Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
The average Trader Joe's store stocks 4,000+ products, many of which are organic But quality can vary, fortunately, that's why you have this site!
From Organic Rainbow Cauliflower to the Organic Grass Fed Steak find dozens of reviews of Trader Joe's organic products and see which ones are worth your time and which ones you may want to consider leaving on the shelf!
It’s not often that I review things as basic and a half gallon of milk. Normally, I wouldn’t. But this product jumped out to me on a few different levels. First, it’s organic and grass fed (all buzzwords right now) AND for the price. Second, this half gallon set me back nearly $5 and that is a premium beyond the price of a regular half gallon and even the organic half gallon.
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Basil. A common ingredient in my household. So is tea. But if you are thinking that this is just basil in tea form, you might be a bit mistaken depending on what ends up in your cart regularly. The basil I keep is the one that pairs really well with tomatoes and cheese. In reality, the one variety I use is among the 40 varieties of basil available. Tulsi or Holy Basil is a totally different variety than what you might be picking up in the fresh herb section. Now Trader Joe’s introduces those of us who might otherwise be unfamiliar to Holy Basil Tea.
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A little while back I reviewed a fun item that wasn’t too dissimilar to this Hibiscus Tea and Lemonade. It was Trader Joe’s Organic Tea and Lemonade. Essentially, what that drink was is more commonly known as an “Arnold Palmer.” Trader Joe’s Organic Cold Brewed Hibiscus Tea and Lemonade is a playful spin in a substantially smaller bottle.
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Just a couple of weeks ago I tried Trader Joe’s Almond Butter Cups. They were sweet, but not too sweet. And yes, they were oh so very good. They had a nice shell of dark chocolate and the filling was nutty, but not the classic peanut butter filling. A really fun spin on a classic with the new Trader Joe’s Organic Dark Chocolate PB and J Minis.
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Here is a quick work place truth: some time after lunch and before it’s time to go, I am some how hungry. If I were still working at an office job, I would have hit the vending machine. However, where I currently work there is no such thing anywhere near me. For better or worse. So that has left me with a plethora of snacks in my desk drawer to avoid spending money at the local stores.
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Does anyone else celebrate Taco Tuesday? I think we celebrate it on a lot of days during the week. I have a soft spot for nachos in particular. Who doesn’t love cheesy chips? I adore them. Just not Trader Joe’s Queso Dip. One of the cardinal rules of a dip is that it should never be watery or thin. This vegan dip does a better job of being cheesy than queso.
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Every now and again, there is a product that I’m almost positive that I haven’t seen available anywhere else. This is one of those products. I’ve never seen maple butter before. But when I saw it, I knew it was going into my cart.
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So, I want to make sure I’m not bombarding you all with everything pumpkin. Because this year, it seems that the seasonal flavors are being fanned out to include more apple and maple. Both are welcome additions. I welcome them even more if they are done well….
The pros: Trader Joe’s Hot Cocoa Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries is new and dressed up for cooler weather.
The cons: Seasonal based on the appearance of the packaging. Depending on your feeling on frosting, mine were not evenly frosted. Some would prefer if the frosting was left off.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Kingslynn Green Tea looks like a new tea that is done in the same spirit as much of Trader Joe’s coffee offerings.
The cons: If you don’t like the taste of green tea, you won’t be a fan of this. This priced $2 above the organic fair trade green tea already on store shelves.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s To the Power of Seven Green Organic Juice Blend is new and capitalizes on green juice popularity.
The cons: The primary flavors are celery juice, ginger spice, and apple. For something that should be healthy, I personally wasn’t blown away by the nutritional information of this product.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Seltzer Water flavored with Lemon and Ginger Juice is one of two new seltzer flavors and if you love ginger then you might dig this.
The cons: This is very assertively gingery for something that only contains 2% juice.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Seltzer Water flavored with Cranberry and Lime Juice is one of three new seltzer waters that are quite distinct from other sparkling beverages around them.
The cons: This is pricier than the bottled sparkling water options at Trader Joe’s.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Sriracha Ranch Dressing is nice and spicy.
The cons: I wasn’t wild about this on a salad, but as a dip I was all in.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Grass Fed Organic Rib Eye Beef Steak is a new and premium addition to the meat aisle of Trader Joe’s.
The cons: This is a premium product at price point of over $21 per pound. There is also quite a bit of fat that could have been trimmed off.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Tea and Lemonade is essentially the beverage better known as an Arnold Palmer which is a mix of lemonade and tea.
The cons: Nothing really stands out other than the obvious sugary nature of this drink.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Caesar Salad Kit is a vast improvement over Trader Joe’s Caesar Style Salad Mix.
The cons: Keep your expectations in check as this mix is as good as this is a good bagged salad mix.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Air Popped Popcorn is new and is a healthy popcorn.
The cons: My husbands reaction was “this tastes like diet popcorn.” You can take that on face value. The bag makes it obvious to anyone within 100 feet that you are consuming this product.
The verdict: …
For the most part, I tend to review one item at a time. However, for something as basic as frozen fruits and veggies I think it’s just best to review them together. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to write THAT much about such a staple freezer item. Now, if you are like me, I tend to let my wallet dictate my buying habits. However, for this item perhaps its best to do a side by side comparison. Trader Joe’s frozen strawberries come in two varieties. There is a third, in the Organic Tropical Fruit Blend, but that is also mixed in with other fruit, so I did not add that one into this review.
The pros: Monteli Organic Pizza Crusts are organic, frozen, reasonably sized for 1-2 people per pizza, delicious too.
The cons: This is way over packaged with plastic. Mine weren’t frozen flat so adorning this pizza was slightly more challenging.
The verdict: …
So, Trader Joe’s is many things, but basic is not one of them. One or perhaps two blueberry varieties are common. Usually an organic and an non-organic variety is pretty standard for most grocery stores. Trader Joe’s frozen blueberries come in four different varieties at four different price points.
So unlike most reviews where I look at a single product , I’ll go through what to expect from this line of frozen blueberries.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Italian Artisan Pasta Gigli is one of three new pastas that are organic and artisan.
The cons: This is a premium priced pasta, but is still affordable. A few pasta pieces lost their cool shape.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Rainbow Cauliflower is new and adds to a growing list of cauliflower products. This is a solid choice if you are looking for a side.
The cons: While cauliflower may help you feel full, there doesn’t seem to be much fiber in this stuff.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Pesto Tortellini has been on the shelves for quite some time. It makes for a quick and easy meal.
The cons: Bland tasting pesto with almost no texture to it.
The verdict: …
