I Shop At Trader Joe's Regularly. Here Are 9 Things I Never Buy

As a food writer, I'm at the grocery store nearly every day of the week, whether I'm shopping for work or for my own pantry. And although there are several grocery stores in my area, the one I frequent the most often is Trader Joe's. Now, do I think Trader Joe's is the very best grocery store out there? Not really — there's a lot you can't find at this chain, which is one of the most annoying parts of shopping there. However, it's one that stocks most of the basics I need on a daily basis, and there's always something new and novel to check out on store shelves. Plus, shopping at Trader Joe's is an enjoyable experience overall (unless you go during the post-work rush).

But even though you'll find me at Trader Joe's several times a week, there are some categories of products I basically never buy. That doesn't mean I've never tried these items. Rather, it just means that they're not the items I think it makes sense to buy from Trader Joe's most of the time (even if some of them don't necessarily taste bad). After reading through this list, you may start to question the groceries you buy at TJ's ... or perhaps you'll feel bolstered in your weekly picks, even if you like buying stuff that I usually don't touch.

If you've spent much time in the condiment aisle of your local Trader Joe's, then you know that the store stocks some pretty popular products. From tangy Dill Pickle Mustard to Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce, Trader Joe's offers an array of unusual, novel condiments you won't be able to find anywhere else. I stock up on my fair share of these products, since I don't know where else I'd be able to find similarly delicious spreads, dips, and sauces. But when it comes to the more basic condiments at Trader Joe's? I'll usually leave them on the shelf.

Oftentimes, I'll find that these store brand products aren't particularly good. For example, in our ranking of 13 different mayonnaise brands, Trader Joe's organic mayo landed in the second to last spot on the list. It just can't compete with some of the hard hitters of the industry. And even though I thought Trader Joe's had the third-best Dijon mustard in a ranking of eight different brands, it's still not a product I would go out of my way for when I know that there are better choices out there. Considering that you get to select from a wider variety of different options at other grocery stores, it just doesn't make sense for me to buy these basic condiments at Trader Joe's.

Honestly, Trader Joe's sells some delicious ice cream in pints, ranging from the classic flavors you see everywhere to some less common, somewhat unexpected options. Even though I've enjoyed many TJ's ice cream pints in my lifetime, these aren't products I generally buy when I'm at Trader Joe's. Are there better ice cream brands out there? Absolutely. But that's not why I skip them at TJ's. Instead, I skip them because Trader Joe's offers so many other unique frozen desserts that I can't find at other grocery stores. If given the choice between those and what feels like a simple, standard pint of ice cream, I'm almost always going to go for the more interesting option.

For example, why settle for plain ice cream when I can get some frozen mochi? Even if I'm still craving ice cream and I want to keep it simple, I'll opt for one of the store's Hold the Cone varieties for that extra bit of crunch. I'm definitely not saying that you should also skip ice cream pints at TJ's. If you have enough freezer space to stock up on a ton of frozen desserts all at once, go for it. But for me, Trader Joe's is never going to be the grocery store I visit when I just want a simple pint of ice cream.

I'm not the most avid baker, but there are certainly times when I crave a freshly baked batch of cookies or want to whip up a birthday cake for a friend. That's when I tend to stock up on all my baking essentials, from flour to sugar and beyond. But I basically never buy this stuff at Trader Joe's. It's not that I'm actively avoiding TJ's when it comes to these products, but this grocery store usually doesn't have all the extra ingredients you'd need to make your favorite baked goods. Sure, I can grab some flour there. But what if I need dry yeast? I'll have to make a separate trip to another grocery store anyway, so I'd rather just buy everything I need for my baking project there.

Another reason I don't tend to buy baking staples at Trader Joe's is the fact that I don't feel like I'm getting a particularly good deal. A 5-pound bag of flour at Trader Joe's costs the same as it does at another local grocery store in my area (a store that, as mentioned, has way more baking ingredients I might need to grab while I'm there). That doesn't mean that Trader Joe's isn't a good place to go for baking staples, per se — it just means it tends to be inconvenient for me personally, especially if I'm not trying to save money.

For a grocery store that doesn't have an in-house bakery, I think that Trader Joe's has some delicious bread, especially if you like uniquely flavored varieties. There are several types of bread I grab when I'm at Trader Joe's, from sweetened, seasonal offerings to multigrain slices ideal for tasty sandwiches. But there's one kind of sliced bread you won't find me buying from TJ's, and that's the plain sandwich bread. You can find white and whole wheat varieties of Trader Joe's plain sliced sandwich bread, but I don't find either to be particularly pleasant. And considering the fact that there are countless whole wheat and white bread brands at other supermarkets that taste way better than this store's products, it's just unreasonable for me to purchase a mediocre version at TJ's.

