Homage to Trader Joe's

The newest cookie butter infused item

It is hard for me to imagine that three years ago, I had never step foot in a Trader Joe's. My friends from graduate school gushed about Trader Joe's; I was a loyal Whole Foods shopper and couldn't understand the appeal. The Trader Joe's in Omaha was the size of a gas station (okay, maybe it was slightly bigger),  and I made a superficial judgement that Trader Joe's just couldn't be for me, because there was no way I was going to be able to get all my groceries from this one teeny, tiny store; my time was too valuable to have to run all over Omaha to gather my groceries.

Fast-forward, three years to Seattle, and my perspective about Trader Joe's has done a complete 360. I have given some deep-thought about what I would do if TJ (our relationship runs so deep, a nickname is required) went bankrupt and disappeared from my existence, and nothing positive comes from this reflection:

• I would definitely starve. I love cooking but when I do cook, I usually hunker down in my kitchen and cook something elaborate; therefore, I rely on TJ to keep me fed on semi-assembled, easily prep food during the weekdays. Most days, the only thing I use my stove for is to boil water for French Press brewed coffee. 
• I would go through cookie butter withdraw, no doubt. Hi, my name is Shaida, and I am addicted to cookie butter. How did I live for 25 years without someone trying to get me addicted to cookie butter...where was that peer pressure that everyone talks about?? My favorite is the creamy cookie butter. It's my favorite thing to put on sandwich bread and take as hiking food; but technically, any day ending in -y is a good day for cookie butter. It's my new peanut butter in a way; meaning that I will just eat in straight out of the jar, with a spoon, of course. A recent trip to TJ, I saw that one of their new items was "Cookie Butter Sandwich Cookies." It's safe to say that half of box of these cookies disappeared while I was fixing dinner (AKA me warming up food in the microwave), and I don't expect the other half of the box to have a very long lifespan.
• There would be no way for me to continue eating a mostly vegetarian lifestyle. I probably only eat meat for 2-3 meals a week (I get most of my protein from cookie butter and eggs). I have become beyond obsessed with all the hummus choices, frozen mac & cheese (I will even eat their less guilty/lite mac & cheese), fresh veggies, soups (their lentil soup is beyond amazing), edamame crackers, dried fruits (to accompany my cookie butter sandwiches when I hike), and salsas.
• Demo-ing deprivation would be a novel, but real DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual) condition that I would have to endure. Who doesn't love food samples?!?! And not only does TJ have food samples but they always have coffee demoing as well. My blood type is coffee. So many scrumptious food items have ended up being in my kitchen because they were irresistible once I tried them at TJ's demoing station.
• The loss of TJ in pop-culture. Aziz Ansari's Park and Recreation character, Tom, put TJ on the map by referencing their Chicken Parmesan as Chicky Chicky Parm-Parm. 
• The holidays would be a little depressing. Some of my favorite items at TJ are seasonal, and a majority of them are in rotation from October-December. This is my favorite time of the year to receive the Frequent Flyer newsletter in the mail, and I highlight all the items I want and go into TJ with a game plan, so I don't forget any of the items. Some of my favorite items are the turkey sausage stuffing, pumpkin-spice coffee, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin butter, pumpkin bagels, and pumpkin cream cheese (it taste just like Texas Roadhouses' cinnamon butter). If you couldn't tell, I like just about everything that comes in pumpkin flavored.