These healthy Trader Joe’s products top our list for the new year

Whether you’re looking for a way to scale back on the junk, add some smarter snacks, or kick-start healthy habits in general, there are plenty of helpful options at your favorite neighborhood market. Fill up your cart in the fruit and veggie section and then add a few of our favorite healthy Trader Joe’s products to have at the ready. If you need some meal-prep help, check out our favorite Trader Joe’s meals you can make in 15 minutes or less.

Healthy Trader Joe’s Breakfast Products

Egg Wraps

Healthy Trader Joe's products like egg wraps will kickstart the new year.
Kate Loweth

We love these wraps as a breakfast burrito tortilla alternative or topped with fruit for a sweet crepe breakfast. Kids won't be able to tell the difference, we promise! Bonus: there's 4g of protein in each wrap. 

Peanut Butter Protein Granola

While you have to be careful when consuming granola since it’s normally high in sugar and fat, this peanut butter protein granola has 11 grams of protein per serving! Enjoy in small amounts atop yogurt for that extra protein serving your body is craving.

Organic Rolled Oats with Ancient Grains & Seeds

When it comes to a dense, nutritious breakfast, you can never go wrong with oatmeal. It packs a healthy portion of carbs and fiber, is rich in antioxidants, and can help lower your cholesterol and improve blood sugar control. Plus, it’s super tasty in homemade protein bars and in a smoothie, too!

Egg Bites

Trader Joe's

You love these little bites from Starbucks and now you can have them every day of the week at home. They come in a cheese, spinach, and kale flavor as well as bacon and cheese. Pop them in the microwave and serve with a dollop of salsa. 

Raisin Walnut Apple Bars

We love these little bars as they are packed with protein (10g per bar!) but they have the texture of a roll. Easy to eat on the go, these bars are packed with raisins, walnuts, and apples for a satisfying breakfast option. 

Healthy Trader Joe’s Snacks

Papdums

These lentil and chickpea crisps will be your new favorite snacks. One warning: You might just eat the whole bag in one sitting. They have a lovely light Indian flavor with the texture of Pringles. Great served with your favorite hummus. 

ABC Bars

We love these for kids' lunches as they have 4g of protein and taste great. The chocolatey dough enrobes the almond butter center and feels like a treat. 

Roasted Seaweed Snack

Roasted seaweed is a healthy Trader Joe's product you can put in lunches.

Crunchy, salty, and easy to pack in your kid's lunch. We love this seaweed snack to top ramen bowls. 

Dried Cranberries

These dried cranberries are perfect for snacking and are fortified with cranberry seed oil. They have 200mg of omega-3’s per serving and would be super tasty on a salad, in oatmeal, or enjoyed by the handful.

Veggie & Flax Seed Corn Tortilla Chips

You get the whole package with this bag of chips. Carrot, tomato, spinach, garlic, red beet, and onion plus lots of omega-3's are all found in this inexpensive and flavorful snack.

 

Healthy Trader Joe’s Add-Ins

Organic Acai Puree Packets

Acai is a superfood! These pre-made puree packets are loaded with antioxidants and are low in sugar (fruit is usually high in natural sugars). Perfect for that morning smoothie bowl.

Whole Flax Seed

add healthy Trader Joe's products like flax seed to your diet this year.

Flax seed is easy to add to your yogurt, homemade protein bars, and smoothies for a nice, nutty taste and texture. It's rich in omega-3s, fiber, and lignans, which block the effects of estrogen and could potentially help reduce the risk of hormone-associated cancers, such as breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate.

Organic Chia Seed

Trader Joe's chia seeds are a healthy item to add to your diet in 2023.

Chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids (that help raise your "good cholesterol"), fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium. They also help with reducing inflammation and weight loss and are easy to make into overnight chia seed pudding. 

Healthy Trader Joe’s Beverages

Kefir & Cultured Milk

This kefir and cultured milk combo has 12 live and active cultures, packs a lot of protein, and is full of vitamin D. Kefir is a powerful probiotic, can improve bone health, and can aid with digestive problems.

Super Antioxidant Green Tea

Green tea is a must for healthy living: It helps regulate glucose levels, reduces bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, and might even help with aging and wrinkles.

