Eating protein-rich foods, like this smoked trout, is an excellent way to create an energizing, filling meal.

Trader Joe's smoked trout has become a staple in my home — it's a great shelf-stable item to have on hand when I want to add more sustenance to a meal.

This flavorful fish makes a great addition to a greens-and-feta salad, though the fillets are also delicious simply paired with a cracker.

When I followed restrictive diets, I was afraid to have sugar-sweetened beverages because I felt guilty about drinking my calories.

Now, as an intuitive eater, I know that adding fun drinks to meals can be a great way to enhance satisfaction. When our meals are satisfying, we can move on without dwelling and decrease our chances of bingeing or overeating later.

This tea-and-lemonade beverage has the perfect level of sweetness. I love having it with a turkey sandwich, a hearty salad, or cheese and crackers.

A friend recently shared a recipe for spicy-vodka rigatoni, which called for Calabrian chiles. She recommended using Trader Joe's Italian Bomba sauce, a Calabrian-chile-based flavoring, and it has become an instant favorite.

It adds a flavorful punch to pasta dishes and soups, though it's also tasty when smeared on crusty bread or mixed with mayo.

I've tried many different kinds of goat cheese, but this one from Trader Joe's is my favorite.

It's the ideal mixture of creamy and crumbly, making it a perfect addition to fall salads or a roasted-root-veggie dish. It also adds richness to pasta dishes when I don't have milk or cream.

I recommend spreading this goat cheese on toast and pairing it with different toppings, like walnuts, honey, and sea salt, or caramelized mushrooms and onions.

When a craving for salad strikes, I enjoy using Trader Joes toasted-sesame dressing.

Having a premade dressing lowers the workload of making a salad, which is another reason I love keeping this delicious dressing stocked in my fridge.

Some days, I crave fresh flavors but don't have the bandwidth to cut up lettuce and veggies — which is why I appreciate this broccoli-and-kale slaw with dried cherries, slivered almonds, and sunflower seeds.

Even when I don't have the time or energy to start chopping ingredients, I can almost always find it in me to dump the contents into a bowl and toss them with the kit's premade, sweet slaw dressing.

Sometimes, I'll doctor the salad up with goat-cheese crumbles. I typically pair the salad with a frozen pizza to add a source of carbs and fat and create a more filling meal.

In my opinion, the Argentinian red shrimp tastes so fresh, you'd never know that it comes frozen.

During the summer, I add this shrimp to a simple pasta dish with pesto, pine nuts, and tomatoes for a protein-rich meal with lots of staying power. In the colder months, I make a shrimp scampi with simple ingredients like lemon, broth, wine, and Parmesan cheese.

Like the smoked trout, this frozen shrimp is great for adding a protein boost to my meals.

When I ask new clients which foods they enjoy, many of them have been dieting for so long that they no longer know what flavors they authentically enjoy.

In my intuitive-eating experience, I discovered I love the combination of sweet and salty flavors. In particular, I adore Trader Joe's sweet, spicy pepper jam with savory cheese and crackers.

It's also delicious spread on a grilled-cheese sandwich for that same flavor contrast.

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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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