's easily) is honestly not as bad as I was expecting. Yes you can tell it's a natural toothpaste because it doesn't have that sweet, strong flavor of the bad stuff but I'm totally used to it now and it doesn't bother me. I feel like my teeth are just as clean as before. The only thing that I don't get from it is that super minty fresh feeling that you get from the bad stuff, but honestly I think that's fine since it's better for me.

Next up we have probably my favorite find of the month that is courtesy of my amazing friend Suzie who gave me this product for my birthday! I've talked about this before on here, but I do not let the sun damage my face in the summer. I always have SPF 55 on it, hats, sunglasses, towels, haha whatever I can find to protect myself. This obviously means that I end up with a face that is pretty pale compared to my body; that usually gets some color despite my constant SPF because it's just exposed more. Insert the Coola Suncare Organic Sunless Tan Anti-Aging Face Serum. I put one pump on every night after my skincare routine and wake up sunkissed every morning. It's not super dark (although I'm guessing that's because I only use a little, if I try to apply more and get darker I'll let you know). The fact that it's a beautiful olive and natural looking fake tan is just the beginning. It's also an anti-aging serum loaded with Argan Oil, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, & plant stem cells to leave you feeling hydrated and glowing! It also smells delicious and you can add it to your moisturizer if you want. When Suzie gave it to me she said it's favorites worthy and she was right!

I have done videos before showing how I love to mix a liquid highlighter in with my foundation to give me a dewier skin look and have always used the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter before to achieve this. However, it's quite expensive and I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to a whole other bottle. When I was shopping with friends in Ulta in April, we discovered the Maybelline Master Strobing Liquid Illuminating Highlighter in Light/Iridescent and I thought it looked pretty close to the Becca shade in Opal. Fast forward to purchasing and trying it out and it's a pretty close dupe. If you compare them side by side the Becca one looks a little more finely milled, but once mixed in with foundation and applied to the face I cannot tell a difference. I am so happy I found an amazing dupe that is less than a quarter of the price! They do have other shades as well if you don't want the blush rosey color that is like Opal.

I received the gorgeous Tarte Aspyn Ovard Eye & Cheek Palette for my birthday from another amazing friend (I know I'm the luckiest girl to have all of these sweet and amazing friends) and luckily with all of my weddings and makeup I've been doing I've had plenty of time to test it out. I love the whole thing, my only critique is that the really glitterly/shimmery shades are a little tricky to apply. I tried using a wet brush with MAC Fix + on it to apply them and that helps, but can also be tricky in a chunky way if that makes sense. The mattes are so beautiful and smooth and easy to use, the blush is an amazing shade for summer, and the highlighter is also beautiful. Overall I love it the shades and think it'll be a great palette to take with me when I want to travel.

I have saved the best for last! If you have been reading my posts recently, you've noticed that I love Glossier. I have been trying more and more out from them and when they came out with a Mascara I KNEW I had to try it. Lash Slick is if not the best, one of the best mascaras I have EVER tried. I know that is a bold statement but I love it. I saw it described somewhere as giving you lash extension like lashes and I think that is such a great description. It doesn't look like clumpy, thick fake mascara lashes, it really looks soft and natural which I love. The wand is awesome and separates your lashes so well too. If you want a bolder look you could always layer a second and thicker mascara over it which is usually what I do if want a bolder look for night time. The best part for me though is that it truly lasts all day on my lashes. No smudging, no flaking, no changes; it still looks great at the end of the day. Here is my link for you to get 10% off your first purchase from Glossier. I highly recommend checking Lash Slick out if you haven't yet!

What were your favorites in the month of May? Comment below and let me know! I love hearing about the new things you try!

Have a beautiful week,

Andrea