These Trader Joe’s Cookbooks Were the Inspo I Needed To Break My Postmates Addiction

There’s a laundry list of reasons why we’re so obsessed with Trader Joe’s—and we’re like, 80 percent sure you probably are too. The chain’s budget-friendly price points, ridiculous friendly (and somehow, always just really cool) staff, and ridiculously easy frozen food meals (okay, and actual ingredients to cook meals) that aren’t totally lame are just a select few of the things that we love about the grocery store. Oh, and have you seen their vast selection of fall-themed seasonal launches?

I’m talking pumpkin-shaped tortilla chips, a turkey and pumpkin mole burrito, and plenty of pumpkin-spice-spiked desserts—but, I digress. Normally, I consider grocery shopping to be a dreaded chore (hence, my addiction to InstaCart), but grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s feels more like a fun adventure at a culinary theme park of sorts than another errand to run (okay, that was dramatic, but you feel me.).

If you’re a millennial and well, a not-so-skilled “chef” like myself, you know that Trader Joe’s groceries make it easy to whip a meal that doesn’t feel like you’re eating an old-school TV dinner or straight-up jail food, in my case. Whether you toss in some of their frozen risotto into the pan for a quick dinner or you’re embarking on making your own Thanksgiving dinner from scratch with the help of good old’ TJ’s, this chain just makes cooking, regardless of your level of prowess in the kitchen—more fun. So naturally, when I discovered Trader Joe’s cookbooks were a thing I was thrilled. Sure, you can peruse Pinterest and Google to find recipes using TJ food, but you find the creative ones you’ll find in these tangible books. Scroll through to check out some of my favorite TJ-focussed recipe books.