Grocery Items

July 23, 2013

Amy's Spinach Pizza Pocket

Since I tend to go out to dinner and cook more over the summer, I eat my frozen meals less often.  Therefore, my freezer has been stuffed with various frozen meals, so I figured it was best to finally eat one of them.  I settled on the Amy's Spinach Pizza Pocket for tonight because I haven't had it in a while and have been craving pizza.

This is one of my favorite Amy's meals because it doesn't sacrifice flavor in order to be healthier.  The pocket itself has a pretty thick dough around it, which is my favorite part.  That is not to say, however, that the filling isn't great because it is.  It has the perfect ratio of spinach to sauce and cheese so that you can really taste each ingredient.  You can either heat it in the microwave or toaster oven, but I would highly recommend the toaster.  Even though it takes 25-30 minutes, it is worth it because the dough gets a nice crunch to it and the inside gets warm and melty.  I made the mistake of trying to eat it right away when I first made this, but after that first experience I learned that it is best to let it sit for a few minutes.  If you don't, the filling will fall to the bottom when you pick it up to eat, and you will probably burn your mouth like I did!  

Overall, I highly recommend this Amy's meal for a delicious and easy dinner (or even lunch) option.  It is super easy to make and is much healthier than anything similar from a pizza place. 

July 1, 2013

Trader Joe's Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina 

I have been meaning to blog about the Trader Joes Gnocchi Sorrentina for a while, but kept forgetting to take a picture before I ate it and it feels incomplete to post something with a photo to accompany it.  So, today I finally remembered to take a picture and can now rave about it!  

This is my favorite frozen item from Trader Joe's and it is my third time eating it already, which says a lot.  When I was walking down the frozen aisle at Trader Joes and saw the Gnocchi, I immediately picked it up because it was just simply gnocchi, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese, and I knew it could be good to have for when I am craving pasta.  I was a little fearful at first to turn the package around and look at the nutritional information because I knew that the combination of gnocchi with cheese could make it a high calorie/high fat dish.  Surprisingly, one serving had only170 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, and I was immediately sold!  There are three servings in the package, one cup each, so I upped the serving to 1 1/2 cups since I was having it for dinner.  

When I first opened the package, it did not look like what I expected.  Just like with the frozen ravioli I previously blogged about, the sauce is frozen into circles and the cheese is frozen in the sauce circles.

I chose to cook it on the stove, though you also have the option to heat it up in the microwave.  All you have to do is add 1 tablespoon of water and put it on high heat, and the circles of sauce slowly begin to melt.  After about 7 minutes the sauce thickened up, the cheese became melty, and I knew it was ready to eat!

After my first bite, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites.  The gnocchi were soft and fluffy, and the sauce was really amazing.  You would not expect that the sauce would actually be good after seeing it frozen into little circles, but it honestly tasted like fresh tomato sauce to me!  While there wasn't very much cheese, I did enjoy the little bits I got here and there.  I'm sure that the nutritional information would be much worse if there was more cheese, but it could've used a bit more.  

Even so, I highly recommend this item.  Gnocchi tends to be very unhealthy because it is dense and can be fattening depending on the sauce it is cooked in, so this is a much leaner option for when you have that craving.  If you are having it on its own for dinner, you should probably plan on eating 1 1/2 cups because a 1 cup serving would be way too little.  This has become one of my staples in my freezer, and if you try it I'm sure you will like it too!

June 25, 2013

Amy's Light & Lean Spinach Lasagna

Since I have been on a Trader Joe's kick lately, I have been neglecting all of the Amy's meals that I have in my freezer.  Amy's has always been my go to brand for frozen items because it is much healthier than other frozen food brands, is uses organic ingredients, and all of the meals that I have had are delicious.  I tend to go for the Light & Lean varieties because they are lower in fat and calories than the regular Amy's meals, but there are a few others that I do buy.  

Generally, my freezer has a Spinach Lasagna, Spinach Pizza Pocket, Teriyaki Wrap and Spaghetti Italiano on reserve.  Recently, I have also added the Quinoa & Black Beans with Butternut Squash to the mix, since it is their newest variety.  The lasagna, spaghetti italiano, and quinoa are all light & lean, and are under 300 calories.  

Tonight, I decided to go back to the Amy's meals and temporarily take a break from the Trader Joe's brand, so I chose to have the Spinach Lasagna.  

