Canola Oil Spray

So I used to just use whatever non-stick cooking spray I found; sometimes PAM, sometimes TJs, but when I read the ingredients, that changed. I stay away from alcohol in cooking, and in my can of organic PAM, I saw one of the first ingredients was Organic Grain Alcohol. I looked at this canola oil spray and it doesn't. So I switched. I don't like using an alcohol-based spray and besides look at that cute flower on the front!

Hope these posts keep you updated, I will post again soon....I promise it won't be as long as my last gap!
Keep cooking and shopping at Trader Joes and tell me what you find!

Truly Handmade Flour Tortillas

Mmmmmm Tortillas.....these taste so much better than normal tortillas. They do have that handmade taste, but unlike the ones you can get at authentic Mexican restaurants, they do not contain any lard, and the ingredients are simple. I love them! So soft! I earlier reviewed the whole wheat ones, but these are much better! I try to go for whole wheat, corn, or rice tortillas, but these are so good that I can't help myself!

Pizza Olympiad

Pizza Pizza Pizza!!! I love this Pizza. It is just the right size for one person (450 calories), and each package comes with two for $3.99. If you love feta cheese, kalamata olives, and red peppers, you will love this. I like to add more veggies on top but if you do this, cook the veggies first. I put the frozen melange a trois peppers on it this last time and they were still partially frozen. But amazing!

Sorry for the lapse...

Hey devoted fans and Trader Joes lovers. I have not forgotten about my blog. I got busy and haven't been posting, but that is about to end!
Rachel

Coconut Milk Unsweetened

Ok, I admit it, I am in love with coconut anything. I bought ciao bella coconut sorbet on Saturday (amazing!), use coconut oil in my hair for moisture, it's just so good! So, I decided to try this. It's fairly new (probably came out in July). I put some in my smoothie along with the Tropical Carrot Juice Blend. I could taste a hint of coconut but the juice kind of drowned it out. I will comment when I try it sans carrot juice. But the good thing is that it is not sweetened. Anyhow, that's all for now!

Tofu Edamame Nuggets

Brand spankin new! These are so unique! In a way they are like chicken nuggets, but not really super breaded. They have veggies and edamame in them and are made of tofu that is crispy on the outside. I dipped them in Trader Joe's Island Soyaki. I would definitely recommend them, but I would say to only use a minimal amount of the soyaki because both of them combined means a good deal of sodium. Really, just a tiny amount does the trick. Even without a dipping sauce they are good and very easy. Preheat the oven to 425, cook for 10-12 minutes and they are ready. Each bag contains three servings and I had one and a half for dinner. Enjoy and report back!

Thai Red Curry Sauce

Mmmmm. Thai Curry is one of my favorite meals ever. This sauce is really good, tastes just like a red curry. I really like it, but it always seems to leave me feeling bloated. It's probably due to the high sodium  content (920mg/serving, so for the whole bottle that is 4,600mg of sodium in that entire bottle. Well now that I looked at the sodium, I can see why I feel so bloated! I like the taste, but after seeing that sodium content, I will probably never buy it again.

Spicy Pico de Gallo topped Guacamole

Part 3 of 3 of my Breakfast Installment.
Ok I had you waiting there for a whole five minutes until I posted this one. So where did we leave off? Now you have a yummy breakfast all ready for you to eat. I'm sure that it would be delicious if you went ahead and ate it there. However, your meal is not complete!
This guacamole is unlike any other I have had. Usually, they come sealed in little packages as either regular guacamole or spicy guacamole. Then you have to buy pico de gallo or salsa. This has both AND the pico de gallo is hot too! So I literally scooped up a big spoonful of this amazing creation onto my plate and I had an amazing meal.
This guac is really good, and if you haven't tried TJ's other guacamoles, this tastes essentially the same, plus a little fresh spice to go along with it. Try it, buy it, and let me know what you think about it!

Soy Chorizo

Part 2 of 3 of an amazing breakfast!
Ok so I have never had pork chorizo because, well, I was raised Jewish so I tend to shy away from things made from pigs (well, except for pepperoni...) But this is so good! Super spicy, so much flavor and it's actually vegan.
So how did I turn this into an amazing breakfast? Ok, to begin with, I sprayed a frying pan with TJs canola oil spray. Next, I took the Melange a Trois trio of bell peppers and added it to the pan. I crumbled up some tofu and then I put some chorizo in a pan. I let it cook for a while until it was all hot and cooked  thoroughly.
I then added it to some TJs black beans I cooked in a pot on the stove
I plated all of this with some freshly toasted tortillas
Last but not least, I added.....wait.....wait....see my next post!

Handmade Whole Wheat Tortillas

Part 1 of 3 of a wonderful breakfast!!
So these are really awesome tortillas! They also come in regular white flour tortillas as well. They are really soft, so that is a good thing, well made and delicious! Especially heated up! They are super good with my wonderful breakfast. This is the first installment! For this breakfast, I toasted the tortillas in my toaster oven, getting them slightly crispy.

