Trader Joe’s SAVORY SQUARES Vegan Cheddar Style Crackers made from nuts and seeds. (Gluten-Free)
My neighbor bought these and told me to come try them to review them.
The two of us, neither being vegan or gluten free, were impressed with these. Really pleasantly surprised at how good these new crackers Trader Joe’s just came out with are. Gluten Free or not. They’re great.
The main ingredients are tapioca flour, almond flour, sunflower seed flour, flax seed meal, potato starch, yeast extract and other things.
Made with all kinds of nuts, seeds and other things they do in fact taste very Savory. Yes even cheesy as well and that is to two adults who you could say are hard core cheese lovers.
These are one of those products that are so good you will like them if you are vegan or non-vegan, gluten free or non gluten free. Thats how good they are. They do have a slightly cheesy taste from “vegan cheddar”. I mean if you just gave me these and didn’t tell me anything I would just assume they were regular cheese crackers instead of being vegan or gluten free for that matter.
Meaning anyone is going to love these. This is not one of those gluten free products that is a mere shadow of the original one. This is a really good cracker that I expect anyone would love, period.
We ate them by themselves (yum, tasty) then not being vegan and both of us being cheese-heads, we said ok lets put some good cheddar cheese on them and see how they are with cheese. Lo and behold they were even better, for us that is. If you do cheese boards these will go well with anything.
$3.99 box (5 oz)
Trader Joe’s says this:
“The cheese cracker is a time-honored treat, a classic savory snack for kids and adults alike. However, it’s not always an option, dietarily speaking, as most tend to be made with gluten and dairy ingredients. That’s where Trader Joe’s Savory Squares come in. Made with a mix of nut and seed flours, these superbly snackable Squares achieve an unmistakably Cheddar-y cheesiness and satisfyingly crispy crunch, all without the use of any gluten or animal-based ingredients.
Excellent for everything from simple, everyday snacking to scooping up your favorite creamy dip, these Savory Squares are ideal for bringing along on road trips, toting to board game nights, or packing into school lunches. They can be enjoyed totally on their own, as a standalone snack, or mixed in with other savory treats”
Saw these today at my local Trader Joe’s. These long peppers caught my eye and looked really good, though I didn’t get to try them yet. They say these are sweet, not hot, some gourmet variety for a long pepper. Most peppers I see shaped like this have been of the hot variety but not this one.
One idea for these is they would be perfect for stuffing and I found the growers website and they have a number of recipes for stuffed peppers which look and sound pretty pretty good.
I would expect these are one offs so if you want too try them and you see them, probably buy asap while they are in stock, which I expect is Limited.
I saw this NEW ITEM yesterday and had to put it in my cart as I’ve found some of Trader Joe’s Indian Fare dishes they sell in these shelf stable pouches are good, not to mention super convenient for the pantry. For example the yellow tadka dal (which I’ve since learned to make on my own watching some YouTube videos).
This new pouch contains a COCONUT CHICKPEA CURRY, made with coconut milk. I didn’t get a chance to taste this yet but will soon and review it. Meanwhile here is what TJ’s says about it…..
“Made with a relatively simple recipe that includes coconut milk, chickpeas, chopped veggies, and spices like turmeric, cinnamon oil, and dried curry leaves, this heat-and-eat Curry achieves a remarkably complex, yet beautifully balanced mix of flavor, texture, and aroma—and all after a single minute in the microwave, or a few minutes submerged in boiling water.”
$2.49
Convenient to have in the pantry! A bit faster even than frozen ones too to get on the table.
But be sure to try some of TJ’s frozen Indian items…. many are really good.
Being able to pick a few leaves of basil whenever you want some is a pleasure. The smell you get from fresh basil is amazing, say ripped up on top of your plate of pasta. Yum. So once or twice a year if I see it, I buy a new pot of ORGANIC BASIL at Trader Joe’s. They sell the big pots for $3.99, a pretty good deal. You can get a smaller pot of herbs for even less ($2.49)
There are lots of plants in the container, at least a dozen if not more. So sure you can just take this pot home, put it on a sunny window sill and pick off some leaves when you want them. But the reality is if you leave it as it is, the plants will last maybe a few months.
