Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Soft Baked Snickerdoodles are delicious on their own, but it’s very clear there is also a targeted audience: people with allergies.
The cons: If you like crisp cookies, then you won’t want to pick this up. Box only contains 12 cookies.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Almond Cashew and Macadamia Nut Beverage is a new addition to a growing line of shelf stable, vegan, soy free, dairy free, and gluten-free options.
The cons: Depending on how sweet you like your nut milk might dictate how much you might end up liking this.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Popcorn in A Pickle is a return favorite that if you are a pickle fan, you may love these. Others will be repulsed by these.
The cons: This is a seasonal offering. This item isn’t exactly low-fat, so if you are hoping for this to be a healthy snack you might want to double-check the nutritional information.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Peanuts Go On A Date Bars are new, gluten free and keep it simple.
The cons: The dates on a warm date might not make an ideal snack.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Matcha Almond Beverage is new to shelves. This is a half way point between a the canned matcha beverage and a matcha latte in terms of sweetness.
The cons: If you are not a matcha fan, then this is probably a flavor you can skip.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Blueberry Lavender Flavored Almond Beverage is a new seasonal gluten-free, vegan, dairy free, kosher, shelf stable almond beverage flavor that has nuances of both blueberry and lavender that are very subtle.
The cons: There is a direct correlation between how much blueberry flavor you are expecting and how happy you will likely be with this product.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Restaurant Style White Corn Tortilla Chips are sturdy and flavorful chips that are well priced.
The cons: While they may say restaurant style, they will still never match the just out of the deep fryer variety that is served in most restaurants.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Falafel Mix is a new mix that is vegan and gluten free and very easy to prepare.
The cons: You won’t be able to make this instantly as the box requires you to wait 30-60 minutes before cooking. You can’t skip this step.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers are available all year round. There have been other gummies available like Scandinavian Tidings and Gummy Xs & Os. These are also a different set of flavors than the seasonal variety.
The cons: These are pretty addicting.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Nutritional Yeast is relatively new and has the vegan community excited. This item is well priced for the size that you get.
The cons: If you have never had this or have no idea what to do with it, you might not end up liking it.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Quinoa and Rice Hot Cereal is a new item that is mixed in with all the other decadent flavors of the holiday season. This was ready in about 2 minutes.
The cons: You’ll want to add your own mix ins to this. It’s extremely bland on its own.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Cashew Beverage is a fantastic substitute for those who can have nuts but are dairy free, soy free, gluten-free or vegan. It’s also darn good if you also want to change. This is ultra pasteurized so it is shelf stable.
The cons: Not as smooth as chocolate milk, but this isn’t a milk product. Price. This is more expensive that buying Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage by the half gallon.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Almond Nog is soy free, gluten free, diary free, vegan, kosher, and seasonal. Best of all, it does a very good job of replicating the flavors that you might expect in a regular egg nog.
The cons: Why is there not a recipe on this carton to make this boozy egg nog? Isn’t that what egg nog is supposed to be about? It’s also not quite as thick as a regular nog.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn is a sweet and well spiced caramel corn that will make most pumpkin spice lovers happy.
The cons: Product did not look much like what came out of the bag.
The verdict:
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Egg Fettuccine Pasta is excellent. Fresh pasta is always better than boxed, but this was the closest substitute for “real” pasta I’ve ever tried.
The cons: Price. Gluten free products seem to command a premium. With any pasta product, I disagree with the serving sizes. I think two servings is the realistic size expectations
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Spud Crunchies are a new and fun product that seems to be a hybrid of a french fry and a potato chip.
The cons: This bag cannot be resealed, therefore it almost begs you to eat all four servings.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags are refrigerated, fresh, delicious, and a great substitute for real fries.
The cons: Doesn’t include oven directions, but it can be made in the oven. This is priced a bit at a premium as all the prep work has been done for you.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancake Mix is a good quality mix for those who can’t have gluten. Other than a mild textural difference, I probably would not have guessed that these are gluten free.
The cons: There is a price premium as compared to the non gluten free variety. No directions available for waffles.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Baking Mix is a perfectly good option for those who can’t have gluten. Only subtle differences between this and the regular variety of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread mix.
The cons: This item is priced higher than the non-gluten free variety. The first ingredient listed is sugar.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Ts and Js Sour Gummies come in a resealable bag and are essentially Trader Joe’s answer to Sour Patch Kids. These are gluten free.
The cons: They aren’t an exact copy of Sour Patch kids, but are very addicting making the resealable bag almost unnecessary. These are shaped in the letters T and J which means they are probably more coated in the sour sugar (which might not be a bad thing).
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Crunchy Nutty Rice Bites might remind you of a more adult flavored Rice Krispies treat, just better. Gluten free and kosher if that is a priority for you. Bag can be resealed so you don’t feel obligated to eat the whole thing.
The cons: Nothing really jumps out.
The verdict: …
Every now and again, I have someone who reaches out to me with a suggestion (or two or like a dozen) of things I haven’t tried yet. While I may not get to it right away, I do love it when readers reach out to me with a suggestion. So tonight’s review goes out to Btandjt on Instagram for suggesting Simply Lite Dark Chocolate Bar. Thanks for the great suggestion!
The pros: Simply Lite Dark Chocolate Bar tastes every bit dark chocolate without being very bitter, but some how doesn’t taste artificial in any meaningful way.
The cons: This bar came with a warning label. No really. It might help you lose weight in one way or another. In fact, the warning label on this chocolate may remind you of this famous SNL sketch (80 second video).
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Cheese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust is an improvement over Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Pizza Crust.
The cons: You still won’t confuse this for “real” pizza. You can expect two realistic servings from this pizza.
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: …
