These Are So Good! They kind of reminded me of a Creamsicle, but grown up and much better. But rather than orange and vanilla these bars have MANGO and Vanilla, which is just a super combination. The vanilla ice cream on the inside is really good. Surrounding that outside is mango sorbet which has a delicious, intense flavor of mango. These are perfect for Summer but frankly I would want to eat this anytime. If you see these MANGO CREAM BARS I suggest you grab them to try.
I liked this granola. Its a bit different from TJ’s regular oat based granolas – which by the way are gluten free if made from oats!)
This Loaded Fruit and Nut Gluten Free Granola is made with corn for one thing, in the shape of some thick corn flake things…they are round cup shapes that are kind of a very thick and crunchy “corn flakes” TJ says they’re “super crunchy, lightly sweetened, corn-based, cup-shaped, circular flakes”.
It also has some rice based small round things that may remind you of Rice Crispies but much better of course. It has just enough fruit and nuts to justify the name “loaded”. I still usually toss in a few dried cranberries. This gluten free granola is super crunchy. It holds up very well to milk, and it matches great with yogurt. I like this as nice super crunchy topping on my morning yogurt & fruit. “Enjoy it as a snack right out of the bag”
Yes do I like this stuff by itself as a snack, again super crunchy. TIP: I usually turn the bag a few times and shake it to distribute all the things before pouring some out. TJ’s GLUTEN FREE GRANOLA is $3.99 for a 12 oz bag. It contains among other things, almonds, coconut, hazel nuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, raisins, cranberries, coconut….
I would buy it again.
Gluten Free? Sure, but most all granola is made with oats which are of course Gluten Free.
“WITH NOTES OF TROPICAL FRUIT, DARK CHOCOLATE AND HONEY….THIS MEDIUM BODIED LIGHT ROAST MAY SET YOUR SPIRITS SOARING LIKE IT’S NAMESAKE…”
This is a current offering (Summer 2023) at Trader Joe’s in New Products. Its another one of their Small Lot Coffees. Sure these can be hit or miss but frequently you can find a coffee which is a Gem – like that Ugandan Rwenzori small lot coffee, which was one of my favorite coffees I’ve ever gotten at Trader Joe’s.
Well here’s another small lot coffee coffee from Trader Joe’s to which I give a huge thumbs up. I thought this was another wonderful coffee, this time a coffee from Honduras estate, called “Colibri Esmeralda”* . I really liked it. First off as far as the roast description, Trader Joe’s calls this “Light Roast”. We know Trader Joe’s roast descriptions are all over the place and are sometimes off. This one is almost on point. Maybe I would say just this roast is wee bit darker than some of TJ’s other Light roasts (example, the excellent AZMARI BUUNNI blend) . so I will say “LIGHT MEDIUM” roast. Its perfect for the coffee.
I brewed the freshly ground beans in a Moka potand found the resulting brew to have a wonderful aroma and taste. Its pretty terrific. I think this would work well in any coffee brewing method, including drip or espresso machine. All the flavors in this coffee were well balanced and blended showing lovely tropical, fruity notes. Everything is balanced, smooth but with a tiny bit of pleasant acidity, so it even had a bit of boldness. It has many interesting flavors going on, and frankly as soon as I finished it I wanted another cup! I found this to be a terrific and interesting coffee.
It was $8.99 for a 12 oz bag. I found this particular small lot TJ’s coffee to be a Gem, and is certainly worth trying if you like exploring interesting new coffee’s without breaking the bank. Personally I intend to buy a few bags while it is available because as we know TJ’s Small Lot coffee’s frequently sell out in a month or two as they are “Limited Editions”. I do hope this Honduran coffee is one that we will see again in future.
If you’ve never heard of it before, “horchata” is a beloved and famous Mexican drink. It’s made from milk, rice, water and cinnamon and super refreshing served ice cold on a hot day. I didn’t know of horchata until I first visited Mexico years ago. I absolutely fell in love with it with my first sip.
Well this new ice cream from Trader Joe’s is “inspired” by this Mexican drink. They say its a “sweet cinnamon and rice ice cream with horchata flavored cookie pieces”. The little pieces add little bits of crunchiness in the smooth ice cream. I found TJ’s new flavor to be quite good. In fact, our pint went pretty fast! Here’s what TJ’s has to say….
