Happy Monday! Today, we're introducing a new Top 10 Series, where our MBP Contributors will take turns sharing their Top 10 favorites!

Today, I am sharing about the Top 10 Reasons why I love the Trader Joe's retailer.

#1- Laid back atmosphere. 

The store is nice, and after you've visited one time, you've caught the traffic flow, and know where to quickly find what you need. The store is kid-friendly, clean, set up nicely, and there aren't a million ads or sale signs shoved in your face.

#2 Awesome Fresh Produce

TJ's has some hard-to-find produce, and they also have awesome prices on your everyday stuff, like broccoli, lettuce, asparagus, etc. It's always fresh, and the prices can't be beat.

#3- Delicious Bread

We don't eat a ton of bread, but when we want good bread, we go to Trader Joe's. Their Tuscan Panne bread is so yummy, and they sell individual pretzel bread sticks!

#4- Sample Stations

Trader Joe's often features their delicious recipes and foods at their sample station, Catch them on a Saturday, and you might even get to sample some wine and cheese.

#5- Cookie Butter

Cookie Butter is a delicious peanut butter-like treat that is made from ground Speculous cookies. It's delicious. It's addictive. It sells like hot cakes, and when there's a shortage, there's a wait-list! It's THAT good! Put it on ice cream, or enjoy it spread over graham crackers. B likes a plain Cookie Butter spoon with his lunch. I love to dip TJ's honey wheat pretzel sticks into it! Mmm!

#6- Leo the Lion

Leo the Lion is a super adorable plush lion that gets dressed up, and hidden around the store. The kids are to look for Leo during their shopping trip, and when they find him, they tell a person at the customer service desk where they found him, and then they can pick a prize from the treasure chest in the store! Genius!

#7- Wine Selection

Trader Joe's wine and beer selection is awesome, and their prices are low, low, low! Grab a 'three buck Chuck' or indulge in a $10.00 bottle of something finer. I have never had a wine from Trader Joe's that I didn't like. In fact, sometimes we go there specifically for wine.

#8- Chile Corn Salsa

It's sweet, it's hot, and it's like crack in a jar. I mean, I can sit down and eat half of the jar in one sitting. I love this salsa, and it's one of my Trader Joe's Staples.

#9- Granola, Pancakes and Orange Chicken

Okay- these are three different things, but they're all awesome. The Vanilla Clusters granola is my all time favorite. They are ofen sold out of it at the TJ's closest to us. Their Pancake mix is an all purpose baking mix, which can be used for pancakes, waffles, biscuits, etc. My son loves it, therefore, so do I. It's quick and easy to use, and tastes great! The orange chicken is another one of those all star Trader Joe's products. Easy to make, and a weekly favorite in our house.

#10- Helpful Customer Service & Weekly Raffle

The employees at Trader Joe's are just plain down to earth, and helpful. They are pleased to answer a shopper's questions, show you where something is located, make wine recommendations, etc. They are super wonderful with kids as they breeze through the check-out line, giving them stickers, talking to them like they're people, etc. Makes us smile everytime! We also love that Trader Joe's has a weekly drawing for a $25.00 gift card to their store. If you bring in a re-usable Trader Joe's shopping bag, you can drop your name into the bucket. We haven't won yet- but maybe we will one day!

All in all, we love Trader Joe's because it's affordable, offers some specialty items we enjoy, and it's a down to earth place. We know they aren't going to try to sell us garbage, because they don't make garbage... and we won't feel out of place there because we aren't trying to park an Audi or BMW in a teeny parking space... our old Subaru fits right in.

Where do you like to do your weekly shopping?