The Fearless Flyer should land on Monday. In the meanwhile, I'm gearing up for my fall/winter body with all the goodies on shelves. Aside from the usual pumpkin offerings, it seems they have been branching off even more.
Taste
Among the things that ended up in my cart in the last 24 hours have included: Caramel Cookie Crunch and Pistachio gelato, a new Autumnal Harvest Soup, new organic Turkey Bites, Corn on the Cob Popping Corn, Chocolate Salted Caramel Mug Mix, Vanilla Bean infused Maple Syrup, Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Casserole, El Salvador small-lot coffee, Hot Cocoa Dunkers Cookies, and Harvest Spaghetti Squash Spirals. My cart was screaming "Di-a-bee-tus."
I did manage to pick up a few items that have some nutritional value to them while I was there too. All were in the produce section: fresh carrot spirals, butternut squash spirals, and pre-cut spaghetti squash that can be microwaved. It seems like they are taking advantage of some of the spiralized veggie crazes and I'm cool with that too.
So if you want to chime in and let me know which items you want to see first, I'm happy to make the sacrifice :). No seriously. I really want to hear which ones you want to read about first.
But in the meanwhile, behold new granola that is autumn flavored. There are spiced pumpkin seeds in this, so while the name doesn't hit as such, they are there. Trader Joe snuck them into an unsuspecting bag. They added some peanuts to round out the nuttiness here.
Not too long ago I tried Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Protein Granola. I really liked it. It was peanut buttery, filling, snackable, and really well done. Something I could sit and munch on the whole bag.
So expectations are high on this one. But this is a very different product altogether.
As savory as the peanut butter is, this item leans on the sweet side. There are large chunks of dried apple in each bite. Some chunks of dried apples are quite large. So if you aren't into dried fruit, this might not be your thing.
Likewise, there is a good amount of caramel holding this together. There is a strong splash of vanilla to round out the flavors here. I ate mine right out of the bag, but there is an interesting recipe on the side suggesting you could eat this as a warm cereal. On my to-do list of ways to enjoy this.
Overall
Now, if you are looking to avoid sugars, this is not an item to reach for. If you want that sweetened cereal taste, then this is pretty solid. The seeds and nuts are not as forward as other granolas.
But trying this it was obvious that this was trying to be something different and uniquely seasonal. To which it is. While it won't be available all year long, it isn't a bad item to try, but it is one of those flavors I would probably enjoy just once a year.
For $3.49 this is priced in line with the other granolas on shelves. This isn't my favorite granola. It's on you might find yourself picking at it regardless.
Would I buy this again? While I like Trader Joe's Caramel Apple Flavored Granola, I still prefer Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Protein Granola Better.
Product photos
The bag of Trader Joe's Caramel Apple Flavored Granola:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
Out of the package you get:
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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