Trader Joes = calorie city

I notice that a lot of my group members shop at TJs and eat their burritos, rice bowls, quick lunches, etc. I can understand why, TJs seems to have great, tasty things, which are easy to stock up on and take on the run.

But I feel like I noticed a while ago that most TJ products are pretty high in calories and sodium, and so I stopped going there and started making more of my meals. More work, but I was trying to cut calories. Could anyone help me confirm the average calorie count in TJ products? I can't find the info on their web site.

In one group a member consistently logs between 700 and 900 calories a lunch eating TJ products. I'd like to help bring her attention to this...too rude?

Wed. Oct 26, 7:09pm

Maybe make suggestions of lower-cal lunches? I eat lunch under 500 calories every day, and I also don't make my own food. I do it by packing a Lean Cuisine (buy them when they're 5 for $10 and stock up) - each is pretty much right under 300 calories. Then I'll add some combo of individually-packaged lowfat cottage cheese cup (90 cals), sugar free pudding cup (60 cals), low carb yogurt cup (60 cals), light applesauce cup (60 cals), 2 wasa crackers w/ 2 pieces light laughing cow cheese spread on top (130 cals), or an apple or banana. I add up a combo of these things that add to about an extra 200 calories on top of my Lean Cuisine. It may not be low-cal, but, if someone is eating 900 calorie lunches and cuts back to 500 calorie lunches, making sure that they get enough fat and protein to keep full, they'll lose almost a pound a week right there! And it's just as easy!

Thursday, October 27, 2005, 9:10 AM

Trader Joe's

I agree they are tasty and quick but I think with any forzen or quick meals you have to add freshness and DEFINITELY pay attn to the cals. I get the bean and rice burrito instead of the chicken one- much less cals. Also, I add fresh veggies and green onions to others. The best is to get the blander ones and spice it up with reala nd fresh stuf then you know that whatever you add is only good!

To the last poster:
Do you really only eat under 500 calories a day? Are you losing weight still? How long have you been doing this? Because, every source i have found say that under 1,000 cals is malnutirtion. 800 is probably the lowest healthy cal intake possible.

Thursday, October 27, 2005, 9:57 AM

Sorry, I see... 500 cals at LUNCH! oops! Way to go!

Thursday, October 27, 2005, 9:58 AM

Yeah, to the poster above... I'm the 500-calorie lunch girl! I also eat about 200-300 calories for breakfast (generally closer to 300), and although I'm not really sure about the caloric value of my dinners most of the time, I don't think they really ever drop below 400-500 calories, so I'm taking in somewhere between 1200 and 1500 calories most days. Since I have trouble counting calories at night while cooking dinner or going out, I find that I need to stick to a very structured daytime routine, that's all. Really, I just wanted to give suggestions of filling ways to keep the calories down at lunch.

Thursday, October 27, 2005, 11:55 AM

I too find that a structured breakfast and lunch is best for me. I know that I need a hearty breakfast in order to keep the snacking down throughout the day, and a decent but not too small lunch. I'm trying to stick only to fruits or a small piece of chocolate for a snack. Then I have trouble counting calories at night or while going out to eat. If I've monitored my eating closely throughout the day I don't feel like dinner is a setback.

Thursday, October 27, 2005, 4:15 PM

i eat trader joes every day

try the:

chicken fiesta salad
chicken cucumber wrap
chicken masala
turkey-stuffed peppers

All around 400

Friday, October 28, 2005, 12:43 AM

TJ's quiches are 450
meatless meatballs are 160 for 6
salmon burgers are 100 for 1
waffles are 100 for 1
miso soup is 90 c for 2 servings
sorbet is 90 c per serving
and they do tons of pasta/beans/rice/soups that you can measure out for yourself... TJ's is brilliant.

Friday, October 28, 2005, 9:24 AM

Answering the original OP's suggestion, members here have their own individual goals. Maybe she/he works out like a maniac and needs the calories, or maybe the choices have a lot of fiber. I think when one "points things out" it should be in line with their goals and what they are trying to acheive.

Monday, October 31, 2005, 10:47 AM

You know there are lots of different products TJ's offers. They do have a lot of healthy options and some of there stuff is high in cals and very high in sodium. It just depends on what your looking for.

Monday, October 31, 2005, 10:51 AM

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