Well, it wouldn’t be the beginning of the year without looking at the lighter options available at Trader Joe’s. Now, I’ve had my fair share of Mac and Cheese offerings from the Pepperoni Mac and Cheese, Truffle Mac and Cheese, Gluten Free Mac and Cheese, Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, and Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese. And yes, they are mostly pretty good.
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food porn
Trader Joe’s Raclette Sliced Cheese
The pros: Trader Joe’s Raclette Sliced Cheese is not new, but is a divine find in the cheese aisle.
The cons: For me, this item was addicting.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Organic White Truffle Potato Chips
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic White Truffle Potato Chips are thin potato chips that are packed with flavor of truffle. Yes, truffle is actually on the ingredient list.
The cons: If you aren’t into the earthy flavor that truffles bring then you should avoid this one. This bag is only 6 ounces.
The verdict:
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Trader Joe’s Sweet Corn, Burrata and Basil Ravioli
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sweet Corn, Burrata and Basil Ravioli is the newest addition to Trader Joe’s fresh pasta items. It’s very pretty to look at. The cheese and basil were nice.
The cons: Not much of a burrata taste and the corn is whole.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips
There are currently two varieties of Kale Chips available: Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips and Trader Joe’s Nacho Kale Chips. Which should you buy? I preferred the Nacho, but these weren’t bad as an alternative. They were salty, crisp and nutritionally a bit better than potato chips.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips are tasty and come in a resealable bag. You’ll want some portion control with this product.
The cons: These cost almost $32 per pound which makes them expensive. They have about as many calories as a bag of potato chips.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Peppered Turkey Bacon
The pros: Trader Joe’s Peppered Turkey Bacon is a thicker cut and more peppered variation of Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Bacon. It was meaty, smoky, and only 40 calories per slice.
The cons: There are no directions for cooking this in the oven which is unusual as their other varieties of bacon do have these directions.
The verdict:
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Trader Joe’s Butter Lettuce
The pros: If you find salad to be boring or just love iceberg lettuce, Trader Joe’s Butter Lettuce is a good product to pick up.
The cons: Not as nutrient dense as some other salads in a bag, but if you need to break up your routine, this is a good one to reach for.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton
The pros: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton is coffee and chocolate without the flavors being out of balance. One does not overwhelm the other.
The cons: If you are expecting a smooth chocolate, you’ll have some added texture here from the coffee grounds.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Almond Butter Tarte
The pros: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Almond Butter Tarte is a nice combination of chocolate from the crust, to the ganache and ribbons. Almond butter is present but it does not feel like you are eating an (almond) Reese’s candy.
The cons: The crisp crust wasn’t very crisp for very long. The box says you should eat the whole in the in 24 hours.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Thai Sweet Chili Veggie Burger
The pros: Trader Joe’s Thai Sweet Chili Veggie Burger is an Asian spin on their other veggie burgers. Was tasty out of the frying pan. Heat is subtle but present. Trader Joe’s Thai Sweet Chili Burger had enough oil in the burger to cook it without oil in a pan.
The cons: If you are looking for that fake meat flavor, you are out of luck here.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Joes Dark Coffee Squares
The pros: Trader Joe’s Joe’s Dark Coffee Squares are for you if you enjoy your coffee black and have a sweet tooth. Trader Joe’s Dark Coffee Squares might satisfy both.
The cons: If you don’t care for the taste of black coffee, this isn’t for you.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Coffee Toffee Shortbread Cookies
The pros: Trader Joe’s Coffee Toffee Shortbread Cookies have a coffee taste that isn’t overwhelming, added texture from the toffee and a good amount of chocolate.
The cons: Price. This is a small container of cookies for almost $3 and comes with about a dozen cookies.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Canneles de Bordeaux
The pros: Trader Joe’s Canneles de Bordeaux is respectable in calories. Reminded me of a creme brulee with it’s caramelized outside (but no crunch here) and custard filling. I enjoyed this more heated slightly in the microwave than cooled.
The cons: These dessert are small so plan accordingly. You’ll finish each in about four bites.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Coffee Rubbed Spatchcocked Chicken
Trader Joe’s has taken on a new theme in the month of March: coffee. Maybe it’s day light savings time and everyone needs a buzz. Now they placed that caffeinated food item into your dinner with Trader Joe’s Coffee Rubbed Spatchcocked Chicken.
The pros: Moist chicken ready in about an hour. A very different taste from Trader Joe’s Spatchcocked Lemon Rosemary Chicken.
The cons: The coffee flavor may not be for everyone.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Chocolate Chip Granola Bars is an on the go snack bar that’s organic and full of fiber.
The cons: Texture. This bar wasn’t chewy at all. I found it to be quite hard and the bar was very tiny.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Pepperoni Pizza
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pepperoni Pizza was crispy and and had lots of pepperoni.
The cons: More sauce than was necessary and my pepperoni wasn’t evenly placed. I know that seems a bit petty, but when cut into 4 slices there was actually one plain slice.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s French Brioche
The pros: Trader Joe’s French Brioche is a delicious, light and buttery bread. It was buttery bread that was as fresh as can be. Toasted it was light as a feather with a sublime taste. While I haven’t tried it as French Toast, I image it will be quite good.
The cons: Sharing this product will lead to the bag being emptied almost immediately.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Matar Paneer
The pros: Trader Joe’s Matar Paneer star ingredients were the peas and paneer were the stars here. The curry sauce was just ok.
The cons: Not the best of the Indian selections, but hey what do you expect in a can? Not pretty when you open and dump out the can.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Bacon
The pros: Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Bacon has very little grease to speak of, nice salty taste with a bit of smoke to it.
The cons: True bacon lovers will miss out on the real bacon taste.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Corned Beef
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….
Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Caramels
The pros: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Caramels have lots of fun textural elements. It’s not a scary tasting as it sounds. If you totally embrace the sweet/salty combination you’ll probably like these. I could not detect any raw vinegar taste.
The cons: If you don’t care for the sweet/salty dessert option, then please skip this. Expensive considering you are only getting 7 candies in the box….
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels
The pros: If you are into the salty-sweet combination Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels are pretty good. They aren’t tooth achingly sweet.
The cons: Missing a textural element here. I would have liked to see a harder chocolate shell over these bites.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Garlic Potatoes with Parmesan Sauce
The pros: Trader Joe’s Garlic Potatoes with Parmesan Sauce is a tasty side dish ready as quick as 5 minutes from your microwave.
The cons: Trader Joe’s Garlic Potatoes with Parmesan Sauce comes in a bag that is not resealable.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Grilled Eggplant Wrap
The pros: Trader Joe’s Grilled Eggplant Wrap is a decent wrap but the star was the spicy tahini sauce.
The cons: For a vegan dish, this has quite a bit of fat in it. Sitting in the refrigerated aisle did the bread on this no favors.
The verdict: …
