Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Stars

For a dude who doesn't really like dark chocolate or crispy cookies all that much, I sure eat a lot of dark chocolate and crispy cookies. But shoot, I do it all in the name of intrepid food reviewing.

I try to be objective and informative enough that even if I don't thoroughly enjoy a product, I give you enough info that you can guess whether you'd like it or not.

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In this case, if you like crispy, crumbly shortbread and dark chocolate, there's absolutely no reason these won't be your favorite Christmas cookies ever. Me? Yeah, they're kinda exactly what I expected.

And I wasn't expecting to be thrilled. But hey, it's the holiday season and we're going to accentuate the positive and all that. These cookies have been an end-of-the-year mainstay at Trader Joe's for many years.

$4.99 for the 16 oz box. Wouldn't buy again, personally, but I totally get it if you're a fan. More dark chocolate stars for you, I say. 

I give Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Stars six and a half out of ten stars. Sonia will go with seven and a half out of ten.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Crunchy Italian Amaretti Cookies

So the presentation of this product is pretty...pretty. Nice box. Each piece comes in a beautifully-printed wrapper. What else jumps out at me? The ingredients—there are only three. Sugar and egg whites are no surprise. The third ingredient? Apricot kernels, AKA apricot seeds...which are poisonous...and also cure cancer. Go figure. Please don't hold WG@TJ's accountable for any health-related claims. Do your own research. I digress.

These are good. They taste like amaretto. I assumed they'd have, you know, almonds in them. They don't. Just apricot pits or whatever. They really taste amazing. They're crunchy like they say on the box. I'd almost always prefer soft cookies, but at least you know what you're getting here. They're amazing dunked in coffee, warm milk, hot cocoa, or even tea. The hot liquids help wake up the vibrant flavor of these cookies even more than when you eat them dry.

Serving size is three cookies and there are "about three" servings in the box. I'm no math whiz, but I might have assumed there were nine in the box, but there were only eight in ours. I guess that's where the word "about" comes into play. Certain specimens seemed stiffer than others. But still, they're quite delicious and pleasant to eat. I'm sure the whole box will be gone by the time we post this review.

$2.99 for the 3.5 oz package. Product of Italy. Would make a nice stocking stuffer. Would buy again. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Crunchy Italian Amaretti Cookies nine out of ten stars. I'll go with eight and a half out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Brewed Ginger Beer

Nate's Notes: This post was originally published on May 20, 2015. This is an instance where Sonia and I are in nearly complete agreement with the standing review, so we have nothing to add or subtract except: this product is now available in cans. Each beverage is still 12 oz and the ingredients and nutrition info are extremely similar. We didn't see that other ginger brew at our TJ's this year, so we grabbed these instead. Seems like it was originally introduced as a spring/summer beverage and is now year round..? Trader Joe's Brewed Ginger Beer is still a very good product. Still a buck for an individual can or four bucks for a four pack. 

Need a cool, refreshing drink for a hot summer day, and something like maple water sound a little too silly and hipstery for ya? Well, how about some ginger beer?

Trader Joe's Brewed Ginger Beer is neither ginger ale nor is it alcoholic. Ginger ale, although occasionally delicious, is your basic ginger-flavored soda, of course. Ginger beer, on the other hand, is a beverage produced with via brewing and fermentation and the whole nine yards. Here's a guide on how to make your own to give you an idea of the process involved.

As for the outcome: delicious. Both Sandy and I are pretty big fans. There's very little carbonation, if any, which makes for a cool, crisp flow. Although not as harshly ginger-tinged as some other TJ's brews, there's still a good, solid ginger bite underflow adding lots of bitterness. Yet, there's plenty of tart sweetness to counteract it all, thanks mainly to the limes and sugar.

The taste isn't perfectly balanced or smoothed over, though. The first bottle we drank, it almost tasted like we were drinking two different drinks at the same time. When we looked a little closer at the bottom of the bottle, we saw some cloudy floaty stuff, which I'm guessing was some sort of combination of the lemon/lime juice and ginger that kinda settled after fermentation. Although the bottle says nothing about doing so, for the second time around both Sandy and I gave the bottle a slight shake and swirl to try and mix it all back up, and we both agreed that it tasted a little better after that.

