Happy August, friends! Can you believe it’s almost September? And do you know what that means?? This is my last Trader Joe’s Food Finds post before Fall happens at Trader Joe’s! I cannot wait! I might need to do a specific Fall Food Finds post because I know all of their fun fall items will span a couple of months. In the meantime, I got 8 new items from Trader Joe’s this month! I believe that the very vast majority of these items are new to the store entirely, not just to our tastebuds. So far, we’ve tried all but one of them.
So what’s new at Trader Joe’s this month?
I’m going to start with the Sweet & Spicy Pickle Chips & Onions ($2.99) purely to get it over with. One of my favorite bloggers raved about these, and I’m always looking for easy ways to elevate our lunch game. Well, just thinking about them has my mouth and tongue on fire. I’m usually down for a bit of spice (definitely more so than Gary is), but holy smokes! I tried one tiny nibble of a pickle before I put it on my sandwich and it was miserably spicy. I honestly couldn’t even taste much because it was so hot. I ended up throwing out the jar because I cannot imagine ruining a sandwich, or my entire eating experience with these. Unless you are doing a spicy foods challenge, I’d say stay away from these!
You know what cools your mouth off after you eat something really spicy? Dairy. So let’s go there! Since the Wildberry Cheesecake Ice Cream is done for the season (insert sad face here), I figured I’d give the new Peanuts for Chocolate Ice Cream ($3.29) a chance. In case you didn’t know, chocolate is not my ice cream of choice. It’s one of the few that I actively avoid and will usually turn down! But, I do love a good chocolate peanut combo! Well, for chocolate ice cream, this was pretty good. It had a rich flavor, and the peanut flavor complemented it nicely. Would I get it again? Nah. But, if you’re a chocoholic I think this might just be your jam!
While I was in the frozen dessert section, I noticed these new Ube Mochi ($4.49). Trader Joe’s has released a few Ube (purple yam) flavored products in the past (pancake mix, cookies, etc.) and I’ve never really been intrigued. But mochi? Count me in! We’ve had such good luck with the strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate peanut butter mochi from Trader Joe’s. I didn’t really know what to expect with ube flavor. It’s super tasty!! It’s kind of hard to describe the flavor…at first it almost tasted like a mellowed out vanilla/berry flavor. We still haven’t settled on what exactly it tastes like, but we’re both fans! In my mochi flavor ranking, it’s probably number two behind strawberry. I’m certain this is a seasonal item, so if ube and/or mochi are your thing, go grab them while you can!
Continuing down the frozen aisle…I saw these new Eggwich Breadless Breakfast Sandwiches ($4.99) and was intrigued. Rest assured, it wasn’t because we are “breadless” in this household. But, these reminded me of the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches, and I figured they’d be a hit with Gary! Well, for a one time novelty, they were definitely tasty. But, they weren’t super filling…I think that each one only had 200 calories? It’s almost like we needed a second breakfast after! We definitely could have made them ourselves (probably for cheaper, too). If you’re looking for an easy microwavable breadless breakfast option, you could try these, but generally speaking I think there are better options out there.
Alright, you all know I can’t leave Trader Joe’s without getting some new snacks! If I could only have one chip flavor for the rest of my life, it would be BBQ chips. These Carolina Gold BBQ Flavored Potato Chips ($2.29) were on the new items shelf long enough for me to read the bag before they went into my cart. Gary and I both liked that they were thicker chips with ridges…they had more of a kettle chip consistency than your average chip. The BBQ flavor was very unique (but also quite tasty) as well! If you’re into mustardy and vinegary flavors, you’ll definitely like these! This is definitely a bag of chips that you should open up from the bottom so you can get all of the yummy seasoning that settled to the bottom of the bag.
And then came cookies…Double Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies ($3.99) to be specific. Again, we’re not gluten free by any means, but I’m always down to try a cookie! Honestly, when I took the first bite, I thought the whole box was going to be a waste because the texture was too dry and crumbly for my liking. But then, they grew on me! The chocolate flavor tastes like a fancier version of chocolate Teddy Grahams, and I like that there are almond slivers in the cookies. This is probably another item that I won’t get again, because sacrifices must be made when you’re deciding on cookies. But, if you’re gluten free, you should definitely try them!
This Cheddar & Gruyere Melange Cheese ($7.49) is, dare I say, on my top 5 cheese list from Trader Joe’s. I love cheddar. I love gruyere. Put them together, and you have magic. This cheese isn’t overly fancy or unique, but it’s great for pretty much anything. I could see melting it on a burger, adding it to a charcuterie board, shredding it for an omelet…the list goes on. I personally enjoy eating it all by itself! If you haven’t tried this one before, hop to it!
We haven’t tried the final item, Caci E Pepe Pasta Sauce ($3.49) quite yet. I figure when we move, we’ll be doing lots of pasta nights as we get settled and unpack, so this will be a fun thing to try! Stay tuned for an update on it in a future post 🙂
Well, that’s it for this month! What items have you been loving from Trader Joe’s lately? What should I add to my next grocery list?? I’ll see you back here next month for all things fall!!!
xoxo
Jennifer