I like that you don’t have to buy a whole package now. Sometimes when I have a package of jalapeños in the fridge, often I don’t use them up quickly enough and they start to get old, then go bad and I end up throwing them out. So this is better by the piece for 29 cents each. Naturally I will grab the biggest, freshest one I can find in the bunch to get the best bang for my buck (er, 29 cents). In fact, other than a banana I think this one of the cheapest items you can buy at Trader Joe’s, right?
“Corn, black bean and pepper salsa. Smoky sweet with just the right amount of kick” – Trader Joe’s
If you like salsa but this one is a must try. Its terrific. I love it. My wife loves it. In fact both of us think it could be a pick for a TJ’s Top Ten.
Trader Joe’s Cowboy Caviar is a great version of this classic, maybe more in a salsa style with corn, black beans, red bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, lime juice and spices, with some kick to it from chipotle chiles in adobo, which give it a bit of heat plus a smoky undertone. TJ’s doesn’t have one of their heat level pictures on the jar. Call it a medium heat? This stuff is soooo good as a salsa, as a dip for chips, especially with the yummy Organic Corn Dippers, and its great on tacos, rice, eggs, mixed into veggies, alongside grilled chicken, or as a little side dish…. you name it, I think it will perk it up.
It comes in a jar so its a really good pantry item to have on hand. You can put out some of this with chips or crackers and you can have something in a few seconds for unexpected guests. A jar now goes for $2.99 $3.49 (13 oz)
Trader Joe’s acknowledges what we customers know all too well now: how much more expensive it is to feed your family these days due to price increases and inflation. We consumers need to get the biggest bang for the buck from every dollar we can. Hence I think Trader Joe’s is smart to admit this and “help” us with some ideas and recipes in their
Visit that link for Trader Joe’s recipes. One recipe is for an EASYSPICY CHILI with ground chicken, a can each of tomatoes and beans and their super useful TACO SEASONING mix (which I swear by and only costs .79 cents!) They say this Chicken Chili costs about $9.04 to feed four. I would budget in another $1.60 to buy some Corn Tortillas which will be good with chili. They assume you have rice in your pantry. I have a chili recipe with ground turkey which is similar to theirs. Check that out too. You can just switch the turkey for chicken if you prefer. Currently a pound of ground chicken at the moment is 3.99. Ground meats have no waste and I think makes a decent bang as the main / protein. GROUND TURKEY is about $4.29 for a pound. Want to make a VEGETARIAN CHILI? You can use these recipes, just swap in some organic tofu (drained well and crumbled). The Organic Tofu is still only $1.99! Some people swear if you freeze tofu, it gives a better “meatier” texture
These look almost exactlu like a RITZ cracker, something I love and which in my lifetime I’ve probably eaten a few thousand of. These however I think these may be slightly healthier than those and made with better ingredients. For one thing, comparing the ingredients labels I immediately notice the GOLDEN ROUNDS list Sunflower Oil and Cane Sugarwhereas Ritz’s ingredients have Palm Oil and High Fructose Corn Syrup. But how are these compared to Ritz taste wise? Not bad at all, in fact they are pretty good (if maybe a tiny bit less than Ritz which are a classic) Still the ingredients here are a bit healthier for you and that small difference in taste is outweighed by this. These crackers were very tasty eaten with some Unexpected Cheddar cheese on top. These crackers are perfect for a cheese plate or snacks. There are about 100 crackers in a box. TJ Golden Round crackers sell for $1.99. $2.69. These are worth giving a try. I would buy them again.
Just to give you an idea of how small it really is, the cute little pineapple growing on the stalk is about the size of my thumb. It looks so cool and adorable.
Full name of the plant is PINEAPPLE BROMELIAD. See the link for info on care and growing.
TJ’s was selling these for $15.99
Now have you ever wondered why you see so many pineapples in depicted in design, old buildings and architecture? There is a reason: it showed wealth and hospitality.
This is a very good “curated” blend of two single origin coffees from Central America, specifically from El Salvador and Nicaragua. It’s a 50/50 mix of both, each roasted differently, one to a Medium roast and one as a Light roast, to bring out the ideal flavors of each. I found this coffee to be very tasty, smooth and delicious. Its $9.99 for a 12 oz bag of whole beans. I think if Starbucks or your local coffee high end shop was selling this kind of “curated blend” they would charge almost double that.
I would buy this again.
TIP: The best way to buy coffee is like this, as WHOLE BEANS. Why? Coffee has a ton of volatile oils which are best ground right before you want to use it. You get the maximum flavor if you grind up some beans just before you brew it. Now, if you don’t have a grinder at home, use the grinder at Trader Joe’s. When you get home, put the bag of ground coffee into a freezer bag, seal it and keep it in the freezer. You can put a few days worth of ground coffee in an empty air tight jar to keep it fresh.
My wife loves this and told me she’s “addicted” to it. I tried it, liked it too. Very refreshing. Mild ACV taste/tingle. Made with organic apple juice and no added sugars. It’s $1.69 for 12 oz and only 35 calories. “Healthy soda”!
Here’s what Trader Joe’s says about the product: “What can’t apple cider vinegar do? Some folks use it in marinades, others use it to pickle produce, some even use it as a cleaning agent. As it happens, you can now add “use it to make a remarkably refreshing soda” to the list, with the introduction of Trader Joe’s Organic Sparkling Ginger + Lemon Apple Cider Vinegar Beverage. This tart and tangy sparkler combines pleasantly pucker-y organic lemon juice and bright, bracing organic ginger with (you guessed it) organic apple cider vinegar to create one curiously cool and crisp drink. Best enjoyed nice and cold, our Organic Sparkling Ginger + Lemon Apple Cider Vinegar Beverage at once offers all the thirst-quenching qualities of a lemonade, the exhilarating bite of spicy ginger, and the playful mix of juicy and tangy that only apple cider vinegar can supply. It makes for an especially delicious anytime drink, though we find that its unique flavor profile makes it especially amenable to pairing with rich or spicy foods.”
Trader Joe’s sells these frozen hash brown shredded potato patties. I see a lot of people buying them. Maybe because they kind of resemble MacDonald’s potato patties? These are not bad at all. They consist of just three ingredients, potatoes, oil and salt. You can bake them as suggested on the package. A toaster oven will work for that too. It doesnt say this on the package but you can make them on the stove in a pan which is what I did. I added a tiny bit of oil to a non-stick pan and cooked them on low until the first side was golden brown, then flipped them, about 15-20 minutes in total. I would say you want these as crispy as possible. Now I don’t have an Air Fryer but I’ve seen other people report you can cook these in and Air Fryer and they work well getting nice and crispy without adding more oil.
The patties were pretty tasty, especially with a sunnyside up egg I had them with. I gave them a good dusting of black pepper and that improved them quite a bit for flavor. I could see you using these at breakfast, or lunch or dinner. Very versatile. Things they match well with include ketchup, eggs, bacon, sour cream, or of course pretty much anything that would go well with potatoes. There are 10 patties in a package which now goes for $2.29. Trader Joe’s also sells frozen shredded hash brown potatoes in a bag, that is not in patty form just loose, the way you would normally make hash browns. Those would be good for adding things in during cooking such as some chopped onions and peppers, so also useful. The Sodium level is not crazy high (250mg a patty). But don’t eat 4! Thats 1000mg.
UPDATE (Fall 2022) Product has been MIA for some time. Don’t tell me these are gone for good TJ’s….
UDPATE 2 (WINTER 2022) This product is finally back!!
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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