Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
It’s back! On a recent trip to Trader Joe’s I noticed this little jar has made its annual return to store shelves. It’s packaged the exact same way as it has been for years which means the product is basically unchanged. For those who think it’s new, here are my thoughts on this from 2018.
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A bagel and a schmear. As a life long New Yorker, I’m pretty sure there is a certain amount of Yiddish that has been added infused into the local lexicon. And when it comes to bagels there is a reason for this.
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Neapolitan. The classic pairing of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. We first saw this recently with the seasonally available Neapolitan Joe Joe’s. Now we are seeing it in Trader Joe’s Neapolitan Puffs Cereal. Soon, we will revisit this combination where it all started: in ice cream but with Joe Joe’s. Yup, they seem to be capitalizing on that varieties success.
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Trader Joe’s sells Umami take two. Yes, this isn’t Trader Joe’s first dive into selling us something that is simply just umami. A couple years ago they sold Umami paste. That paste was all sorts of umami from tomatoes, to mushrooms, parmesan cheese, olives, balsamic and other forms of umami. This product is clearly different.
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Just in time for school to start are Trader Joe’s ABC Bars. I’m not sure if they chose the letters to coincide with the start of school or it just is one big Jackson 5 reference that they were running with based on the fact that these are Almond Butter Cocoa Bars….
The Fall items have landed. The Fearless Flyer for September will land in less than two weeks but Trader Joe’s has dropped what looks like a winter seasonal item on us. Yes, the Pumpkin Toaster Pastries are back. As much as I dig the pumpkin items, I do love a break from them as well.
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Ok, so the green juice thing has been all the rage for some time. I’ve been curious about it but figured it tasted how it looks: vegetal. And to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about drinking my veggies. I’m not a fan of Bloody Marys.
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At the school where I work at we are fortunate to offer the kids a foreign language. Of all the languages we could have picked, we opted for Mandarin.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend is a solid blend found in the spice aisle.
The cons: The name here should be reversed. It should be called lime chile as that is the order of dominant flavors.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki is different from other teriyaki sauces on the market and slightly different than the similar sounding Trader Joe’s Soyaki.
The cons: If you don’t like pineapple, then you should skip this item. This also tastes very salty, so you might be better off using this sparingly if you are going to marinade something.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Edamame Hummus is a very different hummus from the rest of the options on the shelf. In fact, the first ingredient here is edamame.
The cons: It doesn’t taste like much. It’s creamy, but you may find yourself needing to add things to make it more interesting.
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: …
I remember the first time I went to Costco as a kid. It was a grocery store but smelled so much better. We went early as the first Costco by us was a considerable drive out to Long Island. But oh, the smell of the baked goods section. There are certain stores that the smell just hits you: the ravioli store where I grew up smelled of meats and cheeses, the chocolate store that smelled the way the chocolates tasted, and the fish store you knew that you should never go into.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Potato Pancakes are a really good breakfast/dinner option. This is a regular year round item.
The cons: If you don’t care for the taste of onion, then reach for Trader Joe’s Hashbrowns instead.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Air Popped Popcorn is new and is a healthy popcorn.
The cons: My husbands reaction was “this tastes like diet popcorn.” You can take that on face value. The bag makes it obvious to anyone within 100 feet that you are consuming this product.
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 Bite Size Everything Crackers are a light and flavorful cracker combination.
The cons: If you are like me and think that caraway seeds are culinary kryptonite, they are present here.
The verdict: …
My husband and I enjoyed a good hot sauce with our meals. Especially if we go out to a restaurant where they have their own hot sauces. One of the places we like to go to is called Bar Taco.
On each table are red, yellow, and green sauce. While they may make up the colors of a traffic signal, they aren’t quite the same order. The yellow one you have to be more cautious of. The red and green have a flavor profile that my husband and I like.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Italian Artisan Pasta Gigli is one of three new pastas that are organic and artisan.
The cons: This is a premium priced pasta, but is still affordable. A few pasta pieces lost their cool shape.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Italian Artisan Pasta Orecchiette is one of three new pastas on Trader Joe’s shelves. All three are labeled as organic and kosher.
The cons: Mine took closer to 18 minutes to reach an al dente texture. Be sure to test before draining these.
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 Lemon Elderflower Soda is lemon soda with the added twist of fragrant elderflower. Could probably be used as a solid drink mixer.
The cons: The floral fragrance might not be for everyone.
The verdict: …