Usually, when I'm eating super simple breads like these, it's all about texture — I'm looking for maximal fluffy softness. In my experience, that's just not what you're getting at TJ's. The bread may not be terrible, but you can certainly find better elsewhere.

Pork is perhaps my favorite kind of meat. Not only is it fatty and flavorful, but it also tends to be one of the cheaper varieties you'll find at grocery stores. Therefore, you might assume that I'd be a regular purchaser of Trader Joe's raw ground pork considering how often I'm at the store. However, I've found that it can be pretty unreliable in terms of quality. Sometimes, it can be okay, and I'll feel like it's a safe purchase. But after a few too many times getting ground pork that's overly fatty and weirdly smelly as it cooks in the pan, I've decided not to buy raw ground pork from Trader Joe's anymore.

That's not to say that all pork items you'll find at Trader Joe's are subpar. For example, Trader Joe's has excellent sausages, some of which are made with pork. I also love the pork gyoza you'll find in the frozen section of the store. But I'm just looking for plain, raw pork, I think there are better places to shop than Trader Joe's.

I'm not going to say that Trader Joe's doesn't have some solid frozen pastas, because it absolutely does. And I've definitely picked up some of these products before just to try them out. I actually kind of like Cauliflower Gnocchi when I'm looking for a lower-carb option. However, I just don't think it's worth buying the vast majority of the chain's frozen pasta dishes. Are they a bit more convenient than making a pasta recipe from scratch? Sure. But I consider myself pretty good at making pasta, and it's just not that difficult to make a fresh version of the same thing most of the time.

One of the main issues with these frozen pastas is that you're not getting quite as much pasta as you might want. When I make pasta for the evening, I generally want leftovers, and the portion sizes for TJ's frozen pasta are quite small. Additionally, I don't think you get the best texture for normal pasta after it's been frozen and reheated. If you're feeling especially lazy and you're craving pasta, then go ahead and snag one of the chain's frozen pasta dishes. For me, though, it's a purchase that very rarely makes sense.

Listen, I get it. Trader Joe's is a great store to visit when you don't necessarily feel like cooking dinner and just need something easy to throw together. But, for me, the frozen rice the brand sells is a bridge too far. No, I'm not talking about fried rice or frozen meals that contain rice. This I can understand — you're looking for a complete dish that's already cooked for you. Rather, I'm talking about the frozen blocks of plain rice you can find at TJ's.

To be honest, these don't even feel that convenient to me, perhaps because I use a rice cooker every day. It takes me less than five minutes to wash my rice and set it up to cook in the rice cooker. Do I have to wait 15 or 20 minutes until it finishes? Yes. But in return, I get hot, fresh-tasting rice that's not weirdly frozen in the middle. And when you consider that this Trader Joe's rice comes packaged in plastic and you're actually supposed to steam it in the bag, it should be clear why I prefer the fresh stuff. Perhaps if I only had access to a microwave, I would sometimes pick it up. But as it stands, I don't think this is the best way to eat rice, even when I am especially pinched for time.

Now, I don't think that Trader Joe's has bad frozen fruit. I've tasted some options, and it's overall pretty solid. That being said, this is a category I almost never buy from Trader Joe's. Why? It basically all comes down to the amount of fruit you get in a package. The store generally doesn't carry larger bags you might find in other stores. Perhaps if I just wanted to make a couple of smoothies and call it a day, those portion sizes would suffice. But if you're a regular smoothie drinker, you'll probably want to buy more fruit in one go.

Another drawback is the fact that there aren't many smoothie blends available. Currently, I see only two smoothie blends listed on the grocer's website, and it may not have the kinds of fruits you like to see in a smoothie. Compared to another local grocery store in my area with a larger freezer section, it's rather limited. Ultimately, this just comes down to personal preference, so if you're a fan of Trader Joe's frozen fruit, don't let my hang-ups stop you from getting all the frozen blueberries and frozen cherries your heart desires.

I love many of Trader Joe's prepared foods, and the chain even manages to do prepared seafood well in many cases. However, I don't think TJ's is a particularly good place to pick up sushi. In fact, it's actually considered one of the worst grocery stores for sushi. That should make sense considering that the chain doesn't have an active sushi counter, so how fresh could it really be? It's not like I think I'm going to get sick from this stuff — it's just that it doesn't really look very appetizing to me. I'm not a big fan of California rolls, but it seems like that's what my local store always has in stock. The vegetable rolls seem fine, but they look kind of boring, and they're definitely not what I want when I'm craving sushi. And the spicy salmon roll? It comes with way too much carrot for my liking.

Although sushi might seem like a simple dish, it requires the kind of care and attention to detail that I think is hard to find at a grocery store in general. And when it comes to a place like Trader Joe's where it's not even being made fresh right in front of you, it should be obvious why this isn't one of my regular grocery shopping staples.