Trader Joe’s Food Finds – July 2021

Although this bag of Shredded Pizza Seasoned Toscano Cheese ($4.49) was slightly pricey for the size in my opinion, it was so tasty! We love doing make-your-own pizza date nights, so trying new pizza ingredients is always fun for us. It definitely elevated the flavor of our pizza, and the leftover cheese was great on top of pasta. However, I will note that this cheese didn’t get the same melty consistency I love on my pizzas, so we may need to get it again to see if that can be resolved. It’s definitely worth trying in my opinion!

Trader Joe’s definitely needed to redeem themselves after those crazy Tangy Turtle Gummies that made Gary’s tongue tingle. These Fruity Gummy Candies ($1.99) did the trick! The flavors and shapes were so fun, and the gummies themselves weren’t overly sticky or chewy. They felt like more of a fruit snack to me, and I liked it like that! My favorite flavors were the mango and the pineapple, and Gary was especially fond of the grapefruit flavor.

I first discovered these seasonal Strawberry Greek Frozen Yogurt Parfait Bars ($2.99) last summer and was so happy to see that they returned this year. When I first tried them, I really liked the fresh strawberry flavor, but was a bit thrown off by the texture of the granola inside a frozen treat. However, by the second or third box, I had gotten over it, and these are now one of my favorite summer treats. I don’t think they’ll be around for long, so get them while you can!

You might remember the confetti sprinkle version of these Strawberry Shortcake Sandwich Cookies ($2.99) that I previously posted about. We enjoyed those so much that I was really excited for this new version! Well, I’m sorry to say that these were a bit of a letdown. I’m a huge fan of fresh strawberry flavors, but I really can’t stand artificial strawberry. The filling in these sandwich cookies was overwhelmingly artificial. Gary and I each tried one and the rest of the box is sitting in our pantry still…that in itself says something!

For those of you that don’t know, Gary L-O-V-E-S hot dogs. He also is not picky about the type or brand of hot dogs he consumes. I, on the other hand, typically go for Hebrew National all beef hot dogs. I heard that these A&H Kosher Beef Hot Dogs ($4.99) were excellent, so we gave them a try for the 4th of July. They are probably some of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had, and I liked that one hot dog was a big enough serving for a meal. We of course put our pickle mustard on them and that made them even better! 🙂

There’s nothing super glamorous or special to say about this Uncured Dry Rubbed Sliced Bacon ($5.99). It looked good, I bought it, and it was good. End of story 🙂

Key Lime isn’t usually my go-to flavor of choice, but the packaging for the Key Lime Kettle Popcorn ($2.29) sold me on it all by itself. How fun does it look?! Gary is team salty and I’m team sweet, so I figured this would be a snack we’d both enjoy. In a weird way, these tasted like popcorn and fruit loops mixed together. At first it was a little too tangy and sweet for me, but it quickly became addictive. I don’t know that we’d buy this again, but it was a fun new snack to try.

Since we’re talking about popcorn, let’s talk about this Popcorn in a Pickle ($1.99). You all know that I’ve raved about the pickle mustard and the pickle potato chips. I decided to give this snack a shot, and it missed the mark. There was something about the dill flavor seasoning and the popcorn that did not mesh well together. I only ate a couple of bites and couldn’t eat any more…Gary’s been tasked with finishing the rest of the bag and it has been a chore!

These Organic Strawberry Nonfat Yogurts ($2.69) aren’t super fun or new, but it was another staple item that I wanted to try. They were okay. There wasn’t anything special to them, so they tasted like any other plain strawberry yogurt we’ve ever had. The size was a bit small for breakfast, but it would be great for kids or a snack-sized portion.

I’ll keep this one brief, because I think this might be the worst item I’ve ever had from Trader Joe’s. When I saw these Spicy Porkless Plant-Based Snack Rinds ($2.99), I was intrigued. Gary and I enjoy trying plant based foods, and the flavor profile seemed interesting. I literally ate half of one of them and couldn’t eat any more. The texture was mealy and also reminded me of styrofoam, and they were unnecessarily spicy. Bleh.

I’ve saved the best for last! Without a doubt, this Wildberry Cheesecake Ice Cream ($2.99) is my favorite new item that I tried in the month of July. Unlike the Southern Peach Crisp Ice Cream I tried earlier in the summer, the ratio of berry to cheesecake to ice cream is perfect in this sweet treat. To me, it tastes like a really fresh blueberry yogurt and a delectable dessert got married and had a baby. I can’t get enough of it! I have a feeling this item is seasonal, so I highly recommend trying it for yourself sooner rather than later!