Monday, December 16, 2013

Never go to Trader Joe's Hungry in December

Things nearly got out of control this weekend.

I had a busy day Saturday sleeping in, cleaning house, working out and doing laundry. All of a sudden a strong case of the HANGRY's snuck up on me without warning. I had no eggs, no meat prepped and had already made an adaptation of my Seven Minute Scramble in the morning.

The only reasonable option my hungry brain stomach could handle was to go to Trader Joe's, knowing the battlefield I was about to enter.

As much as it's true that you should never go grocery shopping when you're hungry, you really shouldn't go to Trader Joe's hungry in December.

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Any other time of the year, my trips into TJ's are quick. I have a basket, I grab a coffee sample then hit fruits/vegetables/meats/wines in that order. Easy perimeter route of the store for all of the fresh and healthy items that are household staples year round.

Not in December.

In December I get drawn down the aisles. Where sweets and crackers and cookies haunt my goals dreams. What's so irresistible down these aisles? So much seasonal greatness. Kind of like how the store has everything pumpkin from September to October, December is a dangerous month for peppermint-anything lovers like me.

Need some examples of what can go wrong during your winter trip?

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The boxes of Joe-Joe's are always gone, all that's left is an empty shelf with a hand-written tag saying how amazing they are and what a good price you can snag them for. When I see the empty shelf I imagine someone doing a supermarket sweep with their cart and grabbing all the boxes that they will then eat from December through November of the following year - no rationing necessary.

This weekend I splurged for the peppermint pretzel slims at $2.99 for the 6oz bag for the second time this month and I'm challenging myself to make them last the whole week this time.

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Once my family constructed the mega-gingerbread man from TJ's and decorated him to look like my dad in his work uniform. This time I didn't see any of those remaining but the House Kits looked to be a popular item at only $7.99

Speaking of gingerbread, this paleo recipe for gingerbread brownies looks promising.

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I know how amazing the signature pumpkin ice cream is (and survived 2013 without having any!) so I can only imagine what they've done for the Egg Nog. I have a feeling that a serving is one spoonful but that's not a concern during the holidays, is it?

Apparently this recipe for an Egg Nog Milkshake can't be beat. I'm tempted to try it with almond milk Egg Nog and make a serving just for one... because I can't be trusted to save a serving for "later".

I did have enough will power to mostly stick to my list, but you can tell that it bothered me enough to dedicate an entire post to how many amazing things I passed up to stick to my mostly-paleo plan. 

I consider my friend Marisa lucky that she doesn't have a TJ's to tempt her with all of this until 2014!

7 comments

brooke lyn said...

all of the peppermint!

Kait said...

those peppermint things look mindblowing. my friends in CO are getting their first TJ's in 2014, they have no idea what they're in for.

Marisa said...

You kill me. Really. Posting all these goodies? At least I stocked up in Portland on the edamame crackers, pumpkin butter (I am thinking of making bars), and other goodies like the green tea mints. But the holiday items break the bank when I go crazy in there. I have until February to pine over the items! Even then, the line will be so long that I will have to fight for my favorites..

Rachel Sedaker said...

Haha, yes! Peppermint everything! I actually put together a gift package full of chocolate peppermint goodies from TJ's for my work's gift exchange. It was stolen once, which I consider to be a hit.

Kasey Lynne said...

dang! i forgot to buy that peppemint chocolate loaf again! I'm so mad!

Something Infinitely Interesting said...

omg this is soo true! Love that place but i walk out with stuff i really dont need! :)

Dillion Dees said...

OMG!!! The Peppermint Pretzel Slims are out of this world! I went to Joe's before the end of the holidays and picked up 4 bags in one trip! :/