Day 146 - Carrot and Cilantro Bulgur Grain Salad

Ok Orlando Trader Joe’s, you have some false advertising going on…  When we popped in the other day for a healthy bite to eat during a festival where we were subsisting on fried foods (including FRIED CHEESE CURDS and FRIED PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES) for 12 days, I thought I had hit the tasty jackpot with this Carrot and Cilantro Bulgur Grain Salad (with garbanzo beans).  I mean, I love cilantro!  And I really like garbanzo beans.  Carrots are nice.  And bulgur grain, well, sure, I can eat it.  And your sign, your sweet little handwritten sign, specifically said, “So good!”.

"So Good!" - got me!!

 You so lie.

Avoid this salad.  Unless you enjoy eating dry, bland, yucky stuff.  If so, stock up on this salad.

This salad is BLECK.  The main problem is that it is dry.   Sure, if I had been at home instead of under a festival beer tent, I could have doctored it up with a bit of olive oil and lemon or something, but really, when one invests $3.69 into a tiny container of salad, should one be expected to “doctor it up”??  I think not.  And I would have had to add A LOT of stuff to give it any sort of taste.  And, if I could add one more complaint here, there was not nearly enough cilantro!  That was the ingredient that might have saved this wreck of a salad, but it was barely in there.

Thumbs down for this overpriced, under tasty salad.

David also thought this was crappy, as you can see.

Bleck.

Fool me once, Orlando Trader Joe’s signs, shame on you…  I am not going to be duped by you again!

Price - $3.69

Rating – 1.5

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