“The popular Latin American beverage called horchata [or-cha-ta] is creamy and sweet, like ice cream. With no good excuse not to, we decided to take it all the way there—from smooth beverage to frozen dessert! Trader Joe’s Horchata Inspired Ice Cream delivers all the delicious flavors of horchata in every spoonful.
Like many ice creams, its rich base includes cream, milk, egg yolks, and cane sugar. We horchatized it by adding cinnamon and brown rice flour, plus a touch of sea salt. And since inclusions are fun, we also added pieces of horchata-flavored cookies, contributing a nice textural variation.”
One of my go-to items for an inexpensive and easy dinner is Trader Joe’s Organic Polenta, which I’ve mentioned before. Still it’s worth mentioning again as this is one of their inexpensive items, even one of the few products that is the same price as it has been in the past for years (shh.. I’m afraid if TJ’s see this they may raise the price)
A package of the Organic Polenta ($1.99) can make a meal for two, say with some sauce plus maybe some salad and bread. It’s easy to prepare too. You just slice up the polenta and then bake, broil or sauté it until it’s a little crispy and browned (do NOT microwave it thought they say that’s one way).
When it’s nice and crispy, just top it with your favorite sauce and grate a little cheese on top. If you want a change from a tomato sauce, a good thing to match the polenta with would be TJ’s frozen Mushroom Medley ($4) or sauté some mushrooms ($2.29).
Trader Joe’s Organic Polenta is shelf stable and can safely stay for a couple of months in your pantry, just like pasta. I always have a package of the polenta on hand and suggest you do too!
Want to spend less than $1.99? Well fortunately you can still buy some bags of pasta at Trader Joe’s for just 99 cents! Plus they have some sauces for $1.99.
You may have heard of this super popular “recipe” if you can call it that, which is all over the internet. It makes a healthy snack or dessert. Basically there are actually two ingredients: chia seeds and almond milk (or whatever “milk” you want). Here ya go.
RECIPE: CHIA SEED PUDDING
In a glass or small jar, put about 2 tablespoon of TJ’s chia seeds. Next add about 1/2 cup of any kind of milk beverage (like almond milk). Give it a little stir. There are no rules that you must use almond milk, just use whatever you like best. Me, I alternate all the time between OAT, ALMOND or SOY MILK depending on my mood. Option: Add a bit of honey or any of your preferred sweetener (agave, maple syrup) and stir that in. While optional it does add some flavor and if you have kids you must use something like that. All you do now is wait for it to thicken so put it in the fridge and let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least about 30-60 minutes but it sets up best if you let it sit for 8-12 hours or overnight. When ready to serve put some fruit on top, or even something crunchy like Granola.
Chia seed pudding is super easy to make and of course very healthy. Now there is no rule that you can’t have use more ingredients and include a few other things. I usually mix in some yogurt or kefir too with the oat milk and sometimes add a few dried fruits like dried cranberries in. Basically figure about 1/2 cup of liquid to about 2 tablespoon of the chia seeds. If that is too thick (or not thick enough) adjust with more or less chia seeds until you get the consistency you, or your kids, prefer. This is a great snack.
You will find this stuff mentioned all over Instagram, TikTok and Reddit. Its quite good, maybe one of Trader Joe’s best New Items.
They took TJ’s incredibly popular Unexpected Cheddar cheese and made it into a spread like a pub cheese by adding things like butter and whey to make that hard cheese now spreadable. What a great idea, no?
Trader Joe’s says: “Our supplier combines our crumbly Unexpected Cheddar with salted butter and whey to create a superbly savory, creamy Cheese Spread that’s ready to enhance sandwiches and glorify grazing boards with the simple flick of a knife. Spread this pub-style cheese on a Raisin Rosemary Crisp, and you’ve got one classy snack on your hands. You might also add it to an appetizer of puff pastry topped with chopped figs to bring out its subtle fruity notes. No matter how you use it, it’s guaranteed to be a real crowd-cheeser.” (ok a groan for the bad pun)
Search around you you’ll find pictures using this spread to make the trendy fancy “cheese boards” which are all the rage on Instagram. Here’s TJ’s idea to make one with this spread, nuts and honey
Remove cheese spread from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to assembly to help soften.
