Trader Joe's Products (2015–2017)

[dscheidt]

On 6/4/2016 at 1:06 PM, rotuts said:

Illl look for it next  trip

 

there might be something in the freezer department that's new with mango also

 

There are a whole bunch of mango flavored products featured in this month's flyer.  Some of it is old, soe of it is new. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 6/4/2016 at 1:03 PM, rotuts said:

Yikes!

 

got the cinnamon roll bread today.

 

toasted up some mid-slices in the CSB.  being a bit of an idiot  i did dial down the tie setting, but forgetting that there was sugar involved, not enough

 

ate those slices any way with generic butter.  delicious.

 

later in the day, I took the thick 'end-cut' and toasted it 'just right' and added some more generic butter.

 

a slice of heaven  I can see 10 lbs added to the wait line over time

 

keep that in mind.

 

@rotuts,

 

I love the cinnamon roll bread! My strategy for keeping it from going to waste and to waist is to freeze it. It's a very rich bread and freezes beautifully for months. Just two delicious slices toasted up and slathered with butter like I do account for 500 calories. Yikes is right! A treat to be doled out judiciously over time with the assistance of your freezer. 

[rotuts]

Id bet the CRBread makes fantastic French Toast !

[Thanks for the Crepes]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

Id bet the CRBread makes fantastic French Toast !

 

I haven't tried it, but I wouldn't bet against you. Great idea.

[Shel_B]

A Disappointment: Trader Joe's French Vanilla Ice Cream

 

I don't often buy ice cream, but when I do, I like a nice, rich, flavorful Vanilla.  This ice cream has a rich mouth feel, nicely creamy, and offers a relatively small amount of overrun.  In those areas it's a fine ice cream.  However, the vanilla taste seemed muted, and one-dimensional, as if the ice cream was flavored with a low grade vanilla extract.  The lack of a good, clear, vanilla taste ruined the enjoyment for me.

[blue_dolphin]

On June 7, 2016 at 6:28 AM, rotuts said:

Id bet the CRBread makes fantastic French Toast !

I tried making French toast with some of the TJ's Cinnamon Raisin Bread we get out here. I didn't care for it.  It was OK but I prefer French toast made from a lighter, non-sweet bread so I can enjoy the contrast between the slightly savory custardy bread and the sweet maple syrup.  In this case, the maple syrup was entirely unnecessary and it still tasted too sweet to me.   I'm not sure how the bread I used differs from the Cinnamon Roll Bread available on the East coast so perhaps that would be better.  The cinnamon raisin bread we get is pretty heavy stuff - 62g/slice per the label (the slice I used weighed in at 72g) vs 42g/slice on the label in the photo above.

 

On June 9, 2016 at 5:03 AM, Shel_B said:

 

A Disappointment: Trader Joe's French Vanilla Ice Cream

 

The French vanilla ice cream gets 2 big thumbs up from me.  A lot of vanilla ice creams have an overwhelming artificial vanilla flavor that I dislike but this one tastes true to me.  Different strokes !

 

On June 4, 2016 at 2:44 PM, rotuts said:

 

TJ's shrimp Nuggets, demo'd today, with mango-pineapple jared salsa:

 

I tried very hard to un-see @rotuts's post about the shrimp nuggets.  I was determined not to look for them so I zoomed past the frozen appetizer section entirely but wouldn't you know it - they were in with the regular frozen seafood entrees so I DID see them and I DID buy some.  I used the same steam-bake settings to heat up a "serving" of 4 nuggets and had them with the mango-pineapple salsa (doctored with some fresh cilantro and jalapeño).  As @rotuts reported, they are tasty little morsels!  

[blue_dolphin]

Here's the rest of my TJ's mango mania haul:

 

The mango & ginger crisps ( like the original raisin & rosemary crisps and the various other cranberry, pumpkin, whatever varieties) are lovely with bit of goat cheese.  

The frozen mango chunks are usually in my freezer for smoothies or adding to yogurt.  Nothing new there but they're mango so they got to be in the picture.

Next is a mango-tangerine candle.  I don't light candles all that often (I fear the spectre of flaming cat tail torches  but it smelled nice and was only $3.99 so I picked one up.

As mentioned in my post above, I doctored the mango-pineapple salsa with some freshly chopped cilantro and jalapeño and served it with the shrimp nuggets.  I think it would be nice with chicken or fish.  I got a little piece of mango that was disappointingly mealy but I didn't really eat enough to know if that's common or not.  Edited to add:  I've now had more of the Island Salsa and more disappointingly mealy pieces of mango.  Too bad, as the flavor is OK.  I don't recommend it.  The TJ's website mentions some frozen mango salsa but I didn't see it....possibly because I was trying not to see the shrimp nuggets. 