Multi Purpose Cleaner

Now I realize that I set out to make a food blog. BUT I have to review everything there so that you can get the full experience and know what all to buy. On that note, let me tell you about this cleaner. First off, if you have granite, don't use this product. It leaves the granite looking streaky and really shiny in some places but not in others. It works well with other things and it is fairly inexpensive though. I don't think it's a bad product, but don't trust the claim about granite. I was using Sprouts natural vinegar cleaner and it worked fine. I am thinking of trying method granite cleaner. Well enough about the cleaner, and lets get back to the food!

Carribean Fruit Floes

These are soooo good! Tropical fruit popsicles, made with pineapple, mango, passion fruit, coconut flakes, strawberries, fructose, and sugar. Very unique. If you have had those Dreyers Fruit Bars, these are very similar, but the difference is that this flavor is way better and is a much more unique flavor, their flavors are generally one specific flavor (i.e. lime, strawberry, coconut, etc.) And they only have 80 calories each. Four popsicles for 1.99 isn't a bad price either! They have three other kinds of fruit floes, strawberry, chili mango and one other. Try em!

Meat and Potatoes

FAIL. This stuff was disgusting. First of all, it  cooked very unevenly in a pan on medium heat like it said to do. The meat was too chewy for my liking. I think it would have been better in the microwave. Not worth 4.99

Peanut Satay Noodles

Well, this is a little box that they sell at (obviously) Trader Joe's. It contains a pouch of peanut satay sauce and a vacuum packed thing of cooked noodles. The noodles don't look like a lot but when they come out there is enough for a decent serving for two. I decided to make a meal out of this 1.99 package.

I took 1/2 block of TJ's extra firm tofu, weighed it on the top with paper towels in between to blot out the water and cut it into triangles. I put them in a non-stick pan sprayed with TJs canola oil spray (which I really like...more on that later!). I let them turn a golden color
I took a bag of TJ's stir-fry vegetables, and I placed them in a pan with canola oil spray to defrost them
I added the noodles to that same pan
I combined all of the ingredients together and added the packet of sauce.
I let them cook together briefly
I added some spiracha (thai hot sauce) 


Ta-da! I had a meal! For under 5 dollars might I add...

The verdict on the noodles/sauce? It wasn't phenomenal BUT adding spiracha really made a difference. I think that with the right amount of spiracha or some other TJs sauce, this could be an amazing meal. They also have two other flavors. I may try them as well!

Stir Fry Vegetables

This product is pretty good and really easy to add to stir-frys. I try to add vegetables to every dish that I can! It contains pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soybeans, water chestnuts, carrots, and mushrooms. Pretty basic. I added almost a full bag of this to the product I am about to review, Peanut satay, and half of a block of tofu. Easy, cheap meal for two.

Honey Goat Gouda

Lordy Lordy, this gouda is A-mazing! I try to stay away from cow's milk, so I always try new goat or sheep milk cheeses that TJs comes out with. It has a slightly sweet flavor to it. I can definitely taste some honey and it's a good thing. I may not have the best vocabulary to describe how good it is, but you should just try it! Seriously! If you don't like it, comment!

Dark Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt

This is the best chocolate I have ever had. And I have a serious sweet tooth. It is SO rich! As I broke the chocolate apart, this gooey mess of caramel started to spill out. The sea salt really gives it a salty and sweet taste. Then combined with the chocolate?! To die for. Seriously. And it's only 1.99 I really do have a love affair with TJs...

Go Raw Trek Mix

This is a really good trail mix that is really good for you! Walnuts, almonds, raisins, cashews, filberts all come together to pack in 5g of protein for every 150 calories. Not bad if you ask me! And it is all raw! I don't generally embrace raw food, but this stuff is good. And worth it. For about 5 dollars, you get 15 servings....and you won't have a problem eating them either!!
Oh and if you are actually athletic and go hiking, this would probably be a good fit for you :)

Fast Flavor Sticks

So I love adding flavor to my water, and easy tubes that I can just add to a bottle of water sound like a great idea. Well they generally are, but not these. Each package (designed for one bottle of water) has 30 calories, all from sugar. Yes they contain some stevia, but not nearly enough. I like to feel energized when I drink water and these just made my water taste too sweet and I could really feel the sugar on my teeth. If you are looking for an alternative sugar-free but not artificial drink mix, I would try these packages made by TRUlemonade. They carry them in the aisle with the sugar or with the other low calorie drink mixes at grocery stores. I am really into this raspberry lemonade flavor:

Greek Feta

There is nothing in my mind that characterizes greek food like feta cheese. This one is the best IMHO. Why? Well first of all I am lactose intolerant and this is sheep and goat milk feta. But there is much more that I like about this product than that. It contains feta cubes with herbs (oregano, thyme, dried red peppers) in extra virgin olive oil. They are so good just to snack on, add to a salad, eggs, tortilla, etc. They are fairly new. I have been hooked since the first week my TJs got them in stock. As with all of my favorite new products, everyone else realizes it too and they run out. But I found them again this week!!! ENJOY!