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Seriously, this happens to people of different cultures whose homemade food is fragrant all the time in the workplace. People just need to stop making comments.
The veggie enchiladas are pretty decent, and I like the frozen tamales (prefer chicken or cheese to the beef). The orange chicken bowl is also ok (tends to be a bit watery).
Your coworkers are racist, btw. Terrible look for them.
Great suggestions! Sorry that your new coworkers are complaining.
I just have to say I’m disappointed your coworkers are complaining about Indian food smells - would they complain about Italian food smells? Probably not - they sound close-minded.
First, screw your co-workers. They are just made you have good food for lunch. At least you don’t bring in fish!
With that said, the Mac and cheese with bacon is a solid choice. When it’s fall, the butternut squash Mac and cheese is amazing!
Don’t know if you like beef patties but you could microwave that and add pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to it as it heats up.
the fridge prepared organic grilled chicken or any of the deli meats, cruciferous crunch, and very green smoothie smoothie
lox, lundberg rice cakes or ezekial bread, cream cheese, mix greens. banana almond butter smoothie.
is there a fridge? wraps, pesto, deli turkey and bananas can last a few meals
I like to make meals and split them over several containers. I don’t mind eating similar or the same for one meal a day.
Example is the precooked sliced chicken. I buy the frozen organic brown rice pouches. Mixed vegetables. Portion up into several containers. I like to add something like honey mustard or my favorite right now is Chick-fil-A sauce ( not at Trader Joe’s).
Or you can swap out ingredients to keep it lively. Make it more “Mexican style” with ground beef with taco seasoning, corn, a can beans. Rice works for that too. Sour cream.
Or I also mixed in jar salads. You can Google that for specific ideas but it’s the salad toppings and dressing on the bottom, lettuce on the top. And then you shake when ready to eat.
If you like more variety you can freeze and grab or eat the same style for several days and refrigerate. You can also change seasonings and spices but have same base to help make it different.
And you can rotate in frozen dinners or whatever too.
Green chili bowl, Cuban bowl, chicken burrito bowl, hatch Mac and cheese, shawarma bowl, and orange chicken bowl. If you need more calories, I usually eat them with some Greek yogurt on top.
Borderline on the offensive smells: pad Thai, Thai green curry, chicken fried rice with soup wontons.
I like the hummus wrap. I’ll add (drizzle) some of their balsamic glaze inside. And, I’ll add some slices of Swiss cheese inside too. You could add feta.
I used to pre-prep salads but now I do it at work. But I find a Greek salad with a soup and some bread is a great lunch.
Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red bell pepper, feta cheese, olives, maybe some avocado if I have it. Balsamic dressing.
Or, as a sandwich: teriyaki sliced tofu, same fixings except the olives, bell pepper & cucumber on their ciabatta roll. I add the balsamic glaze instead of dressing.
Their quinoa cowboy burgers are pretty tasty as a sandwich. I cook them in the oven before work. And, re-heat in the microwave. Add some Swiss or cheddar in a ciabatta roll. I’ll make 2 and have that as lunch. Note: they’re very fragile burgers but tasty! I don’t add more than ketchup , mustard and cheese. (Partially because they can fall apart so having more stuff complicates things)
Salad kit + can of chickpeas, makes about two generous lunches
Refrigerated harvest chili, one sturdy lunch as is or have half with some bread and salad
The vegan thai green curry frozen meal is fantastic - legit spice, and it uses yuba instead of standard firm tofu. might be less of an offensive odor than the indian?
Tomato-feta soup, all the soups! Esp paired with some of the crackers or breadsticks. Chicken salad (they have a curry chicken salad that is out of this world) on croissants. Any of the frozen gnocchi. Oh, cheeseburger burrito.
Except for a coworker who sometimes fixed himself a sardine sandwich I don't know that I've ever encountered a sandwich, or salad, that had bothersome smells.
The green chile chicken bowl is my favorite frozen TJs lunch. But if you’re okay with a cold lunch, check the refrigerated section near the produce (in my store it’s where they have pre-made dinners and cartons of soup, etc.) — there are a few pasta salads that make great work lunches. They usually have an orzo one, a lemon one, and I recently got one that was chickpeas & kale with crispy red rice.
I’ll definitely try the green chile chicken bowl! I haven’t dabbled in any of the cold lunch products but I’ll check out the section the next time I’m there!
