The pros: Trader Joe’s Italian Linguine is well priced but otherwise completely average pasta.
The cons: The plastic bag saves space but can also lead to more breakage.
The verdict: …
italian
Trader Joe’s Party Size Mini Meatballs
The pros: Trader Joe’s Party Size Mini Meatballs are perfect as an appetizer or a smaller bite sized version of Trader Joe’s Italian Style Meatballs.
The cons: Won’t ever live up to Nonna’s, but for something that comes out of the freezer these are pretty good. Depending on how many you take out of the bag, you should consider adjusting the cook time.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough
The pros: Trader Joe’s Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough is inexpensive, quick, easy, little wait time, you are only limited by your own creativity.
The cons: Short shelf life but can be frozen.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Italian Breadsticks with Olive Oil
The pros: Trader Joe’s Italian Breadsticks with Olive Oil are light and airy. These are perfect for snacking.
The cons: If you like very dense breadsticks, you might not like these. Some of mine came out of the package broken. The problem was addressed by immediately eating all of them first.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Chicken Parmigiana with Marinara
The pros: Trader Joe’s Chicken Parmigiana looks like chicken parmigiana that you would expect from your local pizzeria.
The cons: If you are planning on using the oven, you’ll need to use a separate dish. Texture was not very good.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Triangoli
The pros: If you love squash, you’ll love Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Triangoli.
The cons: You must appreciate the flavor of butternut squash to appreciate it this. I preferred Lean Cuisine’s Butternut Squash ravioli over this. This filling needs a spice or more cheese to make it far more enjoyable.
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 Pizza Bambino Formaggio
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pizza Bambino Formaggio is baby pizzas ready in about 10 minutes
The cons: The taste reminded me of the $1 pizzas the grocery store sells.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Sparking Cranberry Flavored Juice Blend
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sparking Cranberry Flavored Juice Blend comes in a pretty bottle. Pretty color, good taste but be aware it’s soft on the cranberry and grape is much more the dominant flavor. It’s 100% juice.
The cons: Tastes more like grape than cranberry.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Chunky Portobello Mushroom Ravioli
The pros: Fresh and tasty pasta ready in about 5 minutes from when you boil water. Sautéed mushroom and garlic taste with a light cheese filling. Trader Joe’s Portobello Mushroom Ravioli reminded me of the mushrooms that come with a chicken marsala.
The cons: If you don’t mushrooms much, then avoid these because the filling is mostly mushrooms and a bit of cheese.
The verdict: …
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 Arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano Ravioli
The pros: Trader Joe’s Arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano Ravioli is fresh pasta ready in under 5 minutes.
The cons: An underwhelming filling in terms of quantity and quality. It just wasn’t that great in terms of balance or taste.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Spinach Ricotta Ravioli
The pros: Trader Joe’s Spinach Ricotta Ravioli has a fresh pasta taste, freshly sautéed spinach taste and texture in the filling
The cons: It’s also light on the cheese filling which might not make everyone happy.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Pizza Crusts
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Pizza Crusts are quick, easy, fast, and convenient way of making homemade pizza so you don’t have to spend $15 on a pie.
The cons: Very bland tasting crust. It needed more salt, so if its flavor you are looking for please add it. Be sure to have a pizza peel before making pizza. A regular spatula or turner will not pick up a pizza pie. Just saying. Have the right equipment.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Artichoke and Cheese Ravioli
The pros: Trader Joe’s Artichoke and Cheese Ravioli has a tasty filling that is much more artichoke and cheese than olive. The briny taste of the olives is present without much of the texture.
The cons: None come to mind, the ravioli in the refrigerated section is consistently good. I haven’t actually tried any flavors that I hated.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Pesto Tortelloni
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pesto Tortelloni can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer, very strong pesto flavor, as soon as the water is boiling it is ready in about 4-6 minutes. Good amount of filling as these are tortelloni and not tortellini. What’s the difference? Size. Tortellini are smaller.
The cons: You’ll have to appreciate the flavor of a basil pesto to like this.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Turkey Stuffing and Seasoned Kettle Chips
The pros: Really tasty chip where the flavor will hit you at different points. Yes, Trader Joe’s Turkey Stuffing and Seasoned Kettle Chips will remind you of a really paper-thin crunchy stuffing. Which on a potato chip is very tasty. Stuffing if the most pronounced flavor here.
The cons: Visually they will remind you of sour cream and onion so if you don’t warn people it would be quite amusing to see their face react.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Mushroom Risotto
The pros: Trader Joe’s Mushroom Risotto is out of the microwave in about 6 minutes. Lots of mushroom flavor here.
The cons: This still ended up a bit watery, not as al dente as I was looking for and I wished this was a bit cheesier.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Creamy Polenta with Spinach and Carrots
The pros: Trader Joe’s Creamy Polenta is a solid polenta dish with minimal effort beyond microwaving. Reheats well. While the title of the dish is creamy, it actually has a fine risotto like texture to it. A dish that will compliment something substantial. Good balance of veggies mixed into this.
The cons: If you are looking to serve this as a main dish, you might be disappointed. The flavor of the polenta is more muted and the veggies are more pronounced.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Italian Bigonda Cheese with Herbs
The pros: If you take the texture and firmness of a mozzarella cheese, the taste of a cheddar cheese with a splash of herbs you would have Trader Joe’s Italian Bigonda Cheese.
The cons: If you don’t like dried herbs like the ones listed in the ingredients in your cheese, then you should pass on this. Although I personally hate caraway seeds and fennel seeds they didn’t play a strong role in this cheese. The parsley and chives were more noticeable visually and in flavor.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Panko Breaded Calamari
The pros: Trader Joe’s Panko Breaded Calamari is a good value as you get a whole pound of calamari for $5.49. Good lucking making it that cheap or ordering it out that cheap. The taste was pretty close to what you would get out only slightly less tender but well done.
The cons: Once people realize it’s in the freezer section, it may become hard to find. They could cut down on the amount of trash this creates. The box was shrink wrapped and the was another plastic bag inside the shrink wrapped box.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Beef Bolognese Ravioli
Odds are if you grew up in America with a time pressed parent or grandparent, you may have been served something very unique: Beef Ravioli from a can. While not terrible tasting as a kid, as an adult you may crave that beefy goodness but desire something more complex like a truly fresh pasta. If you are looking to elevate your Chef Boyardee cravings than look no further than Trader Joe’s Beef Bolognese Ravioli. For $3.49 you’ll get about a dozen ravioli so plan accordingly. You may find that you can easily polish off this box all by yourself and want leftovers for the next day.
Betty Twist: I can only imagine how amazing these would be fried. Just saying. And planning. And goal setting….
Trader Joe’s Alfredo Sauce
The pros: Trader Joe’s Alfredo Sauce is one of the better alfredo sauces on the market. For $3.29 it is a bit higher priced than other brands like Prego when on sale at the supermarket, but the premium is worth it.
The cons: Is it as good as homemade alfredo? Heck no. There is no comparison. It seems to always be on the bottom shelf out of sight. It deserves to be more visible.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Asparagus Risotto
As we head towards colder weather, is there anything more comforting than a steaming hot bowl of risotto? If the idea of slaving over a stove for at least 20-30 minutes doesn’t do it for you, Trader Joe’s Asparagus Risotto package will get it down to 5 minutes flat in a microwave. The taste was as close to homemade as I’ve ever had and is one of the best risottos I’ve had in the freezer section. My only regret is they only offer the Asparagus which some people might not find appealing. But it is definitely an item that should not be overlooked while in the freezer section at Trader Joes….
