Baked Cheese Crunchies

This bag of TJ's Baked Cheese Crunchies boasts that these snacks have “33% less fat than regular fried cheese flavored corn snacks**”.  It took us a while to hunt around on the packaging to follow the asterisks after that statement to find what they connected to.  I finally found the mouseprint (did you know that is what teeny tiny print is called, isn’t that a fun phrase??) that told us: 
     -one 28 gram serving of TJ’s Baked Cheese Crunchies will set you back 6 grams of fat
     -whereas a 28 gram serving of Regular Fried Cheese Flavored Corn Snacks will ding you 9 grams 
       of fat.

All of that being said, I would posit that if you are worried about eating FAT, perhaps cheese doodles should not be on your shopping list.  There are much tastier "cheat foods" in my opinion!  Also, anyone who thinks that David is going to eat a 28 gram serving of Cheetos, be they “real” Cheetos or this Trader Joe’s version, is mistaken.  No, David is a Cheetos aficionado and once ate so many on a road trip that he barfed.  I think Cheetos are the only food he has ever done that with. 

Snack time

So, I recused myself from reviewing this product, since obviously David is the cheese doodle expert in our family.  I myself only eat Cheetos Puffy “Natural” Cheetos – the white ones.  And don’t lecture me, I knooooow they are not “natural”, ok?  But those are the ones I eat!

Here is what David said about this snack food:

“I will eat crunchy or non-crunchy Cheetos, because the crunch is amusing.  But these are not quite as amusing as a Cheetos brand baked crunchy snack.  These will do.  They have a bit less cheese taste than traditional crunch Cheetos.  Otherwise, they are fine. 

Does this man look excited to eat this snack food?  I think not.

I will go back to my fried puffy Cheetos “Naturals” and not get these again.  When you need a snack, these will do.*  I will give them a 3.5.”

Price:  $1.99

Rating:  3.5

*Editor’s note:  When David said, “When you need a snack these will do,” I pointed out to him that if you really neeeeeded a snack, a fried turd would do.  He stressed that he would give a fried turd a lower score than these TJ’s Baked Cheese Crunchies. 

EDITOR'S IMPORTANT NOTE:  I find this very funny: I just realized, after writing this review, that we have previously reviewed this product.  It is bound to happen, there are probably around 500 reviews in my blog.  But I totally forgot that we rated these way back in September 2015.  I am impressed that they got almost the same score back then, and also impressed that TJ's has not increased the price at all.  I smiled when I read a reader's comment on the original review (that I had forgotten) dissing name brand Cheetos.  Link to original review here:  Baked Cheese Crunchies Original Review

Spud Crunchies Potato Snacks*

This is a first for this review blog – not only do we have a guest reviewer today, we have a guest ANIMAL reviewer!  Yes, this is our first review by an animal, specifically, a DEER.  But I’m getting ahead of myself – let’s set the scene first.

David with our bag of Spud Crunchies

Trader Joe’s Spud Crunchies Potato Snacks* have a cute little package.  On the front are “spud crunchies” with faces drawn on them – one has a mustache and one looks like a wiener dog 😊 .   The bag says, “A chip crunch in a fun fry shape,” and lets us know they are gluten free.

Those are some cute little crunchies, no?

Here is what David thought of this snack:  “My first impression is, it is like a frozen French fry that is warmed up.  It is kind of dry.  It has a hint of potato chip-ness about, but more of a hint of potato stick-ness about it.  Now, I’m a fan of both chips and sticks, but the disadvantage here is that it is so thick, the dryness overtakes it and it is not counterbalanced enough SALT.  With regular potato sticks you are getting a fair does of salt to give it some tang…  So, I would say, I give this a 3.25.  It’s not a big winner.”

Ahhh, who can pass up a snack that doubles as a pretend cigarette???

And now for my opinion:  I agree with David.  I thought that these tasted like frozen french fries that were brought to room temperature but not cooked.  And before you say, “Susan, how in the heck would you know what that would taste like??” let me tell you that when I was a little girl, I had a friend who would only eat french fries if they were straight out of the freezer.  Anyway, when I eat these Spud Crunchies, I have memories of sitting with that person chomping on frozen french fries in the kitchen of a little house in Omaha. 