To a medium-sized cutting board, use a butter knife or spoon to spread the unexpected cheddar over the entire board, leaving a small outer rim exposed. Use your utensil to make swooping motions as you spread to help create nooks and crannies.
Top with chopped pecans, thyme leaves, and a drizzle of honey.
This flavor is the one I’m now seeing of TJ’s yummy “bread cheese“. This “pizza seasoned bread cheese” is quite good, perhaps dangerously good!
Just grilling it with some halved cherry tomatoes basically I came up with kind of a “deconstructed pizza” when I served the soft warm cheese with grilled cherry tomatoes and toasted bread. A drizzle of EVOO and a sprig of fresh basil completed the picture. What’s not to like? All the flavor and fun of pizza in five minutes. Eat it while it’s still gooey and melt-y. I would say a package made roughly two portions. I’d go with “sauté” and not microwave as grilling it will brown it more and so be better that way. This Pizza Bread cheese version is now $1.99 (!) Used to be over $4.
Trader Joe’s HEIRLOOM GROUND CHICKEN – “All Natural, Pasture Raised, Slow Growth, Air Chilled, No Added Hormones, No Antibiotics”
What is Trader Joe’s HEIRLOOM CHICKEN you ask? Well here’s what Trader Joe’s says: “Trader Joe’s All Natural Heirloom Chicken is a very special chicken. First, it comes from a recognized breed with a genetic line that traces back multiple generations. And unlike so many other chickens raised very quickly on processed meal and antibiotics, these Heirloom Chickens are slow-growth, pasture-raised birds. This means they are allowed to mature at a natural rate and forage for food in a natural environment. They also have never been given antibiotics.”
That sounds pretty good, right? While they don’t say “free range” they say “pasture raised” which sounds the same? After reading about TJ’s Heirloom Chicken I wanted to try some. I got the ground heirloom chicken to test out and in short I thought it was quite good. Obviously an “heirloom chicken” is going to cost more than TJ’s regular chicken as this is a “super premium” chicken, and to me it actually seems like it Whole Foods item. Though if it was at Whole Foods I can only imagine it would cost more (maybe $10-12lb)? Trader Joe’s sells the Heirloom Ground Chicken for $6.99/lb. By comparison TJ’s regular ground chicken, something I have been getting for years and like very much as well, is $3.99/lb (now 4.49). One difference I noticed between the two is that the texture of this Heirloom Ground Chicken seems to be better, not quite as finely ground as the regular ground chicken (and this one seems to be less wet?) So this seemed to brown a bit faster. It’s 90% lean with 10% fat.
To cook the ground chicken, I added seasonings and mixed in quite a bit of chopped scallions. I shaped the mixture into patties, sprinkled them generously with the terrific AJIKA blend which is great on chicken and also helps browning. I sautéed them in olive oil for about 4 minutes on both sides until golden brown. I served these burgers/kebabs on warm pita doing kind of a Middle Eastern chicken burger thing. I sauced them with some TJ’s Garlic Dip and some Green Dragon. These chicken kebabs were really tasty; we really enjoyed them. One could of course make something similar and shape them into meatballs or long cylinder kebabs. What I didn’t do, but might in future is compare the two kinds of ground chicken TJ’s sells side by side, cook them up the same to compare. Meanwhile I’ll say yes this “premium” chicken is quite good. I would buy it again. Trader Joe’s also sells boneless breasts of this Heirloom Chicken for the same price as the ground chicken, while whole chickens are $3.99 / lb. (Again, cheaper I think than it would be at Whole Foods?) So you can either try a whole bird (roasted) or the boneless breasts, or this.
There’s more you can read about ALL NATURAL HEIRLOOM CHICKEN on the TJ website (Whole chickens are $3.99/lb)
For Easter. My neighbor saw and got this nice wooden planter box full of daffodils at Trader Joe’s last week. They were about $12 and look really healthy. They may not be in stock for long, still I just thought I’d show them in case you are lucky and see them.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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