I know I am not the only person who feels that Trader Joe’s not only offers amazing food options, but also serves as a form of self-care in itself every time I take a visit.
In her book, “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone,” Lori Gottlieb discusses a beautiful relationship with a client of hers who is terminally ill with cancer. When she is faced with how she would like to spend her final months of life, she decides she wants to work at Trader Joe’s. While Lori, this client’s husband, and her close friends were shocked to hear that she would choose to spend her final months of life working as a cashier at a grocery store, I immediately resonated with what the client shared.
The environment of Trader Joe’s is what makes it noteworthy. Now don’t get me wrong, lots of places can do “good” customer service, and even more places can sell you yummy food; And yet, there is something different about walking into a place that for many may be a part of stressful errands on any given day, and being treated not like a customer, but more like a friend.
Any way, I could go on and on about why my weekly (or twice weekly..) trips to TJ’s are crucial for my mental health and overall well-being, but you’re probably hoping to see a recipe at some point. So let’s do that.
One of my favorite TJ’s frozen creations of ALL TIME are their frozen cauliflower rice bowls. Ready in the microwave after just a few minutes and full of lots of protein and delicious tahini, these bowls are top-notch. My only disappointment the first time I opened one was the amount of food. Luckily, I also had an apple in my work bag, otherwise I would have been left hungry. On some days the amount of food may be just fine, but for the times where we’re needing a bit more sustenance, this recipe for a do-it-yourself version of these bowls is just perfect.
I tried this recipe from “Steps 2 Nutrition” and added a few extra veggies to get a beautiful bowl of warm, hearty ingredients.
Ingredients:
A few (4-5) Tbsp olive oil, I use EVOO. Use 2 for the cauliflower rice, one for the tahini sauce and one for roasting all your veggies
1/2 can chickpeas drained
1 bag frozen cauliflower rice from TJ’s (if you’re feeling bold, of course you can provide fresh cauli rice instead)
1/2 large sweet potato chopped
1/4 yellow onion chopped
1/2 cup fresh kale
1/4 cup russet potatoes
fresh parsley 1 bushel (optional)
garlic powder
sea salt
black pepper
chili pepper
paprika
1 tbsp tahini sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions:
Set the oven at 450F.
First we need to roast all those veggies. Line a baking pan with foil. Cut up the sweet potato and onion and place them on the pan. Again, I added extra veggies and included some russet potatoes and kale as well.
Take out a small bowl and pour the drained chickpeas into the bowl. Add a tablespoon of the olive oil, a dash or two of chili powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Mix them around a bit and let them sit for a few minutes.
Add the marinated chickpeas to the pan and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
While the veggie s are roasting in the oven, turn a skillet on high, add your 2 tbsp. olive oil and all of your cauliflower rice. Season with S&P as desired. Cover and let cook for a few minutes, until the cauliflower appears cooked through. Toss the cauliflower rice aside in a mixing bowl.
Open up the tofu package and use as much as you’d like (I typically buy pre-seasoned tofu when using it from TJ’s because I am not gifted in the art of cooking tofu). Place it in the skillet for 1-2 minutes to allow it to get warm all the way through.
Once this is done, make the best part of the dish: the SAUCE. Using one tablespoon of olive oil, the tablespoon of tahini and the juice of one lemon , mix this goodness up in a dish and add salt and pepper as desired.
Remove the chickpeas and veggies and set aside to cool before adding the tofu and stirring everything together before pouring it over the rice. Top with sauce and parsley (if you’re into that). YUM.
Okay, now that the recipe is out of the way (again, all props to Steps 2 Nutrition https://steps2nutrition.com/index.php/riced-cauliflower-bowl-the-homemade-vs-the-microwave-version/) let me conclude this post by saying again that Trader Joe’s offers us many holistic benefits, one of which being that all of these ingredients can be found at your local TJ’s. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make my list for my visit later this week. See you there!