Healthy Trader Joe’s Condiments

Almond Butter

Trader Joe’s salted and unsalted almond butter is great for protein: Each serving packs seven grams. The spread is great for baking or a la carte.

Organic Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce

Made with just coconut water, sap, and sea salt, Organic Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce is the perfect swap for sodium-laden soy sauce. The gluten-free, kosher sauce contains no soy, but 13 amino acids that make this product a must for stir-fries, fried rice, veggies, and more.

Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

 

Add flavor without all the carbs a tasty bagel usually brings when you use TJ’s coveted Everything but the Bagel Seasoning. The blend is made with poppy seeds, minced garlic and onion, sea salt flakes, and sesame seeds and is a great addition to anything! Try on hardboiled eggs, avo toast, and even your fave dinners.

Kerrygold Grass-Fed Butter

Kerrygold grass-fed butter is not only better for baking, but it also possesses properties that are anti-inflammatory and makes for an excellent Vitamin A source.

Sunflower Seed Butter

Sunflower butter is not only an alternative to peanuts, but is also an excellent source of protein, vitamin E, magnesium, and lots of other healthy fats. It's also great for kiddos who attend schools with a "no nut policy."

Healthy Trader Joe’s Lunch and Dinner Products

All-Natural Chicken Breasts

These pre-cooked chicken breasts are deliciously flavorful and a great option to have on hand for quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, or soups. Each chicken breast is individually wrapped. You can find these in the deli section. 

Beef Bulgogi

This frozen product is quickly topping our list of go-to items to have on hand when dinner needs to come together fast. Add some of the garlicky cabbage and serve this with rice for a filling meal. There's also a meatless option if that's your jam. 

Stir-Fried Garlicky Cabbage

Inspired by the Thai dish Galam Plee Pad Nam Pla, this simple stir-fry of cabbage, a whole lot of garlic, and fish sauce makes a tasty addition to your meal whether you have it as a side or mix it in with your stir-fry. 

Kettle Cooked Chicken Soup

chicken soup is one a healthy Trader Joe's products to add to your cart.

One of the most popular healthy Trader Joe's products, this soup is all the rage these days as a serving will really fill you up with a whopping 16g of protein. Plus, it's pretty delicious. 

Spicy Mexican-Style Riced Cauliflower

This little packet really packs a flavor punch and is a great addition to taco night. It has around 200 calories in the whole bag, which makes it an easy add-on to your weekly menu plan. 

Harvest Grains Blend

This hearty and healthy blend packs lots of protein and fiber. It's made up of orzo, garbanzo beans, red quinoa, and couscous that can easily be paired with meat to make a full meal.

Frozen Brown Rice & Rice Medley

Brown rice far surpasses its white rice cousin when it comes to nutritional value, but it takes forever to cook. This box of three frozen brown rice packets makes eating healthy a cinch––microwave for three minutes and enjoy perfectly cooked rice (and no rice cooker cleanup!). Try the Rice Medley when you want a little more texture.

Organic & Sprouted TriColor Quinoa

Quinoa is referred to as a superfood and is higher in fiber than most other grains. It also has tons of protein, is low on the glycemic index, and is gluten-free.

Colorful Carrot Coins

We love these as a potato alternative to that pork roast you plan to serve for dinner. Pop them in the air fryer to get the perfect blend of soft inside and crunchy outside. 

Steamed Lentils

Trader Joe's

Lentils are high in fiber and therefore lower your cholesterol and chances of heart disease. Toss into a soup and enjoy increased energy, stabilized blood sugar, and a healthy gut.

Riced Cauliflower Bowl

Cut the carbs by substituting cauliflower "rice" for its white counterpart. When you use this easy, pre-made version from Trader Joe's, you'll get all the benefits of cauliflower, like tons of fiber, cancer-fighting properties, improved blood pressure and kidney function, and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Additional reporting by Karly Wood

While it’s not a cure, parents of children with peanut allergies may be able to gain a little piece of mind thanks to a new drug aimed to help reduce severity of allergic reactions. 

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Palforzia, which can be used by children ages 4 through 17 to help increase their tolerance to small quantities of peanuts and decrease the risk of a reaction in case of accidental exposure. 

Peanuts

Allergy sufferers will still need to avoid all peanut products, but this new drug marks a positive step towards preventing severe and even fatal symptoms. 

