It’s no secret that Hawaii is beautiful and amazing, but it certainly lacks in a very specific department and that is…store options. There is no IKEA, no Home Goods, no Michael’s, no Chik-fil-A and NO TRADER JOE’S! I know, I know, it’s very upsetting. I’ve talked before about how I normally get my Trader Joe’s fix + all my Trader Joe’s favorites, but I finally had the opportunity to sink my teeth into a store, take my time and WOW — it was wonderful. Today I’m sharing what I picked up in my Trader Joe’s haul from Utah!
My Trader Joe’s Haul From Utah
Fruit + Nut – These are 100% not something I would ever pick out for myself, which is why they’re such a delightful treat and are so happy our friends introduced us to them. They come in a couple flavors, are made with whole ingredients and satisfy a sweet tooth for those looking to avoid processed sugar. My favorite are the almond and apricot – it tastes just like a fruit by the foot!
Salmon + Sweet Potato Dog Treats and Beef Rolls – Judy + Bill have long loved these dog treats, because they’re only made of whole ingredients. We picked up the beef rolls as a special incentive treat for a certain Labrador at our house who doesn’t always like to follow directions 😉
Umami Blend – If there was a must-have item from TJ’s it would be this. I PUT IT ON EVERYTHING. Stir fry, potatoes, seafood, popcorn, vegetables, rice, quinoa — literally everything. It’s so delicious and the only way I know how to describe it is “savory”, which really doesn’t do the product justice, so you’re going to have to trust me on this one. I picked up two and they will hopefully carry us through the fall until I can go to TJ’s again.
Yuzu Sauce – I didn’t really know what to make with this until one day we put it on fish tacos and then all of a sudden we were putting it on everything to take it up a notch. It’s one part fruity, one part hot and doubly delicious. My favorite is on fish or veggie tacos or to flavor pan friend green beans! Again, I got two because it’s THAT good.
ALL THE GRANOLA! We picked up 3 different types of granola, because if you’ve been around here for awhile, you know we eat a ton of it. The peanut butter variety is new to us and I’m excited to make some cookies with it!
New-To-Us Trader Joe’s Items We Are Trying
Goddess Dressing – I was a little disappointed to see that in a lot of Trader Joe’s sauces and dressings I had on my radar, they were packed with sugar. WOMP WOMP. So I decided to get this one since it was 0. We used it on a loaded shrimp salad we made last week and it was SO GOOD! It’s sort of a cross between tahini and vinaigrette, and we loved it. Definitely a win!
Double Roasted Salsa – Dane picked this one out since there was a huge salsa display and we weren’t sure which one to get. We haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds delicious! I would have purchased one of every salsa, but we DID have to safely get these items back to Hawaii, so space (and number of glass items) was at a premium.
Organic Spicy Taco Sauce – I have big dreams for this sauce on cauliflower taco lettuce wraps. I haven’t used it yet, but has anyone tried it!? I was drawn in by the ingredients and bottle illustration.
3-Seed Sweet Potato Crackers + Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks – These were the two snack items that we decided on. Honestly, we wanted to buy the entire snack aisle, but we were worried about things getting crushed in-flight. So far, these are two MEGA WINS! Again — we wish we would have purchased the entire aisle 😉
Pale Ale Honey Mustard – This is delicious in tuna salad and for dipping the aforementioned crackers and pretzels. I’m sure something similar is sold outside of TJ’s, but this feels like such a special treat.
Cookie Butter Cookies – Okay so these are crack. End of story. We really wanted the cookie butter ice cream, but since that was a pipe dream we settled on these and holy macaroni — prepare to eat the entire box.
So technically the candles aren’t new-to-us, because we’ve been fortunate to get a few from our friends. That said, this particular scent is new to us and it is Hawaii in a tin. It’s SO GOOD. I’m sort of afraid to start burning it, because I know it will be gone too fast.
And there you have it — a fun little Trader Joe’s haul from our pit stop at the Salt Lake City location. I am going to go to Trader Joe’s again this fall (hooray!), so fill me in on what I need to try!