Trader Joe's Tropical Smoothie Blend

I've always been a fan of smoothies. They're a great way to get tons of fruit in your diet without even consciously feeling like you're "trying to eat healthy." If you add yogurt or fro-yo, you're getting probiotics up in the mix, too. Vitamins, minerals, fiber, hydration, antioxidants...and they taste sweet and creamy. If you make 'em right, they're almost like milkshakes.

Trader Joe's Tropical Smoothie blend is around currently in November for some strange reason, along with a good handful of other decidedly summery products. That's why starting today, WG@TJ's will be doing SUMMER IN NOVEMBER for the next seven days! Yay. You've heard of Christmas in July? Well this is kinda like that except not.

Anyhoo, this tropical smoothie comes pre-mixed, flaunting the flavors of pineapple, mango, coconut cream, banana, and passionfruit. It's sweetened with agave syrup and there's nothing in the ingredients that shouldn't be there—no HFCS, no artificial colors, no seed oils. Just tropical fruity goodness.

Simply mix one cup of the smoothie blend with some water, milk, or yogurt, and you're in business. We used some plain yogurt and a bit of water with ours. Of course, you can use non-dairy milks or yogurts if you're lactose intolerant or vegan.

The mix is fairly mango and pineapple forward with that creamy coconut milk type flavor underneath. It's sweet but not cloyingly sugary. It actually tastes like it's made of real fruit...because it is. Of course the passionfruit is there, but it's well understated compared to the other tropical fruit flavors. Banana adds some thickness to the texture, and maybe a bit of sweetness and starchiness.

I downed my whole glass in a matter of a couple minutes while recording our video review. I'm eager to finish the bag. This gets a thumbs up from both me and the beautiful wifey.

$3.99 for three servings of a very palatable and healthy smoothie mix. Kosher. Would buy again. Our specimen had a stamp noting that it was a product of both Costa Rica and Peru. Sonia and I will both give Trader Joe's Tropical Smoothie Blend the same score: eight and a half out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Harvest Chocolate Collection

So this is basically just the Chocolatissimo Harvest Collection, but now it has Trader Joe's brand name on it. Straight outta Belgium, we've got nine fun fall-themed candies with different combinations of chocolate and fillings. Let's take a look at each one.

Yellow & Brown Corncob - This one's a milk chocolate shell with crispy hazelnut praline filling. Good. The middle is like Nutella but with tiny crunchy bits. One of the better ones.

White Apple - I'm a fan of white chocolate, but I thought this specimen was weird. The filling is milk chocolate we think, but for me, the odd flavor of the shell kinda ruined it. Sonia thinks the whole thing tasted more like milk chocolate than white, but she was okay with it overall.

Orange Pumpkin - Milk chocolate shell with a creamy hazelnut praline filling. Pretty good.

Dark Walnut - This one looks like a real nut. I think the filling here is almond praline. It's a nice dark chocolate shell. It's not too bitter and it mixes well with the filling.

Brown Leaf - Milk chocolate shell and a gooey caramel center. The filling is very smooth and runny—almost wants to be a liquid. It's nice and salty, too. I think this one was our favorite.

The Black and White Walnut - It's two races of flavor living side by side in harmony. Both white and milk chocolate shells, both white and milk chocolate fillings. Decent. Sonia thinks she tastes the white chocolate more in this case than in the white chocolate shelled apple. Crispy filling.

Dark Brown Pumpkin - If you like dark chocolate, you'll like this one. Both shell and filling are smooth dark chocolate.

Dark Apple - It's just milk chocolate filling inside a dark chocolate coating. Not bad.

Green and Orange Corncob - Almond praline filling inside chocolate—not sure if it's milk chocolate or dyed white chocolate. This one's okay.

$5.49 for nine imported chocolate candies. Might buy again if I needed a fun contribution for a fall get-together or party. The quality of the chocolates isn't the best I've ever seen, but they have a cute fall theme and you never know what filling you'll find inside your candy. Seven and a half stars from Sonia for Trader Joe's Harvest Chocolate Collection. Seven out of ten stars from me.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.