Day 90 - Chicken Breasts

We usually buy our chicken at stores other than Trader Joe’s – Giant, Shopper’s Food Warehouse, or Safeway.  You can normally find SMALLER portions there, which we like (in that we are only two people).  But, for the sake of the blog, we bought it at Trader Joe’s this time.

What can I say?  Chicken breasts are chicken breasts, no?  The taste was fine.  Quality seemed normal.  I do find it funny that the sign says “minimally processed” – that may be poultry industry speak, but for a lay person like me I am not quite sure what that means…  Does it mean “some feathers MIGHT still be on there, cuz we only minimally processed this stuff…”?  I hope not!  J  (Note – we did NOT encounter any feathers with this chicken.)

Minimally processed...  Mystery!

I do not know if this is a GREAT PRICE, but I am feeling lazy tonight and just looked at Pea Pod (online grocery delivery service) and they are charging $3.00/lb for chicken breasts, so I would say Trader Joe’s is in the right ballpark.

My only complaint is that you cannot get smaller packages.  So many other products at TJ’s are perfectly portioned for our two-person household and I wish this was, too.  Oh sure, we could FREEZE what we don’t use the first time, but we normally like to eat our meat FRESH the day (or day after) we get it.

Price - $2.99/lb

Rating – 3.5

Day 89 - Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm

Yeah…  Ummmm…  Not so much…

I think I was a bit mis-lead by the NAME, but my bad for not reading the fine print before purchasing. 

But hey – we were visiting a Trader Joe’s in a city we had never been in, La Jolla, California, and I was excited to see a product I had not seen before!  So don’t be too mad at me for this incorrect purchase.

Here’s the deal – it is NAMED “Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm”.  To me, that meant like a body butter balmy sort of thing that I could use as something similar to LOTION, which I use a ton of.  Sounds perfect, right???

Pretty little tin, no??

But my first clue should have been the size of the TIN…  It is only 2 oz.    How much “head to toe moisturizing” action are you gonna get out of a mere 2 oz?? 

But really, I should have read the fine print.  Right there on the top of the tin, in teeny tiny fancy letters, it says, “This moisturizing balm works wonderfully on chapped lips, dry elbows and knees, heels, over-worked hands and cuticles.   It’s also great for fly-away hair or even fly away beard!”

Don’t get me wrong – I like a good multi-use product.  But a product you can put on your LIPS and also your HAIR seems a bit, welllll, stretching it… 

Not only does the sign say "NEW", it also says "exciting"!!  :)

So I set about TESTING it.

I have tried it on my lips – works fine.

I have tried it on my legs after shaving – it is awkward…  It is a hard balm in a tin, much like some hair goo I have had before and really liked.  It is hard to get OUT of the tin – I had to dig a finger down into the goo and pull a hunk up, then rub it between my palms before applying.  Basically, I was a gooey mess just from trying to moisturize my legs.

I tried it on my hands, but no thanks.   I mean, I USE A BOATLOAD of lotion and hand creams, but this is too gooey to be functional.  You just want to wash your hands after you get it put on, and that sort of defeats the whole purpose of having put it on in the first place, no?

And, just for the sake of this blog, I tried it on my hair.  (Oh the things I do for this blog…)  It worked quite well on my short, spiky doo. 

Not bad as a hair product!

For the record – I do not have a BEARD to try it on so I cannot attest to whether it would be good for “fly away beard” as advertised.

If you want it for a hair product, go for it.  At $3.99 it is cheaper than most.  But if you are buying it expecting to be able to actually use it from HEAD TO TOE like the name says, you are going to be disappointed.

NOTE:  This product review has an ADDENDUM!!  I found someone with an amazing mustache to help me by trying it out!  See his opinion here:  Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm Addendum
Price – $3.99

Rating – 1.5

Day 88 - Shredded Hash Browns

BONUS BEFORE TODAY’S REVIEW – A friend sent me this link to a fabulous faux Trader Joe’s commercial.  You need to see it!  When you watch, make sure to move the cursor to the beginning because for some reason it wants to start :17 seconds into the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=OdB7GDZY3Pk

Now onto the review:  these Shredded Hash browns are a good staple to have in the freezer! 

Shredded Hash Browns - taste good!

