So as you can see from the Ingredients in this bread, you are getting a lot of variety of whole grains for one thing. You are also getting a good amount of fiber in this 100% Whole Grain High Fiber bread. Each slice has 5 grams of fiber.
That is about 18% of the recommended dietary amount. It’s not hard to eat two slices, perhaps in a sandwich or just as toast. Do that and you are getting 10 grams of fiber, which is about 1/3 or more of the daily recommended fiber amount (daily dietary fiber is recommended at 25-38 grams).
How does this bread taste? I like it. It actually tastes pretty good. Like a 100% whole wheat bread. I find it just the tiniest bit on the dry side, but you have to take all that fiber into account.
This tasted quite good when I toasted it up, and ate with butter and marmalade.
It’s got no preservatives, and no additives. Seems pretty All Natural. I would buy it again.
“…while it is indeed incredibly delicious on some crispy-fried chicken, that’s just the beginning, as far as we’re concerned. We recommend trying it on everything from roasted veggies to grilled short ribs, air-fried salmon, shrimp tacos, and omelettes. Frankly, we’ll even use it as a dip for French fries… or as sauce on a homemade Pizza topped with Pepper Jack Cheese, Spicy Chicken Nuggets, and cilantro or green onions (trust us on this one—it’s delicious.)”
This new sauce is getting a lot of notice all over the internet. I was familiar with this Korean sauce as a family member made a homemade one, so got the new Trader Joe’s one to try out and review.
I like it. It has sugar, soy sauce, red miso, molasses, ginger, rice vinegar, red pepper and sesame oil. Very tasty. While not quite as good as homemade versions of the sauce that I’ve tasted, this commercial version is still quite tasty.
It’s a dark sauce which is a bit thick and it’s just loaded with umami. It had a slight spicy back note but it’s not crazy spicy. This will be great on lots of things. Certainly most any Asian dish, especially noodles. Especially SQUIGGLY NOODLES plus all the things they list: chicken, salmon, and other fish, shrimp, omelettes. I want to try the pizza idea they mention with chicken and pepper jack cheese….!
This new Trader Joe’s item is kind of good news if you are a ORANGE MARMALADE fan. Again, “kind of”
Trader Joe’s used to sell a really good marmalade. Their SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE was terrific. Outstanding. A proper marmalade made with Seville Oranges. It was one of the best orange marmalades I ever had. I loved it. Unfortunately Trader Joe’s famously discontinued it (back in 2019). Argh!!.
My review of that marmalade plus the fact that they had discontinued an outstanding product, happens to be one of the most Commented posts on this entire site. One of the biggest RANTS here. Everyone who loved it and used to buy it was pissed as hell that they discontinued it. People were shocked, aghast, angry and dismayed that an excellent product got the ax, and wrote in the Comments here to voice that anger. Over 80 people took the time and effort to Comment and complain.
Well guess what? About 5 years after they discontinued it, Trader Joe’s has just come out with this NEW ITEM. Trader Joe’s Seville Orange Marmalade Fruit Spread (ok, its “marmalade fruit spread”) Frankly I was pretty surprised to see it . I had to try it and review it. While not exactly the same, it is orange marmalade and I do find it very tasty. But! Its a “fruit spread” (meaning not as thick and tight)
The new marmalade fruit spread is a product of Belgium. That older (true) marmalade was from Canada.
So how is it? Its a bit of a mixed bag. It is orange marmalade made from Seville oranges and actually tasty. Is it as good as the old one? There are some obvious differences, the first being the added words “fruit spread”.
A) VISCOSITY: This is looser than that original marmalade. A “fruit spread” is not as tight / thick as jam or marmalade. This contains apple juice concentrate for one thing. It is much less viscous (thick) Runnier than a true marmalade.
B) SIZE. The original Seville Orange marmalade came in a big jar of about 17 ounces. This jar is just 7.5 ounces. Less than half the size of that old marmalade. Yet it costs about the same. So twice the price of the old one, and as less thick so will you use a bit more?
The ingredients on the old one (pictured below with a yellow green label) were: SUGAR, SEVILLE ORANGE PEEL, SEVILLE ORANGE JUICE. Plus pectin , the natural gelling agent in fruit.
