Day 359 - Handfuls of Happy Trekking

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!  I hope that your day has been memorable, joy filled, and all around HAPPY.  We have had a beautiful day here in Florida – the sun has been shining and the holiday spirit is all around.  J  It was over 80 degrees today, so we HIT THE BEACH. 

MERRRRRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

And MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAUXMAN!!

Do you wanna build a fauxman???

If there is one thing you need after a couple of hours at the beach, it is a SNACK.  So we were thankful that Paul from the Jacksonville Beach, FL store had gifted us that great TJ’s bag full of stuff, which included HANDFULS OF HAPPY TREKKING trail mix.  I put a bag of those into the beach bag before we hit the sand.

Bit blurry photo - my camera had sea salt/air on it by the time I took this :)

This big package contains ten SMALLER individual packages of trail mix.  Ingredients are almonds, cashews, pistachios, chocolate, cranberries, and cherries.

Cute sized little package of trail mix!

I would have to say that they are perfect beach snacks!  The little packs are sealed so no sand can get in, and each pack is a great size for one person (I only packed one, my bad, so David and I had to share that).  Actualllllly, it wasn’t just David and I who shared.  Beach birds have an UNCANNY skill to know when you have busted out something to eat!  The second I opened this bag of trail mix THIS fellow showed up to get a bit.

SNACKS???  DID SOMEONE SAY SNACKS????

I experimented with the bird a bit and it turns out that birds (this particular bird anyway) does not like chocolate or cranberries.  But he/she DIGS cashew bits!!!  Sadly, so does David, so the two of them had to fight it out for cashews. 

I would give this trail mix a 4.5.  It has a good mix of ingredients.  I personally would prefer more ALMONDS, but David and the bird really liked the cashews.  J

These would be good treats to put into lunch bags, beach bags, hiking packs, and the like.  If you are snow skiing these would be GREAT in your jacket pocket to eat while going up a lift.  I am not usually a fan of pre-packaged tiny treats, I always feel like you must be paying MORE for the convenience of buying stuff pre-sorted into tiny bags and that I should just make my own little snack bags.  But this sure was easy to just grab and go!!   And when I do the math, these are only .69 cents per little bag, which doesn’t seem outrageous at all to me.

Here is what David thought:  “I thought these were good.  I liked them.  They were a nice mix.  They were not very salty – maybe they could have been saltier for me.  But it was a nice balance between the sweetness of the fruit and chocolate and the nuts.  It felt substantial enough to allay some hunger, yet light enough to be just a casual snack.  I would give these a 3.75 (the nuts could be roastier and saltier).”

David had to share with the bird, but at least our Fauxman didn't want any trail mix.

Here is what the bird who ate cashews thought:  “Chirp chirp chirp.  Peep chirp.  Peep peep peep peep.  Chirp!  Peep chirp peep 4.”

Here is a link to Trader Joe’s article on this product:  TJ's article on Handfuls of Happy Trekking. 

Price - $6.99 (so .69 per pack of trail mix, the cost of a candy bar or cheaper and just as tasty, plus healthier!)

Rating (average of 2 humans and 1 bird) - 4

Day 358 - Trail Mix Cookies

First off, huge shout out to FERNANDO from the Geek Squad in Daytona Beach, FL Best Buy store.  Dude is a miracle worker. 

I never thought I would like Geek Squad, but FERNANDO is awesome!

It took us 4 trips to Best Buy in 1.5 days (our fault), and before we met Fernando we had to be serviced by his muuuuch less competent (and perhaps high??) co-worker who managed to get himself FIRED (we had nooothing to do with that) between our visits 1 and 2.

Anyway – FERNANDO, Fernando rocks!  Estimated wait time to check out my old laptop and switch all data to the new one was 4 – 6 days, but FERNANDO got ‘er done in LESS THAN A DAY folks!  On CHRISTMAS EVE DAY!  Gracias, Fernando.  I appreciate your work!  And I am enjoying writing this entry on my brand new laptop!!

Now for the review – TRAIL MIX COOKIES.  We got these in the Jacksonville Beach, FL store this week.  We had never had them and thought they looked interesting.

Here they are in the store - a TJ's cookie we hadn't tried (and this is day 358!)

Have you ever met a person who says they do not shop at Trader Joe’s cuz it is “For hippies” or “Only sells crunchy granola food”??  Well, I think it is safe to say that it is products like THESE COOKIES that give ol’ TJ’s that reputation with some people.  J  People who don’t shop at TJ’s because they think everyone who goes there wears hemp think that the WHOLE STORE is filled exclusively with products like this.  The ingredients listed on the front sticker are:  rolled oats, raisins, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. 

