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Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix

It's been over a year since I last review Trader Joe's Chocolate Lava Cakes. While both Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix and Lava Cake desserts go into the microwave and yield a similar outcome in terms of texture, this mug cake won't take up any space in your freezer.

Taste test

Both of these desserts are decadent. They are a nice blend of almost cooked and that runny interior.

Now, this box contains 4 of Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel Caramels and 2 mug mixes. You could easily swap out a filling of your liking in the process.

And the process here couldn't be easier. All you need is 40 seconds in the microwave. I had my doubts, but I was proved wrong. It was cakey and undercooked all at the same time.

However, here are a few things you need to be aware of if you pick this up. First off, you'll want to use a standard-sized mug on this one. I know my husband and I use 20-ounce tea mugs way more than the "regular" sized ones.

Second, when they say give it a good stir, they weren't kidding. Unlike regular cake, there isn't much forgiveness like there would be with making a cake. While I took great pictures of the top of this, the bottom however revealed my failure to mix it all the way.

Otherwise, these two packets of the mix have a nice chocolatey flavor. This dessert is sweet but the saltiness from the caramel balances out. There are also mini chocolate chips that become molten in the microwave. I was shocked as to how much it "rose" in just the first 20 seconds.

The salted caramel goes in after the first 20 seconds. And was completely melted (mine sunk to the bottom) after another 20 seconds.

Overall

For $1.99 or less than $1 each, this is a good dessert. I personally felt it was on the rich side, so next time there will likely be a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream to cut through the richness here.

Would I buy this again? This is a maybe. It was good. I've eaten both but my cart was loaded with desserts on this last run so it only gets a maybe. I'm kind of grateful there were ONLY two packets. I would have eaten them all.

This is available at Trader Joe's or on Amazon.com.

Product photos

The box of Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix:

The nutritional information:

Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix nutritional information

The ingredients:

Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix ingredients

How to prepare:

Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix directions

Out of the package you get:

Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix out of the box

After being cooked you get:

Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix fully cooked

And for a closer look at that mug cake:

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.

The Bottom Line

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Trader Joe's October 2018 Fearless Flyer

Welcome to another edition of the Fearless Flyer roundup where I pair reviews from this blog and around the web to the items featured in this month's flyer. While it is still September, this is the flyer for October.

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Read On →

Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean Infused Vermont Maple Syrup

It seems like maple syrup might become the new pumpkin. I've seen so many new additions this year to this simple condiment. Just last week I tried the Ghosted Maple Syrup. And I hope to get my hands on the other new maple syrup hitting shelves: organic Vermont Bourbon Barrel-aged Maple syrup. If you are looking at the title, and thinking "didn't they have that in the past?" Yes, but it wasn't organic and this has a very different label than the bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup I tried in the past. So, I guess I'll have to report back on that how they compare.

Taste and review

In the meanwhile, here is the sweet and more complex contrast to the Ghosted Maple Syrup. However, I want to check your expectations of this product.

Here you see half of a vanilla bean sitting maple syrup. In big letters is vanilla bean infused.

Upon opening this bottle, I saw those familiar black specks of vanilla bean just waiting for me.

But when I tasted it, it didn't scream vanilla. Nope, this is more subtle but very much present.

This would be a nice substitute for regular maple syrup in both baking and breakfast items if a touch of added complexity is needed. The vanilla adds more of a caramel tone to this maple syrup.

Some might scoff at the price of this. Just under $10. However, there is half a vanilla bean sitting in this jar. Buying vanilla has been incredibly expensive. A vanilla bean at my favorite spice store, Penzeys, will work out to about $6 each. So there is quite a bit of value sitting in this jar.

The maple syrup itself is good maple syrup, so feel free to switch this out with your regular maple syrup. This would absolutely work in baking or for breakfast.

Overall

Would I buy this again? I may or may not see this again before I get to the bottom of the bottle. This is seasonal, so depending on how many uses I can find for this I might pick up another bottle. This is one of those items you wished weren't seasonal.