I agree with David, also, in the fact that the thickness of these crunchies dries them out.  And, to me, it also makes the inside of the crunchy tastes like styrofoam.  I don’t know if that is a TASTE or a TEXTURE thing really, but I would prefer the potato sticks of my youth that came in a little can and were super greasy.  Do they even make those things anymore???  These TJ’s Spud Crunchies are making me hungry for some of those unhealthy crappy potato sticks.  (Note to self: go to a store other than TJ’s and see if they still make those things!)  David and I agree that this Trader Joe’s version probably has less salt and less fat than the potato sticks of our youth, resulting in less taste, and c’mon, how fun is THAT?

Reasonably priced at $1.99

All that being said, they don’t taste horrible or anything.  The texture is just weird.  And I guess if you are gonna eat something chip like, you might as well eat a chip!!!  I am gonna give these a 3.

And now for our final reviewer – THIS DEER!!!! 

#CutestReviewerEver

We drove to Kentucky recently, and on our way home we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park to check out the “world’s longest cave”.  When we pulled into the parking lot, we spied this beauty over by some unoccupied rental cabins.  We drove over near her and lo and behold if she didn’t walk right up to the car and stare at us.  I rolled down my window to say hello, but she was so close I was afraid she was going to put her runny nose right into our front seat so I had to put the window back up!!!  She was adorable, and obviously knew that people = food.

Sooooo….

David checked out our backseat food pile to see what she might like.  It was between “Naturals” Cheetos and these Spud Crunchies.  Guess which one won?? 

David was a bit timid at first, but Doe A Deer wasn't!

SHE LOVED SPUD CRUNCHIES!  She ate them right out of David’s hand!  She was ever so gentle (if a bit slobbery…) and really enjoyed the snack.  (And please don’t go on about how we should not feed the animals.  There were no signs up to warn us of that until we got inside, and then we looked at each other and went, “Oops!” and David excused himself to wash the goo off his hand…)**

Ahh, product placement!  See, she loves 'em!

Anyway, the deer (who we named Doe, A Deer) loved this product.  She had zero complaints about not enough salt or styrofoam-y texture.  She gave them a solid 5 star rating!

"Thanks for the snack, mister!"

Price:  $1.99

Rating (average of 2 humans and 1 deer):  3.75

*If you saw the article going around that said all of Trader Joe’s products could be sung to the tune “Eleanor Rigby”, then THIS product is an example of how, sadly, that claim is untrue. (Link to Buzz Feed article about TJ's products being sung to the tune of Eleanor Rigsby ) I sooo wanted it to be true!  I mean, how hilarious if every product on TJ’s shelves could be sung to a Beatle’s song, specifically to “Eleanor Rigby”!  Alas, it was too good to be true.  Try this one – SPUD CRUNCHIES POTATO SNACKS.  It sort of works if you leave off “snacks”, but let’s be honest, I hate to say this, but that whole Eleanor Rigby thing was, as some would say, fake news….

**I am in no way advocating for you to feed wild animals anything, let alone Spud Crunchies. 

Namaste from INDIA!

Namaste from Kerala, southern India!!

We are on a vacation, celebrating my 50th birthday (which actually doesn't come until mid-June, but it never hurts to celebrate early, eh??).  We have never been to India before and have been amazed at the sights, sounds, tastes, and colors that surround us here.  We traveled through a few northern cities and have now come down south to finish out the holiday.

One thing we love to do when traveling is, you guessed it, SEE THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE!!  Here in India we have been fortunate to see some MARKETS, which are absolutely amazing.  We even went to one, Crawford Market, where they MAKE SPICES.  By that, I mean they take the spice blends that the women bring (yes, it seemed to be all women ordering them), roast them, then GRIND THEM into the types of spices you and I would expect to see in a jar on a Trader Joe's shelf.  I was fascinated and could have easily stayed at that stall for hours observing and smelling.  Heaven!

Spices, having just been roasted, now resting on a burlap bag in the sun waiting for their turn to be ground

A long queue of spices on a Sunday at the spice market, all waiting to be ground

A grinder!  These large pistons slam down very loudly onto the spices, grinding them very finely

Most people here seem to shop at markets, but I also wanted to see an Indian GROCERY STORE.  Locals never understand my desire to check out the groceries, but I really think it is a great way to learn something about a culture!!  What cookies do they eat??  What drinks?  What CONDIMENTS???  There is a lot to learn in a grocery store!!

So we popped into one in Mumbai.  Let's just say, it was NOT a Trader Joe's :).

First off, no air conditioning.  And this is the HOT season here, record highs actually.

Secondly, they have STATUES in their grocery store.  See, here is a Ghandi one!!!!!  Isn't it great?  I have never seen anything like THAT at a TJ's.

