I'm a chef who visited Trader Joe's for the first time, and I was blown away by the fair prices and incredible options

As a private chef, I have pursued the highest-quality food available while staying on a budget since 2009. 

I'd always avoided Trader Joe's because I thought that the grocery chain's hype had to be exaggerated and that the chain would be filled with gimmicky, overpriced products.

The crowds have also deterred me — my local Trader Joe's in Charlottesville almost always has an overflowing parking lot. Instead, I've been faithful to budget grocery stores like Aldi and Lidl, believing I'd found the best bargains.

But I recently decided to visit Trader Joe's for the first time and I was totally proven wrong. 

Maybe it's a lasting impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but crowded stores give me anxiety.

Fortunately, I was able to park pretty far away from the store to avoid the packed lot. That said, there were multiple shoppers in every aisle as I walked around.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised by the store's smart layout and diagonal, well-divided aisles that spaced out shoppers and kept my claustrophobia at bay. 

I am not immune to the basic pleasures of fall activities and decor, but I am often appalled at the cost of spirit-sprucing autumnal items.

I loved the variety of pumpkins, gourds, and flowers that TJ's offered, but was even more impressed with the low prices of them. Some pumpkins were only $4 and I saw miniature ones for less than $1. 

Sunflowers were one of the first things I saw, and they seemed to match the vibe of the store and its employees.

In fact, my notorious resting bitch face was nowhere to be seen on this trip. 

I don't often seek out employees when I'm grocery shopping, but the few times I have I struggled to find someone who could actually answer my questions.

But at Trader Joe's I saw multiple workers, and each seemed to truly care about the quality of my experience. The smiles they gave me felt genuine, and their eagerness to help almost caught me off guard.

The produce department had tons of basics, but the highlight was the specialty items — multicolored carrots, more tomato varieties than I've ever seen outside of the farmer's market, and "teeny tiny"-sized temptations.

Sure, I've seen comparable products at other grocery stores but only at a much higher price point. 

Spending $6 for a bag of bite-sized potatoes my 7-year-old could take down in a single sitting is not my jam. But at Trader Joe's, I can snag a bag for just $2.49. Bring on all of the cute food! 

A quick trick to elevate any dish is the addition of fresh herbs, whether it's a bundle of thyme and rosemary in a slow braise, or basil chiffonade to finish simple pasta.

That said, I'm often worried about paying too much for herbs long past their prime. But here, most of the fresh herbs were less than $2 a bunch. 

I couldn't live without cheese, olives, or fancy-pants nuts in every flavor imaginable and I'm clearly not the only one with a passion for this beloved first course.

After seeing the expansive nut aisle and the section with dozens of types of meats and cheeses, it was clear to me that Trader Joe's was a mecca for even the most ambitious charcuterie boards.

I have enthusiastically hopped on the salad-kit bandwagon because they're so easy to prepare — but I had no idea just how many options were out there.

Trader Joe's had all sorts of salad kits with different influences around the world and varying bases, like romaine, kale, and spinach. 

I ended up taking home the Mediterranean-style salad kit, and it was so far superior to kits I've tried in the past.

Not only was the lettuce blend crisp and fresh, but also the kit included extra garnishes, including crunchy roasted chickpeas. Additionally, the vinaigrette lacked the artificial flavor I think is present in so many bottled salad dressings.

There's a growing number of spice blends now available in stores but I still prefer to craft my own, thus controlling the flavor ratios and salt content.

That said, those who prefer the ease of a premade blend would surely be impressed here. 

Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel blend, which surfaced in 2017, absolutely lives up to the hype. But what really blew me away from this aisle were the offerings I'd never seen before, like the Everything but the Elote blend (life-changing on air-popped popcorn), and Mushroom & Company umami seasoning (would be tedious and expensive to DIY). 

I love to cook and do so with gusto 85% of the time but on the days when my kids need to be chauffeured to practices, classes, lessons, and playdates, I like to have an easy dinner that doesn't involve tipping a delivery driver.

