Next up in our prestigious SUMMER IN NOVEMBER series: watermelon candy. What's more summery than sugary candy? Sugary watermelon candy, that's what. Even Hailey Bieber thinks so. Kinda rando, sure. But hey, when have we not been random here?
This candy is amazing. I guess "amaze-balls" is pretty appropriate here. I mean, the candy is mostly spherical. Texture-wise, it's like astronaut ice cream sorta. I mean, all freeze-dried stuff is like that to some degree. This stuff is crispity, crunchity, and sweet as all get-out. It's also tart. Like, VERY tart. It's some of the best sour watermelon candy I've ever had.
It might be some of the best candy I've had, period. The flavor is so intense, it's difficult to eat more than two or three at a time. There's not a lot of sustenance there. It's mostly just sugar with natural flavors and natural colors.
In fact the first two ingredients are "sugar" and "corn syrup," but NOT high fructose corn syrup, thank goodness. If you're looking for a legit source of protein or a tide-me-over till dinner type snack, look elsewhere. If you want one of the best and most unique sweet and sour candies you've ever had, then this product is a MUST TRY.
There are a bunch of different colors in the bag, but there's only one flavor. That's our biggest complaint. We want more flavors of this stuff. Apple, grape, cherry, lemon...we'd try 'em all.
It's a pretty good buy at four bucks for the resealable bag. The candy is so light and airy, the net weight is only 1.5 oz. But trust me, that's 1.5 oz that's absolutely bursting with flavor. Sonia and I both love this stuff and would absolutely buy it again. Nine and a half stars from the beautiful wifey for Trader Joe's Watermelon Freeze Dried Candies. I'll throw out nine out of ten.
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.
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.
I certainly don't think this is the finest representation of pumpkin spice that I've ever sampled, but as far as coffee plus pumpkin spice goes, it's definitely up there in my book. The competition hasn't exactly been stellar by my estimation, but that's just me. People love their pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin coffee, and pumpkin cold brew. Am I missing something? Even Sonia seems less than impressed by many of Trader Joe's pumpkin spice + coffee offerings.
But let's look at this pumpkin spice espresso martini in particular. Sonia and I both enjoyed this beverage a little more than we enjoyed the original Trader Joe's Espresso Martini. It seemed sweeter to both of us—just a tad more dessert-esque than its predecessor. The pumpkin spice flavor was pretty decent, neither overpowering nor underrepresented.
We both thought the actual coffee flavor was less pronounced than the original espresso martini since pumpkin spice is the main event in Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini. In my humble opinion, that's a good thing. Sonia would have been fine with more coffee flavor, but she's also a big fan of pumpkin spice, so she was okay with it as well. There was no actual pumpkin or squash flavor as far as I could tell. It's a pumpkin spice product rather than an actual pumpkin product.
Like Trader Joe's regular Espresso Martini, we both wished this one had some kind of cream or milk flavor. Of course, we could have added our own cold foam or creamer or whatever, but the beverage seems to lack creaminess just straight from the bottle. It lacked the foamy, frothy fluff on top that some espresso martinis seem to have, no matter how much or how hard we agitated the bottle before pouring.
$9.99 for the 375mL bottle. 20% alcohol by volume, made with vodka, espresso, vanilla, and pumpkin spice. My guess is that it's only sold in Trader Joe's locations that sell hard alcohol, and it will be done for the season soon if it's not already. We would maybe buy again in the future at fall time. Both of us will score this one a little higher than the plain espresso martini. Seven and a half stars from Sonia. Seven out of ten stars from me.
So there's this viral protein bowl thing Sonia told me about the other day. Apparently, it's all the rage on TikTok and all the TikTok ripoffs like YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels and the young fitness gurus love it for its high nutritional value and low carbs and flavor. It involves lean ground beef, avocado, sweet potato, cottage cheese, and hot honey.
When she first listed the ingredients, I was kinda like: "You just named five things that don't go together in any way whatsoever." And she was just like: "They all say it's good and I wanna try it." You know me, I'll try just about anything once. So she made it and we tried it and it's just amazingly good.
