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Trader Joe's Products (2017–)


Kerry Beal

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I generally rely on my home pickled nasturtium seed pods for that "caper" flavor. I'm out until at least late spring/early summer so the caperberries in brine for $2 at TJ caught my eye. Interesting. Seedy inside but I enjoy texture contrast. Not as strong or "mustardy" of course as my nasturtium pods but they play well with olives in a dish and are mingling with friends in a tuna salad. 

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Edited by heidih (log)
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On 1/17/2018 at 12:35 PM, heidih said:

 

Is the Soy chorizo a crumbly product like the ubiquitous Cacique product?

 

I had some last night, it is a crumbly product like Cacique. I don't know how TJ sample managed to keep it in chunks.

 

I had it with sauteed onions, chickpeas and poached eggs. Delicious!

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  • 2 weeks later...

i wandered down to TJ's

 

to pick of a few delicious Items 

 

for when I watch SuperBowl  &^#@(*&%*E^(E(E()E@#$%

 

soon on my Mac

 

No Worries

 

several Jugs of MR are maturing for a few minutes etc.

 

this is a Mouse Cake that TJ's seems to have at least 2 times a year

 

Valentines Day and Easter

 

Moose.thumb.jpg.6e24479611c9642f1a32dd0464ad8b8d.jpg

Im not an overall fan of their seasonal offerings 

 

as if I like it , wheel ???

 

this is an outstanding Mousse Cake

 

in this instance Im glad it only come 2 ( perhaps Ive missed 3 + ? )

 

times a year

 

most cakes love Ice Cream

 

not this one :   Thick Hand Made  whipped cream is required

 

or not.

 

Id suggest a Statin Chaser if you go with the ultra-thick whipped cream

 

but check w your Health Care Provider

 

please

 

Yum Yum

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so I tried the new Mooose cake

 

ive loved these in the past :

 

Cake.thumb.jpg.4bdb3edf91e47608f3d759739ae11be0.jpg

 

if you are a serious student of this type of cake , you already notice trouble :

 

note the pink-patch

 

and the green thing-ey

 

hard sugar and not very tasty

 

and not as much Moose-y innards

 

so a bit of a bust.

 

who ever though the pink and green item added to this cake

 

must have bought several tons of sugar at a steep discount 

 

and needed to move it

 

So Sad

Edited by rotuts (log)
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Just walked back from mailbox and the monthly Fearless Flyer was there. Do you guys anywhere near  a TJ get that? This one is 23 pages.  Usually it is just telling me about stuff that is interesting but that I don't really need. This one was a bit boring. Los Angeles is home of the original first (well Pasadena - think Rose Parade & Rose Bowl) so maybe we are different. Attaching cover,  Bamba cuz we'v discussed it here often, and jackfruit cuz it is SUCH a thing here and want to try.

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Edited by heidih (log)
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I get this flyer maybe quarterly, I don't keep track. Seems awfully silly. If everything sold at TJ's was as bizarre as most of the "new" stuff they highlight in the flyer I wouldn't ever shop there. We buy the same old six or seven things regularly from TJ's and rarely anything else. 

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sometimes their new stiff is great , sometimes not

 

but always an adventure of some sort.

 

you can always see the flyer On-Line :

 

https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer

 

if you aren't close to a Tj's , well it might be frustrating   

 

its of fly written , of course !

 

the real problem is sometimes their finest stuff just disappears and is gone forever

 

sometimes items are ' seasonal ' and there for a specific time

 

they don't do enough to point that out I think.

 

however , My Local is a very friendly place.

 

they know their regulars and they have a lot of them.

 

I mentioned my disappointment w this Feb's ChocMouse cake , pointing out the

 

Pink Heart sugar Puck.    I peeled it off and ate the cake anyway

 

the check-out guy offered to refund the price even though I didn't ask

 

I would have taken him up on it

 

if  returns affected their selections in the future

 

they do not seem to.

Edited by rotuts (log)
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I'm in the same general geographic area as you are, @heidih, so I get the flyer, too.  What surprised me about their mailing program was when they opened a Trader Joe's in Burlington, VT and my mother (who lived on the other side of the lake in northern NY) started receiving the flyer in the mail.  It's at least a 3 hour round trip, involving a ferry, so it surprised me they were advertising that far away.  Not sure if they're still following that strategy or not.

 

I always read the flyer - usually there's a mixture of new and old items - and generally find a few things I'd like to try. In addition to the Bamba and jackfruit you mentioned, I'll probably pick up some of the frozen coconut chunks. 

