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 252 - Salmon and Vegetable Croquettes

This product, found in the frozen food section, contains salmon, edamame, broccoli, kale, and chia seed.  I cooked them the quick way – nuked them in the microwave for 45 seconds, then pan fried them. 

They looked pretty much like the package after I cooked them - truth in advertising here.

The box says they could be, “Served as an hors d’oevre or a main course and be a super star in your own kitchen.”  I say, “If there is one thing I wanna be, it is a super star (just kidding, not really my life goal).”  The serving size is two and there are four croquettes in the package, making this a perfect size for a main course for my main squeeze and I.

These were good.  They were “salmon-y” without the taste of the salmon being overpowering.  It was nicely balanced by the other ingredients.  I couldn’t really single out any of the veggies involved – they all sort of blended together.  We served them with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and fresh corn.  It was a good meal.  We drank The Pass Sauvingon Blanc with the dinner, which will be reviewed tomorrow.

Here are the croquettes in "action", ready to be gobbled up

David says, “These were meaty enough to be a main course, but had crunch and vegetable enough to be interesting (whatever that vegetable was, maybe celery?)”.  SEE!  He could not distinguish the veggies either!  He continues, “The outside breading was nice and crunchy without seeming just be trying to provide filling.”

These work out to cost $1.37 per croquette - not bad really

We will get these again.  They do not go on my mental MUST EAT OFTEN list, but they are good and a nice change of pace for us.

Price – $5.99

Rating – 4.25

Day 145 - Strawberry Chia 100% Juice Smoothie

I thought it was just ME who was childish.  But no, lucky for me, it turns out my partner David is, too J. 

We rushed into the Orlando Trader Joe’s today with only a few minutes to shop between seeing plays.  We wanted a SALAD so that we could have a healthy meal (as opposed to the poutine, pizza, and other meal choices available from vendors at the festival (though we did have a good Greek salad from a vendor one night…).  Anyway, it was super hot out (as Orlando can be in the summer time…) and I decided a cold, healthy drink was in order, too (to balance out all the beer from the festival).  So I grabbed this Strawberry Chia 100% Juice Smoothie.

If you do not know from previous reviews on this blog, we are not health nuts.  We do not go out of our way to buy things with fancy organic ingredients, and CHIA, in my mind, is only for pets, as in the Willy Nelson Chia Pet I saw on the clearance table at Office Depot recently!  (Why a gem like that would be on a clearance table is beyond me!!)  Anyway, I thought it was just me who would think something so silly, then David quipped, “If I drink this will chia grass grow in my belly?”.  Haha – see why we get along so well?

A pint of health - strawberry chia smoothie 

So this “strawberry puree flavored blend with apple juice and chia seeds” is pretty good.  It mostly tastes like strawberry.  But there are strange little BUMPS all up in it…  At first I thought they were the little bits from the outside of strawberries, then I realized, duh, those are the CHIA SEEDS!  They are actually a bit more fine and delicate than a strawberry seed thing would be.  This drink is chock full of them.  After the first sip or two I got used to them, but still, if I am going to have “bits” in my drink, I would rather they be tapioca bubbles (yum – bubble tea!!).

I would say this snack drink would be better consumed not in the hot humid sun.  I can picture it going down better while a person is sitting at their desk and needs a bit of an afternoon pick-me-up. 

Price – $2.99

Rating – 3.25