Food, drinks, style, and humor
The pros: Trader Joe’s Japanese Style Fried Rice is vegan, super flavorful as long as you are willing to embrace the distinct seaweed flavor here in addition to the other Asian ingredients.
The cons: Not a lot of tofu in this so you might want to supplement it with your own.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Habanero Lime Tortillas sound intimidating but they are flavorful and just hot enough.
The cons: True spice junkies will likely be disappointed in the heat level in this product. I did not find this product to be very hot. They only come in the larger size.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Zucchini Spirals are frozen, ready in about 10 minutes, and as easy as can be.
The cons: Trader Joe’s Zucchini Spirals gave up a lot of water, the box indicates that there are 4 servings and I ate the whole thing in one sitting, and is a bit expensive for what you are getting here.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Champagne Grapes are teeny, tiny, seedless, and sweet.
The cons: If you are hoping for the flavor of a certain bubbly drink you will likely be disappointed.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s California Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of an extensive collection of Trader Joe’s Olive Oils available that has some subtle nuances in flavor.
The cons: This olive oil is priced at somewhat of a premium compared to the prices of other olive oils.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Refried Pinto Beans Salsa Style is tasty, spicy, and affordable.
The cons: This is more of a medium heat, so if you are sensitive to heat you’ve been warned.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Vanilla Coconut Beverage is vegan, gluten-free, and soy free. Also there is an unsweetened variety. Pretty long shelf life compared to dairy.
The cons: This item only comes in a half-gallon size. Quite a bit of saturated fat in each serving.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Stone Ground White Grits are creamy and well done if you follow the directions listed on the bag. The bag is resealable
The cons: These are the real deal, so they can’t be rushed. There are currently no quick grits or frozen grits available at Trader Joe’s.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Taco Shells are a solid choice in the pantry aisle. They make for good taco shells out of the box, but are better toasted per the directions.
The cons: I wished the plastic wrapping was resealable. No fun or exotic flavors to speak of here.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Carrot Spirals are the newest addition to the frozen veggies section. While it contains only simple ingredients, the end result was very good.
The cons: On the other hand, this took longer to cook from frozen than the package stated. Also, a few spirals were very, very long. Be careful about overcooking these. You do want al dente.
The verdict: …
