Trader Joe's Organic Concord Grape Jelly

If I go for a month or two without having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then out of the blue I decide to make one just out of desperation or lack of cold cuts in the fridge or whatever, there's this moment where I'm like "why do I not eat this every day?" Child-like wonder washes over me as I slurp the little dab of jelly trying to escape from the layers of bread, and I contemplate why I even buy meat and cheese in the first place.

A PB&J sandwich is sweet like a dessert, but the peanut butter has protein and it's just as satisfying and filling as a turkey and Swiss sandwich. Anyway, I guess I'm supposed to be reviewing Trader Joe's Organic Concord Grape Jelly and not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But really, in our household at least, that's about all we use grape jelly for: good old PB&J.

Once in a while, Sonia will do cream cheese and jelly on bread or a bagel. The only time I ever do that is immediately after watching Sonia eat it because I always want what she's eating or drinking. It's uncanny. The only exception is coffee. She's constantly drinking coffee and it rarely looks or smells appealing to me. I digress.

I like the ingredients here. I kinda wish "concord grape juice" was higher than "sugar" on the list, but hey, at least they're both organic. The vast majority of other leading brands sweeten their jelly with HFCS, although a few—like Welch's—offer "natural" alternatives with real sugar. At any rate, this jelly is sweet and grape-a-licious. It's not as good as Bonne Maman, but I'd put it at least on par with all the typical name brand jellies you commonly find in grocery stores.

$3.49 for the 20 oz squeeze bottle. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars a piece from Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Organic Concord Grape Jelly.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Just the Clusters Vanilla Almond Granola

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But what if I eat cereal in the afternoon or a Pop-Tart after midnight? Those are breakfast foods, but I often eat them at not-so-breakfasty times. If I eat steak at 6:30 in the morning, is that still my most important meal of the day? Or do I need to consume it as "part of a complete breakfast" with juice, toast, and milk? If I purchase an Egg McMuffin at 11am and eat it at noon, does that count as breakfast or lunch?

The answers to these questions and more...are definitely not in this food review. But what I will tell you is that this cereal tastes good, provided you're a fan of vanilla, granola, and almonds. It's crunchy, clustery, and filling. It's sweet but not too sweet. Sonia likes it with yogurt. Bonus: the bag is resealable.

The nuts are just slivers. I wouldn't have minded bigger almond chunks and more of them. Some of the granola clusters are too big. Also, canola oil is the third ingredient—even higher than rice flour. It's "expeller pressed canola oil" if that makes a difference. I'll let you tell me if it does or not.

$3.79 for the eight serving bag. I could be wrong, but I think this product was only $3.29 a couple years back. Also, Sonia thinks it tasted more like vanilla before this most recent repackaging. Oh well. Seven and a half out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Just the Clusters Vanilla Almond Granola. Seven out of ten from the beautiful wifey.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.