Grocery Tour Update: Trader Joe’s

If you are a fan of Trader Joe’s, you may already know that they develop new products throughout the year. Some of these stay, some of these go. I’m still mourning the loss of my favorite coffee: Coffee and Cocoa. It was the BEST!

I took you on a tour of Trader Joe’s at the beginning of the pandemic. Thankfully, life as far as grocery shopping goes is pretty much back to normal, with the exception of most everyone still wearing masks, including fully vaccinated me. 

My absolute favorite staples are still there. I still love their canned jackfruit, the soy chorizo, vegan Joe Joe’s, and frozen meal vegan tikka masala. But sadly another vegan favorite, their cheeseless cheesecake, has retired. But here’s what’s new:

• Salad kits

The Vegan Ranch Crunch salad kit is great! With crunchy veggies, fried onions, nutty sunflower seeds, and vegan ranch dressing, what’s not to love? I give this an 8/10.  The Sesame Crunch chopped salad kit is pretty good, too. It’s like other store brand Asian salad kits, but with sesame sticks instead of wonton strips. 

• Hold The Dairy chocolate mini cones

Don’t let the small size disappoint you. These are delicious! And, truly, one will typically hit the spot. I love how the base of the cone is filled with dark chocolate. I give these a 9/10, and they will remain a staple in my freezer for as long as they are available!

• Vegan Meatless Meat Eater’s Pizza

With plant based sausage, chorizo, pepperoni, and cheese, this was unexpectedly good. I give this a 7.5/10. It is a frozen pizza, after all. But I have bought this a few times now!

• Non-dairy oat beverage fall flavors

I have tried the maple flavor, found in the refrigerated section. It was great in my coffee. It’s not very sweet. I also have the pumpkin flavor, which is shelf stable until opened. I am going to pair it with the chai tea concentrate and see how that goes!

• Spice blends

Trader Joe’s is the king of these. If you haven’t tried the sofritas, you must. This was a seasonal item that was brought back as a regular item due to customer demand. Recently added Green Goddess is a lovely, garlicky addition to the spice lineup. And the Ajika Georgian seasoning blend is reminiscent of barbecue flavors and is really good in soups and to add another layer of flavor to BBQ jackfruit. 

• Vegan dips

The caramelized onion dip and the tzatziki are both amazing! Even my non-vegan family members love the caramelized onion dip, and that’s saying something. 

Hopefully you’ve been able to try these new vegan items yourself. But if you haven’t been in a while, it’s worth the trip!

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Do you love Trader Joe’s as much as I do? What are some of your favorite items from TJ’s? I’d love to hear about it!

As always, I hope you all are safe and healthy.