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.

Trader Joe's Blood Orange Mochi

This mochi flavor is absolutely superb. If you enjoy sweet-tart citrus desserts, then this treat is for you. We've got the typical stretchy rice-based shell that we've seen many, many times before from Trader Joe's and other fine mochi retailers—in this case, it's a lovely shade of orange. And on the inside, we've got pink ice cream flaunting the delightful flavor of blood oranges.

It's such an interesting balance of intense orange and creamy sweetness. This might be my favorite flavor of mochi ice cream to date. I really wanted to down the whole box in one sitting. Since I'm not a complete monster, I saved half for my lovely wife. She enjoyed them at least as much as I did.

The box will run you $4.99 for six mochi. That comes to about 84¢ per ice cream ball. Considering how scrumptious they are, that's not a bad value. Gluten free. Kosher. Would definitely buy again. This product is marked with that "Limited Time" label on TJ's website, so I wouldn't sleep on it unless you want to wait until 2026 to try these. Nine out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Blood Orange Mochi. Sonia will go with nine and a half.

Bottom line: 9.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's European Grains & Seeds Bread

I'm particularly fascinated with the cuisines and cultures of the nationalities that I'm descended from. And while I'm not properly Danish at all, those Viking folks had their way with my English and Scottish ancestors back in the day, so I most likely have some of that Scandinavian blood coursing through my veins. Will that influence my score on this product? Probably not. I think I stay pretty objective regardless of a product's origins.

You'll pay $3.49 for what appears to be a half a loaf of bread, imported from Denmark. I'm hearing that it is indeed very similar to a type of bread that's common in northern Europe and Germany, so it's fairly authentic according to European folks.

Apparently there was a very popular European style bread at Trader Joe's some years back and then it underwent the typical disappearing act. Don't think we ever tried that one, so unfortunately we don't really have anything to compare this to directly.

Trader Joe's European Grains & Seeds Bread has sourdough, rye, and wheat flours in the mix. There are sunflower seeds and flaxseeds, too. The overall effect is nutty and lightly sweet, yet somehow sour and earthy at the same time. Sonia and I are both surprised at the density of the bread. It's quite thinly sliced as it states on the wrapper, so the density and thinness sort of cancel each other out, if that makes sense.

I mainly just enjoyed it toasted with some butter, but we tried it with the avocado mash, cream cheese, and as a base for turkey sandwiches. It's more filling and flavorful than regular white bread, but the unusual taste may be off-putting to some American palates.

Would we buy Trader Joe's European Grains & Seeds Bread again? I wouldn't rule it out, but I think Sonia and I both gravitate toward traditional sourdough more than this multi-grain seed bread. As always, we're grateful to have tried it and to know what it's like since it's quite different from the typical bread you find here in the States. We both agree this is a seven and a half star affair as far as we're concerned. Let us know what you think of this bread.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.