These frozen hash browns cook up quickly, easily, and yield a tasty result!   In our house this would normally be a BREAKFAST dish, but just last night I mixed things up a bit and served them for dinner.  When you are swappin’ meals around, ain’t no tellin’ what can happen next!  J

I just put a bit of olive oil in a pan, dump in some frozen hash browns, and fry them up!  Salt, pepper, and Tabasco if you like – voila, a tasty dish!  Last night we went all out and shredded some Parmesan to put on top of them – delish!

Other brands of frozen hash browns often freeze all in a big clump and it is super hard to bust it up to cook a smaller amount.  So far these have somehow avoided the clumping fate (knock on wood…) and are easy to get out of the bag in whatever size portion you want.

Price is FINE!

The price is fine and preparing them is sure a lot easier than making hash browns from scratch.   Two thumbs up.

Price - $1.69

Rating - 4

Day 87 - Spanish Cheese Tapas Sampler

We first saw this adorable little package in a Trader Joe’s in California and we were so jealous!  “What??  Sweet little cheeses??  Why, we do not have THAT in the metro DC area!!” we whined.

How wrong we were!  We do INDEED have the Spanish Cheese Tapas Sampler at our local Trader Joe’s.  It is a package of 3 perfectly sized (5.29 oz total) little chunks of cheese – Iberico, Cabra Al Vino, and Manchego cheeses to be precise. 

Delightful concept, bland result

The only problem ISSSS, see, the cheese do not have much FLAVOR…  So, while they are delightful to look at and seem like they would be so quaint to serve to guests with some of those funky little ceramic cheese labels, I would prefer they actually TASTE good, too…  See where I am going with this?  They are just b-l-a-n-d.   Maybe they are SUPPOSED to be that way, I am no Spanish cheese expert!  But, for my taste, they do not have enough taste (see how clever that was?  I used “taste” twice there!).

In the end, I guess I would rather do the hard work myself and buy three separate cheeses that each had a little zip or zing to them and forego the simplicity of this little (bland) package. 

P.S. - Embarrassing postscript to this review:  It was not until after I had written this and we has almost finished all of these cheeses that we realized, oops, each cute little wedge is already SLICED!  We had been cutting bits off unnecessarily - the cutting is done for you (not in the direction we normally slice cheese, which is why we did not notice I guess).  

Price – $3.99

Rating – 3

Day 86 - Pineapple Juice

THANKS HEIDI!  Heidi is my friend who had this tasty Trader Joe’s Pineapple Juice in her fridge when I stayed over.  Now, thanks to her, we have it in OUR fridge, too!  And boy is it good.  It is REAL JUICE, none of that imitation watered down stuff.   

Find this juice back by the milk and yogurt refrigerated section

We hadn’t bought any pineapple juice in a very long time, and had never tried the Trader Joe’s variety, so this was a nice find.  It is very juicy and very fruity, and after all, isn’t that what a juice SHOULD be?

Two thumbs up for this great addition to your breakfast table. 

Price - $3.99

Rating - 4.25 

Day 85 - Josephsbrau Prost (beer)

I am not sure if I have complained about this on this blog before, so let me get this out in the open:  our Trader Joe’s in Falls Church, VA USED TO do wine and beer tastings a LOT.  Like, almost every time we shopped.  And let me be clear – tasting wine/beer while shopping not only makes shopping more pleasant, it almost ensures you will purchase at least one of the items you just tasted!  Over a year ago they cut way back on their tastings (boooooo!!!) and since then it has been more difficult to get exposed to new varieties of wine and beer to buy.

But this past Sunday they HAD A TASTING!  And one of the items being poured was a flyer item that we had never tasted before called Josephsbrau Prost (beer).  We were happy to taste it – it was terrific!!  Cold, crisp, and delicious.  And so we did what any satisfied taster would do – bought a six pack!

Beer and wine tasting on a Sunday afternoon at Trader Joe's - how civilized!

See Trader Joe’s???  We would never had thrown that 6 pack in our cart had you not scheduled that friendly staff member to stand in the liquor section a couple of hours and entertain guests.  I say that is a win-win!  (Note to management if any of you see this – the few times that you also have a cheese and cracker combo with the wine/beer, we (and people around us) normally end up buying the cheese, too, so SPLURGE next time and put out a snack that goes with what you are pouring!  It makes you look like great hosts and it adds up to more sales – cha-ching!!)