The sweet & spicy mango vinaigrette is OK, but nothing too special, in my opinion.  If I want a mango-themed salad, I'd just as soon throw in some mango chunks and use a lime-ginger or other citrus vinaigrette.  The mango doesn't add a lot here.  

Not shown, but sort of mango-related, I bought some chia seeds to try these Mango Coconut Chia Frozen Pops from the TJ's website.

 

Completely unrelated to mango, I noticed TJ's has 2 pinot noir rosé wines under their VINTJS label this year.  There's the Arroyo Grande Valley Pinot Noir Rosé ($7.99) they have sold for the last few years, with the 2015 vintage back in stock and a Monterey Pinot Noir Rosé ($6.99) that I haven't seen before.

The Arroyo Grande Valley Rosé was my house rosé last year and makes a lovely methode rotuts so I was happy to see it again and tasted it alongside the Monterey wine. Both have a lot of berry flavors and enough acidity to balance the fruit.  In the Monterey wine, strawberry flavors predominated, both fresh and a jammy, cooked-strawberry note with a tart citrus/apple finish.  In the Arroyo Grande Valley wine, I taste fresh berries, with the raspberry flavor out in front. I find the finish a little less acidic than the Monterey but balanced with a tiny bit of tannin.  I could be letting the brighter pink color of the Arroyo Grande Valley wine influence my taste buds with respect to the tannins but I think the difference is real.  

Bottom line:  Both are nice.  I think the Arroyo Grande Valley will be my house rosé once again but maybe I'll pick up another bottle of the Monterey so I can do a methode rotuts comparison as well. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2016 by blue_dolphin
To update opinion on Island Salsa & undelete photos (log)

[Shel_B]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

The French vanilla ice cream gets 2 big thumbs up from me.  A lot of vanilla ice creams have an overwhelming artificial vanilla flavor that I dislike but this one tastes true to me.  Different strokes !

 

I certainly understand differences in preferences and taste.  However, I was wondering, do you use vanilla beans in your cooking, or stick to vanilla extract?  Maybe the reason we see the taste so differently has to do with what we're used to.

[blue_dolphin]

7 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

 

I certainly understand differences in preferences and taste.  However, I was wondering, do you use vanilla beans in your cooking, or stick to vanilla extract?  Maybe the reason we see the taste so differently has to do with what we're used to.

 

I use both vanilla beans and extract.  I especially like to store vanilla beans in sugar to flavor the sugar.  That said, I have never made homemade ice cream, vanilla or other flavors so maybe an ice cream base that's freshly infused with those flavors could be both as rich and clear as you hope for and as true and authentic as I do!

Lacking that homemade ideal, is there a commercial ice cream that you would recommend as far as having the flavor you like?  I would be interested in trying and comparing to the TJ's.

 

Edited June 10, 2016 by blue_dolphin
to delete leftover photos (log)

[gfron1]

I don't have a TJs anywhere near me but this morning I was in ABQ and stopped in to grab road snacks and was surprised that I knew the original manufacturer of almost every chocolate bar. I saw Fran's and Sharffen Berger to name a few. Exact same except the label. Then I saw a Valhrona who didn't let them relabel.

[Shel_B]

Blue_Dolphin said:

 

Lacking that homemade ideal, is there a commercial ice cream that you would recommend as far as having the flavor you like?  I would be interested in trying and comparing to the TJ's.

 

Yes ... try Ben and Jerry's vanilla

[rotuts]

on those rose's  I wonder why one bottle has a return deposit and not the other .  Odd.

[Shel_B]

3 hours ago, Shel_B said:

Blue_Dolphin said:

 

Lacking that homemade ideal, is there a commercial ice cream that you would recommend as far as having the flavor you like?  I would be interested in trying and comparing to the TJ's.

 

Yes ... try Ben and Jerry's vanilla

 

In the FWIW Dep't, I looked at six or so tests of Vanilla ice cream, from, of course, several sources, which gave a broad range of preferences.  Ben and Jerry's came out ahead in many of the tests I viewed, and, coincidentally, TJ's was also rated very well.  It would be great if you could do a side-by-side tasting.

