Whether you're not a baker or just short on time, Trader Joe's multipurpose gingerbread mix is great for making cookies, cakes, bars, and more.

The mix itself is naturally plant-based, and to keep it that way, I use a flax egg and plant-based butter when I prepare it.

In the winter, I rely on Trader Joe's flavorful holiday vegetable hash.

Since the peeling and chopping are already done, I just sauté or roast the mixture of diced butternut squash, sweet potatoes, red onions, celery, parsley, sage, and rosemary before adding it to dishes.

It gives me a headstart on dinner when I'm making stuffing, soup, or side dishes with quinoa and wild rice. The mix also tastes great in breakfast scrambles and burritos.

Sweet meets savory in Trader Joe's seasonal peppermint-crunch popcorn, which mixes dark- and white-chocolate-coated kernels tossed in crushed candy canes.

It's great for a holiday dessert table or a cozy movie marathon, but it also makes a nice host gift.

Sometimes, I'll even add it to a larger holiday snack mix or rice-crispy treats for extra festive cheer.

It's easy to keep my candy dishes full with Trader Joe's gummy Scandinavian Tidings, which come in all sorts of festive shapes.

I also saw a Festive Chaos candy mix this year. It contains bovine gelatin, so it's not vegan, but the rest of my family can enjoy it.

Aside from snacking, these festive bags make excellent stocking stuffers. You can also use them to decorate gingerbread houses and top holiday cupcakes and cookies.

Perhaps the most anticipated product of the season at Trader Joe's is its candy-cane Joe-Joe's.

The peppermint sandwich cookies are great on a holiday dessert board, chopped and stirred into a bowl of ice cream, crumbled on top of eggnog, and dunked into mugs of hot cocoa.

You could even crush them into bits to make an easy pie crust.

The regular candy-cane Joe-Joe's are "accidentally" vegan — meaning they just happen to be fully plant-based. However, the gluten-free version of the cookies may contain milk and eggs, per the ingredient list.

Zesty lemon-stuffed olives are my top pick for adding flair to cocktails, mezze platters, and charcuterie boards.

The citrusy olives are good as a right-out-of-the-jar snack, but I also skewer them on toothpicks alongside vegan cheese and cocktail tomatoes or chop and swirl them into dips.

If lemon isn't your thing, other stuffed-olive options are available, including garlic and jalapeño.

The vegan peppermint mini marshmallows are something I look forward to all year.

Toast and sandwich them between graham crackers and chocolate for festive s'mores, or melt them with vegan butter for a holiday take on the quintessential rice-crispy treat.

For the ultimate seasonal beverage, I like to include them on my hot-cocoa bars alongside plant-based whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

I check appetizers off my to-do list with Trader Joe's frozen crispy vegetable pouches.

The pockets of pastry dough are filled with jicama, taro, cabbage, carrots, onions, and shiitake mushrooms for an elegant plant-based hors d'oeuvre.

They're seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and red chili, adding global flavors to your holiday menu. Plus, they're ready to eat in under 15 minutes.

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When I have time to make breakfast, I opt for an egg sandwich with mushrooms and kale on a Trader Joe's classic English muffin for a low-sugar, moderate-carbohydrate meal.

Because I exercise a lot, I try to ensure I'm getting my macros — a balance of carbs, fats, and proteins my body needs.

This English muffin has 24 grams of carbohydrates per serving, and the two eggs have about 12 grams of protein.

I've stuck with Trader Joe's peanut butter my whole adult life. I use it in homemade protein balls or simply have it with a banana or apple for a quick snack.

I love that this product has only one ingredient — dry-roasted peanuts.

Not to sound boring, but cottage cheese can be a great high-protein, low-carb breakfast. This particular cottage cheese has 12 grams of protein per serving.

If I want something simple for breakfast, I'll have cottage cheese and fruit. If I'm in the mood for something savory (but don't feel like bringing out a pan), I'll eat it with salsa.

For me, Trader Joe's seaweed snacks are a perfectly portioned low-carb potato-chip replacement.

They give me the same satisfaction as a handful of chips, and each package contains 3 grams of protein.

I love keeping microwavable breakfast bowls in my freezer for busy weeks when I don't want to deal with dishes.

This breakfast bowl has scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, and cheddar cheese — so each serving is mainly protein (32 grams) and fat (27 grams). However, it's important to remember that some fat is not necessarily a bad thing.

Trader Joe's chicken strips are high in protein, and the retailer carries various prepared options: grilled chili-lime, grilled balsamic-vinegar-and-rosemary, plain, and grilled lemon-pepper chicken.

I go through moods when I can eat the same thing for several days or weeks at a time, and these strips, paired with a bag of salad, are a great go-to option when I'm in this routine. 

I like to pair Trader Joe's broccoli-and-kale slaw with chicken for a low-carb, low-sugar salad. I also like the classic Greek salad because it has fiber, protein from feta cheese, and little sugar. 

Additionally, the lemon-basil pasta salad is pretty low in carbohydrates and sugar (considering it's made with pasta), with only 26 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of sugar per serving. 

On my latest trip, I wanted fresh veggies and dip, so I opted for these teeny tiny tomatoes to pair with a dressing.

These look and taste like tiny heirloom tomatoes and are great in salads. Because they're so small, they don't even need to be sliced.

Trader Joe's carries a few low-sugar dressing options — this week, I went with the Green Goddess dressing. 

I couldn't resist buying figs when I saw them, so I impulse-purchased this cheese to pair with them.

Though I was craving a sweet snack, my Trader Joe's also carries goat's-milk cheese without honey.

Trader Joe's squiggly noodles take only four minutes to boil. They come with soy-and-sesame-sauce packets, though I also like to pair them with a high-protein peanut sauce or Trader Joe's crunchy chili-onion topping.

This week, I used the noodles in a stir fry. To make the dish, I sautéed a few vegetables and baked Trader Joe's wild, raw Argentinian red shrimp on a sheet pan for 25 minutes.

I tossed everything together in the same pot and had leftovers for the rest of the week.

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