This is a tasty beer that we would have completely missed out on had the store not done a tasting - thanks Trader Joe's!

Anyway, we had this beer tonight with chicken chili and it was a great combo.  I can also imagine sipping it while sitting on a porch or patio on a warm summer night.  Josephsbrau Prost is good beer at a great price.

Price - $6.49

Rating - 4

Day 84 - Whole Kernel Corn

Basically, a can of corn is a can of corn, no???

And yet…  At SOME grocery stores, I choose to buy the name brand corn (Green Giant and the like) instead of the plain label store corn.  “Why??” you ask.  Well, I am sure it is psychological, but I sometimes think the fancy brand MUST be better, right??

Wrong.  And Trader Joe’s brand just proves it.  This can of corn at Trader Joe’s tastes equal to any fancy brand you see advertised on tv.  I have eaten this corn as a side dish (just warmed with butter on top) and I have eaten it cooked into main dishes (most recently in a chicken chili that was supurb!).

Simple can, simple vegetable, tasty

Trader Joe’s corn is good.  It should not be dismissed just because you do not see commercials for it on television or coupons for it in your Sunday newspaper. If you are going to eat a canned vegetable, this one is worthy of your spoon (or fork, I am not judging).  Get it.  Eat it.  If you like corn you will like it.

Price – $.89

Rating – 4.25

Day 83 - Maple Syrup

We are a TWO SYRUP family.  There are some things each of us agreed to change when we got together – for example I gave up Coke and became a Pepsi girl to support his love of Pepsi, and he forego Hydrox to get onboard with my Oreos…  But SYRUP is one thing neither of us will compromise on – he uses real maple syrup (way too sweet for me) and I use the fake stuff, like Mrs. Butterworth’s.

So, because of my dislike of real maple syrup, I have to have a “guest reviewer” for this one – my husband David.

Me:  So, David, please tell me how your Trader Joe’s maple syrup is.

David:  Uh – it’s fabulous!  It has never let me down.  It’s delicious. And it always tastes like MAPLE SYRUP.  It’s got a perfectly sized container that can sit comfortably in the cupboard or refrigerator door, waiting without complaint until the moment it is needed.  And then, it comes into its own, pouring its golden goodness over what would otherwise be a PLAIN PANCAKE.  Or waffle.

Me:  So David, on a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the Trader Joe’s Maple Syrup?

David:  I would give it a 4.75.

This syrup must be great at test taking - it gets a GRADE A!

Me:  Thanks for being a guest reviewer in my blog.

David:  You are welcome!

Price - $5.79

Rating – 4.75

Day 82 - Omega Trek Mix

We do not normally eat a lot of trail mix (this one, though called “Trek Mix”, is what I would traditionally call a trail mix).  But Trader Joe’s has a LOT of different varieties of trail mix, and I needed a good snack for munching on while traveling and while at a stressful assignment, so I picked up a bag of this Omega Trek Mix.  And boy was I happy I did.

This stuff is great!!! 

Here’s my issue with most trail mixes:  there is always something poopy in them.  No matter how great the ingredients are, there is always something yucky snuck in to surprise you and make your snacking experience less than terrific.  (Can someone say – disgusting carob bits, or fake yogurt covered hard raisins?)  You either accidentally EAT the yucky bit, or you spend your time carefully weeding through each handful making sure you avoid it.

But with Trader Joe’s Omega Trek Mix, ain’t nothing bad in it!!!  You heard me right – NO POOPY BITS!  Everything in there is good! 

This is the package to look for!  (Signage from the Overland Park, KS Trader Joe's store)

The front of the package says “dried cranberry and roasted nut blend”.  I have to tell you – the fact that “dried cranberry” was listed first was concerning for me…  I LIKE a dried cranberry, but I don’t LOVE a dried cranberry.  Know what I mean?  But in this mix, there are not an inordinate amount of them, and they are not uber-dried-beyond-recognition-and-ready-to-bust-your-teeth-with-their-hardness.  No siree!  They are moist, plump, and tasty!

