I just checked out a new product at Trader Joe’s, their sliced Marble Ryebread.
Now as a native New Yawk’r – and a member of the tribe – I grew up eating rye bread so I know what a really good rye bread should taste like. So I can’t lie and tell you this TJ’s rye bread ranks with the best NYC Jewish bakery rye bread, however this Trader Joe Marble Rye is a very decent rye bread. Opening the bag, you do get that slightly sour & wonderful Eastern European smell of that rye bread has. This is not at all like crummy tasteless supermarket commercial rye bread (think “Levy’s” – ugh!). This is a decent if not stellar rye way better than that supermarket crap with zero taste and texture. Here is the most important thing to know about TJ’s Marble Rye Bread – it is especially good when it is TOASTED and that’s the way you should eat it. Toasting this bread really improves this bread and makes it show it’s potential. Toasted up and spread with some good butter, this rye bread is delicious. I always eat it toasted, and strongly suggest you do as well, even if just a little bit. Toasting it improves it 100%. I hope that point is clear. It will make a lovely sandwich or even a great grilled cheese! This marble rye bread is $3.49 for a 20 oz loaf. A bakery rye bread here in NYC is really expensive now, likely $6-7 a loaf – so this is a decent deal for a more than decent rye bread that you don’t have to go to a bakery to get. I would buy this again. If you like rye, check out TJ’s version. It’s adds a nice Euro variety to TJ’s breads on offer.
These teeny tiny chia seeds truly are a superfood powerhouse. If you aren’t eating chia seeds already perhaps you should be. I eat some every morning.
No doubt you’ve heard about them. How they are a true superfood with lots of health benefits being benificial to heart health, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and more. Not too mention digestion and keeping you regular as they provide lots of soluble fiber.
These teeny blacks seeds are packed with protein, Omega 3‘s and other goodies, again especially fiber. When soaked in liquid the seeds both swell up and gel up absorbing twenty seven times their weight in water. By the way the chia seed gel smooths things in your digestive tract so can help keep you regular. Another benefit.
They are especially great for adding to smoothies, cereal, pancakes or drinks. They can be used as a natural thickener. The seeds are so tiny they have a tendency to go everywhere and I do mean everywhere, so be very careful when you use these. If you spill these, well they are a real pain to clean up. Get them wet and they stick to everything. So don’t wet them. If you do spill them just try to brush them or vacuum them up and good luck with that…!)
TIP: Careful handling them!! These tiny seeds can go everywhere in an instant if you are not very careful. Rather than using the bag they come in, I pour the seeds into a small glass jar and just use that (and a tiny scoop) as its much easier to handle, than opening and closing this bag all the time. I have spilled seeds many times and they are not easy to clean up as they are so tiny and when wet stick to everything.
I usually mix them into soy milk, oat milk or kefir. Leave them a few minutes to absorb the liquid. They will swell up in 5-10 minutes. Then I add them to my yogurt/kefir/soy milk liquid .( Don’t eat them without soaking them in liquid.)
TJ’s Chia Seeds (12 oz) $4.99. $5.49$5.99, and actually went back down to 5.49 last time I got them)
PRODUCT OF PARAGUAY
Trader Joe’s sells a number of super food seeds including chia seeds, flax seeds, a mix of chia and flax, as well as hemp seeds. All of these are good for you and are things you can easily incorporate into your diet, daily, especially I think at breakfast where you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons into your cereal, yogurt or smoothie. Try CHIA SEED PUDDING; very easy and very good! (another one in link below)
Trader Joe’s carries a lot of “powerhouse seeds” like CHIA, FLAX and HEMP SEEDS. My Trader Joe’s has a “Smoothies Section” featuring all of these plus other products to make smoothies (protein powders, etc)
I use a good deal of olive oil for cooking. However there are times when you want, or a recipe specifies, using a “neutral flavored oil”. Meaning not olive oil which has distinct flavors.