 

http://www.epicurious.com/archive/everydaycooking/tastetests/vanilla-ice-cream

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/taste_tests/497-supermarket-vanilla-ice-cream

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-vanilla-ice-cream-taste-test-we-tried-6-brands-and-ranked-them-grocery-taste-test-220506

http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Blogs/Eat-Drink-Post/July-2014/Taste-Testing-The-Best-And-Worst-Vanilla-Ice-Cream/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/22/best-vanilla-ice-cream-supermarket_n_7372888.html

http://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/ultimate-vanilla-ice-cream-taste-test-slideshow/slide-9

 

Edited June 12, 2016 by Shel_B (log)

[MetsFan5]

Sorry if this has been previously mentioned but their shrimp toast is awesome. I bought 2 boxes today and easily if I allowed myself could have demolished one. A fellow customer raved about the lemongrass chicken egg rolls so I bought those, mac & cheese bites and my beloved soy and ginger chicken with shiitakes and edamame. Such an easy dinner. 

 

 I also bought dog treats and treats for me-- a sweet chili sauce (for the coconut shrimp I bought), bacon jam (how could I not- if it sucks it wasn't expensive) and beer battered halibut filets. 

  My local store is SO SMALL and doesn't sell wine or beer. I miss working in Union Sq in NYC and heaving a case of wine of the subway to SoHo. 

 I also bought frozen "grilled cauliflower". I've had mixed results with fresh cauliflower and it was less than $4. I'm curious to see if it's any good. 

[BeeZee]

as it is currently "mangopalooza" at TJ's, I tried 2 new things. Mango macarons (very good, box of 12 is $4.99 I believe, which is what I'd pay for 2 cookies at the bakery) and Mango Ginger Chimes (chewy candy). I like ginger candies, these have the mango flavor up front, then as you chew the familiar heat of the ginger takes over. I believe the pack was $1.99.

[Toliver]

So I'm no longer on speaking terms with Trader Joe's...

My local TJ's has a refrigerated section in the back of the store where you will find pre-packaged green salads, potato salad and wraps (like buffalo chicken, etc). At the bottom of the section they used to have pre-made entrees like chicken enchiladas, meatloaf, lasagna, etc.

I say "used to have" because, as of a month ago, they no longer carry those entree items. Last night when I went back to see if they had brought back the pre-made entrees I encountered a customer who was looking for the chicken enchiladas entree and was practically weeping when she found out that TJ's no longer carried them.

TJ's replaced all of the pre-made entrees with what looks to me like Costco/Kirkland-type packages like Pulled Pork, etc. This has irked the hell outta me, removing what was a great item and replacing it with something I can buy just about everywhere else. Really? 

Now my love of TJ's has become tainted with disappointment. Such a sad day...

 

edited for clarity

Edited June 15, 2016 by Toliver (log)

[MelissaH]

We visited my MIL last week, and in her local TJ's they were sampling the Mango Joe-Joe cookies. I'm not a huge fan of most of the Joe-Joes, but oh my! The mango version was so good that a box of them came home with me, where I'm trying to forget about their existence.

[blue_dolphin]

Two more mango mania items from TJ's.  Both very good.  

I found the frozen mango salsa in the freezer section with frozen Mexican entrees. This is very good - way better than the jarred mango/pineapple "Island Salsa" that suffered from mealy textured mango.  As a single eater, I really liked the way the ingredients are individually frozen so it's possible to remove just a portion and leave the rest frozen.  Flavors are very fresh, the texture is good and it packs a nice little kick.  It was $2.99.  I can imagine using it in a lot of ways and it would be worth keeping on hand when good, fresh mangos are hard to come by.

 

I also tried the mango jicama slaw from the refrigerated section.  It was $4.99 for a 3-serving tub, sort of a racket for a slaw-type product but I'd heard good recommendations and thought I'd get some and see if it's worth trying to make my own version.   The lime-mango vinaigrette is packed in a small pouch at the bottom of the container and the other ingredients layered on top.  The vinaigrette is very tasty, much nicer (to me) than the bottled Sweet & Spicy Mango Vinaigrette that TJ is also selling. I liked it enough that I went back for a second container rather than making my own for lunch I hosted yesterday.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2016 by blue_dolphin (log)

[rotuts]

thanks for the 2 mango tips at the top

 

Ill be trying them soon !

[MetsFan5]

Don't bother with the grilled, frozen cauliflower. It sucked. I had to crank the over up to 475, douse the cauliflower with olive oil and kosher salt and it was barely edible at best. I might consider buying it to use as a purée in the future only because it's pre cooked and cheap. 