But the REAL GEMS in this mix are the NUTS.  My oh my, this is one nutty blend!  The ingredients list:  roasted salted almonds, roasted pumpkin seeds, walnuts, roasted salted pecans, and dry roasted salted pistachios.  See what I MEAN???  Every good nut in the book (practically)!!  And none of the duds.  Nope – you will not reach into the bag while in a dark movie theatre and accidentally pop a Brazil nut in your mouth with this mix! 

I highly recommend you pick up a bag of this.  Oh, and if you are the healthy sort, you will be happy to know it is “high in ALA Omega 3”, so bam!

Price - $5.99

Rating - 4.75

Day 81 - Toasted Coconut Pancake Mix

We do not make pancakes all that often at our house, so when we do they are a treat.   And I usually enjoy them more than my partner.

But with this new Trader Joe’s Toasted Coconut Pancake Mix, the trend was reversed – David was more in love with them than I was.  I thought they were GOOD, but he really, really liked them.

Isn't the old fashioned packaging look cute?

They were darn simple to make – just add water, mix, and cook.  The toasted coconut in them is a great addition and adds deliciousness.  My only thing was that they were a bit DRY.  Even with butter and syrup, I would have liked them to be more moist.  Next time I am going to follow the recipe that says it makes thinner pancakes that you can roll up and see how those taste!

Overall, good breakfast. 

It is a new product for Trader Joe's

P.S. – David adds, “It is also a cookie mix!”  He is eating 2 leftover pancakes that have been sitting out on a plate on the counter for 12 hours as COOKIES.  Yeah, that’s how he rolls.

Price - $3.69

Rating – 3.75

Day 80 - Crispy Cookies Filled with Belgian Chocolate

Do you know why they call these “Crispy Cookies”?  Because the name “Milano” was already taken!

Fine price for a tasty cookie (at La Jolla, CA store - this is their in-store artist's work on the pricing sign)

Yes siree – these are like Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies, only a bit BETTER!  With the Pepperidge Farm version, the cookies are a bit bland.  But with this Trader Joe’s version, not only is the Belgian Chocolate FILLING tasty, the cookie bits are actually good, too!  It’s a WIN-WIN!

"Hmmm - will these be GOOD?" David wonders before we try them.  The answer is YES!

And at $2.79 per package they are cheaper than the hoity-toity Milanos, too!  I wish they came in some type of re-sealable package, but maybe the manufacturers assume (and probably rightly so for most households) that all of the cookies will get eaten within a day of opening the bag anyway.

If you like Milanos, you will like these.  Go for it!

Price - $2.79

Rating – 4.5

Day 79 - Uttapam with Coconut Chutney

These could change their name to “Blandapam with Coconut Chutney”.  Bleck.

There are 4 uttampam (rice bread) with onions and cilantro in the box.  Two cooking techniques are listed:  microwaving or heating in a pan on the stove.  The first time we tried them we did the microwave technique because we were HUNGRY and wanted to eat.  The result was an unsatisfactory dinner.  The bread was WARM but not GOOD.  It was super bland and the texture was odd.

Don't they look yummy in the photo on the box??

But before writing a review and saying something negative, I decided we should cook the other two uttapam a different night using the stove technique.  I hoped that result would be tastier.   And, while it is true that the result was tastier, it was not TASTY…

Even cooking on the stove, it was all just too bland.  The coconut chutney could not add enough “pizzazz” to save this.  I am disappointed, because the photo on the box looked so good and I had high hopes! 

Even at this low price, these are not worth it for us

We won’t be buying these again.

Price – $2.49

Rating - 2

Day 78 - Mediterranean Hummus

Now THIS is a hummus.  There are several hummus choices at Trader Joe’s, so sometimes it can be a little overwhelming when you stare at the shelf wondering which one to buy.  As you know if you follow this blog (day 59, Hummus with Horseradish L ), not all hummus is terrific.  We were recently in California and were surprised to find hummus selections that we don’t think we have seen here in Virginia!  Apparently people in La Jolla get more hummus choices than those in Arlington.  Boo. 

We don't remember seeing these at our Virginia store

Pretty good prices, too!  We want these!

Anyway, this Mediterranean Hummus is a great choice!

REALLY GOOD HUMMUS!!

