Trader Joe's 3 Cheese Spinach & Artichoke Pasta

Just look at that box. Not particularly fancy. I mean, it's a nice shot of the product. In fact, the product photo on the box is much nicer than our prepared pasta looked IRL. But there's not much in the way of fancy designs or bold colors. No cartoon characters or vintage Victorian illustrations. It's as if to say "this product is what it is."

And what is Trader Joe's 3 Cheese Spinach & Artichoke Pasta? It's a single large serving of pasta that'll run you $3.79. Unfortunately, it's not as tasty as it looks. I mean, it's not terrible either. Yes, this is going to be one of those well-balanced reviews that people disdain. The kind where people used to pile in the comments section with statements like "I totally disagree with your review" and you can't even tell whether that means they hated the product or loved it.

The preparation instructions do offer a microwave option, but we went with the conventional oven in this case. It says heat from frozen at 375° for 20 minutes. The core of the dish wasn't even close to the proper serving temp after 20 minutes, so we left it in for an additional five and that did the trick.

The pasta came out a bit limp and soggy. We got an odd bite or two with stringy artichoke, but other than that the texture was fine. Sonia pointed out that the cheese felt more like a thin sauce than actual melted cheese. The mozzarella, parmesan, and Swiss yielded a pleasant, mild flavor that got the job done, but there was an abundance of citrusy lemon in the mix that overshadowed most everything else.

Visually, the spinach appeared to be well-represented, but it didn't impact the flavor as much as we'd hoped. There were only a few bites where I noticed artichoke, and the texture of the vegetable was stringy and overly chewy. Still, the vast majority of the dish was just soft pasta and a velveteen coating of cheeses.

Trader Joe's 3 Cheese Spinach & Artichoke Pasta was enough for both Sonia and me for lunch one day this past week. It says one serving, but it was more than adequate for two in our case. It could easily act as a side dish for four or more people if you've got another entree to serve. Honestly, it's a pretty decent value for $3.79 considering many microwave meals will run you upwards of $5 these days and most are less impressive than this offering.

This is the kind of thing I would have stocked up on in my college days in an effort to save money. I'd stretch each one to two meals and have a bit of salad on the side. Lunch for less than two bucks is hard to come by these days. Seven out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Six and a half out of ten stars from me.

Bottom line: 6.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Almond Flour Tortillas

Trader Joe's Almond Flour Tortillas will run you $3.69 for 6 gluten free, vegan, and kosher tortillas. Of course, Trader Joe's Corn Tortillas are also gluten free, vegan, and kosher, and they're the way to go if you're looking for an old-school experience that's probably more authentic in terms of Mexican cuisine. Watch out for the mold on those corn tortillas, though. They don't last long once they're opened.

We found these almond flour tortillas were quite edible past their best by date. No mold. No additional stiffness, though I must point out that they're somewhat stiff to begin with. I think that's just the nature of the almond flour. There's a slight rigidness to these tortillas that you don't really have with corn tortillas or even wheat flour tortillas. It's a tad off-putting to me.

Sonia didn't seem to mind the texture much. She happily ate them with her salsa de queso. We made a few other things with them after the salsa de queso was gone. They're perfectly adequate for any kind of taco.

Flavor-wise, there might be a hint of nuttiness, but you really wouldn't guess they were made with almonds in a blind taste test. They do approximate the flavor of traditional flour tortillas pretty well. The beautiful wifey is definitely a fan of the flavor here, and when it comes to tortillas, she knows her stuff.

I just can't envision many situations that would call for almond flour tortillas. As mentioned above, if you're avoiding gluten, I'd stick to corn tortillas, but that's just me—and these are significantly more expensive. I suppose some folks might have sensitivities to both wheat gluten and corn. I'll let the beautiful wifey score this one since she's the expert. She gives Trader Joe's Almond Flour Tortillas seven and a half out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.