Delicious Desert that's better than Pinkberry!

I could–and do–eat this everyday! Trader Joe's Nonfat Frozen Yogurt–incredibly smooth and best left out of the freezer for 40 min before eating. Tart and slightly lemony and sooo good with some crunchy Galaxy Granola added. It's pretty sweet already, so it goes best with a more rustic granola like the Galaxy. Better than Pinkberry and much cheaper. I never visit a Trader Joe's without picking up a container. BIG YUM!

A hole in the the Trader Joe's Lineup: GRANOLA

If Trader Joe's were a baseball player he'd be leading the league in homeruns and batting average in addition to being a terrific all around person. One of his only real weaknesses–granola. It's a glaring hole in the otherwise stellar Trader Joe's lineup. So now I must make a separtate trip to Whole Foods just for granola–and then end up spending another $50 on a bunch of stuff I really didn't need!

TJ's granola is either high in fat, high in calories,  and–worst of all–high in sugar. The satisfying crunch and wholesome flavor found in a really good granola just isn't there.
Granola should have a rustic authenticiy and only a touch of sweetness. Galaxy Granola–especially the very lowfat and healthy Not Sweet Vanilla nails it–great crunch, great whole ingredients, very subtle adult sweetness, and just delicious with fresh fruit. Still not a champ in the sugar department and not cheap either.
Here's a sad and startling fact: a 3/4 cup serving of Frosted Flakes has 12g sugar compared to 15g for TJ's Lowfat Granola with Almonds!  Wow.

Another great granola–Bear Naked FIT Vanilla Almond Crunch granola. Trader Joe's desperately needs a world class sophisticated granola that can equal or exceed either of these. I know they can and will get it done!

Guilt Free Espresso & Dark Chocolate Pillows

These crunchy little pieces just explode with delicious flavors of dark chocolate and rich espresso.

I can have just one and my craving is satisfied.

But even if you eat 22 pieces–and I don't see how you would–you're still only getting 8 grams of sugar and 70 calories!
I keep them refrigerated which takes a little of the sweet edge off, while retaining the perfect crunch factor.
Great any time of day.
Another winner that you won't find anywhere but Trader Joe's.
Only $2.49 per tin.

love, tissue

These Trader Joe’s Tissue’s still make me smile every time I come near them! 

They are uniquely Trader Joe’s and the ultimate witty little antidote to the bland, safe graphics found on your typical tissue box. 

Beautifully illustrated in nineteenth century line art, they vividly describe the four most useful things for the humble tissue with a clever warning on top not to leave them in your pocket when you do the laundry.  

Weather you're sad, sick, when you need to pick up icky things, and don't forget the all important–”I’m there when you run out of toilet paper, you’re welcome, tissue”. The tissue is speaking directly to you and is not afriad to sign it’s name endearingly. You can almost hear the little tissue speaking in a squeeky voice as it says “love, tissue”. 

Definitely a tissue box to treasure and pretty soft too.

Trader Joe's Unsweetned Organic Soy Milk–only 2 grams of sugar

Soy milk for me plays a supporting role at breakfast–in the background–quietly making my bowl of cereal delicious and healthy while letting the taste and texture of the cereal and fruit shine through.

After switching to soy milk a couple years ago, many varieties–lowfat vanilla was a recurring theme–have made it into my cereal bowl. All have been lowfat but certainly not low sugar. On average most soy milks have between 7 & 12 grams of sugar/cup. That’s pretty significant especially considering that most cereals even healthy ones have way too much sugar also.

My morning sugar intake was too big and had to be cut back.

So this week I'm trying out Trader Joe's Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk and for cereal it's perfect–I barely even noticed anything had changed.
Instead of 10 grams of sugar/cup I'm now doing just 2 grams–a huge difference. If you drink soy milk naked or in coffee perhaps you'll miss that extra sugar jolt, but for cereal–the topic of an upcoming post–it's just right.

Trans Fat at Trader Joes

We all know that trans fat is really bad stuff that should be avoided at all costs. I hate starting this blog on a negative note because we're all so fortunate to have tj's. They are quirky exciting markets with incredible foods priced incredibly low.  But why feed us anything containing trans fat? It's a proven killer already banned at CA and NY restaurants with more cities to come. Even that beacon of nutrition–McDonald's–has eliminated it.

On Monday I bought a bag of Gingeroos–Chewy Cookies with Crystallized Australian Ginger. Usually I check out the nutrition facts on the back–this time I waited 'til I got them home.

The last thing I ever expected to see was a .5 instead of zero under Trans Fat!
The Trader Joe's brand is actually selling a  cookie that contains trans fat–the deadliest, most sinister fat–it clobbers you twice–raising your bad cholesterol while LOWERING your GOOD CHOLESTEROL!   Huh?

These are yummy cookies, but they're going back. No amount of cookie joy is worth the cost of even a "little" trans fat.
TJ's does deserve a tiny nod to their honesty here–technically if a serving has .5 grams of trans fat or less, they are permitted to just print a big zero, and pretend it's true. You could eat a few gingeroos and easily ingest a dangerous trans fat dose without even realizing. Certainly a bone-headed rule that should be changed now.
But come on Trader Joe's! This just seems very out of character for a company that oozes character.

Completely eliminating trans fat from your diet should be a universal goal.  

Is it worth actually putting yourself at risk for that special mouthfeel only partial hydrogenation can allegedly create? Of course not.

Until the fine folks at Trader Joe's ditch any trace of trans fats–stay away from these.

it it's not ZERO trans fat don't eat it

Item ONE

My love of all things Trader Joes.

• Reviews and opinions about Trader Joes products
• What it's like to shop there
• What makes Trader Joes so awesome
• Anything that comes to mind regarding Trader Joes will be relayed right here
• Photos–Insights–News–Whatever
• AND your opinions and critiques of my musings

So we'll start with that and go from there...