Personal Dork Assistant

Snacky Goodness at Trader Joe's

It's always fun to wander into TJ's without a shopping list. There's always the staples like milk and pasta. Does frozen calzone count as a staple? Grab a prepared salad or sandwich for lunch the next day. Then it's whatever random stuff that'll fit in the basket.

TJ started stocking those mochi-covered ice cream things. I like the mochi-covered ice cream balls, since they come in six perfectly convenient bite-sized portions, unlike pints and the temptation to eat the whole damn thing.

Blue tortilla chips are always fun, but they need to be dipped. Really like the Terra Red Bliss Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic & Parmesan potato chips. Thick-cut chips with 30% less fat than other leading brands. It's kinda salty (115 mg of sodium per ounce of chips), but the parmesan and olive oil give it loads of flavor compared to regular potato chips. Excellent for a little snack. The hard part is to stop eating before you inhale the whole bag and the salt dessicates your entire mouth.

On the healthier side of the aisle, the frozen baby green beans is a handy item to have the in the freezer. A bit of salt, a minced clove of garlic, and a dash of olive oil plus a few minutes in the microwave makes for a quick serving of vegetables. The green beans survive the freezing process surprisingly well, and they stay crunchy and green even after going directly from the freezer to the microwave. Nice.