She heated the beef on the stove top and spiced it up with some taco seasoning. The sweet potatoes received some garlic powder, paprika, sea salt and olive oil before roasting at 400° for about a half hour. Then you stick it all in a bowl with roughly equal quadrants of the above-mentioned beef and sweet potato, cottage cheese, and avocado. You'll have a beautiful white, brown, green, and orange mosaic of flavors. And then it all gets topped with Mike's Hot Honey, Bees Knees, or Trader Joe's Spicy Honey Sauce...or Trader Joe's Organic Spicy Honey Sauce.
Of course you can make a vegetarian version by omitting the beef...or a vegan version by omitting the beef and cottage cheese. Or you could sub tofu for the animal products. Whatever floats your boat.
It's creamy, salty, savory, sweet, and a little spicy. If anything, I wish it were a tad spicier. And by that, I mean I wish this spicy honey were spicier. It's got a little kick, for sure, but I could go a notch or two higher on the spice-o-meter.
The organic spicy honey is three bucks. This product is five bucks. Yes, you read that right. The organic product is cheaper than the non-organic product. Go figure. I guess it's because there's more sauce in this 12 oz bottle as opposed to only 8 in the other one. This product is definitely currently available—generally speaking, of course. Not sure about the organic version.
Sonia and I would buy again. Kosher. It was on an end cap at our TJ's last time we went, but it'll probably wind up with the other condiments. Do not refrigerate, even after opening. It is real honey, after all. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Spicy Honey Sauce eight and a half stars. I'll throw out eight out of ten.
These almonds remind me a lot of Trader Joe's Cinnamon Sugar Almonds in terms of texture, the quality of the nuts, and the thickness of the candy coating. If anything, the overall flavor is just a tad richer here, boasting sweet maple and rich brown butter. It's quite satisfying.
I'd heard nothing but good things online about this snack, and no wonder. They're really much more tasty than you might assume by just glancing at the packaging. The buttery maple candy flavor brings just the right amount of pizzazz to the snack, turning ordinary whole almonds into something that could quell even the strongest of sweet tooths.
The sea salt on these nuts combines with the rich butteriness in a way that reminds me of Trader Joe's Salted Maple Ice Cream. Yes, the flavor is that indulgent. It's not a far cry from what you'd get if you took Trader Joe's Butter with Brown Sugar and Maple Syrup and sautéed almonds in it.
They're delicious on their own, but they'd work great for baking applications also. As is, I think they're a little too big to serve as an ice cream or yogurt topping, but you could always chop them up in a food processor and toss them in with your favorite creamy dessert.
$3.99 for the 8 oz resealable bag. Kosher. Would buy again. I give Trader Joe's Maple Brown Butter Almonds eight and a half out of ten stars. Sonia gives them nine out of ten.
So I guess people were using Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce as a base for soup and really loving it. Word on the street is that TJ's heard about it and developed their own soup inspired by the pasta sauce by the same name. Don't confuse the red creamy autumnal pasta sauce with Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Alfredo Sauce. That stuff was weird and bland but I'm pretty sure it's not around anymore.
At any rate, this soup is tomato-based, but it's also bursting with big chunks of butternut squash, onions, celery, and carrots. There's pumpkin puree and butternut squash puree, too. Garlic, parsley, rosemary, and sage help round out the flavor profile and yield a surprisingly tasty, hearty soup.
We heated ours on the stovetop and made just over half the jar for our video review. We both enjoyed it quite a bit. It's savory and a little sweet—nowhere near as sweet as Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bisque, to be sure. It tastes "harvesty," if that's even a word. It should be. "Harvestacular" might be more accurate.
It's surprisingly chunky, filling, and none of the veggies were particularly stringy, which is always a plus. We'll easily finish the jar in a day or so, just the two of us. It's finally soup season here in the Upper Midwest, and cooler temperatures always put Sonia and me in the mood for dishes exactly like this one.
$4.99 for the 25 oz reusable glass mason jar. Would buy again. This is the best fall soup we've seen from Trader Joe's since the Harvest Chili we looked at seven years ago. Nine out of ten stars from Sonia for Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Soup. I'll give it eight out of ten.
We're looking at another authentic Italian import today. This time, it's butternut squash risotto. It's actually the second butternut squash risotto product we've reviewed from Trader Joe's, the first being a low carb riced cauliflower version from five years ago.
