Trader Joe's Favorites + Recipe Ideas! [Gluten Free/Dairy Free]

Happy Monday loves! Hope you had a great weekend. Saturday was basically all of my fall dreams combined into one day! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw that we went to Butler's Orchard which isn't too far from our house. It's primarily an apple orchard but they had a big fall festival going on and they, of course, also grow pumpkins this time of year. They also have the most GORGEOUS field of sunflowers ever. We took a bunch of pictures that I'll share on the blog soon!

Sunday is almost always our day for grocery shopping and meal prepping. We go to Trader Joe's about once a month and stock up on all of our favorites when we go. I LOVE reading other posts from bloggers about their TJ's favorites and recipes that they create with their items! I haven't talked about it much but for the last 2ish months Steven and I have been eating Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free about 95% of the time--I've mentioned a few times that I have some digestive issues and food sensitivities. We generally stick to Paleo recipes but I do incorporate rice and corn products which are gluten-free but technically not paleo. I've been looking and feeling so much better since we've started this diet and really have no desire to go back! Trader Joe's is a GREAT place to find gluten-free and dairy-free items so I thought I would share those with y'all today along with all of our favorites!

Freezer Items:
--Cauliflower Gnocchi: I would imagine this is everyone's FAVORITE item from Trader Joe's! They're so easy, healthy and yummy. I like to whip these up a few different ways.

--So good with marinara and ground beef or turkey

--LOVE the gnocchi also with the TJ's Vegan Kale Pesto and shrimp

--Another favorite pairing is the gnocchi with chicken sausage, butternut squash and the TJ's Green Goddess dressing!

--Vegetable Fried Rice: LOVE having this on hand for days I don't feel like cooking. Just throw it in the skillet with an egg, shrimp or chicken and you're good to go.
--Cauliflower Pizza Crust: We make paleo pizzas once a week and while I prefer the Caulipower brand (sold at Whole Foods or Wegman's) because it's Paleo-compliant , this one is yummy too. We usually just top our pizzas with an assortment of veggies, pepperonis and tomato sauce OR the Vegan Kale Pesto.
--Brown Rice: So easy and yummy. Always good to throw in with any meal!
--Riced Cauliflower: I hate cauliflower rice but Steven loves it so we always pick it up.
--Gluten-free waffles: LOVE eating these on the weekend topped with pure maple and berries
--Shredded Hash Browns: Steven LOVES hash browns and these are so good.
--Frozen Shrimp: We always have shrimp in our freezer and theirs is pretty cheap!

Produce:
--Apples: Love their selection. Apples & almond butter is our favorite snack!
--Avocado: We go through quite a few of these a week and they're way less expensive than our typical grocery store
--Cherry Tomatoes
--Shaved Brussel Sprouts: Love to saute these and serve them with salmon.
--Pack of Cucumbers
--Butternut Squash Spirals
--Chicken Apple Sausage: SO yummy thrown in a skillet with the squash spirals, spinach and then top it with the Green Goddess Dressing. Love this combo over brown rice.
--Salmon: I'm particularly fond of their brand of salmon and it's also relatively cheap! Top your salmon with their Vegan Kale Pesto and serve over rice or veggies--so good and easy.

Snacks:
--Dried Mango: one of my favorite snacks/sweet treats
--Any of their Mixed Nut assortments
--Plantain Chips: This snack has been a long-time favorite since we did the Whole 30 before our wedding. Love these chips with guacamole, salsa or loaded up with everything + ground turkey as a healthy "nacho" alternative.
--Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds with Sea Salt: Best sweet treat EVER.
--Apple Fruit Bars: These bars are basically just fruit and they're also a really yummy sweet treat.


Spreads/Dressings/Sauces/Salsas:
--Vegan Kale Cashew Pesto: So yummy when making paleo pizzas or on pasta
--Green Goddess Dressing: Amazing on salads, chicken, pasta, basically EVERYTHING
--Carrot Ginger Dressing: Also so yummy on anything really!
--Autumn Harvest Sauce: So yummy on pasta or on the cauliflower gnocchi!
--Any of their salsas are so good! We love the Traditional kind and the Salsa Verde.
--Cauliflower Taboulleh
--Almond Butter: Because we always have this in our pantry. We go through about a jar a week!

Baking:
--Almond Flour: I use almond flour every week for paleo baking! I also use it to bread my chicken.
--Coconut Cream: So good in smoothies and also for baking
--Love their pumpkin treats this time of year! Their Pumpkin Pie Spice is amazing for baking or even adding in chai tea or coffee.


Seasoning:
--Chile Lime Seasoning: So good on ground beef/turkey or chicken. I also found a recipe where you toss cashews in this seasoning and bake it as a yummy snack!
--Everything But the Bagel: I mean who doesn't love this stuff? It's essential for me over eggs and my avocado toast.

Hope y'all enjoyed this post and it gave you some inspo for your next trip to TJ's! I would love to hear some of your favorites in the comments.