I've been a restaurant critic for 15 years. Here are 12 things I love to buy at Trader Joe's.

Many grocery stores just have basics like cheddar and American in slice form. I've found that Trader Joe's has way more variety.

I've long been a fan of the chain's Dutch cheese selection, and they're even more appealing when they're already conveniently sliced.

My favorites are sliced smoked Gouda and buttery, funky goat cheese.

My mother, who has no sense of smell, trained me to be a very texture-focused eater. That means that Dijon won't do unless it's packed with popping mustard seeds.

It can get expensive to buy a good-sized jar of the stuff — unless I buy it at Trader Joe's, where it's only $2 for a 13-ounce portion that lasts me months.

I say that I buy Trader Joe's squiggly knife-cut-style noodles with soy and sesame sauce for my husband, but that's only partly true.

They remind me more of my Jewish mother's cooking than anything I've enjoyed at an Asian restaurant, and their intense comfort is part of their appeal.

At $5 for four packets, they're a light meal I can count on.

I always like to have at least one vegetable in the freezer that's ready to be thrown in the air fryer in an emergency.

There's no more colorful option than this cauliflower in hues of purple, green, and gold.

When blistered at high heat, there's no evidence I didn't pick the cauliflower florets myself from a garden of heritage veggies.

Best of all, I get a 16-ounce bag of organic rainbow cauliflower for $3.

I know many people who shop at Trader Joe's are there for the prepared foods and snacks — but I don't really snack and prefer to do my own cooking.

That said, when I'm really desperate, I do like a healthy-ish frozen bowl now and then. Enter Trader Joe's Cuban-style citrus garlic bowl.

With moist chicken thighs and sweet plantains mixed with rice, it's far from restaurant quality, but miles better than most frozen foods.

At only $4, it's worth keeping one in the freezer for emergencies.

If you love mochi doughnuts but wish there were a savory version, you're in luck. Brazilian-style cheese bread has been waiting for you.

Anyone who's dined at a Brazilian steakhouse knows this naturally gluten-free bread (made from tapioca flour) is a chewy, Parmesan-filled sensation.

I make Trader Joe's Brazilian-style cheese bread in my air fryer, and in just a few minutes, I have petite, piping-hot buns.

When I'm too lazy to drive out of my way for real dim sum, there's a far inferior but also far cheaper alternative in my freezer.

OK, maybe Trader Joe's pork-and-ginger soup dumplings can't compete with the real thing, but they're infinitely better than no soup dumplings.

I pair them with the chain's pork buns and serve them with a homemade dipping sauce.

I get six soup dumplings for $3.50.

I love pretty much any stir-fry or soup you can imagine as long as it contains chewy Korean rice cakes.

Think of them as a dense, glutinous answer to Western gnocchi.

Trader Joe's sliced Korean rice cakes are best when sautéed with some lean meat and vegetables in a spicy sauce for a diverse collection of textures and flavors.

Trader Joe's always has something compelling in its fruit aisle.

I especially like it when the chain has beautiful doughnut peaches in season. These appealing fruits are only available for a few months each year.

More specifically, these tiny golden orbs are actually known as Cape gooseberries or ground cherries.

If you pick them fresh, they're in a husk like tomatillos, so expect a similarly sticky skin.

I like to throw gooseberries in salads for a light touch of tart sweetness that goes surprisingly well with a garlicky dressing.

I pay $4 for 6 ounces of gooseberries.

Are you still eating potato or ricotta gnocchi? For years, I've been feeling slightly more virtuous about my pasta thanks to Trader Joe's sweet-potato and cauliflower versions.

A lower glycemic index, after all, leaves more room in my diet for butter and cheese sauces.

I get a 12-ounce bag of the light-as-air cauliflower dumplings for $3.29.

My husband and I are active Ooni pizza oven users.

Our favorite pie is topped with cupping pepperoni and fresh basil, so we go through a lot of our favorite herb.

We have a kitchen garden, but in the cold months, we keep a small plant in the window to allow us to make every pizza fresh and green.

An organic basil plant costs us $4 at Trader Joe's, and we use it to finish countless pepperoni pies.

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