Label on the front of the tub

I realized that these might not be David’s favorite cookie in the world, so I didn’t want him to see the ingredients before tasting because I feared that would further cloud his judgement. I put the cookies in front of him without describing them and had him eat some.  Here is what he thought:

I guess he DID see them when I picked them up in the store, but he must not have read the label

David – “I’m afraid I’m a little bit disappointed with these…  I would probably give them a 3.  They taste a little under cooked to me.  They are soft and chewy, but in the sense of cookie dough.  Now, most of the world loooves uncooked cookie dough, but I don’t, and to me these feel a bit under done.  I think they would be much more DELIGHTFUL if they had the toasted oat taste of a nicely cooked granola cookie.  Instead there seems to be something soft and mushy/crispy in there, like a piece of puffed rice or something??  Bits of puffed rice?? 

He looked nervous before he even TASTED the cookie. 

Here David demonstrates the SIZE of the cookie - a single bite (though it took him 3 or 4 bites, cuz he is dainty that way)

    

And here we see David's wee bite of this tiny cookie.

Anyway, it is soft and chewy, which many people might like.  But I feel like it needs more “toasty” flavor and a little more sense of being COOKED.  I wish it were less soft and less chewy.  The cranberries in there are a nice idea – I don’t have anything against that.  Probably the raisins in there, too, I’m not sure if I have had one.  But yeah, I am a little bit disappointed I am afraid.”

My opinion is – they are not bad.  They are better than I expected.  However, these are cookies for someone who has never tasted a Whippet, Oreo, or Mallomar.  They could be a good match for someone who grew up in Racine, and then moved to Monterrey, CA and left their Snicker eating days behind them.  These are more like tiny granola bars to me than a COOKIE.  This is nowhere near the experience of eating, say, a Chips Ahoy…

  

Here are 4 tiny cookies on a very small plate.

To me they do not taste underdone.  I like the softness of them.  I really like the SIZE of each cookie, they are about the size of a half dollar (which is a hilarious reference I guess, given that any reader under age 35 has probably never SEEN a half dollar…  David says, for those readers, they are the size of a BIT COIN (which to us are invisible fantasy things we hear about on NPR…). 

I like these okay. They are cute and petite.  They would be good for people who like to hike – put a few of these cookies in your hemp backpack for your hike in the redwoods.  J  Or if you are raising a healthy child, perhaps this is the dessert you would put in their lunch bag.

It sounds like I am being snarky and dissing people who live that lifestyle – I am not trying to!!  In fact, perhaps I would be happier if I had more seeds and hemp in my life.  J 

The package says a serving size is 4 cookies and I think that is about right.  I don’t think David is going to help me eat the rest of these, so I am glad my friend Kathy is coming to visit soon!  This is just the sort of thing she might like. 

After eating 2 more cookies, David filed an amendment to his original review:  “These are terrible.  I am changing my score to a 2.  These frickin’ chia seeds – YUCK!!  I would take these back to TJ's.”  (Editor’s note:  I think he may have a bad attitude cuz I beat him twice today at Parcheesi.)

I say:  if your pantry is out of quinoa and you just used the last of your chia seeds on something else, and you are cool with eating processed foods that you didn’t bake yourself, grab a tub of these suckers.  I give them a 3.5. 

And MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE from us to you!  We put “fairy lights” (which I love) on the palm trees in the front yard.  Aren’t they great? 

Merry Christmas Eve!!

This “countdown” Santa in a neighbor’s yard has been stressing me out all week – counting down the days until Christmas.  I am glad he is down to ONE, soon I won’t have to feel him breathing down my neck any more.

STOP REMINDING me, Countdown Santa!!  I know, I know...

And check out the Santa in another yard that David has nicknamed “&*$# Faced Santa” cuz he appears to have passed out on the lawn.

Here we have the classic &*$# Faced Santa

Merry Christmas Eve to one and all.

Price – $3.99

Rating (average of my score and David’s revised score) – 2.75

Day 357 - Chestnuts AND the Jacksonville Beach, FL Trader Joe's

Color me frustrated today.  My laptop is dying, it will not stay ON, keeps going to a completely black screen.  Even in "safe mode" it won't work.  I have a new laptop (not "new" technically since I got it this summer) but I have not migrated any data to it.  I planned to do that "soon".  Yeah, not soon enough, apparently.  Sigh.  And to top it all off, the NEW LAPTOP won't let me log in!  It won't even help me reset the dumb password.  A trip to Geek Squad is in order, yes, on Christmas Eve Eve. 

Wait - this is FESTIVUS isn't it???  Oh my, I just remembered!  See how flustered I am???  I love Festivus.  One year we made our own Festivus pole and stood outside handing out Marshmallow Peeps to people stopped at the red light!

Anyway, I am frustrated.  My bajillions of photos are on my old computer, including all of my Trader Joe's shots.  Sigh.  Please, please, PLEASE let this be fixable (and not cost tons of money).

