Going Vegan with a Little Help from Trader Joe’s

Recipes

Here you’ll find some of our favorite meals. Many of these are original recipes that we’ve created together while others come from some of our favorite vegan cookbooks including:
– The Vegan Zombie: Cook & Survive!
– America’s Test Kitchen: Vegan for Everyone
– Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-based Recipes

Snacks

Under the snacks page, you’ll find a catalog of the many vegan snacks and prepackaged meals that Trader Joe’s offers. You’ll also find a photos of the packaging and snack, a list of ingredients, and the nutritional facts for each product.
Some of our favorite TJ’s snacks include:
– Trader Joe’s Vegetarian Spring Rolls
– Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Rolls
– Trader Joe’s Hot Salsa

Home Goods

In this section of Trader Joe’s Vegan, we’ve listed home goods that are cruelty free. This includes a wide range of products but some of our favorite include:
– Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Shampoo & Conditioner
– Trader Joe’s Dish Soap
– Trader Joe’s Hand Lotion
– Trader Joe’s Laundry Detergent

Ingredients

Under the ingredients page, you’ll find a catalog of the many vegan items that we use in our recipes. You’ll also find a photos of the packaging, a list of ingredients, and the nutritional facts for each product. This resource will help you as you seek to make the meals we reference with a complete picture of any potential allergens in the prepackaged ingredients.

The Inspiration for Trader Joe’s Vegan

Watching “Forks Over Knives” in 2014 was my first introduction into the benefits and practice of living a vegan lifestyle. Being that I’m from the BBQ of Texas (Lockhart), I was not familiar or educated on this potential lifestyle choice. My diet had historically consisted of eating meat, and lots of it. My first salad was at age 25 and most days I would eat fried or BBQ chicken, pulled pork, steak, or a combination of all of these foods. I’d follow up my main course of meat with a side of potatoes, mac n’ cheese, or the only vegetable I ate at the time, corn.

Several months after watching Forks Over Knives, I moved from Austin, TX to Boston, MA and ended up meeting my now wife who introduced me to veganism in the real world. She had been vegan for several years and had evolved from just eating vegan, to also only purchasing vegan products that were ethically sourced and tested (animal testing consciousness was a new concept for me ). After convincing her to let me split the cost of groceries so I could eat the same meals she was cooking, she invited me to her favorite grocery store, Trader Joe’s, to shop together. At this time, I had never stepped foot into a TJ’s and initially found their options rather limiting and difficult to find what I wanted. What I would soon learn is that they have a wide range of vegan snacks, meals, and ingredients to quickly and cheaply switch from a carnivorous diet to a vegan (or plant based) diet. TJ’s became my source for every meal and has continued to be a leader in providing great options for vegans or folks looking for easy plant based meals or snacks.

Trader Joe’s Vegan is dedicated to anyone looking to switch to a vegan diet or for anyone just looking to introduce more plant based meals into their diet. On our site, you’ll find vegan receipts, vegan snacks, and vegan ingredients that can be purchased at Trader Joe’s (or variations of their products at other grocery stores).

The friend I met in Boston would later become my wife and her guidance has helped me stay vegan for over five years. My hope is to share this knowledge and spread the joy we have for making inexpensive and tasty meals with ingredients from Trader Joe’s.