Still, this is one pretty delicious drink for those warm, sticky nights up ahead. Plenty of ginger bite with some citrus-y zing is never a bad combo. If you insist on some boozy additions, I have heard (but not yet personally verified) that this ginger beer is a great choice for either a Dark & Stormy or a Moscow Mule. That's definitely on my agenda, and Sandy is even more eager to try that than me. And for this ginger juice, if your mind is on your money (or your money on your mind), you can buy these either separately for a buck each or grab a four pack for $3.99 - math geniuses, them. Definitely worth the try. Matching fours from the wifey and me.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Brewed Ginger Beer: 8 out of 10 Golden Spoons.

Trader Joe's Jingle Jangle for Dogs

After the release of Trader Joe's classic Jingle Jangle, which of course contains copious quantities of chocolate, there was such an outcry from the nation's canine community that Big Joe could simply no longer ignore all the clamorous quadrupeds that felt left out of the jingly jangly jamboree.

At long last, Jingle Jangle for Dogs is a reality. Featuring peanut butter, carob, and bacon, these pretzels, balls, bones, and stars are nearly as festive and fun as the tasty morsels in the people version of the product.

Alfred and Sadie make a special guest appearance on our YouTube channel for the first time since July, joining us for what is not simply a dog treat review, but what we're calling "The What's Good at TJ's Holiday Special." We hope you'll join us for some snacks, pretty music, and good times.

Alfred, Sadie, Sonia, and Nathan collectively give Trader Joe's Jingle Jangle for Dogs eight out of ten paw prints. $4.49 in the dog treats section of Trader Joe's. Would make a great gift for a dog owner. Would buy again.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Phyllo Crisps

We've seen our share of phyllo based foods here on WG@TJ's throughout the years: from Greek appetizers to spanakopita to camembert cranberry bites, the middle eastern and Balkan style dough is crispy, layered, and almost always delicious. This particular phyllo creation hails from Croatia.

And it's as unique as it is yummy. I don't think I've ever tried crackers made with phyllo dough before. I'm not sure why, because phyllo makes amazing crisps as well as pastries and hors d'oeuvres.

The bread part of these crackers is crispy and supple. It's moderately sweet just in and of itself, flaunting the taste of both sugar and honey. On top, there's a blend of delightful toppings including dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and oats. It's a hearty flavor that tastes natural and wholesome, almost like a flattened-out granola bar.

Both Sonia and I loved the crisps just by themselves. We did try them with Greek yogurt as suggested on the packaging, but both agreed they were at least as good on their own. I'm sure they'd pair nicely with Brie or goat cheese, too, but there's quite enough going on with the crackers as a standalone snack to keep us happy enjoying them straight out of the box.

Our only complaints: the package wasn't full and certain bites are hard enough that they irritate our sensitive teeth. $2.99 for the 2.8 oz box. Sonia and I will both go with eight and a half stars a piece on Trader Joe's Phyllo Crisps. They're seasonal and "limited" so get 'em while ya still can.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Boozy Bottles

To tell you the truth, I don't know that I've ever had cognac prior to these little candies. I always think of that old Tim Meadows sketch on SNL, The Ladies Man, where he'd sip his Courvoisier cognac. It's a French liqueur, and it's a type of brandy. Other than that, I don't know much about it.

Obviously, these boozy bottles are being presented a little differently, but they remind me quite a bit of Trader Joe's now defunct Brandy Beans. The dark chocolate is semi-sweet, and so is the liquor by my reckoning. Pretty interesting combo in both cases.

The box says the alcohol by volume is in the ballpark of 3%. That's apparently enough to give some folks a buzz, therefore this product can't be sold to anyone under 21 years of age. I don't know for sure, but I'd go out on a limb and guess that it's not even sold at the Trader Joe's locations that don't carry alcoholic beverages.*

I only had one or two bottles at a time, and as you can see they are quite small. I certainly didn't get buzzed, but there is definitely a strong alcohol flavor to the chocolates. I'd say they're about half full of cognac, and it will spill right out if you bite the candy in half. If you don't like booze at all, you probably won't enjoy these. The beautiful wifey and I do enjoy alcoholic beverages in moderation, so we thought these were pretty good.

Here's an occasion where I'll admit dark chocolate works better than its sweeter cousins. I think the flavor of milk chocolate might get lost underneath the strong punch of the cognac. Dark chocolate balances it out fairly well.

$3.99 for nine little boozy bottles. Imported from France. The novelty factor is very high with this product, and it tastes pretty darn good, too. We would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Boozy Bottles. Sonia will throw out nine stars.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's German Iced Gingerbread Soft Spiced Cookies

These were near the checkout area at Trader Joe's on our last run. "German Iced Gingerbread Soft Spiced Cookies." Awesome. Sounds delicious. And they're soft...it's like a dream come true!