Trader Joe's didn't let me down. I found ready-to-heat curries, pizzas, pasta dishes, and so much more. 

There are certain dishes I just don't enjoy tackling from scratch. I've never nailed fresh pasta, but I absolutely love ravioli.

Trader Joe's has so many kinds of ravioli to choose from that I spent an embarrassing amount of time deliberating. Whether you want a vegetarian option or ravioli stuffed with meat, there's something for everyone. 

I'm totally on board with feeding my family high-quality pre-prepared items that eliminate time-consuming steps.

Once again, Trader Joe's had me impressed. I picked up a pre-spatchcocked and marinated whole chicken, which I had never seen in a store before. 

Handling a whole bird can be intimidating due to multiple yuck factors. Add spatchcocking — removing a bird's backbone — to the equation, and the process becomes even less appealing.

But a chicken prepared in this fashion cooks in half the time and is often doubly delicious. This worry-free dinner was the perfect size for a family of four. 

The ice-cream aisle truly had something for everyone, from dairy-free options to pure chocolate decadence.

I spent a decent amount of time looking through the sandwiches and cartons. 

First off, I built a killer charcuterie board with the products I got from Trader Joe's.

I was able to snag a block of the chain's famous and flavorful Unexpected Cheddar for $5. I got other specialty items like flavored olives, cured meats, and truffle Marcona almonds for fair prices, too. 

Yet again, I found myself truly impressed with the price point for these specialty products. 

My fellow moms know that weekday mornings can be far from chill. After getting my boys on the bus, the last thing I feel like doing is cooking yet another breakfast.

I've recently been buying frozen egg bites, so I wanted to try the ones from Trader Joe's deli section.

They were at a similar price point to the frozen versions I've tried, but these tasted fresh and I enjoyed the flavorful mix of cheese and uncured bacon. 

I tried to pick up some of the fan-favorite Mandarin orange chicken but, as a testament to its popularity, it was out of stock.

So after a quick chat with a Trader Joe's employee in the premade meals section, I selected a new item that's gaining popularity: the Middle Eastern-style kebabs.

These kid-approved delights were a hit with my family, and genuinely tasty. I loved that they came out of my air fryer in minutes, and were both beautifully seasoned and juicy. 

After much deliberation, I brought home the lobster ravioli and butternut-squash ravioli.

I appreciated the thin pasta of the butternut-squash ravioli and that they were not overly wrought with spices better left to pies.

The lobster ravioli really exceeded my expectations. I've tried every accessible variety of this item, and TJ's version is hands-down the best. Not only is the first ingredient listed as lobster, but also the filling truly tastes like lobster. No unidentifiable "seafood" aftertaste here.

The lobster ravioli would make an impressive and elegant pasta course for any dinner party, and will now be a staple for my at-home date nights. 

My husband's favorite dessert is a chocolate-chip cookie ice-cream sandwich. I've brought home every brand I can get my hands on for him and they've been met with varying degrees of approval.

His verdict on Trader Joe's Sublime Ice cream sandwich was, "There are actually ample chocolate chips, the cookie is the perfect texture, and the ice cream has real vanilla flavor."

This is extremely high praise coming from him, and he deemed TJ's sandwich the best he's tried. 

I had Trader Joe's pinned as a store I would visit once and leave still wondering why people are so obsessed with it. I also assumed Trader Joe's was overpriced and full of gimmicky products.

I was wrong (don't tell my husband I put that in writing).

I left the chain with a huge smile on my face and spent the short drive home kicking myself for not going sooner. 

Trader Joe's made shopping fun with its unique inventory and I couldn't believe that many of its prices were comparable (or better) than my go-to's, Aldi and Lidl. 

Although I'll continue shopping for staples and the weekly specials at my usual stores, Trader Joe's is going to become an important part of my grocery plans.

It's going to become the part that brings the most joy, and the most deliciously different products into my kitchen. It's also going to be the part that will feel like a treat, not a chore.

That said, I could easily drop an entire month's food budget on one trip here, so I'm going to continue evaluating items they offer that both make my life easier and lead to no leftovers.