Trader Joe's Finds

I use to only go to Kroger to do my grocery shopping. I grew up going to Kroger up the street from my house in Nashville, I honestly thought it was Kroger'S until recently, thanks to Nashville upbringing haha. You would run into everyone so had to make sure you looked decent. I still love Kroger and it is my main source of grocery shopping. I like using the Kroger Plus Card and digital coupons. I do the bulk of my grocery shopping there. However, I have made some discoveries during this quarantine. Am I the only that goes to 3-4 stores to complete my grocery shopping?

I now go to Sprouts for fresh fruits and vegetables. They also had COTTON CANDY grapes the whole time during COVID. I love those so much! They legit taste just like cotton candy but they are grapes. So cool! If you read my previous blog about how to make my açaí bowls (this is where I get my bananas, raspberries, and strawberries for it). Sometimes I go to Whole Foods for small stuff. They know how to run up a check with those HIGH prices.

Then there is Trader Joe's. I have been in there before because my cousin Kelli told me about their Coconut Body Butter so I got that but did not look at anything else. Shame on me. I am always late to the party sometimes other times I am in VIP putting everyone else on, lol. Well I have met my matches my favorite finds:

1. Shrimp Burger (sooooooo delicious) I have at them every day since Sunday. The way I do

mine is I put it in the air fryer for like 12 minutes then flip it for like 3 more minutes on 350 degrees. I get the sweet Hawaiian buns from Kroger, Arugula, thin slice provolone cheese, Kraft Chipotle ranch, and dill hamburger pickles. I promise if it is perfect if you love shrimp like me! I do not eat beef or pork (I gave it up like 2006) so I only do turkey burgers but now I prefer this! On a normal day, I may only eat it with a few Santitas Tortilla chips (my go-to chips as an adult -can't do Hot Cheetos all of life all the time). But on Sunday I air-fried my Frozen Red Robbins steak fries (they are seasoned to perfection). I purchased these from Kroger.

2. Frozen Dark Chocolate Covered Bananas -they are so delicious.

3. And of course, STRAWBERRIES are my favorite in life so the Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

4. Pink Himalayan Salt

5. Flowers- I got the cutest mini bouquet for only $3.99. I love fresh flowers. They are fresh and beautiful.

6. Coconut Body Butter -I have used this for years. Felts like fluffy frosting!

7. Pineapple and mango juice

8. Salmon Burgers

9. Chicken Fried Rice

10. Orange Chicken

11. Mini Chicken Tacos

12. Mozzarella Sticks -I did not like the marinara sauce as pictured

13. Organic Fruit Snacks

Wow, so I created an amazing meal in 10 minutes! This is the definition of Barely Cooking with Lauren! Look at this delicious meal!

1. I put a few pieces of chicken (the sauce comes separate) in the air fryer for about 10 minutes on 350 degrees.

2. Coat a skillet with cooking spray

3. Put whatever amount of chicken fried rice you want in the skillet

4. As cooking I added pepper, old bay, creole seasoning, minced garlic, and a little butter.

5. Boiled shrimp seperatly

6. Added the shrimp with more seasoning

7. Once the chicken was done I added half orange sauce it comes with and a little more than half of Louisiana Buffalo sauce (I do not really like mixing sweet and savory personally). I mixed them in my bowls on my amazon store under home with colorful lids: https://www.amazon.com/shop/dr.laurenelise.

Finished -So delicious and FAST! Let me know how you like my suggestions via IG @dr.laurenelise.

Now I am not that adventurous when it comes to food but I also found this super cool Instagram called Black Girls in Trader Joes. That shows all kind of finds and share recipes. Here is the link to the page: https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlsintraderjoes/. So if you want more finds that you may like that I don't adventure to try this is a perfect resource for you. I admit I am picky but I loved these finds!

If you any of my picks or the açaí bowl be sure to tag me on IG and let me know what you think.