Ode to Joe's

Well, we are loading our pods with our possessions (where did all this stuff come from?!) tomorrow then heading out early on Wednesday morning. Today, as we're doing the last of our packing and cleaning, I ran to the store to pick up food for the trip and some lunch.

I love Trader Joe's. For those of you who don't know how they work, TJ's finds prodcuts they like from all over the world. If they decide to carry them in their store they work an agreement with the company to put their own packaging on it. Almost all of the products in TJ's have TJ's own packaging. They don't hide the fact that most of the products aren't theirs, I think they just like to have it all uniform and not just look like another grocery store. Some people have issues with Trader Joe's because the prices are so cheap. They feel that because TJ's sells their products so inexpensively that the companies are being ripped off. I don't agree with that, as many of these products are carried by other health food stores and chains, so it's not as if they are at the mercy of TJ's alone to carry their products, they choose to make a deal with them. Anyhow, for the items I know the brands of, I will pick them up at the co-op or HFS, but for the many unique things they have, I just get them at Joe's. For someone who loves to cook, the prices can't be beat and I rely on their unique foods and ingredients to complete my kitchen.


While I was there today I saw these premade "Middle East Feasts". All our kitchen stuff is packed and I needed to pick up a bite to eat anyway, so this did the trick. Jim can never say no to anything involving hummus. Often times premade falafel has the dreaded egg-white in them, but after reading the ingredients, this whole container was animal-free! We had some pita, falafel, hummus (SO good!), tabbouli and tahini for $3 each! Not a bad deal at all and such a relief because I'm so tired of Taco del Mar.


Here's the rundown of our foods for the trip (everything except the jerky and fruit) was from Joe's): Zen Bakery cinnamon rolls, some Joe-Joe's sandwich cookies, fruit leather, Larabars (these are the best!), organic apples and bananas, some raw nuts, a small bag of trail mix (that is mostly fruit and will get mixed iwth the nuts), and some soy jerky.

Zen Bakery is a line of stuff that TJ's carries. All of their stuff is really good and healthy. They make muffins, cookies and these rolls. Everything is sweetened with fruit juice instead of sugar and uses wheat flour. They are delicious with a little bit of Earth Balance or some slightly sweet Tofutti cream cheese frosting on them, the latter of which I will be making and bringing with us in the cooler.

After some inquiry to the fine folks at TJ's, their Joe-Joe's (which are like Oreo's but better) are vegan. They looked vegan, but have "natural flavors" in them. Alas, they were declared vegan and my husband is all the fatter for it. We usually buy Newman's cookies, but these were there and I didn't want to make a bunch of stops. They use real vanilla beans in the cream and they are oh-so-good.

The fruit leather, fruit and trail mix/nuts are self explanatory, but the Larabars, well they deserve a few words. I hate energy bars, so when our co-op was giving out samples of these bars months and months ago, I was highly skeptical. I mean, a raw foods bar? OMG, they are so delicious! My favorite is the cherry pie, which literally tastes like a slice of cherry pie. Team up one of these bars with some soy yogurt and you have a killer breakfast.

Lastly, soy jerky. We tried the Stonewall's brand when we first went veg. I bit into a chunk to be greeted by a squirt of oil down my throat. Not a good way to make an impression on someone. We were scared to try any others but then saw a big display of these at the co-op and we have been hooked ever since. I have given it to several omni's and everyone was shocked that it wasn't meat. The brand is called "Tasty Eats" and, well, it is.

That's about all for now. I'm hoping the hotel we stay at has wifi so I can update this with the food we pick up along the way, but if it doesn't I'll just find a place to connect once we get to Portland and I'll give you my roadside review. Until then send well wishes my way in hopes of a safe trip and happy, quiet kitties!