TRADER JOES - Less is More June 09 2014
A couple of months back, a new Trader Joes opened on U street in Washington, DC. As an ardent fan of Whole Foods, when I saw the sign that TraderJoes has on that store 'Your neighborhood grocery store', I smirked. I thought it would be a good place to shop every once in a while, but Whole Foods will always be my go-to store.
Then I got a new assignment near Union Station, and I started working on my next book, and on my YouTube videos, trying out recipes almost every single day. I started frequenting Trader Joes to do my groceries, about a couple of times each week, after work.
I could buy just enough that I could carry home that day (since I mostly walked/hopped on a bus to go home). Living and working in the city, and shopping at Trader Joes became my new thing. Every time I needed to try a recipe, I would walk to Trader Joes, do the grocery shopping and come home and prepare the dish.
I realized how simply Trader Joes has displayed their products, and everything there was minimalistic. I also found that ingredients were way inexpensive than other stores, even when they were labeled Organic. I started cooking with more organic produce than ever before! Yes, I was not able to find certain items such as Indian spices, sweetened condensed milk or lamb, but overall, the store had almost everything I needed to work on my YouTube videos and cookbook.
Ever since, I have developed a new relationship with Trader Joes, and I agree with their philosophy that 'less is more'.