 

On 2/5/2018 at 10:27 AM, ElsieD said:

I'm hoping someone will try the Creamy Tomato Soup Crackers and report back.9_9

I tried them and wouldn't recommend them.  I'm not a fan of rice crackers to begin with but the flavor doesn't help either. Tastes like what you'd get from dehydrating the already "condensed" canned tomato soup.  Now, I have fond memories of that soup, made with milk and served with a grilled cheese sandwich but the crackers aren't doing it for me.  I'm debating whether to take them back or toss them. 

 

IMG_7071.jpg

 

Edited to add:

On 1/2/2018 at 10:38 AM, Toliver said:

I thought these might be nice as a garnish on soup so I tried them.  Yes, they do add a nice crunch when sprinkled on top of a bowl but they soak up the soup and get soggy very quickly - at least if you break them up like I did.  As a snack, they're OK, but nothing I'd crave like a potato chip.

 

Edited by blue_dolphin (log)
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I get the "Fearless Flyer" and look forward to it. My favorite one was from several years ago where the issue highlighted the bargain/high value items they carried. The only one I can remember now is the imported pasta, but there were many items that were cheaper and better quality than what I could buy at local grocery stores. This is the flyer that caught my attention and got me going into the store regularly. 

 

I'm not a fan of the seasonal only items or the disappearance of long-time favorites from the shelves either. I don't mind some new offerings occasionally, but TJ's takes it too far for me.

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> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

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TJ's

 

in my area has one affordable wines

 

that's where I get the substrate for MR !

 

the people I talk to there do know most of their wines

 

also in my area there is some ' pressure '

 

BizTalk

 

from TotalWine

 

no matter 

 

I asked for a white with no oak and dry

 

this one was new :

 

5a85ce46cd349_MITJF.thumb.jpg.12eacba0ad35d5cc44aeeb018af4dcca.jpg

 

5a85ce57636ef_MITJB.thumb.jpg.fd8000ae4216b5ee19b69ad863e4a9f4.jpg

 

Its 9.99 in my area, but if your don't have the Graft and Corruption Tax  ( $ 1.00 or more here /bottle )

 

it might be less in your area

 

we all like certain tastes in our Wine

 

I like No Oak, and dry

 

if Red :  as above , but Of Grapes not Cherries Tobacco etc

 

this is a very nice wine !

 

I has No oak to me, and is dry ( enough )

 

it has good mouth feel

 

i.e. there a lot going on in your mouth when you taste it

 

It does not have any Benzene that I can taste

 

[Ed.: Benzene = chemical tastes , not from Grapes ]

 

and at this or lower price points

 

TJ's or anywhere 

 

that's an issue

 

so if you have this in your TJ's

 

try a bottle

 

you can take it back

 

even even Empty !

 

very nice for 9.99

 

money-mouth.gif.1af3ad27bf2badb38c6ae1b4786c5282.gif

 

suprise.gif.c4194b7d5e8de8baf954319b591b31f2.gif

 

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I'm with you on the un-oaked, dry white wine, rotuts.  It's been a long time since I tasted a chardonnay treated that way! If I ever get near a Trader Joe's again, I'll look for this one.

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  • 1 month later...

Bought some TJ's just Beets today. Not sure why, I guess they looked kind of chippy and I like beets so why not? All they are is dehydrated beets, the ingredients list is: Beets. This little bag will set you back a bit over $2. I know these aren't NEW, I can see they were around back in late 2016 with a search, but it's the first time I have noticed them. Would I buy them again? Possibly but probably not. I like the slightly sweet beet flavour and the crunch, but hey, if you need some fiber in your diet, these provide 7 gms in one little bag! xD

 

IMG_20180317_175342.thumb.jpg.e83267833f617e4d735011e838e0e530.jpg

 

IMG_20180317_175500.thumb.jpg.941b43fe05eb697a915b678ce9ba96b1.jpg

 

I also noticed some 3-seed beet crackers and 3-seed sweet potato crackers for the first time. I don't like black sesame seeds, so passed them by, but I like that TJ's gives some variations on the chip and cracker theme. 