Like its predecessor, this risotto has real butternut squash, cheese, and Italian spices. It's nice and creamy, smooth, and savory, too. We think the overall flavor is stronger with this product since it's got real rice in it.
The sauce blend seems a bit better in this instance, as well, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's just because it's truly Italian. It feels thicker, creamier, and cheesier.
We ate ours with some arugula to give it a bit of extra texture. The flavors worked well together, too. The nuttiness of the greens complemented the cheesiness of the risotto and gave the dish a nice earthy undertone. We're quite sure it would go great with chicken or fish or pork if that's your thing. It would make a fine side dish or even a standalone meal.
We heated it on the stovetop, but the microwave is fair game, too. Instructions say to heat on medium for 6-7 minutes. Ours took 15-16 minutes. Hey, it's still much faster than making it from scratch.
$4.49 for a pound of imported risotto. Product of Italy. Found in the frozen section. We'd both buy it again. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Risotto eight and a half out of ten stars. I'll go with seven and a half on this one.
Not much needs to be said about these happy morsels. They're better than most pre-packaged vending machine snack cakes, but not like worlds better. People rave about them online like they've never had chocolate candy or chocolate cake before. Available only during the fall season, these pumpkins have been around year after year for quite a while—at least a decade, if not longer.
If you miss them this autumn season, have no fear. The exact same product reappears for the holiday season in the form of chocolate mousse presents. And then again around Easter as Chocolate Mousse Eggs. And then again later in the spring as Chocolate Mousse Flowers. There's also a larger cake version around Valentine's Day called For The Love of Chocolate Mousse Cake.
The BEST product in this line by far, however, are the Raspberry Mousse Cakes, available in the spring and summer. That raspberry buttercream gets me every time. I, personally, think they're head and shoulders better than all these chocolate mousse cakes.
That's not to say these are bad. They're perfectly tasty, noshable, and fun. I think they're better when the ambient temperature is warm. I've eaten them plenty of times when it's super cold outside, and I feel like you really want them to be soft, moist, and supple. I haven't tried microwaving them for a couple seconds yet, although I'm tempted.
I've heard some people actually freeze them and eat them cold and solid. I can't see how that would work, but I guess I'd try it at least once. They're usually best when you eat them immediately after purchase. Don't wait until the best by date. Don't refrigerate them. Just pop 'em in your mouth in the car on the ride home and wash 'em down with some chocolate milk.
$3.99 for six little pumpkin shaped chocolate mousse cakes. Found with the baked goods. Kosher. Would probably buy again. We've been all over the place when scoring these things. I feel like they're worthy of seven and a half stars today. Sonia agrees.
For those of you who might be tempted to call me a hater and revoke my coffee beverage reviewing privileges, let me point out two coffee drinks I've had relatively recently that I enjoyed: Irish Crème Java Monster and Bones Coffee French Toast Cold Brew. Might not be very sophisticated or whatever, but you can't say I'm not honest. These aren't the only coffee drinks I've ever enjoyed, but they're the only two I've had and liked in recent memory.
I'm starting to think I just don't like pumpkin flavored coffee, because this is deja brew all over again. I mean, I don't really gravitate towards coffee in general, but I'm starting to notice I like pumpkin spice lattes and cold brews even less than plain old black coffee. Wasn't a fan of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate. But then again, Sonia wasn't either.
I like this product just a little more than I liked that Trader Joe's offering, but I still wouldn't buy it again. Sonia is just a tad more positive about it than I am, but she still gives it a solid "meh." She likes the coffee and cream elements, but she says she tastes something metallic, while I detect something akin to plastic. The pumpkin spice isn't overwhelming here, which we both agree is a good thing.
I never realized it before, but a lot of canned coffee beverages actually contain nitrous oxide. It's the same chemical compound junkies use when huffing whippits and it's also known as NOS when used for a burst of torque and horsepower in your souped up Mazda RX-7 during illegal street races. I guess there are varying levels of purity that distinguish one version from the others, but yep, it's basically all the same stuff. Who knew?