First off, it is TASTY.  It is great on bagels, chips, crackers, or however you prefer to consume your hummus.  Secondly, it is CHEAP!  The container is BIG compared to other brands of hummus (16 oz) and it sells for only $3.99.  Even with a coupon for some other brand, this one is likely to come in at a better price.  (Side note:  the fine print says a “serving size” is 2 tablespoons – yeah right!  Who can eat that little?  Not me!)

Mediterranean Hummus on a blue corn chip - reviewed on day 72

Good price for good hummus!

This is a fantastic basic hummus to have in your fridge!  Get it!

Price - $3.99

Rating – 4.5

Day 77 - Vitamin E Oil

I do not buy many health or beauty products at Trader Joe’s, which accounts for this being I think the first review of the year on something that is not food or drink.  But one thing I HAVE bought is a bottle of Vitamin E oil.  I put it on a scar from surgery before I go to sleep at night, with the idea that it will help the scar somehow magically become less noticeable.  (Let’s be honest here, the scar is not going away…  Surgery was in 2010…)  In actuality, applying the oil has become a nightly RITUAL that does as much to calm my mind and tell my body “it is bedtime, time to sleep now” than it does “heal” my old scar.  I also use the Vitamin E oil every once in a while on my face.  It is an oily, oily mess but it does take away the dryness and feels somehow exotic!

Sweet little bottle of Vitamin E oil

Anyway, I tried to do price comparisons with the Vitamin E oil at Trader Joe’s and at other local stores, but boy is it confusing.  Everyone has a different size container and they are found in different departments of the stores.  Some say they are for skin whereas others claim they are for nutrition.  Is there truly a difference???  I do not know.

Here's one - almost the same size for nearly twice the price (CVS)

A pricy one says it is for nutrition (also at CVS)...

Here is the one at Trader Joe's.

So I don’t feel as if I can adequately compare the oils.  But I will say that the one from Trader Joe’s seems to be much cheaper and is just fine for me.  J

P.S. – stay tuned!  I bought a cool little tin of moisturizer at Trader Joe’s in California!  Another non-food/drink review forthcoming. 

Price – $3.99

Rating – 4.25

Day 76 - Lucques Olives

The sign for Lucques Olives at our Trader Joe’s location promises “meaty and flavorful”.  Can I just say, that sign LIES.

The "flavorful" part of this sign is so not true.

We are olive lovers (as explained in a review of another olive variety on day 32 of this blog).  So when we eat olives, we EAT OLIVES.  Like, I am not talking one or two.  So we were excited to try this new-to-us olive type – Lucques. 

But sadly, it is blah, blah, blah.  There is hardly any taste of all.  It’s not salty, it’s not flavorful, it is just boring.

They LOOK pretty, but for me, TASTE is more important than appearance in an olive.

So far we have not happened on an olive that strikes our fancy at Trader Joe’s.  We will keep trying I guess, but until then we will also go to another local grocery store that has an “olive bar” to stock up on super delicious ones.

Price – $3.99

Rating – 2.25

Day 75 - Persian Cucumbers

I like a good cucumber in the summer time – slice it up, add some sliced onion, soak it in vinegar and water…  Tasty!   Or how about this – slice up a cucumber and toss it in a big green salad – delicious!  I had seen these smaller Persian cucumbers before but had never bought them.  Then recently I was visiting a friend in St. Joseph, MO and her husband brought some home from a local (non Trader Joe’s) grocery store.  He served them like a snack – a healthy appetizer as it were.  Just rinse and EAT.  No need for slicing.  No need for pickling.  No need for dipping or topping with something – just eat! 

Tasty, compact little crunch snacks!

The next time we were at Trader Joe’s I picked some up.  They come in a pack of 6 for $2.49, which equals 42 cents each.  So for less than you would plop down on a Snickers bar, you get a crunchy, tasty, HEALTHY snack!  We liked them so much we threw a few in a Ziploc bag in our carry-on for eating during a recent long flight!  A cool thing about them is that, unlike salty snacks, they don’t make you THIRSTY.  In fact they are quite juicy so help quench your thirst a bit!  Also, unlike snacking on carrot sticks, they are not boring!

Cheaper than a Snickers bar...  Easy to transport, too!  

