The pros: Trader Joe’s Gummy Tummies Penguins are a tasty candy that kids and adults may enjoy. It made me a bit nostalgic.
The cons: I wish these came in lunch sized portions. My husband and I ate these in one sitting.
The verdict: …
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Trader Joe’s This Apple Walks Into a Bar
The pros: Trader Joe’s This Apple Walks Into a Bar is tasty, organic, low fat, affordable, portable and not a source of completely empty calories.
The cons: Easy to eat a few of these in a sitting. If you buy the strawberry flavor, the packaging of the individual bars looks almost identical to these….
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Pomegranate Flavored Juice Blend
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sparkling Pomegranate Flavored Juice Blend is a tasty blend of fruit juices. Although pomegranate is the stated flavor, I had no problem tasting the other fruit juices as well.
The cons: If you were hoping for a carbonated Pom Wonderful or something similar, you are going to be disappointed. This is much sweeter and not as tart as regular Pomegranate juice. For something that is 100% juice, this is disappointing on the nutritional level as it’s just as many calories as a soda and lacks a lot of the vitamins you would expect when drinking something that is pure juice.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s La Fondue
The pros: Trader Joe’s La Fondue is a solid choice in fondue and an even better value than going out to have fondue. Fondue in most restaurants is a very expensive experience. For the amount of product you get here this is an excellent value. Decent shelf life for a cheese product. Container is re
The cons: Put something under this in the microwave as mine overflowed in the first 2 minutes. How are there 18 servings? I think they meant you can dip things in there about 18 times. In other words, this is a calorie bomb, but then again anything melted cheese usually is. Sigh.
The verdict: …
Dieting at Trader Joe’s: 1500 Calories a Day
So you’ve made a New Years Resolution. Perhaps you realize summer will be here eventually. Perhaps for health or personal reasons you realize that it’s time to drop a few pounds. There are plenty of diet programs out there. One I’m most critical of is Jenny Craig. Not that it’s a bad program, but it’s expensive. It also goes against the philosophy of “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.” You are never really taught how to cook. Plus their food is quite expensive and some can even be confused with pet food visually. Since adding time to a set 24 hour day isn’t going to happen, you may need to rely on certain things being already made for you. Maybe it will give you time back in your day or give you just a few more minutes at the gym. So I’ve pulled together of (most) of my reviews and complied a calorie count for each item if you plan on Dieting at Trader Joe’s….
Trader Joe’s Italian Style Meatballs
The pros: Trader Joe’s Italian Style Meatballs are quick, easy and fast from freezer to microwave and finished in 5 minutes. Two or three meatballs are filling.
The cons: Greasy and not the most flavorful meatballs you’ll ever have.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Apple Cider
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sparkling Apple Cider has all the vitamin C you’ll need in a day, they also sell Sparking Blueberry and Sparkling Cranberry in the same display. Resealable bottle. This is actually 100% juice. Good sparkling apple cider.
The cons: Has a very yellow hue, as if someone dumped a bottle of yellow food coloring into the juice.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Apple Cinnamon Goat Cheese
The pros: Trader Joe’s Apple Cinnamon Goat Cheese has tasty partially cooked apples on the outside.
The cons: The cheese has a taste and texture I can’t get past. It’s tangy like goat cheese but spicy like cinnamon. It even has a gritty texture like cinnamon.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash and Creamed Spinach Gratin
The pros: Ready super quick in the microwave, no oven required. Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash and Creamed Spinach Gratin is a tasty a break from traditional butternut squash dishes.
The cons: Wish there was more creamed spinach. Or cheese for that matter. I actually think that Trader Joe’s Scalloped Potatoes with Quattro Formaggio should set the cheesy basis for all other gratin dishes.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Corn Pudding
The pros: Trader Joe’s Corn Pudding is a tasty custardy corn dish loaded with cheese. I’m not sure why 1 cup was the serving size which will fill you up.
The cons: A whopping 60% of your saturated fat is coming in one serving.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend Herbal Tea
The Pros: Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend Herbal Tea is a super flavorful tea, almost sugar sweetened without adding sugar. Price is $1.99 which is completely reasonable for 20 tea bags.
The Cons: Tea bags with no strings. If you are hoping for Lipton tasting, you’ll be disappointed. This is all flavor.
The Verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider
It’s fall and one of my favorites is Starbucks Carmel Apple Cider or whatever they call it these days. It’s the right blend of spices and apple. It’s served warm with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel. While I adore Starbucks’s attempt. However, the Trader Joe’s version is ok in it’s own way. It’s not a replacement for that drink. Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider is loved by many, but I felt the balance of spice was a bit off….
Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Apple Snack Sticks
Everyday I find myself snacking. Sometimes it’s something healthy, sometimes it becomes a 4th meal of the day. I picked up Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Apple Snack Sticks figuring it’s something that should be both crunchy and taste of cinnamon. To my surprise they remind me of a lightened up churro. If these straws would have ridges on it, it would definitely be similar. Would these be good to dip in chocolate like a churro. Oh yes. So here is what you get for $2.49:…
Trader Joe’s Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon
Bacon has evolved since I was a kid. I remember looking forward to Saturday morning cartoons and not having to rush through breakfast. And oh yes the bacon. As an adult either my taste buds have changed drastically or bacon isn’t the same. I’m going to blame the bacon. When I had Trader Joe’s Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon, I was taken back to my childhood. For $4.49 it was a fair price for what you are getting.
The pros: The taste. Trader Joe’s Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon is the most bacon-y bacon I’ve had since I was a kid. I’ve been getting by on Costco bacon. This blows that out of the water. This is now the only bacon I’ll buy. Thick cut.
The cons: 12 ounce package. This is “snack” sized in my household. My household is 2 people so if you are cooking for more than that please keep this in mind.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Reviews
Below is sectional list and an alphabetical list of all the Trader Joe’s Reviews on this site so far. It should be in order based on the name that appears on the packaging. If you don’t see it, use the search feature. Feel free to comment on product you’d like to see me do a review on and I’ll add it to my list of items to try! I’m not affiliated with Trader Joe’s. Some ladies are excited to bring home a brown bag from Bloomingdale’s. This Betty gets excited when the brown bag is from Trader Joe’s….