In that case I will probably use this oil: TJ’s Organic Sunflower Oil. It’s a good neutral oil, obviously made from sunflower seeds, and Organic to boot.
This oil is a fine all-around oil and basically if I’m not using olive oil for something I’m probably using this one. For example it’s what I would use if I am making a Chinese or Asian dish. Chinese cooking usually specifies a “neutral” vegetable oil that won’t affect other flavors in the dish. Plus Sunflower Oil is good for high heat, and good for Wok cooking. I had to look up “high-oleic”. That this sunflower oil is High Oleic means its quite healthy too, maybe even more than olive oil.
TJ’s Organic Sunflower Oil is pretty reasonable at $3.99 for a 33.8 oz bottle, far less than olive oil. So you probably want this as your “other” oil, like me. I would buy this again.
UPDATE_1 (Jun. 2022) Seems to be M.I.A. Possibly either a supply chain issue and hopefully not discontinued. Update_2: It came back in stock and was available for awhile. Update_3: (Jan 2025) I looked for it for last two months. MIA again.
This is a Trader Joe’s STAFF PICK favorite and I completely agree. TJ’s New Zealand Grass Fed Cheddar is an excellent cheese, a sharp cheddar aged from 6-12 months. This cheese is one of my favorite cheeses that TJ’s carries, and I buy this almost every time I go to Trader Joe’s as it goes rather quickly in our house. This cheddar has just the right amount of tang if you are a fan of a sharp cheddar, good for both adults and kids. The other standout cheddars at TJ’s are the CABOT VERMONT EXTRA SHARP and of course UNEXPECTED CHEDDAR. You can not go wrong with any of these cheddar cheeses but I do like the fact that this New Zealand cheese is “grass fed” meaning from milk from those contended Kiwi cows munching away on grass if they anything like the ones in this picture! This cheese is great by itself, on a cracker, in a sandwich, with fruit, and it’s superb melted. Grilled cheese sandwich, omelets, in a pizza, tacos… it’s especially fantastic melted. You can just give me a Granny Smith apple, a hunk of this cheese and a knife and I will be almost as contented as one of the Kiwi cows.
Update: It used to be 5.99 / lb but unfortunately the price has gone up 50 cents to $6.49 / lb (April 2022)
What is FARRO ? Farro is an ancient grain, a type of wheat, known for its nutty flavor and chewy texture, and is a versatile ingredient used in various dishes like soups, salads, and risotto
The Italian word farro can mean “ancient grain” and refer to a few older varieties of our modern day wheat such as, emmer, spelt and einkorn wheat, all of which are forerunner grains of our modern wheat. TJ’s Farro is a tasty and healthy whole grain. High fiber, high protein.
FARRO is a good whole grain which is quite nutritious. FARRO a good source of protein, fiber and has lots of nutrients. Its a healthier alternative to some refined grains for example, white rice (and don’t get me wrong I like and eat white rice). Farro has even gotten a bit trendy in the food world. Maybe you’ve seen farro served as a side dish at a fancy Italian or other kind of restaurant. It’s tasty.
It has a nutty taste and slightly chewy texture. It’s delicious on its own with just some butter, salt and pepper. You can cook it in water, with a pinch of salt or cook it in some broth (veg, chicken or beef) which will of course make it even tastier. Farro is a good grain for using as a “bed” to put something on top of, or as a side dish. Just like you might use rice or orzo for example. Trader Joe’s 10 minute Farro cooks quickly. In 10-12ß minutes.
We like to make farro either as a side dish or part of the Main, say mixed with other veggies, sometimes as the base of a protein bowl. Whole grains like this normally take about 45-60 minutes to cook however TJ’s “10 Minute Farro” obviously cooks much faster. I am just guessing that it’s been parboiled to cut down on the cooking time. So it’s really convenient, and healthy and it’s not too expensive either. Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Farro sells for $1.79 1.99 for an 8.8 oz. bag
There is a good sounding recipe written on the Trader Joe’s bag for “Farro with Sausage & Apples” (using chicken sausage).