You need to re-pot it, if you want it to thrive. I’ve learned the hard way that the trick with these herb containers you buy at the supermarket is, if you want them to really flourish, you have to take them out and re-pot them. You heard me. You need to get your hands in some dirt!
Why bother? Well basil grows quite easily and pretty fast. Each one of those little plants will grow and grow and each one sends out lots of roots. If you just just leave all of those plants together in the orginal pot they will get way too crowded, and the roots will kind of strangle each other. Become “root bound”. Maybe after two or three months the plants will start to look worse and worse as they all fight each other to survive in that limited space. Therefore with these, the best thing to do is when you get the plant home is take it out of the pot. Break them up (gently) and replant them in a number of pots. I save old pots for this to re-use.
You gently separate the roots, very carefully with your fingers and get one or two or three plants max in a bunch and re-pot them. To really see How To just search YouTube where you will find lots of instructional videos on How To re-pot a basil plant. Of course you will need a few pots and dirt to do this but its worth the effort as the plants will live a lot longer. And you will get lots more basil as a result. A dollar store is good place to find soil and pots cheap.
I wish as well as this Italian basil that Trader Joe’s also carried THAI BASIL too. Never see that there. But they do have other herbs like rosemary, oregano, mint….
This is one of those rare Gluten Free products where the GF version is just as good, if not better, than the original one made with whole wheat.
I really like Trader Joe’s regular “Seeds and Whole Grain CRISPBREAD” which I reviewed before. Though I am not Gluten Free, I saw these and wanted to try the GF version of the terrific Norwegian crispbreads Trader Joe’s has. The ingredients are similar, mostly seeds, however the regular version has wheat in it.
They are all very hearty and very crunchy and are great as a cracker or as the base for an open faced Scandinavian style sandwich. Super with a spread or some cheese or even just butter. Or by itself it you like.
The GF version is also terrific. I can eat gluten so I don’t have to get the Gluten Free version but this is so good I would still buy it. Its excellent, really tasty. A little similar in taste and texture to the original one, but this GF version of course does not contain the whole wheat the regular version has, so no gluten here.
This version is made from sunflower seeds, oats, sesame seeds, flax seeds, rice bran and a few other ingredients. Healthy. Made in Norway. I love these style of breads and this gluten free one is also really good. The Gluten Free crispbread cost a bit more than the other ones. These go for $4.29, as compared to the regular Seeds and Grains Crispbread ($2.99).
This is a single estate EVOO from of all places…Australia! I think I did a little double take when I saw the sign above saying “Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil”. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an Aussie olive oil before, so I had to give it a try. And you know what? It’s good. Very good. Definately “fruity and smooth”.
Trader Joe’s has this to say about it….
“Made with Early Harvest olives grown on a single estate, which are then cold pressed to preserve even more flavor, this extra special EVOO can be used in all the same kitchen contexts you’d employ for an everyday olive oil, like sautéeing or roasting. To take full advantage of its smooth and fruity profile, and nutty, delicately tannic finish, however, we find it truly excels when enjoyed as a base for a salad dressing, or when dunked with hunks of crusty bread.”
I love mochi generally – specially I mean the soft confections one can find in an Asian bakery or grocery store. Those a pillowy, soft very chewy sweet confections made from sweet sticky rice and that have something on the inside, for example sweet red bean paste. Trader Joe’s sells something frozen which are mochi with ice cream on the inside, frozen. They are really good.
But this new item is a small bite size treat which is a little like that but different. These have a thin layer of something like mochi and an interior of “boba” like tapioca in the center. They are each wrapped individually.
“You can think of this candy version as a deconstructed bubble beverage, where the center of each piece is precisely that pearl (aka tapioca ball) that usually lives at the bottom of your Boba cup. Each individual, caramelized- brown-sugar flavored pearl is surrounded by a creamy coating, then given a classic Japanese rice-wrapper treatment.”
