NEW Southwest Salad Kit

I love salads for lunch, but it is hard to make it tasty enough to feel satiated enough! I was so excited to arrive to TJ this morning and see this new (new to my TJ) salad kit.

I have purchased a competitor's Southwest Salad Kit and this one is almost exactly the same. The only addition to the TJ bag is the cheese, which I am not loving (has a slight resemblance to stinky cheese) but I can handle it in small doses...

I added some grilled chicken and am very happy with this hearty lunch!

Great Lunch or Snack - Tortilla Pizza Bites

Full disclosure, I found this on Pinterest and tweaked it just a bit for my kids. This is easy and so tasty. Both  my kids loved it so much, I had to make more! We went through about 3 dozen in mere minutes.

Ingredients:

Tortillas
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Toppings - chopped up veggies, pepperoni, etc (optional)
Garlic salt, salt Italian seasoning to taste (optional)

Heat oven to 350.
Cut tortillas into circle (I used a circle cookie cutter.)
Spray muffins tins with cooking spray.
Place tortillas into bottom of muffin tins.
Top with a small dollop of pizza sauce. Trader Joe's has one that is is in jar in the canned foods aisle, and one that is in the refrigerated section. Both are tasty.
Sprinkle cheese and toppings and any of the garnish if desired.
Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes, then turn up to 425 for 3 minutes.
Serve!

Trader Giotto's Bambino Pizza - Frozen Mini Pizzas!

I like all the frozen pizzas that I've tried from TJ, but I don't love any of them. And my kids really haven't liked any of them.

So, I was excited to see this product, new to my TJ location. And I love them! First of all, they are really cute. I wold say they are smaller than a traditional mini pizza, but it is just right for me to eat at lunch, with some fruit and carrot sticks. I was also pleased to see each box has 4 pizzas. A feasible dinner option for my family.

I bought the cheese and the pepperoni, thinking I would like the pepperoni better - more fat and flavor, right?  WELL, I like the cheese better! It has tasty seasoning on it that I don't believe is on the pepperoni version.

Summer Mom Lunch Part II

When I had elective laser eye surgery a few weeks ago, my dear friend (and amazing cook) brought my family dinner. I loved this quinoa salad she made. It was just so fresh and tasty. I decided to recreate it TJ style.

Here's what you need.
-quinoa
-grape tomatoes
-Persian cucumbers
-feta
-basil
-balsamic dressing

Cook one serving of quinoa (cook two if this is for family dinner). While it is cooking, cut the two veggies and the basil into strips (about 6 leaves).

Once quinoa is cooked and cooled, mix it together with the two veggies, the basil strips, salt and pepper to taste, and several tablespoons of the BV dressing. 

Voila!

PS - this basil plant was $2.99 at the Teej. Can't beat that!

Summer Mom Lunch Part I

Every summer, I get inspired to make new lunches. Both for me and my kids. This week, I made two new "mom" lunches.

Full disclosure - this one I sampled at TJ.

It is just three ingredients, all pre-packaged for you!

Mix in a bowl and serve.

This would even be great to bring to a summer potluck BBQ.

Yummy Cereal, my kids love it!

My kids are loving this cereal, especially  my 4-year old. He, of course, skips eating the plain O's. He loves the pink O's and the tiny dried berries. He eats with with or without milk (he's super into snacking...)

About every other week, TJ is actually out of this cereal! Other people have discovered it.

Wine Country Chicken Salad

Let me start by saying, I love me some chicken salad.  I am totally obsessed with another store's CS.  But it is RIDICULOUSLY expensive.  SO today I decided to try Trader Joe's Wine Country Chicken Salad.  I came home, took it out of the bag, and took these photos.  And when I took this second photo, I realized that there is 31 grams of fat PER SERVING.  Yikes.  I won't be buying this again.  But I can't waste it either.  I've been eating just a few bites for lunch, with my fave crackers from TJ.  And it is good.  I approve.  It is tasty (it better be with that much fat), and I love the cranberries.  Gives it a little sweetness.

Trader Joe's Asian-Style Lunch

This morning, I was at Trader Joe's, and was quite excited to see many new items.  I always love to try a few new things, so I was perusing the appy section today - in the frozen food aisle.  My husband was home, so I thought I would pick out a couple of appys to make for lunch.

