I am such a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast. 95% of the time I’m craving a breakfast that is on the sweet side. That mostly alternates between smoothies or yogurt bowls with overnight oats, chia pudding or oatmeal occasionally thrown in there. On the rare occasion I go savory – it’s scrambled eggs and fruit (still gotta get that dose of sweet in there).
I’m okay with this – why overcomplicate the first meal of the day!? Especially when lunch and dinner tend to offer so much more in the way of options and diversity.
Here are a few things that have been on heavy rotation for breakfast…along with a Trader Joe’s haul from last week that includes some fun new skin/personal care items. Neither topic felt like enough to make a whole post out of so I decided to combine them into one!
WHAT I’VE BEEN EATING FOR BREAKFAST
You can never go wrong with a yogurt bowl – especially right now when peaches and cherries are in season! It’s been such a great mix up from my normal berry-focused bowl. Here’s what I’m loving in my bowls right now:
- Plain full-fat 5% greek yogurt with local honey swirled in to sweeten naturally
- Publix Greenwise Honey Coconut Granola OR Trader Joe’s Salted Almond Honey Granola
- Fresh fruit (peaches, cherries, mangos, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas all on heavy rotation)
- Dried fruit (usually cranberries, sometimes chopped apricots or a mixed berry blend)
- Salted roasted pepitas (with the Publix granola, not the TJ’s salted almond honey)
- Drippy almond butter – my fave is TJs creamy salted
- Hemp hearts
Another one. So pretty! Cherries are on their way out and I will miss them.
The way the smoothie + black coffee combo hits the spot for me! I’ve been using NOBULL’s new whey protein for about six months now and I really like it. I use the vanilla whey most often but I like the chocolate for a change on occasion. Here’s what went into this one:
- 2% milk
- 3mg creatine
- Chia seeds
- Plain greek yogurt
- Almond butter
- Frozen cauliflower rice
- Frozen banana
- Frozen strawberries
- Frozen cherries
- NOBULL Chocolate Whey Protein Isolate
What a typically savory breakfast looks like for me. Scrambled eggs with cottage cheese, buttered sourdough toast, fruit.
A weekend breakfast with Finn who is a huge fan of cinnamon rolls.
WHAT I BOUGHT AT TRADER JOE’S
I don’t make it to Trader Joe’s often so this trip was mostly random things like freezer items I like, pantry things I like to stock, sauces, trying some new products, etc.
Here are the freezer items!
- Burrata, prosciutto and arugula pizza -always get this!
- Pork & ginger soup dumplings – another frequent buy
- Butter chicken – a fave for a very easy dinner
- Frozen chopped spinach – for smoothies
- Frozen roasted corn – for bowls
- Vegetable fried rice – love adding a protein + scrambled egg to this for a fast and delicious dinner
- Frozen peaches and blueberries – for smoothies
- Salsa verde chicken enchiladas – trying these for first time!
- Plantain crisps – I like these even better than their other plantain chips that are the little rounds
- Fried shallots – first time buying them but have a friend that likes to use them for garnish a lot
- S’mores clusters – these are just okay. I find the Fannie May s’mores mix superior to all other s’mores candy!
- Salted almond honey granola – first time trying and I really like it. It’s VERY salty but still a hint sweet. It’s also VERY crunchy.
- Sea salt and vinegar avocado oil kettle chips – first time trying
- Lemon torchetti pasta – used this to make a pesto pasta dish the night I bought it and it was great!!! I think it’s be great in a summer pasta salad too!
- Basmati rice – the rate that Finn and I go through rice is impressive for two people!
- Kitchari – I don’t know why I love this stuff so much. Ready in 90 seconds and so good for a quick warm meal.
- Ginger and turmeric herbal tea – I like the Yogi brand ginger tea the best but this one is $2 cheaper so it’s what I went with!
- Garbanzo beans
- Greek chickpeas – these marinated chickpeas are great on a salad or in a bowl
- Giant baked beans in tomato sauce – these are also SO unexpectedly good
- Coconut chickpea curry – decided to try this since I like the kitchari so much
- The Trader Joe’s creamy natural peanut butter is my number one peanut butter of all time. Texture, consistency and taste are all 100!
- Thai sweet ginger sauce
- Coconut aminos – love these in place of soy sauce for the reduced sodium content and it’s cheaper at Trader Joe’s than many other places
- Creamy salted almond butter – also so good in taste, texture and salt balance
- Pine nuts – for homemade pesto because my basil is thriving this year
- Buffalo sauce made with avocado oil – I like to keep buffalo sauce for crispy chicken salads
- Thai style red curry sauce – I always get a jar of this or the yellow. Great with rice, protein and veg.
- Balsamic glaze – first time purchase
- Dried cranberries
- Candied pecans – love these on a salad
- Sugar kiss melon – if you see these in any grocery store and even remotely like melons – you must try! My mom first turned me onto them. Bursting with flavor and have this naturally salty/sweet thing going on.
- Bananas
- Lemon arugula basil salad kit – because we’re still eating salads over here even with all the news
- Vidalia onions
- Pork tenderloin
- Shwarma marinated chicken thighs
- Cinnamon rolls – these are probably my favorite canned cinnamon rolls ever
- Vanilla skyr – this is a great dupe of the Icelandic Provisions
- Avocado – just because I needed one but prefer to buy them at ALDI where they’re typically $0.60
Lastly, I have become quite the fan of Trader Joe’s personal care products over the last couple of years. I buy their hand and body cream and body butter all the time. I’ve recently gotten hooked on their shaving cream. It smells amazing, is super moisturizing for shaving and one tube lasts forever – so much longer than any traditional foam shaving cream.
Recently, I started seeing people mention their new vitamin c serum all over the internet and comment on what a great product it is for the price of $9.99. The biggest issue is that it’s in a dropper bottle so it’s going to oxidize quickly. I’ve used it for a week and like it but I’ll probably go back to a spendier vitamin c serum in the future. Some people are very bothered by the smell of the TJ’s C serum but that hasn’t been a problem for me.
I also decided to try their new night cream on a whim, which is also priced at $9.99. My holy grail, favorite night cream ever is the SkinCeuticals triple lipid restore but it’s $155. I can’t say I’ll be making a permanent switch to the Trader Joe’s night cream but it has a wonderful texture and goes on nicely without being too greasy. Perfect hydration for my tretinoin-treated skin!
Fun to try these kinds of beauty products sometimes. Never know when you’ll find a winner!
Lastly, I always like to grab a candle when I’m at Traders.
THE END
Okay, that was a run round-up to write! As always, I would love to hear your current Trader Joe’s finds. It’s one of those stores where recommendations are everything! Especially with the seasonal/specialty items.
And give me some breakfast inspo! Maybe I’ll make a switch (probably not haha).