Look, a Ghandi bust in aisle 1! 

Thirdly, the sample lady was giving out WHOLE CARTONS of Greek yogurt, not little cups of it.  Oooh-la-la!!  They also took our photo after we tasted it.  David did a funny face where he was spitting some of the yogurt out as if it tasted super disgusting.  I bet they don't use THAT in their marketing campaign.

Fourthly, the snack food section had FAIRY LIGHTS over it!!!  You know the ones, the fancy twinkling Christmas lights!!!  Cuz nothing says EAT SOME CHIPS like FAIRY LIGHTS!  It was pretty fabulous.

Snacks and fairy lights, a great combination!

We were glad we persevered and figured out where the heck the hidden grocery story was.  We crossed some crazy Mumbai streets, dodging traffic, to get there, but it was worth it.

We didn't buy a bottle of "Thums Up" soda  but we probably should have, eh?

Day 300 - Turkey and Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips

I MADE IT TO DAY 300 OF THIS PROJECT!!!!

And hey, we went to ANOTHER NEW TRADER JOE’S!  That is 21 locations visited so far since January 1^st of this year.  This one was in Bethesda, MD (a suburb of Washington DC).  It is an oddly set up store!  There is construction of some sort going on outside (in the parking garage I think).  The parking is free, which is nice.  Sadly, there is no real signage outside the store to draw people in.  We had to really look around to find the store (we had the address programmed into GPS so knew we were there, but where WAS it??). 

Whew, we found it!

 The store itself is also a bit strangely set up.  It just seems like it needs to be BIGGER all around.  The aisles are very narrow and we often found ourselves feeling in people’s way with our cart (which was just one of the tiny carts).  The check-out stations are very bizarre.  They are on a diagonal and seemed to be a big ol’ mess really – people waiting in line to check out blocked even more arteries of the store.  It seems like an expansion and a good, long redesign for the set up of the entire store are in order.

Outside what we think is supposed to be the main entrance of the store.  Check out the great flowers David got me!

BUT let’s ignore the physical set up of the store and focus instead on the employees - which were super nice.  We met one really great employee and I WISH I had written her name down but I didn’t.  I hope she sees this and replies!  She was back by the sampling station and was super friendly.  I told her about the blog and about this being our 21^st Trader Joe’s to visit for the project and she thought it was cool, then asked if we had tried the new Turkey and Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips.

Ummmmm, that would be an n-o…

Does THAT look like a chip you see and think "Yum, I must have it"??

David doesn’t like kettle chips (too hard and crunchy) and I don’t normally like oddly flavored chips.  I want plain, simple, humble chips, thank you very much!

She saw us wrinkle our noses up after she mentioned these and grabbed a bag saying, “Wanna try ‘em??”.

I need to pause in the review here to remind you all again – you can TRY stuff at Trader Joe’s.  It is an excellent policy.  It goes beyond being “customer focused”.  Seriously, it is great!  We hadn’t even ASKED to try these, in fact I am guessing that our facial expressions were asking to NOT try them.  But she took it upon herself to grab a bag and open them.  She took the bag to the sampling station and had the lady working there put a few chips in little paper cups for us to taste. 

And do you know what?  It resulted in a sale.  That is $1.99 that Trader Joe’s would NEVER have gotten out of us.  We didn’t even see these chips before she mentioned them (display note:  those are up too high for short people to see on the rack in the back of the store, move ‘em down).  And even if we HAD seen them, trust me, we would not have purchased them if she didn’t give us a taste.  And I am guessing the one bag of open chips resulted in other sales, too, since the sample lady was going to serve the rest to other people.  My totally unscientific guess is that 7 out of 10 times when they go out of their way and open something especially for a customer to taste it results in a sale.

It turns out they are GOOD!

So here is our review of these wacky chips:

Susan – These are a good example of grocery shopping when you are hungry.  We left with a product we might never have bought.  But honestly, we bought it because of the “taste test” policy mostly.  The first bite of these chips is a little bit startling.  Even the smell of it, really!  It is a CHIP that smells like TURKEY.  That’s bizarre!!  But this chip really does capture the taste of Thanksgiving!  You can taste turkey, stuffing, and whatever herb is in stuffing (I think it is sage).  They are crunchy but not as crunchy as some kettle chips which is good.   This is a fun seasonal product!  When the lady showed us the bag David said he thought Trader Joe’s had “jumped the shark”.  I mean, like, seriously…  You are going to do TURKEY AND STUFFING CHIPS???  But he liked them, too!   He even wanted to open the bag and munch on them on the way home!