(this is the label on the old jar of marmalade from 2019)(label of the new version, marmalade fruit spread)
This version lists sugar and Seville oranges but alsoapple juice from concentrate as the ingredient after Seville oranges. Which is why I assume this is described as ORANGE MARMALADE FRUIT SPREAD and not simply “Marmalade”. Now Trader Joe’s says something about this, and even puts a positive spin on it….
“A great marmalade is a bit of a balancing act. First, you’ve got to balance the sweetness of the fruit juice and sugar involved with the tartness of the citrus and bitterness of the orange rind. Then, you’ve got to find just the right balance of fruit and rind within the physical makeup of the marmalade—too much fruit, and it’s more like a jelly, too much rind, and it’s an overly-chewy mess. Luckily, when we decided to bring in a seasonal Seville Orange Marmalade Fruit Spread to our shelves, we had some real experts in our corner. Made by the same supplier in Belgium who previously demonstrated their mastery of balance with our Apricot Cardamom and Green Tea Yuzu spreads, this sweet, citric, and properly proportioned Marmalade is a triumph of harmonious flavors and textures on the palate.” – Trader Joe’s
So while I I like the taste of TJ’s new “orange marmalade fruit spread” of course as a fruit spread it’s not as thick as it would be called just “orange marmalade”. I’m glad I can buy something akin to orange marmalade at Trader Joe’s again, period. But. Its a tiny jar. My jar went fast. Again, so a bit of a mixed bag.
Cost: This small 7.5 oz jar will go much faster than the 17 oz one of course especially as its not as thick and concentrated. The new marmalade costs more than double what the old one cost. Granted it was 2019 but the old bigger jar went for $3.50.
Some people might actually like this “marmalade fruit spread” who may not like the (thicker) more intense versions of marmalade they might have tried in the past. There is a whole “thick cut” versus “thin cut” camp. I suspect TJ’s is trying to please more people with this version? If you are a marmalade lover, at least this is worth trying, even if not “ideal” for the true English marmalade lover.
Is Trader Joe’s “BURRATA, PROSCIUTTO and ARUGULA FLATBREAD” worth buying?
Please read the review if you want to see if I thought it was worth $5.50
Here’s my honest review of this cheesy flatbread. But first, is this a Flatbread or is this Pizza? Are they almost the same? I’m pretty sure all of us look at this and think “pizza”, but if Trader Joe’s wants to call it “flatbread” that’s fine by me. I guess they think it sounds slightly classier? Actually this is pretty classy.
I was in the mood to try either this one or the MUSHROOM TRUFFLE flatbread shopping a few days ago. I thought I would try this first as I especially love these two things: Arugula and Prosciutto.
Here’s what it looks like right out of the box, frozen. You get two packages, one being the flatbread Plus a small package of a few slices of prosciutto. Why you ask is it separate? Aha! Because it will be added later, after the pizza is baked!
The picture on the box looks very good. Is Trader Joe’s BURRATA, PROSCIUTTO and ARUGULA FLATBREAD as good as the picture?
You be the judge. Here’s what it looked like after I finished baking it and added the prosciutto on top….
Pretty attractive, right?! Good enough that you could pretend this came out of the oven at a restaurant. It pretty much looked the same as their beautiful pizza in the picture. OK, theirs seems to have a bit more arugula that the one I got, but other than that, almost pretty the same.
Verdict? THIS IS YUMMY. VERY GOOD. We really enjoyed it as part of our dinner. Both my wife and I found this pizza equal to a good restaurants version. That prosciutto? It gives it a huge bump of Umami. It definitely adds a ton of flavor and really makes this great.
Trader Joe’s made a smart decision to keep the prosciutto to add after baking. If they had put the prosciutto on the frozen pizza, it probably would just melt away into oblivion during baking or burn.
The pizza crust base was good and all the toppings match perfectly with the crust. It says it has burrata, mozzarella, pecorino, and marscapone cheese in there as well. All these cheeses, melt together and blend into a nice very cheesy mix. The arugula adds a very nice vegetable note however I didn’t think there was quite enough of it. I wished they put on just a little more arugula. I did add a drizzle of EVOO olive oil just before serving, plus a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
We both enjoyed this flatbread and thought this was quite yummy. Our only complaint was we wished it was a tiny just a tiny bit bigger so we each could have more! Two of us ate this for dinner along with a salad and a side of vegetables.
