What's Heather Putting in Her Mouth? Trader Joe's Edition

Everyone knows that Trader Joe's is the best supermarket in all the land, right? Global Market on Kirkwood Road is pretty damn good too, but I think Trader Joe's still wins, mainly because of the service and ambience. If you've never been there, I...judge you, frankly. Shit, fool, it's been open in Saint Louis for seven years! But even if you have been there, maybe you've gotten stuck in your own Trader Joe's rut. You know how you do, you have three or four favorites, so you go in, grab those, maybe try a new cheese, bread, or wine if you're really feeling fancy, then leave. I don't purport to be a Trader Joe's expert, but I do have a few favorites that I'll share with you, in no particular order, so you can mix it up a little the next time you go in.

1. Mochi. It's a ball of ice cream surrounded by a gelatinous dough, y'all. Popular in Japan, they have it in flavors such as mango, green tea, and chocolate. Normally, I'm a chocolate girl all the way, but I find the fruitier options are a better choice when you're talking mochi. I think the green tea is my favorite. As my brother said the first time he tried one, "It would almost have been worth it for the Japanese to have defeated us in World War II if it meant I would have grown up eating these."

2. Smoked Salmon. If you're a fan at all of lox and bagels, this salmon is just as good as you would get ordering that in any restaurant, and better than you'll get from like an Einstein bagels or some other chain. Plus you can get a bag that'll hook up at least four big-ass bagels for like 8.99. You can't order one serving of lox and bagels at a restaurant for that price. And it's nice and salty, and pink looking, and non-fishy smelling.

3. Pot Roast. Look, I'm not trying to say pot roast is the most delicious or exotic meal of all time. But theirs comes in a bag, which you can microwave, and it's really freaking tender and yummy. And you can microwave it. In a bag. Throw it on some instant mashed potatoes, and there's dinner--in like three minutes. (get some bleu cheese from their cheese selection and throw it in the instant mashed potatoes and now there's gourmet dinner in like three minutes).

4. Cheese Enchiladas. These come in a one-serving size in the frozen food section. They have chicken enchildas too. Both of them cost around 2 bucks, and they take about 4 minutes in the microwave. They're great to take for your lunch, because they're delicious, they're filling, and each of them is around 400 calories. They're a damn sight tastier than a Lean Cuisine meal for about the same price and about the same calories, is what I'm saying.

5. Mousse Pate. They have a few different kinds of this, some made just with chicken livers, some with chicken and pork livers, some with truffles, some with mushrooms. If you're kind of fancy and like high falutin' meatstuffs, this really is the shizz with some crackers and some cheese. If you think you're not fancy, but you've ever liked braunschweiger, try this because you may just like it. It's spreadable meat!

6. Sea Salt Brownies. I for one am a fan of the put-salty-on-sweet trend, and these little bite-size brownies have just a sprinkle of salt, which makes the chocolate taste more chocolately without imparting much of a salty flavor. Just a soupcon, just a smidge. Yes, please.

7. Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus. All of their hummus is good, but this one is my favorite. The cilantro imparts a fresh taste, and the jalapeno imparts just a little heat. This hummus on some bagel chips may be the world's most perfect snack food.

I may come back and add to this list later, but this ought to get you started...