TJ’s farro is something I buy all the time, along with other grains they have. Farro is good to have in the pantry.
HOW TO COOK FARRO: I suggest the “SIMMER” method described on the bag. Use 1/2 cup Farro and 2/3 cup water or broth or combo. Put that in a pot. You can add a little butter and maybe salt depending if you used water or broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for about 10-12 minutes. Turn it off and let it stand 5 minutes before serving. Pretty easy!
You can mix cooked farro with cooked brown rice to come up with your own version of something like TJ’s famous (or maybe infamous) “Brown Rice Medley” (which TJ’s Discontinued much to the outrage of many people who read this blog!)
Trader Joe’s new ice cream, “When Life Gives You Lemons Make ICE CREAM”, Lemon Ice Cream with a Lemon Swirl and Shortbread Cookie Bits is da bomb. This stuff seems to be flying off the shelves at the moment.
This new Trader Joe’s ice cream flavor is very original, unusual, and delicious. Sweet but a little tart. We used to get lemon ices as kids in the summertime which are really good. But this is lemon ICE CREAM, not ices so it tastes that much more amazing – plus it’s not “just lemon ice cream” it’s a kind of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream invention built on a Lemon Theme with yellow swirls in the ice cream which have even more sweet lemon flavors and then to top it all off, they put in these little pieces of buttery shortbread, so it has a bit of texture to it which make it now even more amazing. Now I would not even say I’m a huge fan of lemon ice cream, however when I first tasted this concoction I did a “wow is this good” double take – ‘cuz it is really really good plus it seems very original and unusual, again in one of those really good but simple Ben & Jerry’s ice cream concoctions. I went back to get it again. I go to the ice cream case and was so dissapointed. SOLD OUT! Not just that, only this flavor was sold out, there are a ton of ice creams on both sides of where this should be. So I am assuming word is out on this ice cream and everyone wants to try it, and for good reason, it’s a really terrific TJ’s product. It’s not cheap at $3.49 for a pint. However a pint of Ben & Jerry’s or Hagendaz or the like goes for way more than this. This WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS ice cream invention is a real treat which I think in the summer time it will seem even more heavenly, on a hot day.
I tried Trader Joe’s “ROASTED GARLIC MARINARA” and found it to be quite decent. It has what you might call a slow cooked taste and its very tasty. The flavors in the sauce blend well together, the garlic and the spices well balanced. I don’t like overly homogenized smooth tomato sauces, I prefer a little chunkiness in them. This stuff has some chunkiness, all of which makes this sauce taste a little bit “homemade” against a sauce that was overly blended. I made a pasta dish using TJ’s new (really good) ORGANIC BUCATINI (great!) and the dish turned out quite good, the bucatini perfectly absorbing the sauce. OK I had added ground beef which made this into a meat sauce but even without anything extra, this marinara is flavorful. Of course some fresh basil will really step of the flavor if you have some. It worked well with gnocchi too. TJ’s ROASTED GARLIC MARINARA is $1.99 (24 oz jar) – and its still $1.99 ! (summer 2023)
Trader Joe’s ORGANIC POLENTA; cooked; ready to heat and serve. Gluten Free.
Ingredients: Water, Organic Corn Meal, Salt
Just in case you are not yet familiar with Polenta, it’s simple and delicious. Polenta is inexpensive, healthy, gluten free, and vegetarian. Its just coarsely ground corn. That’s it. This Organic Polenta from Trader Joe’s comes in a plastic tube. Its been precooked which save you about 45 minutes. It’s ready to slice up into 1/2″ slices which you grill up into crispy fried polenta rounds. This is really yummy and cheap. This is why polenta has been a staple of Italian “cucina povera” for centuries, very similar of course to “grits” here in the US. TJ’s tube of cooked polenta is convenient, shelf stable, and is only $1.99. One tube can easily make a dinner for two. We love it as an alternative to pasta. I recommend you pan fry it as being the best way to serve this. The package also says you can bake it. Any way to get it crispy. Please don’t consider microwaving as it also says on the package!. For polenta to be tasty it is best as crispy as possible, as this way it gets a really nice chewy “meaty” texture.