The first thing that caught my eye were the cute little Shrimp Toasts.  At $3.99 a box, that is a typical price for the TJ frozen appys.  I then decided to try and find something cheaper for the second choice.  That is how I picked the Chicken Shu Mai, at $2.99 for a box.  Weird name, good price.


I am pleased to say that both were delicious!  And it was the perfect amount of food for two people to share at lunchtime.  We cooked the Shrimp Toast in the oven, and the Chicken Shu Mai in the microwave.  The sauce for the Chicken was very tasty and actually paired nicely with the Shrimp Toast as well.  If you are eating the Shrimp Toast on its own, I would suggest you have soy sauce on hand or something similar.  I have complained about this before, but there should be a sauce included with the Shrimp Toast.

Kid Lunch - Tortilla Paws

Another attempt to make a lunch other than sandwiches!  I accidentally arranged these on the plate to look like a animal paw.  Seriously, it was an accident.

I buy the three ingredients at TJ's.  Flour tortillas, uncured ham, and Laughing Cow spreadable Swiss.

Smear cheese all over tortilla.  Put 2-3 slices of ham along the middle of the tortilla (I use 2 for my 3-year old, and 3 for my 8-year old).  Roll into a long tube.  Cut and serve.

My kids love these!

Classic Kiddo Lunch - The TJ Way

TJ does it again, this time with a kid-friendly lunch (that my husband and I enjoyed too.)

These turkey corn dogs might be the tastiest corn dog I have ever had.  Not that I've had many, but I thoroughly enjoyed this.  A little more than my kids even...

Of course, I had to try Joe's O's.  Organic canned pasta!  Awesome.  I LOVED these as a kid (the leading competitor.)  The sauce in the TJ variety was thinner than its competitor, but still very tasty.  My husband went wild over the O's.  Brought him back to his processed-food-filled childhood.

I paired the two main items with fresh pineapple from TJ.  My kids love to pick out a pineapple almost every time we go to TJ.  I HATE cutting them!  Luckily, my husband doesn't mind.

No More Sandwiches! - Great Lunch Home or Work Part II

I'm tired of sandwiches.  I've said it before.

And this lunch is quite satisfying!  And has a decent calorie count.

Chicken Salad is one of my weaknesses.  Man, do I love it.  So I did not have high hopes for the TJ Reduced Guilt Chicken Salad.  I was pleasantly surprised!  It has lots of different herbs which make for great flavor, in addition to diced veggies.  I put it on crackers and a half cup is MORE than enough.  And somehow, it only has 100 calories.  Great source of protein!

I also eat one tablespoon of the amazing Caramelized Onion dip with just a few of the classic Potato Chips.  It satisfies my need for tasty fat.

Buttermilk Biscuits - good in so many ways

Something that I love about Trader Joe's, is when they take a popular product (Ritz Crackers, Oreo's BBQ sauce) and make it healthier and often tastier.

These Buttermilk Biscuits are no exception.  They have no preservatives and taste DIVINE.

My husband ate his with eggs for breakfast.  I liked them with some butter and cheese for an afternoon snack.

Trader Joe's Old-Fashioned Donut O's - Ooooo, Noooo...

Who doesn't love a Donut Hole?  We love donuts at our house, but obviously don't eat them all that often.  We tried these recently and will not be buying them again.  They taste like WHEAT donut holes.  Some things can't be made healthy...

Ham & Cheddar Pretzel Bread Sandwich

I am so tired of sandwiches for lunch.  I've said this before, I know.  But I should clarify.  I'm so tired of plain old sandwiches on wheat bread.  I still love me a fancy sammy.

Somehow, Trader Joe's bakes pretzel bread fresh daily.  Not sure where or how, but I don't question it.

Buy some pretzel bread (each piece serves two) cut it in fours, and make yourself a delicious, open-faced sandwich.

This is how I do it.

Toast the four pieces lightly in the toaster oven.
Apply some mustard (or mayo if you fancy). 
Add ham (or turkey) and cheddar (or swiss, etc) cheese. 
Melt in toaster oven for about 5 minutes.

