The Trader Joe's Product Discussion Thread (S/D)

chile spiced mango is :O

Okay the green curry tuna. Whoah.

vegetable masala burgers are A+

i am perplexed by the "seaweed snacks" -- i got the wasabi kind and i found that it was basically pieces of seaweed with wasabi powder on them.

pros:
tasty/zesty
would be excellent crumbled on rice with edamame, avocado, tofu, whatever else you like
would make an interesting base for a light appetizer so long as it would hold up
sort of satisfies the need to eat salty/crunchy snax

cons:
packaged with desciccant (ew)
is basically like 12 pieces of seaweed in a box in a bag
the crunch does not satisfy like a good chip or cracker would, or even a carrot

mixed feelings about the seaweed snacks

oh I saw those yesterday and that's just their version of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nori

sanpaku advocates them as an alternative to snacking on chips since they are very low calories

but yeah they are expensive for what you get since it's real seaweed and we don't do a lot of seaweed harvesting in the US! you also kind of need the dessicants, it turns into a chewy rubbery mess if you let it sit outside for even a day.

fwiw nori will be much cheaper at just about any asian supermarket you go to, which could make it more economical. if you want to sprinkle it over rice or something you could try to get http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aonori in a shaker

right -- i think i'll get it at my asian market instead, if i ever buy it again. they are very low calories, but also i would not rate them high on the crunch satisfaction scale. cucumbers or celery or even a bunch of lettuce is crunchier than these things.

i have nori in a shaker (2 kinds!) and i love it. lunches are so easy and don't need to be refrigerated if you save up soy sauce packets from takeout.

oh wow apparently nori is really high in b12, relatively speaking. I wonder if vegans utilize this fact?

random nori trivia:
nori gets lumped in w/seaweed but it's in fact marine algae (i guess "seaweed" is more marketable than "algae"). is also high in iron for you vegans out there

Bought some of the smoked sea salt LL recommended and am enjoying it immensely.

Oh yeah its really is good

Too much smoke, not enough salt.

dark chocolate almonds w/ turbinado sugar and sea salt are unfair imo, you have to eat the whole box

The three potato medley chips (unsalted) with the smoked sea salt are really good.

vegetable masala burgers are A+

...until one day you buy a box of 'em and then realize (after you've eaten one) you're sick of them and never want to see them again. I think they're still frozen into the back of my fridge somewhere.

That seems to happen to me with most frozen foods that I ever like.

It's been a while since I priced out the seaweed but when they first came out with them it was a lot cheaper than what you can buy at asian markets around here. At least as far as the toasted nori snacks go. you can't really compare it to big sheets of untoasted nori.

Too much smoke, not enough salt.

really? I was surprised at how subtle it is. when you first smell it, the smokiness seems overwhelming, but when you cook with it, it's not really that noticeable imo.

I just ate it raw on cucumbers, so do cooking.

No cooking

I've used it on the chicken the last two times we've had chicken for dinner.

FYI

So raw too much smoke, cooked I can't taste it at all. All around product fail.

i really like the seaweed! and it's 99 cents!

i got the smoked salt - it was great on salmon

I thought the green curry tuna was too sweet. Disappointed.

really feeling these pretzel rolls lately

I hope you buy them when you're done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZKgQ4CSVRw

trader joe's thai green cury is pretty good for something you just pour from a jar and heat

holy shit those wasabi seaweed snax are SPICY!

http://boldandfab.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/pow.jpg%3Fw%3D300%26h%3D198

the lamb vindaloo = relatively spicy for a tj's product!

ooh is this frozen or like their tasty bites?

frozen. in a purple box!

i may have to try this!

*adds to list*

turns out trader joe's is owned by aldi - not surprising! no middleman. I love both!

but the line between inappropriately friendly crazy person and helpful TJ's employee is kind of thin

so OTM btw

Aldi and TJ are actually two separate business groups -- the two arms of Aldi were ran by brothers, one of whom recently passed away. The US Aldi stores are completely separate from TJ afaik.

I have a loyalty to Aldi that I do not have for Trader Joe's. If I want "health food" I am willing to pay $10 for an Indian frozen dinner or a $28 dollar bag of coffee and feel snooty. On the other hand it is hard to turn down 99 cent pasta or frozen veggies.

TJ's does have 99 cent pasta...

Aldi and TJ are actually two separate business groups -- the two arms of Aldi were ran by brothers, one of whom recently passed away. The US Aldi stores are completely separate from TJ afaik.

― mh, Monday, September 19, 2011 10:28 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

ok whatever! they still seem to share a lot of business ideas. and maybe even suppliers - the peppercorn grinder I bought from TJ's recently is exactly the same as the one I bought from Aldi a year ago, except for the label! and maybe the TJs one was a little more expensive

mango lassi was disappointing! i just assumed mango + yogurt would taste awesome. the mango yogurt gummies are pretty good, though.

german sensibilities

so what are the good TJ beers? I was overwhelmed by the choice!

last time i got beer at tj's, i just went with moretti (the italian beer). i haven't liked any of tj's own-brand beer yet.

I like the Bohemian lager tbh! I hardly ever get it only because it's so heavy to carry home w all my groceries.

name tag lager was on sale for like $3 for a sixer, should have got some

steinlager (from new zealand) is okay too.

lol that's not the sale price!
xpost

Trader Joe's Product Discussion, Whole Grains Edition

Harvest Grains Blend - it's in a bag in the shelf-stable aisle. I love this stuff. It's really easy and if you make it per package instructions (butter, broth/water, grains) it's a nice change from rice. A couple of nights ago we made this in one pot with with carrots, celery, onions, and leftover roasted chicken. A+. Also, it's cheap.

Rolled Oats - regular oatmeal, not Irish oatmeal or instant oatmeal or frozen oatmeal. Just a bag of oatmeal. I guess I've eaten too much Quaker Oatmeal in my life, because this stuff is weird. It doesn't lump together like proper oatmeal and I actually had to strain the excess water out of it because I didn't want oat soup. I could see some people liking this, if this is how you like your oatmeal, but I'm going back to Quaker after I finish this bag (and I see a lot of oatmeal cookies in my future to try and use this up).