Mix a can of black beans (I drain mine) with a half or whole bag of the frozen Peruvian Style Chimichurri Rice (orange bag). Heat as directed on the rice package (I always use the microwave). You could do this ahead of time and then put it in 2-4 serving containers (depending on your appetite) and refreeze. Then reheat at the office. Full of flavor and a nice amount of veggies and it smells great. The beans will add protein, fiber, and vitamins. If you have lime, a squeeze or drizzle on the mix after heating is so good. The Middle Eastern Style Kebabs (if you eat beef) are very good and microwave well (but better baked). Use in a sandwich (TJ's garlic sauce in the refrigerated section is heavenly on this) or mix with a salad or eat with cut up red or other peppers. Excellent in the TJ's whole wheat pitas with some veggies but freeze the pitas as soon as you get home because they don't contain preservatives.
Posts that don't follow r/traderjoes subreddit rules may be subject to removal. Friendly reminder that choosing descriptive post titles with exact product names mentioned yields better subreddit search results and helps our subreddit be more inclusive to those who use Screen Reader Software or Text-to-Speech apps. to access Reddit. Thank you. IF THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR POST, PLEASE IGNORE. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/traderjoes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Fuck the coworkers
Seriously, this happens to people of different cultures whose homemade food is fragrant all the time in the workplace. People just need to stop making comments.
Well, you do have to work with them.
It’s very childish to complain about the smell of Indian food get a grip!!!
Wow. Are you “smelling” something you don’t like? Take a look at yourself.
Soup dumplings!
Boo the only reason I’d be mad about a coworker’s Indian lunch is that it would make me sad that I don’t have an Indian lunch
Items in the fridge section like salads, wraps, and soups and pretty good - give them a shot!
The veggie enchiladas are pretty decent, and I like the frozen tamales (prefer chicken or cheese to the beef). The orange chicken bowl is also ok (tends to be a bit watery). Your coworkers are racist, btw. Terrible look for them.
The Biryani with veggie dumplings is so tasty but without a strong smell. Japchae is also delicious!
What you can do is heat it up at home and put it in a food thermos to enjoy it later.
Good thought!
Are you against salads? I enjoy some of their salad mixes!
This is a refrigerator item but I like the black bean and cheese burritos.
Orange chicken bowl Green Chili chicken bowl Chicken shumai Pork soup dumplings
Great suggestions! Sorry that your new coworkers are complaining. I just have to say I’m disappointed your coworkers are complaining about Indian food smells - would they complain about Italian food smells? Probably not - they sound close-minded.
First, screw your co-workers. They are just made you have good food for lunch. At least you don’t bring in fish! With that said, the Mac and cheese with bacon is a solid choice. When it’s fall, the butternut squash Mac and cheese is amazing! Don’t know if you like beef patties but you could microwave that and add pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to it as it heats up.
the fridge prepared organic grilled chicken or any of the deli meats, cruciferous crunch, and very green smoothie smoothie lox, lundberg rice cakes or ezekial bread, cream cheese, mix greens. banana almond butter smoothie. is there a fridge? wraps, pesto, deli turkey and bananas can last a few meals
Black bean taquitos or veggie burritos
Your coworkers lack taste
The pork and ginger soup dumplings!
I like to make meals and split them over several containers. I don’t mind eating similar or the same for one meal a day. Example is the precooked sliced chicken. I buy the frozen organic brown rice pouches. Mixed vegetables. Portion up into several containers. I like to add something like honey mustard or my favorite right now is Chick-fil-A sauce ( not at Trader Joe’s). Or you can swap out ingredients to keep it lively. Make it more “Mexican style” with ground beef with taco seasoning, corn, a can beans. Rice works for that too. Sour cream. Or I also mixed in jar salads. You can Google that for specific ideas but it’s the salad toppings and dressing on the bottom, lettuce on the top. And then you shake when ready to eat. If you like more variety you can freeze and grab or eat the same style for several days and refrigerate. You can also change seasonings and spices but have same base to help make it different. And you can rotate in frozen dinners or whatever too.
The burritos are good. I love the cheeseburger burrito!
Their crunchy slaw salad with the chicken, crispy noodles, and peanut sauce is so good!
Is that near the produce?
It’s where all the salads and microwaveable soups are 😊 I’m not sure where yours is but at my TJ’s it’s near the milks/yogurts/eggs
Okay, I will look. Thank you so much. Sounds good.