With our salad and a veggie, this was just enough for two of us to share for dinner. I would say this pizza might make one very large portion for one. But if you eat this whole thing by yourself that would be about 900 calories. Me, I wouldn’t eat the whole thing myself I figure this realistically could serve two people – along with some other things. If two portions, I figure that half would probably mean about 450 calories each. Not terrible at all and it was just enough to be satisfying (though we said we could eat more if there was more!)
HOW TO COOK: Remove from freezer and remove the plastic. You will use the prosciutto later, just leave that out. Set oven to 450. Let it heat up for at least 20 minutes or until it lets you know it’s 450. While the oven is heating, they want you to let the pizza and prosciutto rest on the counter for about 20 minutes, to defrost a bit. When the oven is ready, put the flatbread on a baking sheet or baking tray and put it in the oven (without prosciutto!)
Let it bake for about 12 minutes or until edges a nice golden brown color and the crust looks nice and crisp. In our oven, I found 12 minutes was not enough time. I put it back for maybe another 2-4 minutes, and I think I could have still added another minute. If you look at the picture on the box you will see the crust is really well baked and very golden brown, which is exactly how you want it to look like, without burning of course. So as every oven is different you will have to judge the time. Keep checking it every minute or so after 12 mins.
When it looks ready take it out of the oven and let it rest about one minute, maybe on a cutting board or rack. After the rest, now add the prosciutto. In my package, there were 3 nice slices. I peeled them apart and cut it in half to make 6 pieces, which I tried to roll up a bit into rosettes. Put your prosciutto around the pizza in about 6 bundles. It will melt a little bit into the warm pizza. Using a long knife, you can cut the flatbread up in half or quarters to Serve.
Enjoy!
Optional: You could also grate on a little Parmigiano and add a drizzle of EVOO. I did and it made it even better. A sprinkle of hot pepper if you are a fan? Why not. If you have any arugula, I would add a few sprigs all over.
YUM.
Trader Joe’s BURRATA, PROSCIUTTO and ARUGULA FLATBREAD was $5.49 (12 oz) Is it worth that? Absolutely.
I would buy this again.
Portions/Calories: The Nutrition label describes this as being 290 calories / portion HOWEVER they count this pizza as containing 3 portions. HA! That might be a snack, not a portion, for an adult that is. I figure half a pizza (ie, 2 portions) might have about 450 calories/portion?
TJ’s: “Our supplier starts with hearty clusters of rolled oats – the kind of foundation that very important breakfasts are built upon – then sprinkles in bits of dried and sweetened blueberries and dried strawberries, so that every bite has an elegantly balanced blend of crunchy textures and sweet, fruity flavors. In other words: important, fun, and unarguably delicious.”
This is one of the newer granola’s Trader Joe’s introduced. Trader Joe’s VERY BERRY GRANOLA, as it name indicates, has a berry flavors, from dried strawberries and dried blueberries. It is just a wee bit on the sweet side. So rather than snacking out of hand, I think you want to eat this with something… milk, almond, soy milk, yogurt. I think its especially good with plain unsweetened yogurt, or especially Greek yogurt.
I liked it and found it good. Generally I don’t eat a whole bowl full of granola. I’m usually using it as topping, for a nice crunch on top of whatever else is in my breakfast bowl, which might have a mix of things: chia seeds, overnight oats, kefir, yogurt, bananas, blueberries or whatever fruit I have. This granola with it’s crunchy clusters is perfect for a bit of crunchy topping for me.
While I would not say there are a ton of dried strawberries and blueberries in it, as typical with Trader Joe, you get just enough so you don’t feel they gypped you. You taste the strawberry flavor in almost every bite as the dried berries have mostly broken up into small pieces so you will get a bit in almost every bite of it. As far as the dried blueberries, I wish they had more. I add frozen wild blues.
So this is a tasty granola and I would say this is worth trying.
I am still waiting to try the chocolate and coffee granola (huh?) people are talking about and see if that’s actually any good.
“Made for us by an expert supplier in Vietnam, each box contains eight miniature, clamshell-style Bao laden with a well-seasoned shrimp patty, as well as a sweet and sticky lemongrass, lime, and chili sauce for dipping.”
There are a fairly New Item in the Asian frozen section at Trader Joe’s that they introduced a short while back. These are “mini bao”, soft and fluffy bao buns with a shrimp patty inside, that comes with a some dipping sauce. They’re a product of Vietnam, where a lot of shrimp are produced.