As shown in the first picture is how I made the polenta into dinner recently. I sautéed the slices in olive oil plus a little butter to help it brown better, for maybe 10 minutes a side – note, this is double the recommended time of 4-5 minutes on the package. Trust me, you want to get this very golden brown and delicious. I flipped it over and put a bit of mozzarella on each slice which melted as the other side cooked. When it was ready to serve, I plated it up and spooned over tomato sauce, in this case TJ’s Roasted Garlic Marinara sauce which is quite good by the way. I grated some extra cheese, Asiago all over. This made for a delicious Italian dinner along with a little salad and crusty bread. Dinner for two for about $4 bucks.
I always like to keep one of these shelf stable packages of TJ’s polenta in the pantry as it can make an easy, fast dinner for those times when you have “nothing” to eat in the house. A tube of this and a jar of sauce and you have dinner in 10 minutes. Not to mention Polenta’s perfect for Meatless Monday’s. Would I but this again? Yes I buy this regularly, its an excellent cheap TJ product and a great staple to have in your pantry.
Nice little Milk and Honey cookies that are terrific and a great price. I’m calling them tea cookies as they are perfect with tea, or milk, or coffee, or pretty much anything. $2.49 a package. Very tasty. I would buy them again.
If you love finding great new cheeses I think you will find this new cheese Trader Joe’s started carrying as outstanding as I did. It’s called “Vault No. 5 Cave Aged” cheese from the “Cellars at Jasper Hills”. You can probably tell just by looking at that funky rind, this is a “serious” farm produced cheese like cheese you might find in a “fromagerie” in Paris. The moment I tasted this cheese I fell in love with it. To me, it’s another Wow Trader Joe’s item, just amazingly good. If you blindfolded me I would have sworn it was some European cheese, maybe an aged Comté or Gruyere or Emmenthaler with those types of complex, nutty flavors present in those cheeses. Well guess what, “Vault No. 5” is not from France or Switzerland but comes from the Green Mountains of VERMONT from Jasper Hill Farms . It’s cave aged by them for 12 months as it undergoes affinage in their cellars underground.
It has a natural (and funky looking!) rind which looks like that because it is loaded with (friendly) bacteria and cultures. Vault No. 5 has an edible rind (I ate some) but of course you can cut it off as my wife insisted before she would eat some. In fact, she first said the cheese is spoiled (ha!) but I told her no its just aged in some cave in Vermont for a year.
“Vault No. 5” tastes terrific on its own, on a cracker or with some good bread. How is it with fruit? When I paired it with an apple it was seemed to taste even better, in fact I couldn’t stop eating them. They say this cheese matches well with red wine and ales. Now when you melt it, it’s out of this world. Grilled cheese? Yes please. I can only imagine a grilled cheese made with this and some Unexpected Cheddar (note to self; try that) Trader Joe’s is selling Vault No. 5 for $10.99 a pound, a not a bad deal considering it’s high quality. In a top cheese shop in NYC I know premium farm cheeses like this go for at least $20 a pound or more. If you love TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar, you will probably love this one too so check it out folks, this is a keeper and I hope TJ’s continues to sell it forever.
“What happens when you marry old world cultures and cave-aged technique with quality milk production in the Green Mountains of Vermont? The cheese mongers at Jasper Hill did exactly that, and came up with Vault No. 5 Cave Aged Cheese.
Toasty and aromatic, Jasper Hill Vault No. 5 Cave Aged Cheese was inspired by Swiss and Italian mountain cheeses—delightfully creamy, toasty and savory, with subtle earthy notes. It’s cave aged for a minimum of one year, a process that allows a natural rind to form around its golden, straw colored paste. In short, it’s the stuff cheesy dreams are made of.“
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