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….
kosher
Trader Joe’s Hot Cocoa Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries
The pros: Trader Joe’s Hot Cocoa Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries is new and dressed up for cooler weather.
The cons: Seasonal based on the appearance of the packaging. Depending on your feeling on frosting, mine were not evenly frosted. Some would prefer if the frosting was left off.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s To the Power of Seven Green Organic Juice Blend
The pros: Trader Joe’s To the Power of Seven Green Organic Juice Blend is new and capitalizes on green juice popularity.
The cons: The primary flavors are celery juice, ginger spice, and apple. For something that should be healthy, I personally wasn’t blown away by the nutritional information of this product.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Soyaki
The pros: Trader Joe’s Soyaki is the best of two worlds: soy sauce and teriyaki. Yes, this is the viscocity of soy sauce with many of the flavors of a teriyaki.
The cons: The sodium is quite high in this. In fact, 1 tablespoon is 21% of what you have in a day. When I’m marinating something, I never use a tablespoon.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend
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: …
Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki
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: …
Trader Joe’s Edamame Hummus
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: …
Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Almond Cashew and Macadamia Nut Beverage
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: …
Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Raspberry Pastries
The pros: Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Raspberry Pastries are a new addition to the frozen aisle. These are easy to make and the end product is good.
The cons: This bag should be resealable as 8 pastries might be more than you want to bake at one time. I found the cook time to be longer than what was mentioned on the box.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Potato Pancakes
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: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Air Popped Popcorn
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: …
Trader Joe’s Peanuts Go On A Date Bars
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: …
Trader Joe’s Matcha Almond Beverage
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: …
Trader Joe’s Blueberry Lavender Flavored Almond Beverage
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: …
Trader Joe’s Bite Size Everything Crackers
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: …
Trader Joe’s Green Dragon Hot Sauce
The pros: Trader Joe’s Green Dragon Hot Sauce is a delicious condiment that is super versatile.
The cons: Don’t let the cartoonish dragon fool you. The dragon on the Sriracha sauce looks meaner, but this probably has more fire to it.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Dukkah
The pros: Trader Joe’s Dukkah is back on shelves after a hiatus. It also makes for a flavorful dip in addition to olive oil.
The cons: If you do not like the taste of anise or fennel, then it is best to skip this product.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Italian Artisan Pasta Gigli
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: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Italian Artisan Pasta Orecchiette
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: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Quinoa and Rice Hot Cereal
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: …
Trader Joe’s Lemon Elderflower Soda
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: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Midnight Moo
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Midnight Moo is chocolate syrup that is good for sundaes or making chocolate milk (whatever your definition of “milk” happens to be) or any dessert that you can think og.
The cons: This was a previously discontinued item. It would be nice to see this on the shelves on a regular basis.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Rhubarb and Strawberry Soda
The pros: Trader Joe’s Rhubarb and Strawberry Soda is new, actually contains rhubarb and strawberry juice and is something fun to try.
The cons: I would still reach for Trader Joe’s French Berry Lemonade to get my strawberry soda fix over this.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Sriracha Hummus
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sriracha Hummus is a nice hummus with a kick.
The cons: My container was emptied in about two days.
The verdict: …