I got them to try out and review. Each little mini bun is just a couple of bites. The patty inside is made of shrimp, cornstarch as a binder (its actually the second ingredient!) plus scallions, lemon grass, garlic….
“Heating Instructions (Steamer) Remove frozen bao from packaging and put in a steamer or double boiler. Steam for 6-8 minutes until heated through. Let rest for one minute.” (you can microwave these too)
COOKING: Bao are traditionally steamed so that’s what I tried using a metal steamer basket and a pot with a cover.
The two times I cooked these I had a problem with the bottoms of the soft buns sticking to the steamer. The buns are so soft and the bottom had a tendency to stick to my basket. They got a bit stuck on. I tried to lift one gently and carefully and not rip it, but some of the bottom bun was just stuck and ripped. Oh well. The second time I even tried the traditional method for making dimsum and buns where you brush a little oil on the steamer. The sticking was a little better that time, however they still got a little bit stuck and ripped on me.
So if I made them again I would try either brushing more oil on the steamer basket, or putting them on something like a lettuce leaf or parchment or oiled tin foil, very traditional with bao or soft dim sum doughs. So just FYI. Maybe this will not be an issue using a microwave? I didn’t try that method.
How do these taste? Pretty good. The little bao buns are fluffy and soft and a little chewy. The shrimp patties are also soft and had a pretty nice taste, where you can taste that they are made with shrimp. The dipping sauce that comes with these has lemon grass and ginger and is a pretty nice match flavor-wise. Naturally you could also add something to their sauce (like Chili Crunch or LaoGanMa for example) A squeeze of fresh lime or lemon would not be amiss. I also tried some SWEET CHILI SAUCE and that went well with these and was good mixing their sauce with that.
TIP: As these are just soft, you need to add a little bit of veggie for texture. As per the “serving suggestion” on the package which says, “top with julienned cucumbers, carrots and cilantro”. You have to add a few veggies for the contrast in texture with the soft bun. Even a few slivers of cukes, carrots, or scallions will make these taste way better.
Cilantro? If you are a fan of cilantro that would be good (people seems to either love or hate cilantro. I love it).
I was able to make these into dinner for two with some other things. The two of us ate 4 buns each with fried rice and a little salad which proved satisfying. So either think of these as a snack or appetizer or you can make them into a dinner by adding something substantial along with them.
SHRIMP HACK? I did have one idea if you really want to improve these. Add shrimp! My hack with these if I make them again would be to add a cooked shrimp, butterflied and put that on top of the shrimp patty. Drizzle with sauce. I think that would make these outstanding.
Find these in the Frozen Asian section at Trader Joe’s. $4.99 for 8 mini buns (10.5 oz.)
“Moist, flavorful lemon cake topped with lemon cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with lemon zest.”
This cake has come back to Trader Joe’s shelves. This lemony sheet cake is yet another addition to their very popular line of of “mini sheet cakes”. This lemon one is in addition to the chocolate and Chantilly creme versions, plus a gluten free cake as well.
I heard this lemon version of the cake is popular and sells out fairly quickly. While I prefer the chocolate one as the best of them all, I did like this lemon version. My host who shared it with me, liked it but a bit less than me. She said it not wasn’t anywhere as good as the dark chocolate ganache sheet cake. Which I understand as I love the chocolate version of this sheet cake. Still I did find the lemon one tasty, the cake is pretty moist and the sour cream and cream cheese frosting pretty good, if a bit rich and on the sweet side. I think they could cut down the sugar. So try this with perhaps tea or coffee.
It has a mildly lemony flavor from some lemon zest. If you grated some fresh zest over this cake it might be a knock out and worth the extra effort.
I had to choose between the lemon and chocolate one I would pick the chocolate cake however this is a nice change if you are looking for something other than chocolate. The CHANTILLY CREME white cake is also good, and I hear there’s a gluten free mini sheet cake now as well.
“Drizzle on as a finishing oil for salads and roasted vegetables.”
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, fresh Sicilian lemons
This was a new fall product at Trader Joe’s which got a little buzz around it. A nice extra virgin oil with a hint of lemony flavor.
LIMONE PREMUTO – a “cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with whole fresh Sicilian lemons” ($7.99 for about 8 oz)
This is for the real foodies. These types of oils are called “agrumato”.
Agrumato olive oil – “simultaneously crushing olives with fresh herbs or fruits together for exceptional flavor, distinct aromatics.”
