My love for Trader Joe’s is honestly strange. I think anyone who frequents the grocery store would agree that the experience of shopping at Trader Joe’s is hard to beat.
The staff is insanely friendly, the prices are really affordable, and the quality is surprisingly great.
It’s just quirky enough to make you feel good about shopping there, and the prices and quality keep you coming back.
After years of shopping at Trader Joe’s, I’ve found a few must-grab items for glowing skin while on a budget. Not only will your skin look great, but you won’t need to break the bank either.
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1. Grass-fed ground beef
Ground beef gets a bad reputation when in reality, grass-fed ground beef is packed with protein and anti-inflammatory fatty acids.
I consume ground beef more than any other type of meat thanks to how affordable it is – I use it in taco salads, omelets, coconut wraps, and stir-frys.
The good news is that Trader Joe’s has some of the best grass-fed ground beef in the business at one of the lowest prices: I buy mine for $5.99 a pound.
2. Wild-caught salmon
Grass-fed beef is awesome, but you know what the ultimate skin-clearing meat is? Wild-caught salmon.
Packed with inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamin A, and tons of protein, salmon is king when it comes to fighting acne with food.
Wild-caught salmon doesn’t come cheap, but Trader Joe’s has about the lowest price you can ask for at $11.99 a pound, and the quality is always superb.
3. Organic extra virgin olive oil
Extra-virgin olive oil is on our list of 5 healthy fats for glowing skin.
Olive oil is extremely high in antioxidant vitamin E, has anti-inflammatory compounds, and can help with nutrient absorption when eaten along with other foods.
Trader Joe’s has high-quality, organic extra-virgin olive oil for $6.99 a bottle (17fl oz.), which is about half the cost of what I’ve seen at other grocery stores.
4. Organic unrefined virgin coconut oil
What can’t you use coconut oil for?
Throw it in a smoothie, put it in your coffee, or even eat it by the spoonful.
It has almost no omega-6 fatty acids and is anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal.
Again, Trader Joe’s name-brand shines above the rest here with crazy low prices on coconut oil. I’ve seen them on sale for as little as $5.99 for a bottle (14fl oz.)
5. Kerrygold grass-fed butter
Grass-fed butter can be problematic for some people with acne-prone skin due to the lactose and milk proteins present in butter.
That’s why I make ghee butter out of the grass-fed butter that I buy.
Like regular grass-fed butter, ghee butter is high in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and low in omega-6 fatty acids. Unlike regular butter, ghee is lactose, casein, and whey-free, which makes it almost bulletproof for acne-prone skin.
6. Organic frozen chopped spinach
I personally don’t really like frozen spinach when cooked and eaten, but for $2/lb Trader Joe’s organic chopped spinach is too cheap to pass up.
I use it in my skin-clearing mixed-berry smoothies, along with my next pick…
7. Organic frozen mixed berries
This simple little bag of berries is about the cheapest source of organic fruits you can get.
Best of all, if you live in a place where fresh, organic berries are uncommon, you can still get frozen berries that usually have more nutrients and antioxidants than fresh berries since they were picked and quickly frozen at peak times.
This particular pack of berries includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, all of which are low in sugar and high in antioxidants and vitamins.
They make up the bulk of my skin-clearing mixed berry smoothie.
8. Dry-roasted macadamia nuts
Macadamia nuts are one of the only “safe” nuts when it comes to acne.
Related: The best and worst nuts for acne
They are extremely low in phytic acid and omega-6 fatty acids, making them a great source of healthy fats.
Unfortunately, macadamia nuts are hard to come by, but yet again Trader Joe’s comes in clutch with some pretty affordable macadamia nut options.
Bear in mind that macadamias are going to usually be more expensive than other nuts, but it’s well worth the cost when it comes to your skin.
9. Organic raw almonds
A word of caution: almonds are very high in omega-6 fatty acids that can cause breakouts in some people. Use almonds with caution.
If you find you can tolerate almonds (I have about a handful a day), they’re a great choice for getting plenty of vitamin E and gut-boosting prebiotics.
I always opt for raw almonds, as the roasting process can oxidize some of the omega-6 fatty acids in almonds. I also tend to go for organic after noticing non-organic almonds would often lead to breakouts.
10. HAAS Avocados
Because of their outer shell, avocados are one of the only fruits and vegetables you don’t need to worry about buying organic.
Avocados are a great source of vitamin E and dietary fiber to help support a healthy digestive system. Furthermore, they’re about the best afternoon snack you could eat, with very little carbs and plenty of healthy, filling fats.
Trader Joe’s has some awesome deals on 4-packs of avocados. You can even get “teeny-tiny” avocados if normal ones are too big for you.
11. Ginger Tumeric Herbal Tea
When possible, I try to avoid caffeinated tea and coffee because it’s pretty problematic for acne – caffeine heightens the body’s stress response, causes dehydration, and can impair digestion if you’re not careful (not to mention a lot of folks are intolerant or sensitive to coffee).
Herbal tea, on the other hand, is a very safe choice for most people.
Trader Joe’s ginger tumeric tea is especially great because it contains, well, ginger, which aids digestion, and tumeric, which is a pretty powerful anti-inflammatory that can help with the redness and swelling that comes with acne.
What’s your go-to?
What are your go-to foods at Trader Joe’s?
This post was a little different than my typical post, but I hope you found it interesting. Let me know what you think in the comments below, or if you’d like me to do another grocery store shopping guide for clear skin.