I will keep some of these in our fridge for munching on. 

Price - $2.49

Rating – 4

Day 74 - Partially Popped Popcorn

We did NOT expect to like this.  We saw it on an end cap of “New Products” and we looked at one another and went, “Ewwww!”.  I mean, it bills itself as “…the little crunchies usually found in the bottom of the popcorn bowl…” – aka the WORST PART OF THE POPCORN EXPERIENCE.  I hate those bits at the bottom of the bowl, doesn’t EVERYONE?  They are hard, don’t taste good, hurt your teeth, and worst of all they break into little razor sharp bits that deposit themselves deep into the bed of your gums where they annoy the heck out of you until you get off your butt and find a toothpick or dental floss to force them out!!!  (Can you tell by my description that the bits at the bottom of the bowl are NOT my favorite part?)

Partially Popped Pop Corn??  David's teeth hurt jusst THINKING ABOUT EATING IT!

Anyway, the description on the back of this bag goes on to say that these bits have, “…a texture that makes them almost addictive and easier on the jaw”.  Hmmmm, color me a doubter on this one…

But we need to try loads of Trader Joe’s products this year – reviewing one per day requires COMMITMENT, folks.  And like they say, in for a penny, in for a pound!  So, we needed to try this.  We asked a Trader Joe’s associate if she had tried it yet, she hadn’t and she sort of wrinkled up her nose and agreed with us that the premise sounded bad…  However, as Trader Joe’s employees are wont to do, she offered to OPEN A BAG SO WE COULD TRY IT!  Yuppers – right there in the store. 

And try we did (as did she).  Turns out – THESE LITTLE SUCKERS ARE GOOD!  They are CRUNCY but not tooth-hurting crunchy.  They taste GOOD.  And they somehow managed to eliminate the little bits that love to get stuck between your teeth!   We put a bag in our cart – sold!! 

La Jolla, CA Trader Joe's sign - each store has an in-house artist to make signage so your sign will look different than this one

We soon found a terrific pairing for this snack – beer!  We snuck the bag into a craft brewery in La Jolla, CA and ate Partially Popped Popcorn with beer – yummmm!  They almost have a “corn nut” flavor (which got me to thinking, “I haven’t had corn nuts in years.  In fact, what IS a corn nut????” – this deep thought may have been because of the beer…).  One negative thing about these – they are made with butter and sea salt, and that really sticks to your fingers.  But heck – just lick ‘em off when you are done!

I highly recommend you pick a bag of these up and TRY THEM.  We are now on our second bag!    If you get them and do not like them, remember, you can always return the opened bag and Trader Joe’s will happily refund your money.  Seriously, they give you no grief about returning a product.  (But I don’t think you will return this one because they are delicious.)

Price – $2.49

Rating – 4.75

Day 73 - Coffee Trio

As so often happens to us, we were out of coffee and looking at the shelves of Trader Joe’s trying to remember which ones we liked.  But strangely, there seemed to be a few NEW COFFEES that we had never seen before, including an adorable little set of three – a coffee trio! 

Being smart shoppers (at least we like to think of ourselves as smart shoppers…) we wanted to do the math before deciding to get them.  I know that NORMALLY petite little sets of things end up costing MORE than if you were to just buy the regular sized items – think hand lotions or lip balms at Body Shop or Victoria’s Secret at holiday time…  But when we did the math on this set, the numbers turned out good!  There are three cans, each about half the size of a “normal” coffee can, and the total price is $4.99.  (I wish I could list exact sizes, but I have thrown the outside packaging away and the cans do not have the sizes on them – they are labeled “not for individual retail sale”.)  We figured buying the three smaller cans was a good way to try more varieties of coffee!

Coffee Trio - limited quantities!

So far we have opened two cans – Papua New Guinea and Uganda (I can’t really say “Uganda” without hearing the line from “Book of Morman” in my head where our hero gets assigned a mission trip to Uganda…).  We really like the Papua New Guinea variety and Uganda is not half bad.  Looking forward to trying Peru, but thought I should post the review NOW so that if you, too, want to get in on the petite can action you can do so before they run out (this is not a normally stocked product, the sign said “Limited Quantities”.  Now that I think about it, these MIGHT be left-overs from the holiday stock, but expiration dates on them are not until October 2015.)