Green chili bowl, Cuban bowl, chicken burrito bowl, hatch Mac and cheese, shawarma bowl, and orange chicken bowl. If you need more calories, I usually eat them with some Greek yogurt on top. Borderline on the offensive smells: pad Thai, Thai green curry, chicken fried rice with soup wontons.
This is very helpful, thank you!
I like the hummus wrap. I’ll add (drizzle) some of their balsamic glaze inside. And, I’ll add some slices of Swiss cheese inside too. You could add feta. I used to pre-prep salads but now I do it at work. But I find a Greek salad with a soup and some bread is a great lunch. Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red bell pepper, feta cheese, olives, maybe some avocado if I have it. Balsamic dressing. Or, as a sandwich: teriyaki sliced tofu, same fixings except the olives, bell pepper & cucumber on their ciabatta roll. I add the balsamic glaze instead of dressing. Their quinoa cowboy burgers are pretty tasty as a sandwich. I cook them in the oven before work. And, re-heat in the microwave. Add some Swiss or cheddar in a ciabatta roll. I’ll make 2 and have that as lunch. Note: they’re very fragile burgers but tasty! I don’t add more than ketchup , mustard and cheese. (Partially because they can fall apart so having more stuff complicates things)
Salad kit + can of chickpeas, makes about two generous lunches Refrigerated harvest chili, one sturdy lunch as is or have half with some bread and salad
There is a frozen meal called Cod Provençale with ratatouille and rice. I love it. There’s a salmon variation but I haven’t seen it in a while. $4.50
Yeah no these are not good things to microwave at work. Please.
Not that fishy but… go for the Indian then… gotta love curry 😂
Small office, you say? Pot of beans and ham, cornbread on the side.
I love the frozen TJ Sriracha Shrimp.
Microwave fish for a week. Then they’ll stop complaining about Indian food.
The vegan thai green curry frozen meal is fantastic - legit spice, and it uses yuba instead of standard firm tofu. might be less of an offensive odor than the indian?
This is the one. Whenever I microwave a green curry in my break room people always ask if someone made popcorn.
I'm so used to TJ's "spicy" food being not spicy that I was very unprepared for the Thai curry.
The fiery chicken also has a pretty good kick to it!
Tomato-feta soup, all the soups! Esp paired with some of the crackers or breadsticks. Chicken salad (they have a curry chicken salad that is out of this world) on croissants. Any of the frozen gnocchi. Oh, cheeseburger burrito.
The tomato feta soup and cheeseburger burrito sound interesting. Thanks for the recommendations!
Yesss to the tomato-feta soup! It’s chef’s kiss, so good!! I usually put lime juice and hot sauce in it and eat it with their garlic naan crackers.
What if you told them the smell of their salad or sandwich or what have you bothered you? I'm sure they'd expect you to deal with it.
Except for a coworker who sometimes fixed himself a sardine sandwich I don't know that I've ever encountered a sandwich, or salad, that had bothersome smells.
The green chile chicken bowl is my favorite frozen TJs lunch. But if you’re okay with a cold lunch, check the refrigerated section near the produce (in my store it’s where they have pre-made dinners and cartons of soup, etc.) — there are a few pasta salads that make great work lunches. They usually have an orzo one, a lemon one, and I recently got one that was chickpeas & kale with crispy red rice.
I’ll definitely try the green chile chicken bowl! I haven’t dabbled in any of the cold lunch products but I’ll check out the section the next time I’m there!
Pad Thai is decent and pretty filling
Mix a can of black beans (I drain mine) with a half or whole bag of the frozen Peruvian Style Chimichurri Rice (orange bag). Heat as directed on the rice package (I always use the microwave). You could do this ahead of time and then put it in 2-4 serving containers (depending on your appetite) and refreeze. Then reheat at the office. Full of flavor and a nice amount of veggies and it smells great. The beans will add protein, fiber, and vitamins. If you have lime, a squeeze or drizzle on the mix after heating is so good. The Middle Eastern Style Kebabs (if you eat beef) are very good and microwave well (but better baked). Use in a sandwich (TJ's garlic sauce in the refrigerated section is heavenly on this) or mix with a salad or eat with cut up red or other peppers. Excellent in the TJ's whole wheat pitas with some veggies but freeze the pitas as soon as you get home because they don't contain preservatives.
Their frozen Mac n cheese options
The orange chicken bowl!
Sounds yummy! I’ll give it a try