  The lemon grass chicken egg rolls are very gingery and lemon grassy. They crisped up well in the oven but were much better with a bit of soy sauce. The shrimp toast continues to be a favorite. I almost want to hoard them and eat them in secret! 

  I've found about 99% of their frozen appetizer type foods, including the coconut shrimp benefit from almost twice the recommended cooking time. It could be my oven. 

  I have beer battered tilapia, Mac n cheese bites and the bacon jam to try. The sweet chili sauce is nice. 

  My dog loved the chicken jerky treats and beef rolls but she just hit a high point on the scales so no more TJs treats for a while. 

[Shel_B]

7 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

 I've found about 99% of their frozen appetizer type foods, including the coconut shrimp benefit from almost twice the recommended cooking time. It could be my oven. 

 

 

A lot of the times given for cooking the frozen items in an oven don't work for me, either, although 99% is way to high a number in my case.  I always use the Breville oven for cooking the entrees or things like croissants, so that may be a factor.  I don't buy too many frozen entrees, though, and it seems like you are drawing from a much larger sample.

 

I purchased a frozen chicken pot pie because a friend said they were good.  I'll give that a try in the next day or so, and see how it cooks up in the Breville.

[rotuts]

I motor'd on down to TJ's, not so much At Speed, to look for the mango salsa and jicama salad

 

I thought ? why not try a Rose, as mentioned above ?  for and ice cold MR or just  to Chug Down ?

 

TJ's in my area as rearranged their wine sections, some of it in response to TotalWIne, Im told sot to voce, so I looked in the

 

new Rose Section.  Low and Behold  :

 

 

$ 3.49  why not try this I said.  this is the brand of my House Chardoonay  ( no oak, no benzene , etc )

 

im just having it cold, no fizz.  its interesting, I find little wrong with it, Im not sure Ill get a lot more.

 

but Im not taking the bottle back   worth a try if you are comfortable taking things back.

 

the next bottle Ill MR.

 

then I(ll get to the others mentioned.

[gfweb]

On 6/14/2016 at 2:25 AM, MetsFan5 said:

Sorry if this has been previously mentioned but their shrimp toast is awesome. I bought 2 boxes today and easily if I allowed myself could have demolished one. A fellow customer raved about the lemongrass chicken egg rolls so I bought those, mac & cheese bites and my beloved soy and ginger chicken with shiitakes and edamame. Such an easy dinner. 

 

 I also bought dog treats and treats for me-- a sweet chili sauce (for the coconut shrimp I bought), bacon jam (how could I not- if it sucks it wasn't expensive) and beer battered halibut filets. 

  My local store is SO SMALL and doesn't sell wine or beer. I miss working in Union Sq in NYC and heaving a case of wine of the subway to SoHo. 

 I also bought frozen "grilled cauliflower". I've had mixed results with fresh cauliflower and it was less than $4. I'm curious to see if it's any good. 

 

How was it all?

[rotuts]

well

 

I motor'd down to TJ's for a loaf of Pigs that Fly Sourdough bread

 

they re brand it in my area

 

nice   in the CSB

 

they sampled

 

[ed.:  youzze formzzes the City? look away ]

 

 the NYC Cheese Cake   FZ   

 

with a jared  Cherry Pie Filling

 

too bad I have to loose 5 lbs.

 

Id have gobbled up both.

[MetsFan5]

On June 21, 2016 at 0:53 PM, gfweb said:

 

How was it all?

 

I partially responded to this in an above post. I still haven't tried the bacon jam, battered halibut or perline prosciutto pasta. The mac & cheese bites were pretty good but greasy. I like the coconut shrimp. 

  Today I bought the dill pickle popcorn-- pretty good-- but we like pickles. I also bought the pork gyoza, chicken fried rice, mushroom risotto, chicken chili lime burgers, A-1 guacamole, mandarin orange chicken, frozen organic jasmine rice, mozzarella and tomato salad, frozen sweet corn, shrimp nuggets and the chocolate covered banana bites. Other than the popcorn, we had the jasmine rice tonight which was easy to make and fine and the banana bites which my husband disliked and I found to be okay-- good for a quick fix if I am craving a little something sweet. I also bought an insulated bag because according to my car, it was 95 degrees when I walked into the store. And humid as hell. 

  I'll likely have the mozzarella and tomato salad for lunch tomorrow (it came in a mixed greens salad with kalamata olives and pine nuts). Has anyone enjoyed any of the other items I purchased today?