So in a nutshell – buy the trio.  Good way to taste 3 varieties of coffee!

P.S. – to Trader Joe’s (if any corporate people have found their way to this blog) – why is there an EXTRA LID in this set?  There are three cans, but four plastic lids.  Even though we will recycle them, seems like a waste. 

Price – $4.99

Rating - 4

Day 72 - Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Here is where we splurge…  If you saw my review of White Corn Tortilla Rounds (day 56), you know you can get a really big bag (2 lbs) of chips at Trader Joe’s for only $3.29.  Whereas THIS bag of blue corn chips is smaller (half the size) and the same price ($3.29).  So TECHNICALLY, you are paying double (ouch) for these chips as opposed to the white corn ones.

But the thing IS, see, THESE CHIPS ARE DELICIOUS, whereas if you remember from the white corn tortilla rounds review, those other ones are super crappy…  We get through a bag of these blue chips pretty quickly (normally we dip them in hummus) but the huge-o bag of white corn crappy ones is still sitting half-eaten on our counter.

Now THESE are some tasty chips

The blue ones are the right thickness.  They are tasty.  They have a good amount of salt (some people miiiight say a bit too much salt, but it is the perfect amount for us).  They are triangular shaped instead of round (if that makes a difference to you).  They are good at scooping up hummus and salsa.  And they are not too HARD (the main complaint about those white ones).

So, for my hard earned money, it is worth spending the extra to get chips you will actually enjoy eating.  Get a bag and TRY them.  If you don’t think they are worth splurging on, go back to the other ones.  But at least give them a shot. 

Half the chips for the same price - WHO would think that I would buy them?  But they are OGOD!

 Price - $3.29

Rating – 4.75

Day 71 - Boneless Beef Rib Eye Steak

We do not eat a heck of a lot of red meat.  That might be apparent by the fact that this review is posting on day 70 of this project and it is the first time beef has appeared!  (I had to peek back through the reviews to fact check that and I am a little surprised myself!  I certainly didn’t plan it that way.)  We are not vegetarians, and we are not “anti-beef”, we just don’t eat it all that often. 

So when we DO eat it, we want it to be good.  And this wasn’t.  There was far too much fat and not enough TASTE.  The best part about it was the seasoning we put on it and not the actual beef itself.

In general, beef at Trader Joe’s seems limited.  And pricey.  Maybe beef is a money maker for them?  They just don’t have the selection that Safeway, Giant, or other grocery stores do.  And they don’t have the option of opening a package and giving you a smaller portion like Publix will.  And there is no “meat department” with a butcher to wrap up just what you want.

Boneless Beef Rib Eye Steak

Color me disappointed in this steak.  Sure, we will try another one before the year of reviews is up, but for now I will stick to veggies, chicken, and fish.  This steak left a not-so-good taste in my mouth.

Price – $9.49 per lb

Rating – 2.5

Day 70 - Greens, Beans and Grains

Less GRAINS, more GREENS AND BEANS needed!

I had high hopes for this single serving frozen meal.  I mean, how much further from TV dinners of my youth could this possibly be:  “A Savory Entrée of Kale, Garbanzos, Peanuts, and Couscous”!!  It looks fabulous in the photo on the box – it’s even served on a super fancy plate.

Alas, it is more couscous than beans ‘n’ greens.  There just was not enough of the veggie/saucy bit to mix with the dry couscous.  And the PEANUTS were non-existent IMHO – nary a nut to be had.  Granted, the serving suggestion says that to dress this puppy up a bit one could sprinkle with a “few more chopped peanuts”, but to add “more” there would have to be “some” to begin with, no? 

Such promise....  If ONLY there was a bit more sauce.

I added sriracha, which spiced and sauced it up a bit more.  I think one could also top it with roasted coconut and that wouldn’t go wrong.  But first Trader Joe’s needs to add more SAUCE. 

Overall it was a GOOD lunch that could be GREAT with just a tiny addition in the package.

