I'm a single woman in NYC who shops at Trader Joe's on a $60 budget every 2 weeks. Here's what I buy.
Audra Lambert
- As a single girl in Brooklyn, I shop on a tight budget of $60 at Trader Joe's every two weeks.
- I get jasmine rice and A Dozen Cousins beans that will last me a while.
Trader Joe's quick-cook oats make for an easy and quick breakfast.
My best option from Trader Joe's for a reliable morning burst of energy is the chain's steel-cut oats.
The package holds more than enough to last me two weeks. At just under $3, it's an affordable, easy option for a nutritious meal that I can mix and match with fresh seasonal fruits.
Trader Joe's organic half-and-half goes a long way for me.
It's always nice to have dairy for coffee and oatmeal in the morning. I can easily mix some of Trader Joe's organic half-and-half with water when making oatmeal without having to run back to the store right away.
A pint of half-and-half is less than $2.50.
Most of my dinners include some jasmine rice.
Having a reliable staple like Trader Joe's $3 bag of jasmine rice means I can pop a few cups into the rice cooker, walk my dog, and come back to a grain base ready to go.
There are also brown rice and even quinoa options under $5 each.
Prepackaged spiced beans from A Dozen Cousins make for an easy-to-prep meal.
Trader Joe's also carries A Dozen Cousins pinto beans, which are ready after just a minute in the microwave.
At only $2.50, it's easy to grab a couple to heat up and serve over rice for a quick meal, especially if I'm working from home on tight deadlines.
Trader Joe's prepackaged Asian-style veggie stir fry is an easy, healthy staple.
Just because I'm on a budget doesn't mean I want to skimp on nutrition.
I might not have time to slice up a lot of produce so my over-$5 splurge at Trader Joe's is a pack of mixed precut veggies ready to toss into a pan for a teriyaki-style stir fry.
Trader Joe's Soyaki adds a unique flavor to a lot of dishes.
Trader Joe's has its own spin on teriyaki sauce, a 20-ounce bottle of Soyaki, for under $4. It's enough for over a week of stir-fry meals.
Its flavor is fairly tangy but not too strong so it's perfect for my vegetable-heavy diet as a tasty, savory sauce for most meals.
Sweet potatoes are a great vitamin-packed snack.
Making a sweet potato in a small Brooklyn apartment is a mouth-watering experience because the smell is so good that the hour or so of baking makes it worth the wait.
I can get 2 pounds, which is roughly seven sweet potatoes, for under $2.50, making this bag of fiber-packed vegetables a no-brainer for a light lunch or afternoon snack.
Decadent goat cheese is one of the best items to splurge on.
What's a baked potato without a nice, melt-in-your-mouth cheese to go with it?
Trader Joe's Chevre with honey goat cheese is bougie on a budget and a good calorie-rich splurge alongside a sweet potato.
A 5-ounce block of Chevre is $3.
Gluten-free chicken-breast nuggets add a quick dash of protein to any meal.
A little extra protein makes for a more filling dinner, and Trader Joe's gluten-free chicken-breast nuggets from the frozen section are a quick fix.
It's easy to grab the nuggets from the freezer and toss them into a teriyaki stir fry.
At $5 per 16-ounce bag, the nuggets are a long-lasting item on a lean budget.
Organic veggies, like broccoli florets, add nutrition without breaking the bank.
In order to supplement my prepacked stir fry with more variety, I'll usually pick up another bag of precut veggies. This time, I grabbed Trader Joe's organic broccoli florets to throw into dinners a few nights a week.
It's great to know I'm eating organic vegetables that'll last me the week at under $4 per bag.
For a breakfast on the run, I grab Trader Joe's fiberful granola bars.
There's nothing like a fiber-filled granola bar to get me through a morning running to the train to get to a meeting.
A five-pack of Trader Joe's fiberful granola bars costs only $3, meaning that I can grab two boxes and be ready for breakfast on the run.
Grab-and-go fruits, like apples and pears, are always welcome.
Pears are great, durable, and easy-to-pack lunches and are budget-friendly. Three Bartlett pears cost less than $2.50 and make a great afternoon snack.
I also love to indulge in some pear slices with chocolate for a tasty dessert that goes a long way.
Sometimes a salty fix like Trader Joe's chili and garlic cashews hits the spot.
There's just no other fix for a savory craving quite like Trader Joe's spiced cashews. The store has a ton of options in its nuts and seeds section but my favorite is the chili-garlic cashews.
A handful makes a filling afternoon snack, and at less than $4 a pack, I can easily grab two bags to cover two weeks of snack attacks.
Trader Joe's organic dark-chocolate truffle bars can be transformed into a decadent dip.
My go-to healthy dessert consists of a couple of Trader Joe's organic dark-chocolate truffle bars, which are $4 each.
I like to heat them up with some half-and-half as a quick dessert dip to go with apples, pears, or bananas for a nice end-of-day treat.
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