Food, drinks, style, and humor
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 Southwestern Chopped Salad is a fun mix of flavors and some of which you might not have thought of throwing into a salad previously.
The cons: Not enough dressing and you better like cilantro to appreciate this salad. Lots of little plastic bags are in this one package so it seems somewhat wasteful.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Pizza Crust is a good tasting and healthy alternative to regular pizza crust. This product is also gluten free.
The cons: This is more expensive than buying pizza dough or fresh pizza crust or frozen pizza crust from Trader Joe’s. There is only one crust per box. Allergy information says there may be traces of milk which is a bummer for vegans out there.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Stacked Eggplant Parmesan is a gem in the freezer aisle of Trader Joe’s.
The cons: Not as cheesy as the picture would lead you to believe. Contents are enough for a single dinner. I probably could have eaten a tray of this.
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: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Eggplant Cutlets are affordable and super convenient, not to mention tasty and pretty darn close to tasting homemade.
The cons: I was wishing for it to be a tad crispier, but I guess you give some of that up when you buy frozen.
The verdict: …