Price - $2.99

Rating – 3.25

Day 69 - Grifone Bianco (wine)

They say “floral and fresh – peach and apricot”.  I say “fruity, clean, white wine, won’t knock your socks off but won’t make you gag”.  I know, I am quite a fancy wine reviewer…

Seriously, we LOVED the Grifone Primitivo (blog Day 53, rating of 4.5) so when we saw another variety of the Grifone label we were psyched.  This one is just BIANCO.  Nothing fancy, nothing super special.  Just a clean, crisp white wine.

Pretty label, average white wine

Maybe if we had tried it first in summer – sitting out on the porch in the evening drinking some after a hot day – it would have been better.  As it is, we broke open the bottle on a freezing cold March night and it just didn’t really do the trick.

I think "Good with Veggies!" would have been more honest advertising

If you have $5 and want to get a good wine, get the Grifone Primitivo instead.

Price - $4.99

Rating – 3.5

Day 68 - Brussels Sprouts

Here’s the deal – I am picky about my fresh vegetables.  Vegetables are basically my favorite food group (maybe tied with cheese…) so I want GOOD vegetables!  I am the type of shopper who touches, examines, and even at times SMELLS the produce.  And yet….  I like Trader Joe’s brussels sprouts, even though they are sold in a sealed BAG so are untouchable, squeezable, or SMELL-ABLE! 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS ARE DELICIOUS!

In other stores I would carefully look through the bin of loose brussels sprouts to choose the ones I want.  At Trader Joe’s, you can peek through the clear parts of the bag and check the “sell by” date, but that is as far as you can go. 

And in my experience that is JUST FIIIINE.  I have never gotten a bad bag of brussels sprouts at TJs (and trust me, I have eaten my share of their sprouts).  I buy and cook them year-round and they are always fresh and tasty.  In fact I made some for dinner just this evening.  The package says it is five servings, but in our experience one bag equals four servings (then again, we like us some brussels  sprouts!).

Price – $2.49

Rating – 5

Day 67 - Turkish Smyrna Figs

Let me start by saying that the dried fruits and nut aisle at Trader Joe’s is OUTSTANDING.  I mean, it is honestly fabulous.  There are SO MANY choices and variations – nuts of this persuasion and that, dried fruits with spices and those that are naked…  You must walk down the dried fruit and nut aisle to truly appreciate it.

A NUT looking at the dried fruit and nut aisle in a Trader Joe's in North Carolina

 That being said, the Turkish Smyrna Figs are a lovely choice!!  This was our first purchase of this particular dried fruit and we were very happy with it.  We ended up sneaking the bag into an all day Best Picture nominated Oscar movie watching fest, and I am quite certain we were the healthiest snackers in the whole entire sold out theatre. 

Tasty and healthy snack - dried figs

A fine price for a fine fig

The packaging for these figs works well – after opening there is a little Ziplock-like closure on the top and it really works (as opposed to some packaging which HAS the zip top but for some reason it can’t close…).  The figs are really tasty!!  They are plump and soft and yummy.  Try them!

Full disclosure – as soon as summer hits we will have our own FRESH FIGS right in the side yard.  Last year was the first time our tiny fig tree (her name is Pudding…) bore fruit, and boy was it NICE!  I had never had a fresh fig until I plucked one off of Pudding and bit into the lusciousness that is fig.  Ahhhh. 

A real live FIG ON OUR TREE!

This is on of our fresh figs cut in half - isn't it gorgeous?

But until the new figs appear on our tree, these dried ones from TJs will do juuuust fine.

Price - $3.49

Rating - 4

Day 66 - Cara Cara Naval Oranges

GO TO TRADER JOE’S NOW AND GET THESE CARA CARA NAVAL ORANGES.  Seriously – today!  They are a “seasonal product”, meaning the store will only carry (or should I say, “carry carry” J ) them a short time.  And you need to taste them!

This is the bag you are looking for - go get one!

They are delicious!  They are juicy, sweet, PINK inside, and amazing!  David picked up a bag and it didn’t take us long to get through it.  We do not EAT many oranges, normally we buy them for squeezing into fresh orange juice.  But these cara caras are ideal to cut into slices and enjoooooy.  They will put a smile on your face and a bit of summer in your heart.  They just taste GOOD! 

Aren't they pretty?

 Go to Trader Joe’s and get some before the season is over and they are gone.

Cara Cara Naval Oranges will make you smile - they do me!

Price - $3.49 per 3 lb. bag

Rating - 5