Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
The average Trader Joe's store stocks 4,000+ products, but some are limited time offerings. They may come back from year to year but quality can vary, fortunately, that's why you have this site!
From Pumpkin Pancake Mix to the popular Riced Cauliflower Stuffing find hundreds of reviews of Trader Joe's seasonal products and see which ones are worth your time and which ones you may want to consider leaving on the shelf!
Trader Joe’s products sometimes like to play with fire. And when I speak about fire, I am referring to ghost peppers. This is by no means a humble jalapeno; this is many stages past it on the Scoville scale. For perspectives sake, a jalapeno is usually rated somewhere in 2,500-8,000 Scoville Heat Unit Scale. The assertive Ghost Pepper runs somewhere close to one million on the same scale. So, I cleared my calendar to try Trader Joe’s Ghost Chile BBQ Sauce.
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While the first day of summer is nearly upon us, the taste of summer has already hit the shelves of Trader Joe’s. Amidst the mango flavors that are both arriving and returning from a hiatus, Trader Joe’s Peaches and Cream Tarte sits quietly in the freezer section returning from a years hiatus. And if you are looking for a picture perfect dessert, then keep one of these handy, even if summer is over.
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Now, in case you didn’t know April 15th is not only Tax Day, but it is also National Glazed Spiral Ham Day. I’m not kidding either, there is a website to keep track of these things. So in honor of such, tonight’s review is on the seasonal Trader Joe’s Maple Bourbon Glazed Ham. I figured it’s close enough and it’s back on shelves.
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Trader Joe’s Bunny Gummy Tummies are back. But this year they are different The last time I reviewed these it was 2017. There has been a subtle change to the bag. And while I wasn’t actually going to revisit this review, a quick glance at this bag made me realize that I probably should because this is a different product on a quite a few levels.
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If you’ve come to Trader Joe’s for your Corned Beef, you are in luck for St. Patrick’s Day. Even if you don’t celebrate that holiday, Trader Joe’s Corned Beef corned beef is something worth celebrating. Best of all there are two varieties: uncooked and precooked. This review focuses just on the corned beef you’ll be cooking for yourself. If you find that you are enjoying it, be prepared for this to disappear over the rainbow when corned beef season ends….
Not a new product. Just a winter seasonal item that might not strike you as a winter seasonal item. With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, this might be a decent alternative if you hate caraway seeds and just happen to have a beer and some butter you want to get rid of.
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So, it’s that time of year where certain rose themed items are making their way back on to store shelves. Now, the popular Rose Facial Toner is available all year-long. However, there were two rose themed items that come and go: this and Rose Facial Oil. And while I haven’t seen the facial oil back yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does show up again in the near future (fingers crossed).
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I swung back into the health and beauty aisle this week and what did I find? A new candle. Now, I haven’t reviewed candles in the past. Mainly because they are usually limited run scents. In the past couple months I’ve bought Cedar Balsam, Pumpkin Vanilla, Gingerbread as well as Honey Crisp Apple. What did I learn from buying them? I wished I had picked up a few more.
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Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays and now happy (almost) New Year. I hope this time of year brings you rest, relaxation, and a quiet wind down to the rest of 2018. I apologize about the brief hiatus between this post and the previous one. This time of year does require some R&R time. The holidays can be exhausting, enjoyable, and demanding.
But fortunately, a product like this is meant for that rest and relaxation time.
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Behold, the most expensive thing I can get my hands on at Trader Joe’s. Clocking in at just shy of $50 for this one package is nearly four pounds of beefy goodness. However, beefy goodness is in the eyes of the beholder. How much you like this will be determined by how well you prepare this. So tonights review is a little bit of cooking with a bit of commentary on this slab of meat.
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I kind of hope this is one of those blog posts that my Mom isn’t reading. Because this is one of those things that I bought for the blog and then proceeded to buy just a few more to give as gifts. I haven’t tried many of Trader Joe’s Body Butters as I have enough lotion products to last me into the next decade of life.
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So here is a returning classic that hits shelves before Thanksgiving, but in my store these hang around until the start of the new year. So while the turkeys might be gone, these vegan turkey-less roasts are there for the vegan or people who prefer to enjoy less meat at the dinner table.
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So the Fall brought us Trader Joe’s Apple Caramel Granola, this winter we have been graced by yet another seasonal granola variety. This is Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Spice Granola. But if you loved the sweetness of the Fall’s seasonal granola, I’m not sure you are going to like this. And yes, this granola is vastly different from the Peanut Butter variety that is on shelves year round.
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So, true story: Just the other day I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about, of all things lip scrubs. Lip scrubs are new to the beauty scene and up until this set I have never bought one. I mean with all the scrubs out there, who would think you need one just for your lips?
After buying this I kinda like it.
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Let’s be honest for a second, whenever you get a “gift set” it would seem that there is at minimum at least one item you don’t truly care for. This might be true for anything sold as a set. Usually you get one item you really, really like and then you muddle through the other items. But here is a rare case where that did not ring true.
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It isn’t often that I complain about value at Trader Joe’s. Usually, that’s a high point for me. I usually believe that Trader Joe’s does provide an average or better value. Now, if this is your first holiday season shopping there then you are none the wiser. Or if you aren’t a blogger, you might not notice either, but this is one of those rare moments where I have to throw a bit of shade in the value department.
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For about a month, I’ve been putting together a list of the worst things I’ve had from Trader Joe’s. If this wasn’t seasonal, it would make the list. How bad was it? Well, the conversation in my household went something like this:
“How was lunch, honey?” my husband asked me.
“I’m making a new one,” I responded.
“Why?” he inquired.
“This was the biggest Trader No’s I’ve had in a while.” “Seriously?” “Seriously.”
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Behold, a two for one review. While most of this will center around the new and seasonal Black Truffle, I made it with the new seasonal pasta, Garganelli. Which by the way, looks a lot like a candy cane color. But for right now, truffle seems to be the flavor of the winter time. And there is no shortage of it.
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If you are thinking about doing some holiday shopping at Trader Joe’s, then perhaps skip the sweets and start looking in the health and beauty aisle. This year there seems to be no shortage of new and fun items. This bath fizzers set is one of the new items I was excited to get into.
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My husband and I are suckers for having appetizers in the place of dinner. However, this box became just my dinner. I didn’t want to share these. Now, don’t judge me to harshly when I say, I like Chinese food better cold rather than fresh out of the takeout container. And there is a connection here.
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It’s cold as anything since Thanksgiving. We were just talking the other day at work how in New York we feel like we are down to having 2 seasons instead of the normal four. We all feel like we have summer or winter.
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The dessert aisle this year is killing me. So I’m taking a much needed break from it. So far I haven’t seen a ton of new appetizers yet. Perhaps it is too early to say, but I thought they would be out by Thanksgiving. Shelves in my local store have already been packed with Bacon Wrapped Scallops and dates and we’ve even seen the return of the Lemon Ricotta Cheese and Fondue in the cheese aisle.
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If there is one good thing about going to a Trader Joe’s before the holiday, it’s that the people in there seem just a big more kind and jolly than most grocery stores. The other grocery stores near me, the customers are miserable. Worse, the employees are even more miserable. So I hope you’ve done your shopping or are only running out for an item or two. As for me, here is a rare double review in honor of Thanksgiving.
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Let me apologize in advance for all the goodies that are going to be posted on this blog over the next month. I like reviewing real food, but this time of year all the goodies are out. Including this fancy breakfast/dessert that is so fancy it didn’t feel like it needed the “e” in chocolat.
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