The portion size of the lasagna is very generous, and you would never be able to guess that it is only 250 calories with 5 grams of fat!  You can't really get much better than that when you are eating lasagna.  They have a bunch of different lasagnas, but this one is definitely my favorite.  The sauce is really delicious, and there is tons of spinach inside each layer which I really appreciated.  There is also a nice layer of cheese on top, which is essential with lasagna.  The problem with many frozen meals is that they appear to be low calorie, but once you open the packaging you see that the portion sizes are tiny.  This is not the case with the lasagna as it is a pretty big piece and it is very satisfying.  

To make this for dinner, all you have to do is put it in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, let it stand for 1 minute and then you are ready to eat!  I highly recommend trying some of Amy's frozen meals, whether it be the lasagna, pizza pockets, or burritos, because they are all really delicious, and organic!

June 20, 2013

Trader Joe's Frozen Chocolate Croissant

I know it is probably getting annoying reading post after post about Trader Joe's, but when I went a few weeks ago I stocked up on stuff (if you live in NYC, you know how long the lines can get), so now I am finally getting around to trying everything! 

One of the items that I had read about online and saw in store was the frozen chocolate croissants.  I heard that they were supposedly the best frozen item and tasted just like a fresh baked chocolate croissant.  Intrigued, I looked at a box when I was in Trader Joe's a few months ago but was instantly scared away after looking at the nutritional information.  It probably comes as no surprise that they are extremely high in fat, since croissants are basically half butter, but it is still a little shocking when looking at that nutritional information. 

But, after reading multiple blog posts about them and after a few times of picking up the box and putting it back down, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy them.  They have been sitting in my freezer now for 3 or so weeks, so I decided that today was the day to make them.

It does involve a bit of planning, because you have to take them out of the box and let them proof (rise) for 9 hours, or overnight, before you even start to bake them.  Therefore, you have to know that you want to make them the day before you actually want to eat them.  To me, this is actually a good thing since they are pretty unhealthy and you can't just wake up and make them on a whim.  

Anyway, I have been craving these croissants lately, especially with the cronut craze all over the news, so I decided that I would finally make one this morning.  When you take them out of the box, this is what they look like....

It looks a little strange at first, but I knew that they had to rise overnight and was very anxious to see what they would look like when I woke up.  Upon waking up this morning, the first thing I did was go into the kitchen and see what it looked like. 

I was shocked at how much it grew overnight!  Even though it said on the box that it would grow a lot, I was a bit skeptical after seeing what they looked like when I took them out of the box.  Now that it had risen overnight, I still had to preheat the oven and bake them for 20 minutes.  You can choose to brush an egg over the top to give it a more shiny finish, but since I was only making one I chose not to waste a whole egg.  The hardest part of the whole process was waiting for it while it was in the oven, because the smell permeated my entire apartment!  I felt like I was sitting in a bakery in Paris waiting for a fresh baked croissant, and I was just hoping that the taste was able to stand up to the amazing smell.  

I actually want to take back my earlier statement and say that the hardest part was waiting 10 minutes AFTER taking them out of the oven.  It says on the box to wait 10 minutes after you take them out before eating them, and normally I would disregard the directions but I decided that I had already invested a lot of time in it and I may as well just wait 10 more minutes. 

So, I sat there staring at this beautifully golden chocolate croissant, taking in the aroma of a Parisian bakery, until 10 minutes finally passed.  When I picked it up, I noticed that even though it looked huge it was super light and had a nice and hard exterior, which were good signs!  Then, I finally took my first bite...

I was pretty much in heaven after my first bite.  It was very crispy on the outside and the outermost layer started to flake off onto the plate, which is exactly what you want to see.  The inside of the croissant, however, was the star.  The layers were extremely soft, fluffy, and buttery and once I got to the chocolate, I couldn't stop smiling.  There are two long strips of chocolate in these croissants so you definitely get chocolate in almost every bite, and it goes really well with the crunchy outside and soft, buttery inside.  

This croissant is honestly up there with some of the best that I have ever had (and yes, I have been to Paris).  Not only does it look better than some that are sold in bakeries, but it even tastes better!  You would never guess that these came from the freezer aisle!  If you have a Trader Joe's near you and you love croissants, I highly recommend purchasing these.  Even if you are scared away by the nutritional info, I figured that it was good to have in my freezer for when I was craving a croissant.  I mean, if I am craving one, I would rather make it myself, know the nutritional info, and eat it in my home instead of buying one in a bakery and not knowing how many calories I could be eating.  Also, since you do have to plan for these, it prevents you from making them on a whim which means when you decide to make them, you have really thought it through!  So, before you put that box down (multiple times, if you are like me), just buy them now and stick them in your freezer.  They honestly taste like a freshly baked croissant and are on par, if not better, than ones you could buy in a bakery.  