David – “It is true!  And like Susan said, they are not too “gum tearing up crunchy” like kettle chips sometimes are, which is good.  They are easy on the turkey flavor, which I don’t even know what turkey flavor would be, cuz turkey is essentially a flavorless meat…  But the whole taste is the EXPERIENCE of a nice turkey dinner.  A little bit of turkey, some stuffing, and maybe it is sage I am tasting in addition.”

These are a cool seasonal item.  They are a fun alternative to the plethora of pumpkin that is vomited everywhere this time of year.  We will enjoy the heck out of this one bag then call it an autumn. 

Buy these as an alternative to loads of pumpkin crap. 

Price - $1.99

Rating - 4

Day 223 - Hatch Valley Salsa

TWO THUMBS UP.  This salsa is delicious!!  It is not all that spicy but ohhhh so tasty.  We ate it with blue corn chips (read blue corn chip review here) after coming home from a late night rehearsal.  When I say late, I mean we were sitting on the couch watching “Catfish the TV Show” at 12:30 am chowing down on this salsa…  And we could.  Not.  Stop.  Eating it!

TWO BIG THUMBS UP (jar is larger than it appears here, weird camera angle)

I seriously think I could eat this stuff by the spoonfuls…  It has a good ZIP to it!  Is it vinegar making that zip??  I do not normally eat salsa from a jar – I like the fresh, chunky kind of salsa (review on day 25 of this blog).  But THIS jarred salsa is a y-e-s!  It reminds me of the green salsa at Moe’s (WELCOME TO MOE’S!) which is also crack-like. 

The serving size listed on the jar is laughable.  11 servings???  Give me a break.  I say FOUR servings max.  we ate more than half the jar last night!

This was like, the 4th or 5th time we filled the bowl up and as you can see, it is almost empty again...

It says it has “Fire Roasted Hot Green Chile Peppers from Hatch Valley”.  Well I do not know where hatch valley is, but it deserves to be visited!  (Wait – I turned the jar around and read the other side of the label – Hatch Valley is a village in New Mexico.  And guess what?  It is NOT vinegar that gives it that zip, it is LIME JUICE!  Lime juice and tomatillos.  Yum!

Here is what David thought – FABULOUS!   You just keep eating more and more.  It is mild, but “more-ish”.  It helps you get your daily does of corn chips, which is one of the 5 major food groups (along with coffee, cookies, Pepsi, and Cheetos).  I give it a 4.5

All of this deliciousness for under 3 bucks.  Get a jar.

Yummy yummy yummy

Susan here again.  This salsa is exclusive to Trader Joe’s.  I say it is worth a trip to a TJ’s to pick some up, even if you live in LaJolla and have to park in that crazy ass parking lot!  TRY THIS!

I give this product a 5.  Not a ton of things earn a coveted 5 star rating from me.  David rated it a bit lower, but this is not his blog.  And I am throwing his number o-u-t!  This deserves a 5 and dang it, it is getting a 5!

Price – $2.79

Rating - 5

Day 218 - Kalamata Olive Hummus

Two things can be inferred from the fact that this is the 5^th hummus I have reviewed on this blog in 8 months:

1.       Trader Joe’s sells a wide variety of hummus

2.       We like hummus

This variety did not disappoint!!  It really tasted like kalamata olives!  I mean, that should not be surprising since it is named “Kalamata Olive Hummus”, but still, it made me happy.  J

Like all Trader Joe's hummus, this is cheap

If there is one thing we like even more than hummus it is olives, and we have not found any amazing ones at Trader Joe’s yet, so I am pleased that even if we cannot satisfy our cravings for OLIVES at Trader Joe’s at least we can satisfy our craving for olive TASTING stuff. 

I had this hummus with TJ’s blue corn chips (reviewed on day 72).  It was oh so good.  It is creamy and tasty and the olive flavor is a great compliment to the chips.

I have friends who make their own hummus (you know who you are Ghatasheh family…).  I am too lazy for that, and when I find hummus options as yummy as this one I do not feel guilty about buying pre-made stuff. 

No Preservatives, No Artifical Colors or Flavors, but LOTS of taste!

 This variety goes on my short list of favorite TJ’s hummus flavors

1.  Mediterranean (day 78)

2.  Roasted Garlic (day 109)

3.  Kalamata Olive (today!)

STOP THE PRESSES – before I posted this review I went into the living room where David is and asked him to sample it.  Sadly, his opinion was not as high as mine.  He said it tastes a bit, and I quote, “briney”.  I get that.  He also stated that he normally eats kalamata olives WITH his hummus, so this version of having the olives blended in made him miss the individual “meatiness” of each olive.  I will give him that.  Even with those criticisms, he gave this hummus a rating of 4.

