Ginger cat cookie monster

It’s official—I am no longer allowed to shop at Trader Joe’s by myself. I don’t know what it is about that place, but I am incapable of tuning out its siren song. The food is so yummy looking, so aesthetically pleasing, so inexpensive and tempting. I can’t resist picking up a bag of this or a sack of that just because it’s new and it looks fun to try. There’s no other way to explain how I go in there with a list of five things to buy and end up walking out with $80 worth of groceries. Our freezer is now stuffed with the fruits of my weakness, with frozen cioppino and orange chicken and mushroom risotto and, of course, three boxes of my beloved baked chicken tenders. They’re all dishes I’d love to cook in theory but I’m too lazy to attempt in reality. Why bother when I can buy them ready made? Maybe that’s the hook, then. Somehow Trader Joe’s knows that I love good food but I’m disinclined to get my hands dirty. They market to my laziness and oh, they do it so well.