(I should also mention that last night I watched American Baking Competition and one of the challenges was to make croissants, so that made me in the mood for these even more!  I also took it as a sign that I made the right choice in making them for today!)

June 19, 2013

Trader Joe's Frozen Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

This week is pretty much the week of frozen meals, because I haven't had time to cook.  Yesterday I had my step brother's graduation in Westchester, and today I was working all day, so I haven't really had the time to even think about preparing dinner.  This is when the stash of frozen meals in my freezer comes in handy.  Confronted with options ranging from Amy's frozen lasagna or teriyaki wrap, to a frozen burrito or ravioli, I ultimately decided to have the ravioli.

I picked up this bag of frozen spinach & ricotta ravioli on my last trip to trader joe's and have been looking forward to trying it.  When I was younger, there was an italian restaurant in my town, Il Bigatto, that my family would always go to for special occasions or when we had people visiting, and my sister and I ALWAYS ordered the spinach ravioli.  Neither of us particularly liked spinach, or even ricotta cheese for that matter, but there was something about the ravioli at Il Bigatto that seemed special.  Unfortunately, a few years ago the ownership changed (multiple times), the quality of the restaurant began to dwindle, and it eventually closed for good.

Maybe its because I am still mourning the loss of Il Bigatto or because I fear that no other ravioli will compare, but I haven't ordered it in a restaurant since their closing.  So, when I saw the frozen variety in Trader Joe's, I figured it was time to give it a shot.

The bag comes with 3 servings at about 190 calories each.  On weight watchers, each serving is 5 points.  I usually try to have dinners that range between 7-9 points, so I opted to have 1 1/2 servings.  After counting out the ravioli (yes, I have a lot of time on my hands, but I decided to count out the number of ravioli in the bag so that I could make sure I was eating 1/2 of the bag), I was able to split the bag into two equal portions of 16 raviolis and sauce.  Trader Joe's frozen italian meals are a little odd in that the sauce is frozen into cubes and the pasta is not covered in the sauce, so I also had to make sure that I only took half of the sauce cubes.  It looked like a lot more at first, but after putting the ravioli in the microwave they shrunk considerably, as did the sauce.  

You can choose to either heat it up on the stovetop with some olive oil, or simply in the microwave, so I of course went the easier route and put it in the microwave for 5 minutes.  

While it did not nearly compare to the delicious spinach ravioli that my sister and I used to order at Il Bigatto, I do have to say that this is a solid dish.  The ravioli are pretty small and there is not much filling, but the filling does taste pretty good.  I liked that you see more of the spinach than you do of the ricotta cheese inside the ravioli, but I definitely tasted the cheese more than the spinach.  The sauce was also really good, I just wish that there was a bit more of it.

Overall, this is a product that I would most likely buy again because even though it is not nearly as good as regular ravioli, it is very good for frozen ravioli.

June 17, 2013

Trader Joe's Pulled Chicken and Sweet Potato Tots

Since I had a pretty busy weekend and didn't get back into the city until 9:00 last night, I didn't have time to cook.  And, since my sister and I both had work today, we knew that neither of us would be able to make dinner today either.  Lucky for us, there was a package of Pulled Chicken Breast in our fridge that I bought at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago and a bag of Sweet Potato Tots in my freezer.  I had been waiting to try the Pulled Chicken ever since I tried the Pulled Pork a few weeks ago, and was hoping that it would be just as good.  

In the package, the Pulled Chicken is pretty much the same as the pork, since it is in the same sauce and takes the same amount of time to heat up.  But, since it is chicken breast instead of pork, the nutritional content is much more appealing.  Whereas the pork has about 20% DV of fat and 25% DV saturated fat, the chicken only has 1% and 0% respectively.  And, if you follow weight watchers like my sister and I do, one portion is only 3 points instead of the whopping 6 points for the pork.  

Since it was only 3 points and the buns that I use are 2, I decided to complete the meal with some of Trader Joe's Frozen Sweet Potato Tots.  I have had them before, and they are a delicious alternative to the usual frozen fries.  The tots take about 30 minutes in the oven and the chicken takes only 3 minutes to heat up, so it was a very easy dinner prep.  I completed the meal with some steamed broccoli, like I always do, and overall it was a very delicious and balanced meal!