$2.99 for a 9 oz can. Available at Trader Joe's but not exclusively at Trader Joe's. I, personally, wouldn't buy it again, but I know this stuff is quite popular. If you like it, let us know in the comments below. I'll throw out five out of ten stars for La Colombe Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Draft Latte. The beautiful wifey will go with six and a half out of ten.
Those of you who've been reading for a while know Sonia and I both love our Thai food. Trader Joe has had his hits and misses throughout the years, but in general, if it's Thai, we'll try it and usually like it. This product is no different.
We like it—but, unfortunately, we don't love it. What's working? The overall flavor profile is nice. The assortment of veggies is decent. The spice level is just about perfect. There's pumpkin, chicken, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and green beans in the mix. There's plenty of lemongrass and ginger flavor, too.
What's not working? The veggie pieces are quite small. Most aren't large enough to be considered "chunks." Oddly, there are a few relatively large sections of green beans, some of which are a tad stringy in texture.
The chicken is finely shredded, not very bulky, and the pieces are far and few between. I'd almost prefer a vegetarian curry with "meatier" veggies than the meager wisps of poultry in this product. I also think the curry itself is too thin. I feel like I've had Thai curry that's much richer and thicker, with a more indulgent coconut essence. I know red curry can be a bit more liquidy than, say, panang curry, but I still feel like coconut milk and red curry paste usually yield something a tad denser than what we have here.
The tub is $4.99 for 20 oz. It's considered two and a half servings. Kind of an odd size. You'll find it in the refrigerated section. It keeps more than two months if left unopened in the fridge.
We heated ours on the stovetop and ate it with naan bread. Adding rice, bread, and extra meat or veggies would help out the soup considerably. It's gluten-free as it stands. We'd probably not buy it again, but if someone served it to me as a guest, I'd happily eat it without complaint. Seven out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Thai Style Red Curry Soup. The beautiful wifey will go just a bit higher—seven and a half stars from her.
Nate's Notes: This review was originally published on September 22, 2021. We're bumping it because we did a short video review, which is now embedded at the bottom of the post. This product is only available seasonally at Trader Joe's during the fall time. We like it a lot and we've repurchased it just about every year for the past four years. It's back for the 2025 season as of the time of re-publishing—but probably won't be around for long. Also, the price has increased to $4.49.
Bro...do you even hotteok?
Can't say I can, because I just learned the word tonight when prepping some Trader Joe's Sweet Cinnamon Filled Korean Pancakes. Lol..."Korean pancakes." Call 'em what they are, TJ's. Hotteok. Granted, yes, I along with likely 80% or more of shoppers wouldn't know what that means at first glance, but I'm always down for a little culinary education. Apparently hotteok is a popular Korean street food, filled with all sorts of stuff, in, well, more or less a pancake form. Never saw or heard of them before as I've never been to Korea and that's not much Korean influence around the 'burgh that'd make something even as tasty and tantalizing like this readily available.
All that to say, heck yeah, Trader Joe's sweet cinnamon filled Korean pancakes are pretty good.
Let's take another second to be clear here: I am not qualified in any way, shape or form to claim these as authentic or close to the real thing or for them to even be half as good. I'd actually be fairly and pleasantly surprised if they were. I'm judging these pancakes simply on their own merits, including costing $3ish bucks for 4 of them, and heating them from frozen on my stovetop for just a few minutes. So take as you will.
All that being said, yum. Let's start with the dough. It's delicious and pretty unique for my experience. Even heating right from frozen, with no butter or oil or anything used, the outside gets all browned and crispy and a touch greasy, just like a good comfort food should. Love it. Further in, it's not quite a mochi-esque bite, but in some ways it's close as it's a little chewy but also soft and moist and gooey and oozing out warmth. Looking over ingredients, there's all sorts of stuff in the dough - wheat, sweet potato, rice flour - that come together well into a soft, lightly sweet cake.
The cinnamon reservoir is pretty fantastic too. I mean, it's a lot of cinnamon. Be careful that stuff is ridiculously hot and stays that way for longer than expected. The cinnamon adds a great spice bite that complements the dough really well, making these compact cakes have more punch than expected.
Still, adding a little ice cream or whipped cream or something like that to just really fill it out? That'd be worthy of hashtagging a #chefskiss all over this.
