Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Trader Joe's Nothing But Fruit & Nuts - Date - Hazelnut - Cacao

Busy busy busy. Bizzy. Biz-zay. Bizzybizzybiz.

No matter how you say it, or spell it, that's what we are.

There's the normal everyday grind of errands, jobs, and chores. Then whenever we all have the day off together, we try to have a family fun day. In a span of less than a week not too long ago, Sandy and I took the kids to Idlewild amusement park, the zoo, the science center, and the pool. That'd be a whole month, if not full summer, of activites for me growing up. Here's to reasonably priced family memberships! Sandy and I also finally had a little weekend to ourselves not long ago either, where we packed as much as we could into about two days in NYC - a show, a ballgame, the Met, Times Square, and all sorts of touristy crap like Ripley's Museum.

So busy....we're kinda in need of a TJ's run. Supplies are low.

Fortunately for all aspects of our busy lives (and fortunately Nathan chose another flavor for his review), Sandy picked up a sack of Trader Joe's Nothing But Fruit & Nuts - Date - Hazelnut - Cacao. I'm really not sure if that's the official name of these guys, but no other way seems quite right.

At least I am very sure of the ingredients. Dates, hazelnuts, and cacao - that's all there is, there ain't no mo'. They come all formed together in a medium sized disc, individually wrapped. If you're familiar with date-based Larabars, there's some similarities but also a key difference or two. First, I think there's an even higher percentage of dates in each TJ's nutty cacao date cake thing. I say that because the date flavor seems a little stronger - if you don't like dates, you have no chance of liking these - but also there's a textural difference. The TJ's are a touch tougher as well - perhaps dried a bit more? Not sure. They're still plenty easy to bite through, but it was a changeup from the usual Larabar softness I'm more accustomed to.


There's not an abundance of hazelnuts, but there is enough cacao/cocoa/chocolate flavor slipping in to hit a good chocolate spot. The richness of flavor though seems to come mainly from the dates, however, which isn't a bad thing. The snacks are easily portable and filling making an ideal on-the-go energy boost. All. That. Fiber. With, um, all the effects as well, FYI.

It's $3.99 for the eight discs. While I get I could probably make more of my own for a similar price point, I for one don't mind paying a small premium for convenience. I've made similar stuff to these, and it takes some time, and I think I burned out a food processor motor once. Time is money.

Both Sandy and I like them, and they're be sure to be one of our go-to on-the-go get-up-and-goers for go-time. Go!

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Nothing But Fruit & Nuts - Date - Hazelnut - Cacao: 8.5 out of 10 Golden Spoons

9 comments:

  1. Hahaha, i live in nyc and didnt know there was a Ripley's museum...! (??) sounds like a fun weekend but certainly exhausting in a good way. Not sure i should try these... i love larabars texture. But these are much cheaper than larabars so yesh i should at least give them a try!
    Ttrockwood

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  2. I loved them... tried to buy some today - they don't sell them anymore, at least at the store near me! what a bummer!!

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  3. A stone break my teeth, First time terrible quality product in TJ. This is not a Hi Tech product but still has quality issue.

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  4. I loved these when I found them about a month ago! But they already don't seem to be selling them anymore in the store I shop at :/

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  5. The Trader Joe's out here in Washington state say they're coming back in late October but they will be a seasonal item. I harassed them so many times about these that if I had a bag of them for every time I've asked I cold fill my grocery basket with them. Today is October 25th and they're still not in.

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  6. Tried to place why these tasted so similar and it had been decided they taste like those SnackWell’s Devil’s Food cookies in the teen box from the 90s. Low fat/fat free NOSTALGIA. Because every Mom back then though they were healthy.

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  7. I basically stalked my local TJ's until they got these in. I tried the Apricot & Almond type first and really liked them, so gave these a try. Although they have a much more firm consistency than the chew apricot variety, I think these are very tasty and really hit the "I NEED CHOCOLATE" spot without all the extra sugar and fat.

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  8. I hope they get them back into the store...I went today n they said they have been discontinued.

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