The chicken was great and had a lot of sauce on it, which made it even more tasty.  It fits perfectly on the Martin's sliced potato rolls that I use, and it even falls off the edges because the portion is so big.  The sauce tasted exactly the same to me as the pulled pork, as it had a bit of a kick to it but it wasn't overwhelming.  And, the chicken actually tasted like real pulled chicken breast and not anything fake or processed, so I would definitely buy this product again.  The sweet potato tots are also delicious and are the perfect thing to have in the freezer when you are in need of a side dish.  They are sweet and get a nice crunch to them when you leave them in the oven for long enough.  Mine always tend to get burnt a bit, as you can see in the picture, but in order for them to get crisp enough the heat has to stay pretty high.  I like when things are well done though, so I don't mind.  

Overall, this was a solid dinner and if you have a Trader Joe's near you, I recommend you buy either the Pulled Chicken or the Pulled Pork to keep in your fridge and the tots to keep in the freezer for when you are in a bind like I was today.  Both the pulled chicken and pork stay good for about 2 months in the fridge, so you have plenty of time to eat it!

June 13, 2013

Trader Joe's Stir Fried Vegetable Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce

Since the weather has been pretty gross in NYC all day, I decided that tonight was definitely a frozen meal night.  Choosing what I wanted was a challenge, since I have a bunch of Amy's and Trader Joe's frozen meals in my freezer for days like today.  After weighing my options, I settled on the Stir Fried Vegetable Rolls that I had picked up last week.

There is really nothing not to like about vegetable spring rolls, except for the fact that they are generally fried.  Because of that, I never order them in restaurants even though I want to.  So, when I saw that Trader Joe's had frozen spring rolls that you did not have to cook in oil and that were relatively low in fat, I was immediately sold.  Spring rolls are not complete, however, without a sweet dipping sauce, so I decided to also pick up a bottle of the Sweet Chili Sauce from Trader Joes.

The serving size is one vegetable roll for 130 calories, but since I was having them for dinner I had two.  They were ready after about 25 minutes in the oven, and I got very excited to see that the outside shell got nice and crispy from the oven.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the vegetable rolls.  I was worried that the shell would get soggy, but it retained the crispiness that all vegetable spring rolls have, and these weren't fried!  When I took my first bite, I got a nice big piece of tofu, and there was a nice variation of vegetables in the rolls.  The sauce, on the other hand, was a bit too spicy for me.  Since it is sweet chili sauce, I just assumed that it would have no spice to it because of the added sweetness.  While it did taste good at first, the punch of spice was too much for me and I ended up eating the rest of the spring rolls without sauce.  They still were very delicious without sauce, which to me verified that it was a great product.  They are also pretty big, so having two as dinner was filling enough for me.  If you are craving a spring roll but are trying to stay away from fried foods, I recommend these frozen spring rolls as they sure satisfied my craving!

June 4, 2013

Trader Joe's Pulled Pork

A few weeks back when my sister and I went on our first Trader Joe's shopping binge, we picked up a package of Pulled Pork from the refrigerated section.  When we originally saw it, we got excited because we like Pulled Pork and had been wanting to make it for a while, but the thought of making it ourselves was a bit daunting.  So, when we saw that Trader Joe's had pre-cooked pulled pork that you just reheat, we were immediately sold (and it didn't even expire until the end of July).  They also had Pulled Chicken Breast which we wanted to get, but they were sold out at the time.  

So, today I finally got around to heating this up for dinner.  The package makes 3 servings at about 1/3 cup each which was plenty.  I put it on one of Martin's Potato Rolls (the smaller size) and had some steamed broccoli on the side.  

The pulled pork was really delicious.  I was worried that it would taste fake or fatty, but it actually tasted like real pork meat.  The sauce was also really good and there was a lot of it, which I enjoyed.  The only thing that I would warn you about is that the sauce definitely has a kick to it.  I wouldn't say that is is spicy, but seeing as my sister is extremely sensitive to spice, I had to warn her about it.  It is also very messy, but that is expected with a pulled pork sandwich.  You WILL have sauce all over your hands when you are done, but it is totally worth it.  

I dont remember exactly what I spent on this, but I think it was around $3.99 for the package of pulled pork.  I definitely recommend buying this if you are in the mood for some pulled pork but you don't want to go through the hassle of making it yourself.  Next time, I will buy the pulled chicken and test it out, though I'm sure it will be just as delicious!