David - an olive and hummus fan

I give it a rating of 4.5, so I will average the two ratings together for the official blog rating.

Price – $1.99

Rating (average of 2) – 4.25

Day 197 - Roasted Coconut Chips

True story, I ran out of Lay’s Potato Chips with my lunch and I am still hungry and in the mood to snack.  So, I busted open this package of never-before-tried (by me) Roasted Coconut Chips.  And I must say – yum! 

As you can see, I wasn't sure how these would taste.  (Note:picutre on the wall is NOT crooked, this is a weird camera angle)

These are some crunchy little coconuts!!!  It’s not the hard-yet-bendy coconut that you might have tried from other brands.  These are sweet little coconut STRIPS roasted to a crunchy perfection.  The bag says they are “mature coconuts soaked in fresh young coconut milk, roasted with a touch of salt and sugar”.  I am not sure why they are so concerned about the relative AGES of the coconuts and coconut milk, but this old/young combo works for this snack.

If you follow the serving size recommendation, that is a buck a serving

It DOES feel like a healthy thing to nibble on, too.  Much more healthy than, say, Doritos, but with the same crunch level.  The bag is only 2 ounces and says half a bag is one serving.  I think I could easily down half a bag of these puppies in one sitting.  The bag also mentions the possibility of topping a salad or ice cream with them.  I can see that.  They are also vegan and gluten free if that is your thing.

I just put this tiny purple plate of them in front of David who nibbled them and said, “Well, they taste like coconut, but they are nothing but CRISP.  They lack that nutty crunchability of a piece of coconut that is thicker.  They are tasty.  Not too sweet.  Not so much fun to chew”.

See - little strips of roasted coconut.  You will like them better than David did.

I say, if you like coconut you should try these.  They are a little piece of a tropical island all sealed up in a bag.  Ignore David’s comments and give them a shot.

Price – $1.99

Rating – 3.75

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 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 56 - White Corn Tortilla Rounds (chips)

Oh man, we have ourselves a problem.  We tried this bag of White Corn Tortilla Rounds, and we do not like them…  For some reason we have not returned them to the store, we keep pecking at them and trying to finish the bag.  But it is a TWO POUND BAG OF CHIPS.  Two pounds!  We should have given up and thrown them out after the first try, but we don’t like to waste food.

White Corn Tortilla Rounds

Here’s the deal:  they are too thick, too hard, and too “corn”y.  They just do not taste good.  So matter what we dip them in – we have tried hummus (2 varieties), salsa, and eating the chips naked – no method results in deliciousness! 

We will not be buying this type of chips again.  If we want white corn chips we will get Tostitos (which are a lot pricier but at least edible).  Or we will stick with Trader Joe’s Blue Corn Chips (which are more expensive and super yummy). 

Price – $3.28

Rating – 1.75

Day 25 - Hot Pico de Gallo Salsa

This stuff is like vegetable crack.  Once I open a tub of it, consider it g-o-n-e.  I mean, sure, it SAYS a “serving” is 2 tablespoons, but that is an outright lie.  I have eaten a whole tub (with blue chips) in one sitting.  I am not proud of that fact, but I must put it out there to warn you.  Once you start, you cannot stop eating this salsa.

Find it near the cheese, hummus, pizza dough section

First off, the veggies in it are fresh.  And cut to just the right size.  I usually eat it by dipping in a Trader Joe’s blue chip, and the size of the veggie chunks are just right to jump up and sit on a chip.  But you need to know – when the label says “hot”, it ain’t a kiddin’!  This stuff is hot, which is just the way I like it (and also means I get to eat the whole tub myself because it is too spicy for my partner - yes!!).  You will find tomatoes, green peppers, onion, cilantro…  Is your mouth watering yet because mine is…

2 tablespoons?  You must be freakin' kidding me

Because it is fresh, the expiration date will come quickly after you open it (which is not normally a problem for me, given my propensity to suck it all down in one sitting).  If I didn’t always eat it all up with chips I am sure it would be delicious on a taco or enchilada. 

This also comes in “mild” or “medium”, but that is only for wimps.  Go big or go home!  Find it in the refrigerated section near the cheeses.

Price – $2.99

Rating – 4.75 stars