Delicious. We love 'em and I'm glad we got a second bag that I'm already looking forward to busting open. Authentic? Maybe, maybe not...if you know, tell me. But I'm glad that TJ's has introduced me to this particular chunk of the culinary world, and I know I'll be seeking out the real deal if I ever get the chance. Eight and a half stars on Trader Joe's Sweet Cinnamon Filled Korean Pancakes, aka Hotteok.
Trader Joe's Uncrustables. That's clearly what we've got here. Not the first time TJ's latched on to a popular food concept and developed their own store brand variety of it. Probably won't be the last. Let's see how they stack up to the leading brand.
Let the duel begin. Big Joe's offering comes out swinging with the certified "vegan" label right on the box. Not sure what might be in the Smuckers product that would deny its vegan status, but it is not considered officially vegan. I think it's because their sandwiches are processed on the same equipment as the Chocolate Uncrustables which contain some dairy.
Price: Smuckers Uncrustables are showing $4.39 for the four pack at all retailers in my area as of the time of composing this review, while TJ's product is $3.79. You might get a coupon deal or a BOGO once in a while with the name brand, but on a day to day basis, Trader Joe's wins again.
Variety: There's only one flavor of Trader Joe's Crustless Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwiches. Smuckers offers not only strawberry, but also grape, raspberry, honey, and the previously-mentioned chocolate hazelnut variety. I think they might have a couple new flavors, too. Round 3 goes to Mr. Smucker.
Peanut Butteriness: I like TJ's product on this count. It's a very rich, wholesome peanutty flavor. It feels and tastes more natural than the leading brand. There's also an extra gram of protein in Joe's Crustless PB&Js. I'll give this round to Trader Joe.
Jam/Jelly: There's not enough strawberry jam in this sandwich. I'm okay with a PB&J that heavily favors the PB element, but folks who want a sweeter jelly situation might lean towards classic Uncrustables. The judges favor Smuckers on this go around.
Bread: Both products offer similar white bread made with unbleached enriched wheat flour. Neither Sonia nor I think either product has a significant advantage over the other in this instance. This round is a draw.
The net weight of Trader Joe's product is 8.89 oz as compared to only 8 oz in the case of the Uncrustables four pack. So not only are TJ's crustless sandwiches cheaper, but they're actually slightly larger than their competition.
No knockouts. No disqualifications. Just a good, clean fight. And with that, we'll turn to the judges. By a narrow but unanimous decision, Trader Joe's product wins the bout.
Sonia and I would both buy this product again, found in the frozen section. Thaw for 2 hours in fridge or 1 hour at room temperature to prepare. We'll probably buy Smuckers Uncrustables again, too, since they're available pretty much everywhere and we appreciate the different flavors. We both give Trader Joe's Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches eight and a half out of ten stars.
I like eggs, but I usually have to be in the mood for eggs. Sonia, on the other hand, could eat eggs three times a day, every day. I was brought up with scrambled eggs most of the time. I went through a dippy egg phase when I got a little older. Now I'm used to the beautiful wifey's egg bites which generally contain spinach, onions, and peppers—and she uses the yolks.
I prefer whole eggs over egg whites, but even still, I'll give Trader Joe's Harvest Vegetable Hash Egg White Bites the thumbs up. Cottage cheese in eggs was strange to me when I first encountered it, but I've grown to love the combo. Throw in some veggie chunks like sweet potato and butternut squash, a few spices like rosemary and sage, and finally add some asiago cheese to the mix, and you've got a pretty tasty breakfast.
At $3.79 for two, these egg white bites are about two full dollars cheaper than the comparable Starsucks offering. They're still not exactly cheap, but for a good amount of wholesome protein that's not only palatable but super convenient and easy to prepare, it's not a bad value at all.
One minute in the microwave, let stand one minute, and that's it. Sonia and I ate our first two bites on camera in the video review below. I got the "harvest vegetable hash" confused with the "holiday vegetable hash" we reviewed last year. They're both similar concepts. I suppose they just changed the name so they could roll this product out with the fervent foray of fall foods. Fair enough.
Sonia likes this product a tad more than I do, but we'd both buy again in the end. Gluten free. They'll apparently last in the fridge for nearly two months. I give Trader Joe's Harvest Vegetable Hash Egg White Bites eight out of ten stars. Put the beautiful wifey down for eight and a half.