June 1, 2013

Trader Joe's Silver Dollar Pancakes

There's nothing better than waking up on the weekend to hot off the griddle pancakes, right?  Well, that involves waking up and immediately starting to prep the ingredients, making the pancakes, and then doing a full clean up, which always makes me steer clear of making them.  So, I resort to the next best thing--frozen pancakes.  On my recent trip to Trader Joe's (I think you can sense the trend in my posts, that I absolutely love Trader Joe's) I noticed they had a box of frozen silver dollar pancakes for $1.99!  I figured that I had to try them since I love pancakes and this was such a great deal.  The serving size is 11 pancakes, which may sound like a lot but they are super small.

I ended up having about 9 and it was plenty.  These were good for frozen pancakes, but seeing that pancakes are my favorite food it did not nearly come close to fresh pancakes.  I guess if I want to satisfy my pancake craving the best bet is to either make them myself or go out and get them.  For now, this is a decent frozen option, and they are very convenient if you are on the go because you can literally pick one up and eat it in two bites.

May 31, 2013

Nature's Path Flax Plus Cereal

I have major issues when it comes to the granola bar/cereal aisle in the grocery store, and I tend to buy something new to try every time I go through the aisle.  It has come to the point where I don't even allow myself to walk down the aisle unless I know I need something (sometimes, this doesn't even work!).  I don't know what it is, but I just love trying all the new varieties!  Anyway, then I get stuck with huge boxes of cereal in my cabinet and if I end up not liking the cereal, I have to force myself to keep eating it so that it does not go to waste.  That is the case with the Nature's Path Flax Plus Cereal.  I originally had high hopes for this cereal because it is organic, very high in fiber, and low in sugar, which meant it was a healthy alternative to other sugary cereals out there.

It is not bad, it just isn't something that I would buy again.  While I commend them for keeping sugar low, it is definitely reflected in the taste.  I tried adding 1/2 banana to my cereal bowl (which I always do anyway) to sweeten it up, but it didn't help too much.  It is one of those products that actually tastes healthy because it has that wheat-y after taste to it. 

Even though I wouldn't buy it again, I would recommend this cereal if you are looking for a healthy breakfast cereal that is not sweet.  In the meantime, I will continue to slowly make my way through the box until I finally finish it.

May 30th 2012

Trader Joe's Frozen Pizza Primavera

I usually try to cook twice a week, but during the summer it gets tricky as I tend to be more busy and work later, so I usually end up eating frozen meals once or twice a week.  On my recent trip to Trader Joe's, my sister and I went a little crazy in the frozen section and ended up with enough frozen food to last us a month.  One of the purchases that I was most excited about was the "Reduced Guilt" Pizza Primavera.  

From the box, it looked like it would have a lot of nice veggies on it and be a decent size.  And, at only 250 calories, it seemed like a nice and healthy alternative for my pizza cravings.  Upon opening the box, however, I was a little disappointed.  It was a lot smaller than I thought, and the sauce, toppings, and cheese were all concentrated in the middle, leaving a lot of bare space.  I hoped that after cooking it in the oven for 10 minutes the cheese would spread out and look a little more appealing, but unfortunately it did not.  

Overall, the vegetables were mostly just eggplant (as you can see in the picture), and there was barely any cheese.  It also tasted kind of watery.  I guess my expectations should have been lower since it is just a 250 calories frozen pizza, but I had hoped for a lot better.  I can't comment on their other frozen pizzas, since Trader Joe's does offer a lot of different varieties that look good, but I can say that I will not be buying this one again.  

May 30th 2012

Trader Joe's Dried Baby Sweet Pineapple

I have a few items that are considered a staple in my snack cabinet, and Trader Joe's Dried Pineapple is one of them.  I usually grab a handful every morning as a nice and sweet pick me up.  It is the best dried pineapple that I have ever had, because it is nice and sweet but it actually retains the pineapple flavor and does not taste like pure sugar, since it is unsweetened and unsulfured.  Don't let the label "unsweetened," fool you, however, because these are pleasantly sweet.  Each serving is 130 calories and has 20% Daily Value of Fiber!  There are 4 servings per bag, but I usually just grab a handful and the bag lasts me over a week.

I highly recommend this product, as it is tasty and sweet, yet also healthy and not sugary or over-processed.  I should also note that the Trader Joe's near me recently was out of stock of this product for about a month, and I internally started to panic that I would not be able to get my pineapple fix!  Luckily for me, I had about 3 bags on reserve (when I like something, I tend to stock up).  On my recent trip back to Trader Joe's, they had restocked and I snatched up about 6 more bags.  Yes, I recognize that may have been a bit overboard, but they don't expire for a year, so why not?  Regardless, if you are a fan of dried fruit but prefer not to overload on sugar, you should buy this product!