If these sound good, give them a try and see what you think.
I found them OK but didn’t love it. My wife at first thought the were just OK however she kept eating them. Lo and behold she decided she liked them after all (she finished the bag).
When I saw this new Small Lot coffee I first did what I always do. I try to smell the coffee. Actually one can usually get a whiff of it’s smell just by giving the bag a gentle squeeze near the round airvalve. I gave this one a whiff and thought it smelled good. Promising.
When I tasted the brewed coffee though, while I liked it a bit, there was something about it I just didn’t love. Frankly one reason being I am currently “in love” with another coffee right now and have been since I first tasted it. The Trader Joe’s coffee I’ve been crazy about for the last month or two has been their excellent Organic BOLIVIAN BLEND. That may be one of the best coffees I think I ever have gotten there.
This new Small Lot coffee is from Ethopia. Its African. Now African coffee are are unique and different than Latin coffees.
They are frequently referred to as being “wine-y” and having a bit more pronounced profile with a bright acidity it them. I have tasted and really liked many African coffees. Let’s face it when it comes to coffee – Ethiopia is The Source. The Beginning. Historically thought of as the locus, the Origin of Coffee, period. Coffee and coffee culture to is said to have begun there many centuries ago. Ethiopia and Coffee are linked in a way perhaps like no other place in the world.
If you like African coffee you might like this; It does has a typical “winey” profile which many African coffees exhibit and some people really like. I do sometimes but I didn’t love this coffee. I will give it a few more chances to win me over. But again one reason is at the moment my taste buds are really tuned in to “my new coffee” that Bolivian Blend coffee.
If you’ve never had an African coffee, you might want to taste this and see what you think for yourself. However I would first recommend another African coffee there. Trader Joe’s other Ethopian coffee, the Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian Blend Coffee…. which has gotten many good reviews from a number of sites and one that I do like a lot.
Or try the “best of both worlds” – a coffee which is a blend of African & Latin coffee (Afro-Latin Blend BUUNNI Azmari coffee) That one is another excellent coffee at Trader Joe’s and one that is on my top coffee list there.
“Combing the rich flavors of dark chocolate with the resounding crunch of resounding crunch of roasted almonds and pretzel pieces, then finishing with a sprinkle of sea salt. This is a satisfying snackable bark, one that is well worth every bite”
“The Bark you’ll find within each bag starts as a thin(ish) slab of rich Dark Chocolate, studded with crunchy roasted Almond & Pretzel pieces. Our supplier then sprinkles said slab with Sea Salt, breaks it into snackable pieces, and packages it up for your enjoyment. The end result? A sweet, chocolatey treat that’s well worth every bite.”
This is as good as it sounds. The chocolate bark is a little bit thick and slightly crunchy, a mix of sweet with a tiny bit savory. The very decent chocolate is mixed with pieces of roasted almonds and bits of pretzels mixed into the bark that all in all make for a very satisfying snack or treat. I thought this was yummy. I would buy it again.
“Kosher for Passover. Light and crispy with a mild flavor”
(seasonal item)
I like how Trader Joe’s puts a nice spin on matzos by saying they have a “mild flavor”. Let’s face it, matzos are at best bland so yes one could say a “mild flavor”. I find them almost tasteless on their own. But put some butter on them and then we’ll talk!
I tasted these Trader Joe’s matzo and they tasted like well matzo. In my time I’ve eaten plenty of matzos, and I am pretty Meh on them but especially with a premium butter all over them they make a good butter delivery system. While as a “cracker” or for a “base for hearty toppings” they remain rather bland, I have always found matzos to be best as a vehicle to put things on like a huge spoon of sweet delicious charoses (a sweet yummy mix of chopped apples, nuts and honey) or maybe made into a Matzobrei … as with addition of butter, eggs and some good jam and fried up they are pretty good.
Price wise this box of Matzo seems to be going for about half the price where I’ve just seen them in a supermarket and at Zabar’s. There they are at least $5 / box so this price is a plus.
If you are in the market for some matzo for your Seder, grab a box, and give these a try.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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