This little pack of dog treats has a lot going for it: it's got real chicken as the top ingredient, it contains dried bone broth, it's resealable, and the treats are soft and tiny—perfect for our small senior dogs.
Our puppers Alfred and Sadie turned 13 years old last month. They're in pretty good shape for their age, but they aren't as active as they used to be, so we have to be a bit more choosy about what treats we give them. Oat flour and rice flour are the second and third ingredients, respectively, and I understand there are different schools of thought about giving dogs grains and flours. Some say dogs should avoid grains as much as possible. Others say whole grains are a good source of dietary fiber.
Fortunately, we'll only be giving them a couple of these treats each day, so such a small amount of flour won't really affect them either way. The product even specifies on the bag that these are dog treats as opposed to dog food. They shouldn't represent more than ten percent of your dog's daily calorie intake.
Bone broth contains collagen, which is perfect for helping older dogs maintain healthy fur, skin, and joints. It can also boost their digestive and immune systems. It's even known to detoxify the liver.
The doggies seem to like taste of the treats well enough. Anything with chicken is usually a hit with them. There's even molasses in these mini morsels. Bonus points for being chewy and bite-sized even for our chihuahua-mix mutts.
$3.99 for the 6 oz resealable bag, found in the pet section. Would buy again. Alfred and Sadie give these treats eight out of ten paw prints.
I assumed that both Sonia and I would enjoy this product—that we'd like it but not love it, that I'd be a little more critical of it than she would be, and that she'd do most of the raving and I'd do most of the ranting. Well, I was right about the first part.
We both give this product a thumbs up in the end, but I'm the one doing it a bit more enthusiastically. Yes, yes, it has a lot of added sugar. It has exactly double the added sugar of the product we looked at last week: Icelandic Style Skyr Yogurt. The thing is: this product tastes like dessert to me while the skyr tastes like something I'd eat just because it's healthy. This offering still has the beneficial live yogurt cultures AND I would actually eat this product voluntarily on a regular basis. I might even eat it in place of something more indulgent, like ice cream.
To me, it's that good. It has enough sweetness—both from 10 grams of added sugar as well as the natural sweetness of Honeycrisp apples—to counterbalance the intrinsic tartness of Greek yogurt. It's "sweet and sour" in a way I never thought would work but somehow does. There's a fair amount of cinnamon and generous quantities of apple bits throughout it in my opinion, though the beautiful wifey thought it could use more of both.
The texture is thick like any other Greek yogurt. You can see and feel the Honeycrisp apple in the product, and to a lesser degree, you can feel the faint grit of the cinnamon. It's a very nice mouthfeel overall.
At 99¢ for the 5.3 oz cup, it's definitely among the least expensive yogurt products I've come across in a while. Kosher. I'd definitely buy it again and Sonia would possibly consider a repurchase. Eight and half stars from me for Trader Joe's Honey Crisp Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt. The beautiful wifey gives it seven and a half stars.
If Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites had an illegitimate lovechild with Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, it would undoubtedly be called Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese Bites and it would look and taste a whole lot like this product. Four bucks. From frozen to ready in ten minutes in the air fryer at 400°F.
The outsides of the bites are nice and crispy, but their insides are warm, cheesy, and soft. There's a surprising amount of actual butternut squash in the product. It's accompanied by a subtle spice blend including onion, garlic, nutmeg, and sage. There's cheddar and gouda cheeses, and the whole effect is very creamy. Once they've cooled down, the little spheres are stable enough that you can eat them with your hands despite their supple, gooey centers.
Butternut squash isn't an intense flavor in and of itself. The overall effect is comforting but the flavor isn't particularly pungent. I'm still trying to figure out what that red dipping sauce is on the cover art for this package. At first, I thought it looked like chunky salsa. The wifey thinks it's tomato sauce. That probably makes more sense.
I did try the bites with some pasta sauce, and it worked quite well. I think they would have gone with tomato soup or tomato bisque even better. A little hot sauce like Tapatio or Texas Pete wouldn't hurt either. Sonia liked them on their own sans fixins.
Limited time fall product. We would both buy Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese Bites again next year. Nine out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. I'll go with eight out of ten.
