A mom drives from Canada to Trader Joe's for family favorites

As a mom of three picky eaters, I drive nearly an hour from our home in Canada to Bellingham, Washington, twice a month to stock up at Trader Joe's. There are no Trader Joe's locations in Canada, and the quality of the products plus my kids' rave reviews make the trip worthwhile.

For easy dinners I always buy Trader Joe's Mandarin-orange chicken—I pick up four packages each visit—and their fettuccine Alfredo, which my son loves; for a family of five I heat two packs and add the store's breaded chicken tenderloin breasts, a splash of high-protein milk and butter, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and parsley.

I also grab the Middle Eastern-style kebabs, which remind me of home in Egypt; they grill in about 20 minutes and I serve them with tomatoes, homemade tahini, onions seasoned with sumac and parsley, tucked into the Egyptian-sourdough Baladi pocket bread.

Canada, Bellingham, Washington

trader joe's, canada, bellingham, orange chicken, fettuccine alfredo, chicken tenderloin, parmigiano-reggiano, kebabs, tahini, baladi bread