August TJ's Medley

This past weekend was the 50th anniversary of Trader Joe's, meaning that they had parties at some locations and a fantastic sale with several popular items (avocado, eggs, canned corn, spaghetti, and baguettes) for only 50 cents each. We definitely went there to take advantage of that. We're pretty behind on posting about a lot of the new TJ's stuff we've tried lately, so here are some quick reviews.

Rosemary and Cheese Biscuits ($2.99)

Quick review: Rosemary and cheese (here, cheddar and parmigiano reggiano) are a great combination, so it was no surprise that these biscuits were really tasty. They're called biscuits on the box here, but they were basically like crumbly savory cookies. You could really taste the rosemary, and it gave the whole biscuit a nice herbaceous flavor. The cheese added just the right amount of saltiness to balance it all out. We bought these last fall/winter but only ate them recently since their expiration date was nearing, so unfortunately we have no idea if they're still on the shelves. (We were kind of distracted by the sale on our last visit, and they were marked as holiday crackers on the receipt at the time.)

Buy again? Yes. We probably wouldn't get them on a regular basis since they're not that great for you health-wise, but they're a nice treat.

Cold Pressed Matcha Green Tea Lemonade ($3.99)

Quick review: M saw this in the Fearless Flyer and was pretty intrigued by it because it contained several of her favorite things. The ingredients were simple - lemon juice, water, Manuka honey, and matcha powder - and because it was cold pressed, it wasn't cheap. It pretty much just tasted like good lemonade with a little hint of matcha to it. 

Buy again? Maybe as a treat. We don't regularly buy cold pressed juices from TJ's because they're kind of expensive (cheaper than a juice shop though), but we do like trying some of the new varieties and getting them every so often as a treat. We would get this one again in those circumstances.

Turkey Meatballs (can't find receipt for price but will update after our next visit)

Quick review: These meatballs come from the frozen section, and are really quick and easy to make. All you need to do is microwave them for 4 minutes, and they're ready to eat. We ended up only microwaving them for 2.5 minutes because we were going to finish heating them up in tomato sauce, but that worked fine. A touch spongy in texture, but overall good flavor.

Buy again? Yes. They're a quick and easy supplement to pasta night, and fairly versatile in other dishes. Sometimes you just need simple conveniences that are always around in the freezer.

Kohlrabi Salad Blend ($2.49)

Quick review: We've never actually bought kohlrabi before because we weren't sure how closely related it really was to broccoli (for food allergy concerns), but this salad blend looked like a good way to find out (it was fine). The blend had shredded kohlrabi, red cabbage, kale, and golden beets. Although it could be eaten as a raw salad, we opted to cook it instead so it would be easier to digest (and the bag also suggests it as an option). We prepared this simply, sauteing the vegetables in olive oil with garlic, salt, and a dash of Trader Joe's onion salt. We did our best to put in just enough to accent the flavor while allowing the tastes of the fresh vegetables to come out. Everything was crisp with a hint of sweetness from the slices of the golden beets. It was actually a really good mix of hearty vegetables, which we needed since we ate this on pasta night.

Buy again? Yes. It's a quick and easy side dish to prepare that's also quite healthy.