It’s time to talk about Trader Joe’s…one of my very favorite topics! In case you missed my December Trader Joe’s Food Finds, be sure to check that post out first before you read my reviews of the items we tried for the first time below.
Jingle Jangle – Holy cow, it’s a miracle that we actually made it until Christmas before opening this chocolatey goodness. It was the perfect tin of chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, peanut butter cups, and candy pieces. We left it out on our coffee table for when we had a craving for something sweet and it lasted us over a week. This would be a great hostess gift to pick up for next year!
Cookie Decorating Kit – Honestly, the cookies and icing weren’t the tastiest I’ve ever had, but for the price, it was a fun activity for us to do together, and I’d probably purchase these again next year. You can check out our cookie masterpieces here!
Asiago Cheese with Rosemary & Olive Oil – Oh my goodness, everyone, this cheese is amazing! It is definitely one of our top 5 favorite cheeses from TJ’s!
Brown Rice Pasta – I’ve heard horror stories about gluten free pasta, and it’s obvious that people aren’t referencing this one. The texture and taste are totally normal. The only thing that I found a bit strange was the layer of starch that seems to form as the pasta cools. I definitely feel like pasta with gluten reheats in leftovers a bit better, but there might be a trick to this. Fill me in if you know!
In the month of January, my focus was clearly on snacks and desserts. New Year’s resolutions don’t have anything on me! Let’s talk about snacks first.
If you like spicy snacks, these Organic Jalapeño Corn & Rice Puffs ($1.99) are going to be right up your alley! I’m officially obsessed. The good news is that you can’t eat the whole bag at once because your mouth would burst into flames. Gary can’t handle more than one of these, but I can sit here snacking on these for a while before reaching for some cold water.
Meet my new favorite spinach dip! This Sour Cream Spinach Dip ($3.49) checks all of the boxes for me. It’s great on crackers or baguettes. It’s loaded with flavor, and it’s perfect for entertaining…give me all the easy appetizers! Grab this from the refrigerated section on your next trip and you will not regret it.
Bread counts as a snack, right? In my book it does! This Challah ($3.69) wasn’t a new purchase for me, but I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t loop you in about one of my favorite breads on this earth. Challah is braided egg bread, and this Trader Joe’s version absolutely delivers! It’s perfect for slicing for french toast, but I like to eat it Aladdin style by just breaking off a handful and chowing down. Pro tip: marry someone who doesn’t judge you for doing that — Gary doesn’t even bat an eye at my bread eating behaviors anymore.
Alright, let’s chat about “normal” food now – AKA not snacks and not desserts. Notice how I only have two items in this category. Ha!
Confession: Here in the Peiffer household, we are not the best about eating our veggies. On my last trip to the store, though, salad sounded so good! I know these aren’t the greatest value, but whenever we have a large salad the leftovers end up going to waste because nobody likes soggy lettuce…bleh! Later that day, Gary and I split this Salad with BBQ Flavored Chicken ($4.49) and a sandwich for lunch and it absolutely hit the spot! I loved the combo of BBQ sauce and ranch, and the tortilla strips added a nice crunch. I can definitely see picking up more of these for easy lunches in the future.
I’ve seen a few people post about this new French Onion Macaroni & Cheese ($4.99), so I had to grab it from the freezer section. The picture on the box has me drooling, so my expectations are pretty high. We haven’t tried this quite yet, so stay tuned to future Trader Joe’s Food Find posts to hear more about it!
Now, let’s talk dessert – my favorite food group! Strawberry Mochi ($4.49) and Vanilla Mochi ($4.49) were total impulse buys for me on my last trip to the store. I usually steer clear of the frozen desserts at TJ’s because I have no self-control, but the cute packaging lured me in. These desserts are so fun! They’re perfect for when you just want a little something sweet and don’t want to deal with more dishes. They’re handheld, they’re sweet, and they’re probably going to be a staple in our freezer from here on out. Gary and I both have a slight preference for the strawberry ones, but vanilla is great too!
Last, but definitely not least, we tried the Golden Caramel Swirl Ice Cream ($4.49) for the first time. Holy cow, is this ice cream rich, but so good! For the sake of full disclosure, I took a photo of this on a blanket on our couch, because we were about to go to town on it with a couple of spoons. #nobowlsnorules
That’s all for January! Have you tried anything new from Trader Joe’s lately? What should I look for in February? Comment below!
xoxo
Jennifer