Product photos

The bottle of Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean Infused Vermont Maple Syrup:

The nutritional information and ingredients:

Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean Infused Vermont Maple Syrup nutritional and ingredient information

How Trader Joe's describes this:

Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean Infused Vermont Maple Syrup description

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.

The Bottom Line

Don't forget to share your thoughts by going to the "user review" at the bottom of the box (click on the number of stars you believe this product deserves) and leave a comment below.

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Trader Joe's Organic Turkey Bites

Aside from the sliced veggies I picked up, this is one of the least sugar-filled items. And quite possibly the strangest. Notice I said least. I didn't say it was without sugar.

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Taste

Now, to be fair I love jerky. Their Sriracha Bacon Jerky is among my all-time favorites. I often make jerky at home. Why?

The math speaks for itself. Per pound, jerky is among the most expensive grocery items.

At $4.99 this doesn't sound expensive. When you start calculating the per-pound cost of this, then you are looking at almost $32 a pound for turkey.

Now, obviously jerky takes time and you are paying dearly for the amount of time it takes to make a jerky. You can have organic grass-fed rib-eye steak for far less than this turkey.

Value aside, this is one of the strangest jerky varieties I've had. I've had exotic meat jerky, but that had nothing on this.

This product is an exotic type of meatloaf. Yes, you read that correctly. This is dehydrated meatloaf.

These are cut into cute little rhombus and square shapes. The texture isn't of the more familiar jerky, but of ground meat with apple. It smells like Thanksgiving.

Now, for my low-carb and Keto friends out there, jerky is usually a safe bet. I wouldn't say that is the case here. If you eat this little bag, many Keto dieters would be out of carbs for the day for a 2.5-ounce package.

The sugar in this case comes from organic apple juice concentrate. So this jerky is sweet and savory, but there was something about the texture that I wasn't loving.

Overall

When I had my husband try it he too felt it tasted like meatloaf. But oftentimes when I bring home jerky, the bag doesn't last on the counter in the kitchen. Once he or I rip it open, it likely won't sit on the counter for more than a day, if it doesn't get emptied immediately. This the other hand, had us saying "meh."

Would I buy this again? I'm glad I tried it and got my curiosity out of the way. Otherwise, I likely won't be buying this for myself. I'd rather stick to regular jerky.

Product photos

The bag of Trader Joe's Organic Turkey Bites:

The nutritional information:

Trader Joe's Organic Turkey Bites nutritional information

The ingredients:

Trader Joe's Organic Turkey Bites ingredients

Out of the package you get:

Trader Joe's Organic Turkey Bites out of the bag

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.

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Trader Joe's ABC Bars

Just in time for school to start are Trader Joe's ABC Bars. I'm not sure if they chose the letters to coincide with the start of school or it just is one big Jackson 5 reference that they were running with based on the fact that these are Almond Butter Cocoa Bars.

Taste and review

Now what makes these special is that they are good for a wide audience. These are gluten-free, kosher, and vegan. But rather than feeling like a substitute for something, here you have a really good product where nothing feels missing or noticeably substituted.

It's nicely chocolatey in flavor. The texture seems pretty standard for a snack bar just minus the wheat. So nothing really felt out of place. The texture overall is on the soft side but it won't flop over if you unwrap it.

The filling is almond butter, but not the type that you would expect out of the jar. It's thick almost like the filling of Reese's pieces peanut butter cup. But it paired really well with the chocolate exterior.

Overall

At 160 calories per bar, it won't break most diets. For $2.99 for 6 snack bars, it is portable, tasty, and worth trying.

Would I buy this again? Yes. Trader Joe's ABC bars were good and made for a good snack or light breakfast.

Product photos

The box of Trader Joe's ABC Bars:

The nutritional information and the ingredients:

Trader Joe's ABC Bars nutritional and ingredient information

How Trader Joe's describes these:

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.

Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!

The Bottom Line

Don't forget to share your thoughts by going to the "user review" at the bottom of the box (click on the number of stars you believe this product deserves) and leave a comment below.

You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to see what I'm up to.