I’m a mom who drives an hour to stock up on pantry staples at Trader Joe’s. Here are 13 items I always buy.

• Every few months, I drive an hour to shop at Trader Joe’s for pantry staples.
• My family and I stock up on tomato basil marinara sauce for pasta dinners and homemade pizzas.
• I use Trader Joe’s unsweetened cocoa powder to make hot chocolate almost every night.

I started shopping at Trader Joe’s almost a decade ago, as a single mother to a 2-year-old, and was impressed with the affordability and quality of everything the grocer carried.

When I got married, I introduced my husband to our favorite things, and he was hooked.

Now, we happily drive an hour to the Winter Park, Florida, location (just north of Orlando) every couple of months for these 13 pantry staples.

The No. 1 thing we stock up on is tomato basil marinara sauce.

We get four jars of Trader Joe’s tomato basil marinara sauce on each trip.

I think it tastes homemade and elevates our weeknight pasta dinners to something that feels special. We also use it to make homemade pizza.

We also buy plenty of spaghetti.

Half a bag of Trader Joe’s Italian spaghetti feeds all three of us with at least one serving of leftovers for lunch.

Imported from Italy, the spaghetti cooks perfectly al dente and has a slight sweetness. I’ve even eaten it with only olive oil and sea salt.

Garbanzo beans are the key ingredient for one of our favorite protein-packed meals.

For a quick, protein-packed dinner, I like to sauté sliced cooked sausage with canned garbanzo beans in herbs and olive oil. It’s become a household favorite.

We’ve found that Trader Joe’s garbanzo beans taste fresher than the rest, so we always stock up on them.

Trader Joe’s ube mochi pancake and waffle mix is a family favorite.

My son loves anything ube-flavored, and I love anything that’s gluten-free, so this pancake and waffle mix is perfect for us.

They’re so easy to mix up that my 11-year-old son has made them for my husband and me.

We’ve eaten them with whipped cream and mixed berries for an out-of-the-ordinary (and colorful) weeknight dinner.

I add cinnamon to my coffee every morning.

I’ve been adding cinnamon to my coffee every morning for over 10 years. I consume it daily, so I want it to be good, and Trader Joe’s organic cinnamon is the best I’ve ever had.

I also add it to smoothies, baked goods, and hot cocoa.

Trader Joe’s unsweetened cocoa powder makes my favorite hot chocolate.

I make homemade hot cocoa nightly, using two tablespoons of Trader Joe’s cocoa per cup. Just like the cinnamon, the cocoa is the best I’ve had.

I also like to make homemade brownies and chocolate cake with it.

My husband and I love Trader Joe’s organic frosted toaster pastries.

I like to grab a few boxes of Trader Joe’s organic toaster pastries for an out-of-the-ordinary treat. With a hot cup of coffee, they taste like Pop-Tarts for adults.

If there was only one thing I could buy at Trader Joe’s, it would be the salted peanut butter.

To me, this peanut butter is a delicacy.

I’ve eaten it by the spoonful for a quick pick-me-up, used it in smoothies for added protein, and drizzled it over chocolate ice cream for a Reese’s-like dessert.

My son likes the sweetness of pineapple salsa.

My son loves salsa, but not when it’s too spicy. The addition of pineapples (which he also loves) makes this one sweet enough for him to enjoy.

Plus, it’s full of tomatoes, pineapples, and peppers, so I like to consider it a serving of fruits and vegetables.

Another snack my son loves is cashews sprinkled with Trader Joe’s ranch seasoning blend.

I thought it would be fun to use this seasoning to give cooked vegetables a kick, but my son found another tasty use for it.

He sprinkles the ranch seasoning blend on plain cashews for a snack that’s arguably as satisfying as a bag of flavored potato chips.

Trader Joe’s baked cheese crunchies are a great late-night snack.

We love chips in our house, but I like to find lower-fat versions.

I think Trader Joe’s baked cheese crunchies are just as good as Cheetos, and I can actually taste real cheese on them.

I never feel bad putting them in my son’s lunch or eating them as a late-night snack.

I think Sprinkles tomatoes taste great alone, in salads, and on snack plates.

I’ve never seen these Sprinkles tomatoes anywhere else besides Trader Joe’s, but I think they’re like vegetable candy.

I’ve eaten them alone, in salads, on snack plates, and in the car on the way home from Trader Joe’s, paired with the cheese crunchies.

Our dogs love Trader Joe’s grain-free dog treats with peanut butter and banana.

Our dogs get so excited when they see us carrying Trader Joe’s bags into the house because they know what’s coming.

These grain-free peanut butter and banana dog treats cost just $3 at my local store, so I buy three to four boxes per visit.

My favorite thing about these treats is that they have real ingredients, like chickpeas, peanut butter, ground coconut, and dried bananas.

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