It just says “Product of Italy”, so unclear to me if the oil is also from Sicily but I would assume it probably is. Other vendors of this type of (agrumato oil) usually say something like “this distinctive product is made by crushing fresh olives and Sicilian citrus fruits together. This unique process results in an extra virgin olive oil with a vibrant, bright citrus finish. The combination of olives and citrus fruits creates an oil that not only adds a refreshing twist but also brings an authentic taste of Sicily to your kitchen.”
This olive oil has a lovely flavor with that little bit of bitterness that hits the back of your throat, which is a sign of a high quality extra virgin oil that is fresh. There’s no visible lemon pulp or rind, its been filtered out but the oil looks a little cloudy from the pressing with the citrus. The lemon flavoring is subtle, just a hint in the background, its not strong at all. You want to taste this oil and you do.
When I’ve used this I’ve found that if I squeeze on some fresh lemon juice as well, it really improves everything, so suggest trying that. This is good as they say on salads and roasted vegetables, but you could drizzle it on practically anything, such as a pasta, or as a dipping for bread.
Trader Joe’s LIMONE PREMUTO costs $8 for just over 8 oz. In contrast TJ’s sells a 17 oz bottle of excellent SICILIAN EVOO for about $12 (which used to cost $10!) That Sicilian oil is double the size of this bottle. If I add a squeeze of fresh lemon and perhaps even a little lemon zest on my dish and get a similar effect, albeit my lemon is not Sicilian! Therefore though I like this oil, it’s a “specialty oil”, a little splurge. Still, you would be drizzling on just a bit of this. On a budget I would probably buy the bigger bottle of their Sicilian EVOO and add my own lemon, or garlic as desired.
Just for comparison, here’s a similar item on amazon, same size, $20 https://amzn.to/4kXGv8Z
Worth trying if you are into olive oils and can afford it for a small bottle. Otherwise I’d say go for the bigger bottle of the SICILIAN oil at TJ’s.
How is this Kerrygold Irish Cheddar with Chili Pepper?
I think it’s Delicious! A good cheddar made more even interesting with the addition of the red chiles.
I really loved this cheese and apparently I’m not alone. I learned it can easily sell out fast at Trader Joe’s. If you look look at it you can see quite a bit of red in the cheddar, which is some red chilies. THey match well and make this cheese Spicy Delicious.
According to Trader Joe’s this cheese is “a bit like a slightly more sophisticated Pepper Jack”.
I think this cheese is SEASONAL for the time around Saint Patrick’s Day? So, Limited Supply. If you see it, grab it while you can. All I know is once I start I find it hard to stop eating this cheese. For me, its almost a bit addictive….in a good way! Is this too spicy for the Irish though I wonder?
I would buy this again.
Kerrygold Irish Cheddar with Chili Pepper $9.49/lb
They say: “Our Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza is made for us authentically in Naples, where our supplier takes great care in replicating the lengthy, artisanal process of this particular pizza-making method. The dough is matured for 90 hours, then fermented for 6 additional hours, and while its fermenting, they manually fold the dough three times a day. Once the dough reaches peak readiness, our supplier shapes it by hand and deep fries it in sunflower seed oil for a quick three minutes. The result is a crust that is at once perfectly crunchy and dreamily airy, chewy, and pillowy.”
I had read that this Roasted Garlic Pesto pizza was one of the better of the many kinds of frozen pizza’s Trader Joe’s carries. So I got one to check out.
My review? This is a pretty good pizza. Now, as far as it being a “pizza fritta”, meaning a fried crust frankly if I didn’t know this fact already, I probably could not tell the crust was fried, and in case you are wondering, is this “deep fried crust” at all greasy the answer is no. Not at all. The result of the frying? The crust on this pizza is a bit airy and a bit nicely chewy. The toppings were also pretty good. I could taste the pesto.
(note: i added a few cherry tomatoes)
It fed two of us, with other things like a salad. All in all, I say this was pretty good and certainly easy! And this coming from someone who makes his own pizza, from scratch.
TIP: Be sure to bake this to just the exact point, where the crust is really nice and brown. At first, I took it out too soon, the crust seemed browned but it was not crisp enough. So I put it back in the oven for another minute or so till it was nice and brown (yes OK one area even got a little burnt). When well baked, the crust on this became so much better. So be sure to check it carefully towards the end and get it nice and brown. One would not be amiss brushing a little EVOO around the crust to help it.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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