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The Ultimate Trader Joe's Shopping List: 14 Must-Have Items That Don't Miss
There are very few grocery stores that spark the kind of joy and excitement quite like Trader Joe’s. Depending on your location, making a casual stop at Trader Joe’s throughout the week has become synonymous with errands that count as a “me-day.” Their pocket-friendly selection, friendly environment, and seasonal rotations have a way of making your grocery shopping experience feel less like a chore and more like an experience worth sharing.
Online, it’s hard not to find yourself down a rabbit hole of Trader Joe’s hauls that feature the latest staple items to add to your cart. Because there’s always something new down every aisle, you never know what new goodies you’re gonna leave with. And to help, we've rounded up the latest staple items to pick up during your next Trader Joe's trip!
Happy shopping!
1.Trader Joe's Steamed Chicken and Ginger Soup Dumplings
These savory dumplings are made of juicy chicken and ginger, with a spicy kick. The soup inside delivers a flavorful surprise when you bite in and make for a warm, convenient snack full of umami flavors.
2.Garlic Indian Style Flatbread
Packed with the delicious taste of garlic, this buttery bread pairs perfectly with butter chicken, tikka masala, and other Indian dishes.
3.Seasoned Corn Ribs
Don’t judge them for how they look, because these quirky corn ribs deliver on taste. Sprinkle with cotija cheese and a dash of Tajin for a complete elote dish.
4.Cheddar Jalapeño Pull Apart Bread
Cheesy and spicy—who can ask for a better combination in their carbs? Pull at the sides of cheddar cheese and jalapeños bread for a little touch of heat.
5.Brookie
This modern spin on a brownie and cookie has left the internet asking for more. It’s the perfect chocolatey, chewy, and sweet treat that you just might finish in one sitting (but who’s judging?)
6.Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust
Bring a slice of Italy into your home with this deep-fried crust. The roasted garlic and touch of pesto deliver a fresh and herby flavor.
7.Unsweetened Organic Açaí Puree Packets
These Açaí Puree Packets are the perfect breakfast or snack for women on the go. Add some slices of banana, sprinkles of granola, and your choice of chia or flax seeds for full satisfaction.
8.Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice
Don’t walk, run to the freezer section and grab Trader Joe's Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice. The rich and creamy tomato-based sauce is flavored with a blend of traditional Indian spices and pairs perfectly with Basmati rice.
9.Chicken Cilantro Mini Wontons
Great things come in small packages and these mini wontons are no exception. Boil, fry, or steam them and serve with a dipping sauce to satisfy your cravings.
10.Stir Fried Garlicky Cabbage
We’re currently obsessed with this flavorful side dish from TJ’s. Pair with rice, dumplings, or potstickers—the options are endless.
11.Gluten Free Breaded Shrimp
This one’s for the gluten-free ladies out there; we’ve found these crispy, tender, breaded shrimp with all the flavor, minus the bloating.
12.Mini Chicken Tacos
Mini chicken tacos are a delicious and popular snack or appetizer that can be enjoyed for a snack, lunch, or dinner. Grab these small but flavor-packed mini tacos and smother them with your choice of cheese, salsa, guacamole, and/or sour cream.
13.Tumeric Ginger Coconut Beverage
Tumeric and ginger are just two reasons to pick up this Ayurvedic beverage on your next Trader Joe's run. If you're looking for a beverage that is on the sweeter side but also healthy, the Tumeric Ginger Coconut Beverage is an absolute must-have.
14.Mac and Cheese Bites
We can promise that you’ll love these, but we can’t promise you’ll be able to put them down. These cheesy, bite-size poppers prove that everything is better deep-fried.
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Featured image by LeoPatrizi/Getty Images
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Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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Beyoncé Doubles Down On Not Releasing Visuals For 'Renaissance' Or 'Cowboy Carter': 'The Music Is Enough'
While many people are still unpacking the CMAs shutting out Beyoncé'sCowboy Carteralbum, her cover story for GQ's October issue is now taking center stage. Beyoncé is shown rocking the big hair we've come to love in her country era, giving us queen realness as always.
In the interview, the multifaceted singer spoke about the two albums in the trilogy, Renaissance and Cowboy Carter, as well as her family. She also opened up about her exciting business ventures, such as her haircare brand Cécred and the launch of her whiskey, SirDavis, and why it's crucial for her to be more than just the face of her brands.
"There’s a huge contrast between the business journeys of men and women. Men often have the luxury of being perceived as the strategists, the brains behind their ventures. They’re given the space to focus on the product, the team, the business plan. Women, on the other hand, especially those in the limelight, are frequently pigeonholed into being the face of the brand or the marketing tool. It’s important to me to continue to take the same approach I have taken with my music and apply my learnings to my businesses," she said.
"I am here to change that old narrative. I’m here to focus on the quality. We took our time, and we did our research, and we have earned respect for our brand. I try to choose integrity over shortcuts. I’ve learned that true success isn’t about leaning on a name; it’s about crafting something genuine, something that can hold its own. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being revolutionary."
I know that's right Bey! Check out the highlights below:
On her daughter Blue Ivy being a creative.
I build my work schedule around my family. I try to only tour when my kids are out of school. I always dreamt of a life where I could see the world with my family and expose them to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles.
Raising three kids isn’t easy. The older they get, the more they become their own individuals with unique needs, hobbies, and social lives. My twins are God-sent. Parenting constantly teaches you about yourself. It takes a lot of prayer and patience. I love it. It’s grounding and fulfilling.
My kids come with me everywhere I go. They come to my office after school, and they are in the studio with me. They are in dance rehearsals. It’s natural that they would learn my choreography.
Blue is an artist. She has great taste in music and fashion. She is a fantastic editor, painter, and actress. She has been creating characters since she was three. She’s a natural, but I did not want Blue onstage. Blue wanted it for herself. She took it seriously and she earned it. And most importantly, she had fun! We all watched her grow more and more every night before our eyes.
On her decision to not provide visuals for "Renaissance" and "Cowboy Carter" albums.
I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice. The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own. Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music. The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough. The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film.
On being proud of the work she put into "Cowboy Carter."
I am proud of what I have been able to do, but I also recognize the sacrifices—mine and my family’s. There was a time when I was pushing myself to meet unrealistic deadlines, while not taking the time to enjoy the benefits of why I was working so hard. There aren’t many of us from the late ’90s who were taught to focus on mental health. Back then, I had little boundaries, and said yes to everything. But I’ve paid my dues a hundred times over. I have worked harder than anyone I know. And now I work smarter. In the end, the biggest reward is personal joy. Has what I created pushed others to think freely and believe in the impossible? If the answer to that question is yes, then that is the gift.
On legacy being her biggest motivator in business.
I get excited about love, legacy, and longevity. Do I love what I am trying to create for the love of it? I am discovering that legacy is the common denominator in all the businesses that I have done.
On protecting her family and her peace.
We live in a world of access. We have access to so much information—some facts, and some complete bullshit disguised as truth. Our children can FaceTime and see their friends at any given moment. My husband and I? We used calling cards and Skype when we were falling in love. I couldn’t afford the international hotel bills, so I literally would get international calling cards to call him. Just recently, I heard an AI song that sounded so much like me it scared me. It’s impossible to truly know what’s real and what’s not.
One thing I’ve worked extremely hard on is making sure my kids can have as much normalcy and privacy as possible, ensuring my personal life isn’t turned into a brand. It’s very easy for celebrities to turn our lives into performance art. I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace.
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Feature image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio