{"id":68565,"date":"2026-05-31T13:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T13:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/68565\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T13:57:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T13:57:00","slug":"i-visit-the-us-to-shop-at-trader-joes-favorite-things-to-buy-as-a-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/68565\/","title":{"rendered":"I Visit the US to Shop at Trader Joe’s; Favorite Things to Buy As a Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a mom of three picky eaters<\/a>, I will do whatever it takes to find foods that my kids enjoy. Luckily, Trader Joe’s offers dinner options my whole family loves at affordable prices. <\/p>\n

There’s only one problem: the complete lack of Trader Joe’s locations in Canada.<\/p>\n

So, twice a month, I drive nearly an hour from our home in Canada to Bellingham, Washington, to stock up on all my family’s favorites.<\/p>\n

Crossing the border for groceries might sound extreme, but the quality of the products and rave reviews from my kids make the drive worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Here are nine items from Trader Joe’s that always end up in my cart.<\/p>\n

Prices may vary by location.<\/p>\n

My whole family is obsessed with Trader Joe’s Mandarin-orange chicken.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

I love pairing Trader Joe’s Mandarin-orange chicken with stir-fry noodles.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

One of my family’s favorite meals is Trader Joe’s Mandarin-orange chicken, so I make sure to buy four packages each time I shop.<\/p>\n

This chicken, battered in a delicious orange-ginger sauce, is great on its own or with stir-fry noodles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll serve it with broccoli, carrots, and white rice, sprinkled with some sesame seeds on top.<\/p>\n

My son never liked fettuccine Alfredo until he tried the Trader Joe’s version.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

I combine Trader Joe’s fettuccine Alfredo with the store’s breaded chicken tenderloin breasts for a quick and tasty dinner.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

Even though my son has never been a fan of fettuccine Alfredo,<\/a> served in a restaurant or cooked at home, he absolutely loves Trader Joe’s take on this dish.<\/p>\n

For my family of five, I typically heat up two packs of the frozen pasta. I also love adding Trader Joe’s breaded chicken tenderloin breasts for extra protein.<\/p>\n

To elevate the dish even more, I add some high-protein milk and butter, then top it with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and parsley. The result is always a resounding success in our household.<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s take on kebabs is delicious.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s Middle Eastern-style kebabs only take about 20 minutes to grill.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

I’m originally from Egypt, so I always make sure to pick up a bag of Trader Joe’s Middle Eastern-style kebabs, which remind me of home. <\/p>\n

A bonus: my oldest daughter loves them, too.<\/p>\n

These kebabs take about 20 minutes to grill and are my secret for whipping up shawarma in a flash.<\/p>\n

I like combining them with tomatoes, a homemade tahini sauce<\/a>, and onions seasoned with sumac and parsley. Then, I pack it into the Trader Joe’s Egyptian-sourdough Baladi pocket bread.<\/p>\n

I can’t get enough of Trader Joe’s chocolate-covered wafer cookie bars.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

I love to stock up on Trader Joe’s chocolate-covered wafer cookie bars each time I visit the store.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

My secret indulgence is Trader Joe’s chocolate-covered wafer cookie bars. This sweet treat<\/a> tastes exactly like my favorite childhood snack I had back home in Egypt.<\/p>\n

Each bar costs only $1.20, so I normally grab anywhere from five to seven during my grocery trips.<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s vanilla meringues are a sweet treat that always come home with me.<\/p>\n

\"Multiple<\/p>\n

My youngest daughter loves Trader Joe’s fat-free vanilla meringues.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

My haul always includes Trader Joe’s fat-free vanilla meringues<\/a>, which are my youngest daughter’s favorite treat.<\/p>\n

At only $4.50 per container, these fluffy meringues offer the perfect amount of sweetness in each bite.<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s rolled corn tortilla chips are my son’s go-to snack.<\/p>\n

\"Multiple<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s chili-and-lime-flavored rolled corn tortilla chips are loaded with spice.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

My son loves Trader Joe’s chili-and-lime-flavored rolled corn tortilla chips, so I always make sure to pick up a bag whenever I visit the store.<\/p>\n

I highly recommend these extra-crunchy chips for anyone who likes spicy snacks<\/a>, since they’re packed with zest and heat.<\/p>\n

I always pick up Trader Joe’s mango juice smoothies for my daughter.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s mango 100% juice smoothies taste great and cost only $3.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

My teenage daughter’s favorite item from Trader Joe’s is the store’s mango juice smoothie.<\/p>\n

These non-dairy smoothies are made with mango pur\u00e9e, apples, banana pur\u00e9e, and lemon juice, and are a staple in our fridge.<\/p>\n

Along with great flavor, each smoothie is full of vitamins A and C, and costs only $3.<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s pork gyoza potstickers are a great appetizer for hosting.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

I love serving Trader Joe’s pork gyoza potstickers with soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

Whenever we have guests over, I love to serve Trader Joe’s pork gyoza potstickers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each pack of these potstickers has about 20 pieces, making it the perfect appetizer for any get-together.<\/p>\n

I like to pair them with some soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar, and garnish with green onions.<\/p>\n

I can’t believe how awesome Trader Joe’s cultured salted butter is.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s cultured salted butter softens in minutes.<\/p>\n

Karen Habashi <\/p>\n

So many of my favorite Egyptian recipes rely heavily on butter, so I’m always on the hunt for one that’s high-quality with an affordable price tag.<\/p>\n

Trader Joe’s cultured salted butter is my personal favorite, as it tastes amazing, softens in minutes, and elevates every dish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a mom of three picky eaters, I will do whatever it takes to find foods that my…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[28667,28668,17,28669,28670,28664,11676,28665,23720,27640,28666,8638,28662,734,28663],"class_list":["post-68565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-affordable-price","tag-bellingham","tag-canada","tag-complete-lack","tag-dinner-option","tag-favorite-thing","tag-home","tag-item","tag-kid","tag-location","tag-mom","tag-product","tag-trader-joe","tag-us","tag-whole-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}