Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer Review - March 2015

The Fearless Flyer is out! For those of you who are familiar with Trader Joe's, you already know what that means, and I'll bet you're pretty excited! For those of you who aren't acquainted with Trader Joe's, let me introduce you. It's a like a neighborhood grocery store with some healthy foods mixed in. A treasure trove of delicious produce and tasty treats. The Fearless Flyer is TJ's monthly (or maybe semi-monhtly?) 'newsletter' that advertises new products, highlights a few favorites and gives you the good news that certain seasonal goodies are back in stock.

Each time a FF comes out, I like to try a few items and give you some feedback. Perhaps my review will peek your interest to try some of the products for yourself. (And no, I don't get paid by TJ's. I don't even think they know that my blog exists at this point.)

That brings me to my post for today. Although I do enjoy creating fun lunches for my kiddos, sometimes I like to craft my own special lunch. After all, I too need to eat.
So today's lunch is geared towards adults (though you could certainly pack it for a child).
Yesterday, I ate this lunch at home. Today, I brought it to my husband's workplace, and we ate lunch together, with baby in tow.

First, the Cruciferous Crunch Collection. Pure crunchy veggie deliciousness. It reminds me of the Kale Slaw Salad that I crafted back in October. There is no dressing included in the package, which means you can top this salad with whichever dressing suits your fancy.
I chose a poppyseed dressing - yum.

 Chèvre with Honey. This was a gamble for our family, since it's a mild goat cheese, which we don't normally like. BUT I have to tell you - with the exception of LoveBug, we loved it! There's a bit of a pleasant tang, which is complemented by the sweetness of the honey. We spread it on the Tuscan Pane bread, which is reviewed below.

Tuscan Pane. This sliced bread reminds me a generic, store-bought French bread. It is pretty good warmed up and topped with the Chèvre with Honey cheese; there is nothing super special about it.

Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup. Oh wow. A creamy tomato soup with a slight tang of red pepper. Delicious beyond belief. And so healthy too!

Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks. I purchased these as a snack for our family. Overall, they are good. The honey adds a nice sweetness to the crunchy sticks. I found them to be a bit dry at times, so have a drink handy while eating them. Plus side: there seems to be quite a few servings in the bag, which means we still have snacks in this house of seemingly-bottomless-pit children.

A delicious lunch! Crunchy, chilled salad. Creamy, hot soup. Smooth, tangy cheese smeared onto hearty bread. Yum.

Review of Raspberry, Feta, Pumpkin Seed Salad

You know how I promised a review of the Raspberry, Feta, Pumpkin Seed Salad on Thursday? Well, first of all, I forgot that was Christmas Day, but no worries, I was gonna post anyway, as we have a very laid-back Christmas Day in our household.

However, the real problem was that my ENTIRE family fell prey to some kind of sickness. SuperBoy had an icky cough. Just before Christmas, LoveBug had a 48-hr flu, which turned into an icky cough, for which we are going to the doctor this afternoon. My hubby got sick on Tuesday; he went to Urgent Care on Friday and was diagnosed with the flu  and put on meds; he is weak but recovering slowly. And me, hacking cough on Tuesday night turned into full-blown sinusitis and drippy drainage, which landed me in Urgent Care as well, because I couldn't attempt a breath without coughing! I'm on safe-for-pregnancy meds now, but it's a slow recovery process in this household. Ugh.

So THAT is why there was no post on Thursday; I was completely wiped out. Still am a bit. :(

So now, back to my review of the above-pictured salad. Tasty! The greens stayed fresh and crisp. The Craisins added a hint of sweetness, while the feta cheese chunks provided some tang.

In the future, I would have replaced the pumpkin seeds with chopped pecans. For me personally, I think that I prefer pecans or walnuts to pumpkin seeds. But at least, I gave it a shot, right?

What types of ingredients could you combine to create your own mason jar salad? In fact, what would you want to see me try? I'll gladly be your Mason Jar Salad guinea pig.

Lastly, this will be my next post until next year - don't worry; it's just around the corner. See you all next Monday.

Reviews of TJ's December Fearless Flyer items

On Monday's post, I promised our family's reviews of the Trader Joe's products that we tried. All of which were found in the December Fearless Flyer - I wonder why they call it that. Hmm.

For snack at school, I packed Cinnamon Apple Sticks. They are crunchy, with a hint of apple flavor. LoveBug LOVED them, but SuperBoy didn't like them. Oh well, more for LoveBug.

The Multigrain Pita Bite Crackers were a hit with everyone. Personally, I wouldn't say that they reminded me much of pitas, but they were tasty as a cracker nonetheless.

Unexpected Cheddar - Trader Joe's describes it as such: "The smooth creaminess of the Cheddar gives way to a tangy flavor and slightly crumbly texture, a subtle hint of salt crystallization is discovered, and it begins to taste like an aged Parmesan." That description seemed to hold true for our family. A definite "keeper".

The Spinach & Kale Bites were a bit of a gamble. I mean it's practically pure veggies that I was putting in a kid-friendly lunch. LoveBug said they weren't her favorite, and SuperBoy declared them "okay"; however, he wasn't feeling the greatest that day, so I don't know if his opinion counts. :) Hubby and I LOVED these veggie bites. They are definitely better hot out of the oven or warmed in the microwave, but still pretty tasty when they are cold. And I will tell you that they could use a sprinkling of salt. But yum, yum, yummy!