 

https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/3-seed-beet-crackers

 

https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/4072

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, FauxPas said:

Bought some TJ's just Beets today. Not sure why, I guess they looked kind of chippy and I like beets so why not? All they are is dehydrated beets, the ingredients list is: Beets. This little bag will set you back a bit over $2. I know these aren't NEW, I can see they were around back in late 2016 with a search, but it's the first time I have noticed them. Would I buy them again? Possibly but probably not. I like the slightly sweet beet flavour and the crunch, but hey, if you need some fiber in your diet, these provide 7 gms in one little bag! xD

 

IMG_20180317_175342.thumb.jpg.e83267833f617e4d735011e838e0e530.jpg

 

IMG_20180317_175500.thumb.jpg.941b43fe05eb697a915b678ce9ba96b1.jpg

 

I also noticed some 3-seed beet crackers and 3-seed sweet potato crackers for the first time. I don't like black sesame seeds, so passed them by, but I like that TJ's gives some variations on the chip and cracker theme. 

 

https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/3-seed-beet-crackers

 

https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/4072

 

 

 

Completely agree on Just Beets. They weren't awful, but I couldn't find a good reason to even finish the bag. I do like both the Sweet Potato and Beet 3-Seed Crackers. A few go a long way--I never want too many in one sitting unless I have enough different cheeses to mix up the flavor. They start to wear on me after a while, too.

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Deb

Liberty, MO

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On 3/17/2018 at 9:27 PM, FauxPas said:

Bought some TJ's just Beets today. Not sure why, I guess they looked kind of chippy and I like beets so why not? All they are is dehydrated beets, the ingredients list is: Beets. This little bag will set you back a bit over $2. I know these aren't NEW, I can see they were around back in late 2016 with a search, but it's the first time I have noticed them. Would I buy them again? Possibly but probably not. I like the slightly sweet beet flavour and the crunch, but hey, if you need some fiber in your diet, these provide 7 gms in one little bag! xD

 

IMG_20180317_175342.thumb.jpg.e83267833f617e4d735011e838e0e530.jpg

 

These look like just the sort of thing you could blitz to a powder in a spice grinder and use as a natural red food coloring, say, for a red velvet cake. (And who's going to complain about a little extra fiber in dessert?)

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MelissaH

Oswego, NY

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Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

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I was happy to see the bag of mini avocados at TJ's over the weekend (Teeny Tiny Avocados)...product of Mexico, 6 per bag, under $3. The pit is in proportion to the fruit, the one I had last night was creamy and unblemished. It is a nice size for garnishing a leaf lettuce salad, or avocado toast for one (I find a whole large avocado a bit much and wrapping half is so-so).

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5 hours ago, MelissaH said:

These look like just the sort of thing you could blitz to a powder in a spice grinder and use as a natural red food coloring, say, for a red velvet cake. (And who's going to complain about a little extra fiber in dessert?)

 

Yes, good idea!  :)

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22 hours ago, BeeZee said:

I was happy to see the bag of mini avocados at TJ's over the weekend (Teeny Tiny Avocados)...product of Mexico, 6 per bag, under $3. The pit is in proportion to the fruit, the one I had last night was creamy and unblemished. It is a nice size for garnishing a leaf lettuce salad, or avocado toast for one (I find a whole large avocado a bit much and wrapping half is so-so).

 

Yes, I've been buying these for the past couple of months. They are the best avocados I've been able to get in this area for a long time!

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Deb

Liberty, MO

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this item

 

5ab27f636d0dc_EggsTJ.jpg.cf1ffbba8d781efab32ec32ee5320cda.jpg

 

is about as deliciousness as delicious can be.

 

it good quality chocolate cake w a thick layer of Ch.Mousse and chocolate cover.

 

its the easter version  and seasonal

 

the same type of thing comes at Xmas , shaped like a tree and Valentines day shaped as a heart

 

this years VD version was spoiled by a heart shaped large piece of sugar on top of the cake

 

the above is about a 1/2 serving portion.

 

I should be pleased this is Seasonal , as Id scarf them all up if there were there every day.

 

delicious !

 

I didn't cut one in 1/2  because Id snarf the all up !

Edited by rotuts (log)
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16 minutes ago, rotuts said:

this item

 

5ab27f636d0dc_EggsTJ.jpg.cf1ffbba8d781efab32ec32ee5320cda.jpg

 

is about as deliciousness as delicious can be.

 

it good quality chocolate cake w a thick layer of Ch.Mousse and chocolate cover.

 

its the easter version  and seasonal

 

the same type of thing comes at Xmas , shaped like a tree and Valentines day shaped as a heart

 

this years VD version was spoiled by a heart shaped large piece of sugar on top of the cake

 

the above is about a 1/2 serving portion.

 

I should be pleased this is Seasonal , as Id scarf them all up if there were there every day.

 

delicious !

 

 

Amen to that. I love those little cakes - so much so that I will no longer allow myself to buy them, because one bite leads too quickly to an empty package - and a trip to get more. I am not good at rationing.

 

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Patty

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