Trader Joe's When Life Gives You Lemons Make Ice Cream

Okay, now THIS is lemon ice cream.

It's not lemon sherbet, sorbet, or shave ice. It's not frozen lemon curd. And it's not an ice cream that just has a hint of lemon essence. It has the sour zip of real lemon all through it, from start to finish and also the rich, creamy sweetness of real ice cream.

As if just to say, "We don't care about your silly opinions, you foodie-hacks," Trader Joe's slapped us in the face with their discontinuation of the legendary Lemon Triple Gingersnap Ice Cream many years ago. There hasn't been anything like it since.

And there still isn't. This isn't a replacement for that early entry into our Pantheon. It's not that this one is worse or better. It's just different. It's like comparing apples and oranges. Or...comparing lemons...to slightly different lemons.

Ahem. What I mean is: that classic discontinued treat was an incredible balance of deliciously subtle lemon and gingerrific snippity snaps. With this product, the lemonosity is off the charts. There's much less in the way of milky sweetness here, and nothing gingery either. And if you love lemon like I do, that's good news.

But in a way, this product is almost too sour. Like it borders on being too tartly lemony. The caches of lemon swirl throughout the ice cream are very similar to lemon curd, but not nearly as sweet. Each bite of it made my mouth pucker—but not in a bad way.

The shortbread pieces don't lend much flavor-wise. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if they were chock-full of ginger. The sweetness of the shortbread is totally overshadowed and overwhelmed by the lemoniness in the rest of the product, but it does add a bit of soft chewy cookie texture, which breaks up the absolute smoothness of the ice cream and lemon swirl nicely.

This is hands down the most lemony ice cream I've ever had and it's honestly pretty high on the list for most lemony product of all time of any kind in my experience...except for maybe an actual lemon.

If you LOVE lemon flavored things, you've got to check this out. Don't expect the lemon flavor to be balanced out by hints of ginger or vanilla or anything else, though.

This is much more of a summer flavor than an early spring one, in my opinion, but we'll finish the pint easily, even if it's not hot outside. I'd buy again in a couple months. About three and a half bucks. Four and a half stars from me. Four from the beautiful wifey.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Candy Coated Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds

Sooooo..... what's your favorite Easter candy?

'Cause I'm such a weirdo, mine is easily black jelly beans Love 'em, can't get enough. I'll eat them til my mouth tingles with sugary bitterness and once subsided I'll go back for more. 

Not 100% sure for my lovely bride, but the mini Cadbury Creme Eggs are near the top. No, not the big, gooey filled ones (which just so happen to be second on my list) as those are a bit texturally challenging for her. The mini guys, just candy coated choclate, but somehow softer, sweeter and different than, say, regular ol' M&Ms. In her mind, few things could be better..

...except maybe Trader Joe's Candy Coated Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds. 

I wouldn't be surprised if we track down a case of these new candies. Really, there's no reason for them to be Easter-specific except maybe their cutesy robin egg-esque appearance, but even then...whatever. 

There's nothing all too new or novel here. Take an almond, enrobe it in a layer of the typically good quality TJ's dark choc, then slap on a candy shell and call it a day. That's all there is there ain't no mo'. 

Yet it's just so well done. There's a creaminess to the chocolate that's a bit unusual for the darker, less milky blend, and it's almost intoxicating. Add it in the earthy center of a decent roasty almond, and the fun sgary snap of a candy shell, and it's so easy to pop handful after handful. Maybe the chocolate is all churned by waterfall or has some other Wonka-fied madness to it, but it's just so good. 

Grab them. Petition the stores to make them year round. Buy buy buy. if somehow you don't like them, send us your surplus. I beg not on my own behalf, but instead plead for my wife - Lord knows she puts up with enough from me. The least I can do is try to get her an endless supply of a candy she adores. 

Sandy, in case you haven't figured it out, gives them a perfect unassailable score. I know better than to argue with her....I mean at least I should....but I'll mark them high myself. Get me my black jelly beans, get her bag aftyer bag of these tasty treats, and we'll be in hog heaven. 

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Candy Coated Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds: 9.5 out of 10 Golden Spoons

Trader Joe's Thai Banana Fritters

When Sonia and I lived in Los Angeles, we frequented a place called Vegan Glory. Sonia and I weren't vegan then, nor are we now, but their Thai food was so amazing that we went there regularly with friends, the vast majority of whom were not vegan. It was a small, simple, unassuming restaurant at the end of a strip mall, but it often attracted celebrities and high-profile customers because the cuisine was so consistently fantastic.

Our favorite dessert there was banana spring rolls (although the coconut ice cream was a close second) We had some on our latest visit to L.A. when we RV'd through SoCal in 2019. They were still ridiculously tasty. So of course we've been searching for something that could take the place of those spring rolls since we've been apart from that outstanding restaurant.

Enter: Trader Joe's Thai Banana Fritters. I won't say they're AS GOOD as those banana spring rolls, but they're pretty darn close. And of course, these are "fritters" as opposed to "spring rolls" but they're still a desserty banana-based vegan dish with crispiness on the outside...so very similar.

Six minutes in the air fryer and the smell just overwhelmed the kitchen. I snatched my three fritters out of the basket piping hot and ate them with my bare hands. I don't necessarily recommend consuming them that way, as they are quite oily on the outside. I think Sonia used a fork and ate hers from a plate. Either way, they were tasty.

Banana is the dominant flavor. But there's a nice blend of other essences like coconut milk and sesame. There's a good bit of added sugar, too—enough to appease the average sweet tooth at dessert time, I'd say. At least half of each bite is banana, but there's a significant amount of rice flour breading, as well. Texture-wise, there's a nice crispy crunch on the outside and soft, supple banana on the inside.

$3.79 for six fritters, found in the frozen section. We'd buy again. Four and a half stars from the beautiful wifey. Four stars from me for Trader Joe's Thai Banana Fritters.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.