Trader Joe's

For the first time ever I shopped at Trade Joe's and can confidently say that this will be my new main grocery store. Most everything is all natural/organic and it is only slightly more expensive than Jewel. The store is smaller and there is obviously less choices, but the choices they do have seem to be much higher quality.

A large 24 ounce container of blueberries was $6. At Jewel you can only get about half of that for the same price. Their organic apple selection was priced the same as Jewel's non organic apples. Eggs and cheese were among some items priced slightly higher than Jewel. However I think the opportunity cost of shopping at Trader Joe's is greater because you get better quality for a marginally more expensive grocery bill.

I must also mention portion size because it is of vital important to people like myself who like to indulge. Items like all natural peanut butter came in smaller containers than traditional Jif containers. Boxes of cereal seemed to be smaller than traditional boxes at Jewel or Dominicks. However I think this could be a good thing because it will force me/you to eat a little less. And again these instances were cancelled out by other great deals like 2 pieces of frozen Swordfish for $6.

This is only a quick and dirty assessment of my first time shopping at Trader Joe's. Honestly I really haven't even tried much of the food yet, but I have a feeling all of it will be most delicious. If it werent for Temperance I probably never would have done and kept paying for overpriced regular shit at Jewel. There are Temperance stories like this everywhere of people trying new things. And by everywhere I really mean one or two or three people who live on the Northside of Chicago.