“Peanut allergy affects approximately 1 million children in the U.S. and only 1 out of 5 of these children will outgrow their allergy. Because there is no cure, allergic individuals must strictly avoid exposure to prevent severe and potentially life-threatening reactions,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a press release.

The drug comes in powder form which can be mixed into foods such as applesauce or pudding for easier dosing.

“Even with strict avoidance, inadvertent exposures can and do occur. When used in conjunction with peanut avoidance, Palforzia provides an FDA-approved treatment option to help reduce the risk of these allergic reactions in children with peanut allergy,” said Marks.

Even trace amounts of peanuts can cause allergic reactions including hives, digestive problems, and constricted airways. 

The FDA noted that Palforzia is not to be used for emergency treatment in cases of anaphylaxis.

—Jennifer Swartvagher

Featured photo courtesy of Vladislav Nikonav via Unsplash. 

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I once went to an all-day workshop for female entrepreneurs in Los Angeles and listened to a speaker who came out and stated “Balance is bulls*it,” right at the start of her talk. Being a health coach with the business name of “Balanced Health & Wellness” (which eventually turned into “Balanced Mamas”), I was slightly taken aback.

I wanted to stand up and say, “You’re not trying hard enough! It’s different for everyone!” and defend the beautiful word that so many holistic wellness enthusiasts preach about every day.

What does balance really mean? Deepak Chopra says that when we’re in an optimal state of dynamic balance, we naturally tend to listen to our body with love and reverence and make choices that support balance, happiness, and wellbeing.

That sounds legit.

The dictionary defines balance as keeping something in a steady position so it does not fall, an even distribution of something or to offset one thing with another. Well, when it comes to motherhood, my mind, and my body, I want to remain upright and make sure that nothing “falls.”

So, what does it mean, in today’s world, to be out of balance? If your stressed, upset, tired, resenting parts of your day, your relationships and feeling like you have lost your ability to find peace, joy and activities you enjoy, you’re probably out of balance. When your body is reminding you regularly (via pain, poor sleep, poor immunity, digestive problems, low energy or depressed/anxious thoughts) your body may also be off balance a bit.

In my opinion, balance means finding a way to prioritize all of what is most important to you so that you don’t feel any of those icky feelings listed above. One might say, balance is the lack of feeling out of balance. Balance is not the same as perfection. It’s feeling at peace. It also allows you to be the best that you can be at everything else. Making time to honor and nurture your mind and body allows the space so that you can be devoted to your spirituality, focused on your work, and committed to your family and relationships.

We’re all busy. It’s part of our country’s culture right now. But we are also way more concerned about the views and opinions of “everyone else.” So, it appears that many of us, specifically moms are concerned about how we’ll be viewed or judged for our choices. (“If I prioritize my workouts, or alone time, or time with my spouse or friends, isn’t that selfish?” “My kids need me” …or we end up revolving all schedules and activities around our kids’ preferences to “make them happy” or “giving them the life we never had.”) This can lead to making choices that go against our gut. Women may find themselves taking on more than they really want to, creating unrealistic or unsustainable expectations for their kids, or even losing a bit of themselves in parenthood and commitments.

But guess what? We have more control than we want to admit. Admitting that we can make choices that are better for us, is hard. We may not want to hear the judgments and resistance from other people (kids, PTA people, think Bad Moms, our parents, other parents, etc.) It can be hard to change how we take care of ourselves and prioritize our own health and sanity. And that is ok. It’s ok if it’s a little hard. Everything that is worth it in life is a little hard. And it also comes down to a simple formula…What do you want? What does it take to get there? And what will be better when you get to that point? (Oh yeah, and then take inspired action.)

We have the control and power to choose how we spend our time. So, whether you spend your hours in each day eating ice cream or greens, going for a walk or watching Netflix, attending EVERY single baseball game or half of them, signing up for a class to learn something that inspires you or heading to happy hour, you get to choose. Every day. And none of those types of choices make you “good” or “bad.” Just know that these are the types of decisions that may affect how you create balance, whatever that means for you.

Nicole L. Schmitz, helps others to improve their energy, digestion, sleep, nutrition, weight, and health conditions with simplified, cleaner eating, and better self-care. She is a mother, aspiring yogi, writer, and artist, loves living by the beach, and inspiring others to make clear and confident healthy lifest‌yle choices every day.