Southwestern Style Chicken Poppers - When I first read about these in the Fearless Flyer, I figured that they were boneless chicken wings with a southwest kick. Nope, I was wrong. Here's how Trader Joe's describes them: We took "the black bean-corn combo made delicious in our Cowboy Caviar Salsa ... added diced white meat chicken, jack cheese, spinach, and southwestern style seasonings, then rolled it all up in a crunchy and colorful tortilla chip crust." It is delicious. LoveBug, Hubby and I could have these poppers in our lunches almost everyday. Good hot or cold. LoveBug said that these poppers were the best part of her lunch, apart from the Candy Cane Joe-Joe of course. :)

The most-anticipated part of the packed lunch ... the Candy Cane Joe-Joe. What is that, you might ask? It's like an Oreo, with a creamy, peppermint-flavored filling, studded with candy cane pieces. And these are only in stock at Trader Joe's in December.
Also, highly anticipated in our household are the Chocolate-Covered Candy Cane Joe-Joe's - oh pure deliciousness!

That's the end of our reviews for the December Fearless Flyer. I hope you got inspired to try a few new things. And if you live anywhere near a Trader Joe's, you most definitely have to try the Candy Cane Joe-Joes.

Review: Healthier Cobb Salad in a Mason Jar

So I promised my review on my Healthier Cobb Salad in a Mason Jar. Here it is ... Oh yum!

The extra veggies made the salad that much more crisp and crunchy. The chopped, hard-boiled egg and a sprinkle of bacon were the perfect amount of protein! The feta cheese, instead of Bleu cheese, was delightful.

And the best parts? I discovered that the Hidden Valley ranch that I was using...
(1) Was a light dressing, and you couldn't even taste the difference.
AND
(2) I didn't need all of the 2 Tablespoons of dressing that I put into the mason jar. Next time, I would probably stick with 1 Tablespoon, because I could always add more, if necessary.

All Things Autumn ... a Kid Review of TJ's foods

Wow, it has been quite the week, as you can surmise by my one-day-delayed posts! Anyways, here are the reviews by my kiddos on the Trader Joe's foods featured in Tuesday's Autumn Lunch.

The Organic Applesauce Cups are kid-approved! I tried one myself, and they taste just like good ole applesauce. It's a winner.

Unfortunately, the Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli was not a success. LoveBug ate them but didn't enjoy them; SuperBoy tasted them and didn't eat any more. I tasted a few bites, and although I'm a pumpkin-lover, I didn't think they were all that great. The filling was supposed to be pumpkin and ricotta; however, all you tasted was pumpkin. And while the pasta part was beautifully colored, it lacked in flavor. A thumbs down overall.

Pumpkin Joe Joe's were a hit. Definitely pumpkin-y, a little too sweet for me, but kid-approved for sure.

Mixed reviews on Roasted Mashed Sweet Potatoes. LoveBug thought they were good; SuperBoy did not prefer them. Personally, I loved them. I loved the taste and texture, and I adore how easy it is to make them. A few orange pucks in the microwave for a few minutes, and presto ... a veggie is served!

Toscana Cheese with Cinnamon - I am seriously surprised at myself, that I actually packed this delightful cheese in the kids' lunches, instead of keeping it for myself! It's that good! And of course, my cheesemongers loved it. I mean, what's not to love - hard, nutty-tasting cheese with a touch of cinnamon. Oh yum!

Lastly, my kids have snacktime in their classroom each morning, so I pack a snack into their lunchboxes for that very purpose. These "This Pumpkin Walks into a Bar" bars are the perfect item. In fact, my kids loved them so much, that I never got to take a nibble. And I guess that's an okay thing.

Hope you enjoyed our reviews of some Trader Joe's Autumn food items. Perhaps, you should go try a new Autumn-themed food too, either at Trader Joe's or any grocery store! Happy Fall!

Review of Kale Slaw Mason Jar Salad

On Monday, I showed you how I made Kale Slaw Salad in a Mason Jar. Today, I'll give you my review of the salad.

Two words: OH YUM! Yeah, it was THAT good.

Crunchy cabbage. Crisp greens. Delicious dressing. Taylor Farms definitely gets my vote for delicious salad that keeps well!

I am SO excited that this has been lunch all week! And with minimal prep at the beginning of the week. So yummy!

Product Review of TJ's August Fearless Flyer

On Monday, I made a nutritious, packed lunch using only 5 ingredients, all of which were from Trader Joe's August Fearless Flyer. And I promised kid-approved reviews of that lunch and its components. So here they are ...

(1) For the dairy component: TJ's Organic Lowfat Yogurt Squishers were a hit! LoveBug described them as "yummy", and SuperBoy cheerfully said that they were "great".

(2) The protein part: TJ's Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets. You already know that I LOVED them, and my son agreed that they were "great!" My daughter said that the nuggies weren't her favorite, and I had to agree that they did taste much better hot and fresh from the oven. (Guess what I'm gonna eat for lunch today ... the last serving of nuggets!)

(3) Grains: TJ's Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin. The kids raved over these, wanting another one for snack that afternoon! LoveBug described them as "moist, blueberry-filled, with a tiny taste of maple". That should give some hope for those that are GF; delicious muffin options await for you at Trader Joe's!

(4) Fruit: LoveBug kept telling me about the "granola bar in my lunch", by which she meant the TJ's two-ingredient Fruit Bar. I tried the Apple Mango, giving LoveBug and SuperBoy the Apple Strawberry and Apple Banana respectively. They were tasty and chockfull of fruit bits - two types of fruit, no preservatives, no yucky stuff. We can't wait to try the Apple Coconut Fruit Bar.

(5) Veggies - Lastly, the Inner Peas. I really wasn't sure what my kids would think of these. I taste-tested these along with my mom-in-love (who was visiting), and we adults agreed that they were "crunchy and salty at first, but left a weird aftertaste". On the other hand, My kids. Could. Not. Get. Enough. They LOVED those crunchy, baked pea snacks! Fortunately, there was enough leftover to pack another serving for the next day's lunches. Woohoo for pure veggies getting into my willing kids. I couldn't be happier!