TJ Raisin Bran is Just Right

My kids love cereal and my husband eats it almost every night a couple of hours before bed.  I like it once in a while, but it seems like it is SO sugar-filled.  My kids first tried raisin bran at my dad's house (this man is OBSESSED with cereal.)  He buys the name brand one at your local chain grocery store.  The raisins are literally coated with sugar.  My kids were in heaven.

That's why I first tried the TJ RB.  I was hoping to satisfy a craving in my kids, without buying a sugar-y snack.

And we are hooked.  The TJ RB has a nice mix of healthy fiber-filled flakes, and tasty (SOFT) raisins.

Curry Chicken Salad - I wouldn't Buy it Again

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is the Curry Chicken Salad from that other grocery store, that shall not be named.  But it is ridiculously overpriced (or it seems like it is at $12 a pound.)  It is a luxury, a once in a while thing.  Imagine my excitement when I saw the TJ variety.  But then I tried it...

It is not terrible, there is nothing wrong with it.  But I won't buy it again.  It is WAY too curry-centric.  The curry taste is just too overpowering.  I guess if you are a huge curry lover, give it a try.  But I almost don't even think you will like, Mdme Curry.  It just isn't the right ratio.

TJ Saves the Day - Mini Croissants!

I was just cooking dinner tonight and realized that I needed to bake muffins (or some breakfast food) for some ladies that were coming to my house in the morning.  The thought of coming down to the kitchen after the kids went to bed and baking muffins was really devastating.  Nonetheless, I took out the butter to soften.

Then, as I went back to cooking dinner (frozen meatballs from TJ,) I saw them!  I had TJ croissants in the freezer!  And they are AH-MAZING.  So delicious.  Tastes like a little slice of France.

All you do is put them on a baking sheet (greased or on parchment) and leave them there overnight.  Then, wake up, pop them in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, and VOILA.

TJ SAVES THE DAY!  No late night baking for me!  Yippee!

No More Sandwiches! Great Lunch for Home and Work

I have officially OD-ed on sandwiches for lunch.  Unless it's a melted turkey and cheese sandwich on toasted TJ pretzel bread.  But that's another blog entry.

I love, love, love dips, salads, hummus, salsa, etc.  Here is one of my faves from TJ, whether its a work day or an at-home lunch.

 

Ingredients:

 

Feta Cheese Spread - this has a spicy kick (red pepper) which I am not a fan of, but I love the feta with Mediterranean spices.

Golden Round Crackers - I have mentioned these before.  I love them and kind of have to not buy them because my kids eat them faster than I do.

Hummus - I like all the different hummus flavors that I have tried from TJ.  My two faves are Kalamata and Edamame.

Pita - can't go wrong with TJ Pita bread!

Nutty Grain Salad- this wasn't what I expected, but with a little salt I really like it.

Cranberry Almond Grain Medley - I was not a fan of this, and will not be buying it again!

 

 

 

Decadent Breakfast Pastry - INSANELY Delicious

On Christmas morning, after my kids open and play with their gifts, we go over to my parent's house in our PJ's.  My mom always has a yummy brunch with eggs, bacon, fruit and different pastries.  When my little one sneaked over the the table, before everything was ready, and started chowing down on this pretty large croissant, we were all intrigued by it.  And curious to try it ourselves.  Then, when my mom said she made them, I instantly knew they were from Trader Joe's.

Listen, these are crazy good.  I don't see how something in a box, that's frozen, can be this divine.  Why go to your local French pastry shop?  Just stop off at TJ and grab a box.

Queen of Croissants INDEED!

Greek Yogurt - OMG Amazing!

When I first bought the Greek Honey Yogurt at Trader Joe's, I was on one of my "no sweets" kicks.  This yogurt was so delicious and so healthy (it's Greek, right?), I ate it with Granola every night.  And then I accidentally saw the fat grams in it.  YOWZERS!  No wonder it reminded me of the yogurt I had in Europe.

Now I just eat a tiny bit, once in a while, but I let my very skinny 3-year old eat it.  It is a healthy fat and great for young kids.  He also loves the Strawberry Vanilla flavor. 

And then my older son gets the 0% fat Greek Yogurt, Vanilla Flavor.  He is a huge fan of it.