In the meantime, I have photos on my camera that I took yesterday at a BRAND NEW (to us) Trader Joe's - Jacksonville Beach, FL!  So I will sync those to David's computer (which I do not enjoy using...) and write from it.  Here goes.

TADA - JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FLORIDA TRADER JOE'S!  Isn't the curved building cool?

First off, the actual store:  it is lovely!  It is super clean (a bit over a year old), bright, and very roomy. And guess what - they do wine tastings every single day.  Do you hear that, Bailey's Crossroads Trader Joe's??  I know it helps sell a lot of wine!  Heck, I would even volunteer to sit in the store and make little tick marks if you would like a "scientific" study done on how effective wine tasting is (I would, of course, need to taste wine while conducting my study...).  

We were surprised to find that the Jacksonville store has almost no 2015 holiday products left.  All of the other Trader Joe's we  have gone to have tons of lotions and potions and most importantly, CHOCOLATES for the holidays, but the Jacksonville Beach store was about stripped clean of any of that.  Those Jacksonville people know their seasonal products when they see 'em and scoop them up apparently!

They aren't kidding, folks.  Grab the seasonal stuff if you want it!

Now, the EMPLOYEES.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  Seriously folks, they have some NICE PEOPLE working at this store!!!  I am going to give a shout out to one for now (more in the coming days entries):  PAUL.  Paul, you are the man!!  He was polite, friendly, and so warm and welcoming!  I told him about my reviews and this blog and he was so interested.  

Here is PAUL, he is just as nice in person as he looks in this photo.  Plus helpful!

Paul introduced me to some special people (more about that in an upcoming entry) and then, get this, GAVE ME A GIFT.  Wait, not even A gift, but GIFTS!!!  He gave me pink roses (beautiful) and a Florida Trader Joe's bag full of goodies!!!!  Is that fabulous or is that fabulous???  Paul, thank you so much for making me feel so welcome in your store.  The flowers are all spread out around the house and it looks beautiful in here now!  I have already used the TJ's bag twice!  And the snacks, well you KNOW the snacks will get put to good use!!!  

LOOK at all of these great gifts Paul bestowed upon me!  

OK, I guess I need to review something.  I have to get this in before midnight so as not to mess up this whole project just cuz of technology giving me a headache.  So let's look at CHESTNUTS, shall we?

David likes to eat chestnuts during the winter holiday season.  He remembers his dad making them when he was a kid.  (I didn't grow up with chestnuts and they are still a bit weird to me.)  David also remembers eating them from street vendors in Paris, and we get them when we go to New York City, too (case in point - had some in NYC just a couple weeks ago!).  

Last year we bought a bag at Trader Joe's and then let them sit around for so long without making them that by the time we got around to them, they were not good anymore.  This year we did things differently!

Picked up another bag of chestnuts yesterday at the Jacksonville Beach store.  

David, the chestnut liker in the family, is also the chestnut MAKER.  Here is how he does it:  he cuts a cross in the top of the nut to prevent it from exploding, then cooks them in a hot oven (around 400) for about 15 - 20 minutes.  One year he soaked them in water about 20 minutes before cutting and cooking them, on the theory that might make them moister when cooked.  But once he was done with them he decided the soaking had no effect, so don't bother.

He liked the Trader Joe's chestnuts when we made them in November.  In fact, I liked them, too. Then, like I mentioned, we went to NYC and bought some from a street vendor and they were like triple the size of the TJ's nuts.  I think that made David envious or something...  So now he is not quite as enamored of the TJ's chestnuts, cuz he feels like they are "small".   

$4.99 - a fair price if I do say so myself.

Having written all of that, I asked him his thoughts and here is what he says, "These are a traditional seasonal event, so perhaps more delicious for their sentimental value than pure taste.  The nuts themselves are rich, large, and of a taste all their own.  

If you have never tried chestnuts you should do so.  They are quite sweet as nuts, although not in a sugary way.  They are hard to de-shell sometimes but there is nothing wrong with eating the inner fibrous skin if you can't get that off.  Ideally both the outer shell and the inner skin will come off with careful peeling and reveal a perfect, moist, golden nut looking like a tiny rat brain.  :)  Mmmmm, delicious!

Chestnuts roasting by an "open fire"...
Well, as "open fire" as you get in a beach house with no fireplace... 

In practice though, it is usually a numbers game; some nuts will be so hard you can't get the shells off, some will be mealy or have a rotten spot inside.  But the REST will be delicious and warm!  These TJ's nuts are medium sized (editor's note:  see!  I knew he would mention the size!!  Ha!) but relatively fresh so most of them are good.  You can probably get whopper sized ones at a higher price somewhere, but these are fine.  I give these a 4."  

Here is a bonus photo of the bottom of my new shopping bag from Jax.  Did you ever look at the BOTTOM of your TJ's bag??  You should - they are always cool!

Look!  The Florida bag bottom has a postcard written to corporate!  :)

Price - $4.99

Rating - 4