Except by "soft," they mean totally not soft. Like they're the same texture as gingersnaps or run-of-the-mill crispy cookies. I mean, they're not super hard...but they're by no means "soft" and honestly, they're a little on the dry side.

It's too bad because they taste really good. The icing makes them nice and sweet. The ginger flavor is just about perfect—not too strong, not too weak. They go great with coffee. There are actually two individually wrapped "cookies" in the box which helps keep the second one fresher longer. They're quite large. Each pastry is three servings a piece. They're like the same shape as a Pop-Tart but just a bit bigger in every dimension.

I'm not sure we would have purchased them if they hadn't so boldly proclaimed themselves "soft," but in the end, that's really our only complaint. There are just so many cookies of every kind floating around at Trader Joe's and everywhere else this time of year, it takes something extraordinarily special to get top marks on this blog. Unfortunately, we can only recommend these if you don't mind crunchy cookies or if you're looking for a spiced international treat to dunk in your java.

Product of Germany. $3.49 for the six serving box. Might make a decent stocking stuffer or cheap gift. Seven out of ten stars from Sonia and me for Trader Joe's German Iced Gingerbread Cookies.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Winter Sangria Sparkling Water

More seasonal water from Trader Joe's. Get it while supplies last. Is winter sangria a thing? This water tastes like year-round sangria to me. It's like a faint fruit punch flavor with maybe a slight emphasis on grape—you know, like wine...sorta.

There's nothing to suggest that it's alcoholic or that it's even trying to emulate an alcoholic beverage. And I mean, in terms of alcohol flavor, even regular sangria isn't very potent. You're mixing like maybe 13% ABV red wine with zero alcohol fruit punch, so it's maybe in the ballpark of 5% alcohol depending on your wine to punch ratio. I digress.

This flavor is fine. It's festive, I guess. There's a bit of an aftertaste that I'm not a huge fan of, but it's not a deal-breaker. It's not that intense. I'd buy again next winter.

$3.49 for eight 12 oz cans. Kosher. Wouldn't all water be kosher, though? I guess not. I just Googled that real quick and I'm not even gonna touch that on here. We give this flavored water seven and a half out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Cremes

Peppermint is seasonally appropriate this time of year, and I must admit it pairs up pretty well with chocolate. Still, it's never been my personal favorite. I'm usually underwhelmed by peppermint and chocolate combos, with a few notable exceptions, namely: Bittersweet Mint ice cream from the Berkey Creamery, and Trader Joe's Peppermint Hot Chocolate in the big green tin that's been available around the holidays for quite some time now.

Here's the part where I tell you I like milk chocolate more than dark chocolate and you look down on me and think about clicking over to another review. But you can't say I don't give it chance after chance after chance. I mean half of Trader Joe's offerings are slathered in dark chocolate. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Maybe even occasionally I'll admit dark chocolate works better than milk chocolate for certain applications.

I think I'd still like to try a milk chocolate version of these, but dark chocolate gets the job done. They're more minty than chocolatey by my estimation, thanks to not only a generous glob of peppermint creme in their centers but also the little candy bits all over their outsides. Certain specimens seemed fatter than others, and those seemed to have a tad more minty creme in their middles than the flatter ones.

I was wondering what exactly "peppermint creme" would look and taste like. It's pretty much a dead ringer for the stuff that's in the middle of a York Peppermint Patty. I might even go out on a limb and say that if you like Peppermint Patties and dark chocolate, you'll enjoy these most definitely. The creamy center is our favorite part of the candy by far. Still, I'll tire of them after two or three pieces, but they were fun to try and would be something I'd keep in the back of my mind as a stocking stuffer or a contribution to an under $5 white elephant party or something like that.

$3.99 for 15 peppermint cremes. Kosher. Put me down for seven out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Cremes. I might have gone with something higher if it had been milk chocolate. Sonia will go with seven out of ten as well, stating that they would have gotten an eight but that the candy cane bits hurt her teeth.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Coffee Panna Cotta

Dang. No wonder they want you to take that stuff out of the little cup and turn it upside down. It looks just like Fancy Feast sitting in there. Not particularly appetizing.

It wasn't quite the flavor extravaganza we were hoping it was, but it tastes a lot better than it looks. Coffee flavored, but not over the top. Sweet, but honestly it could have been a bit sweeter. Sonia wanted the syrup to be a lot thicker and wouldn't have minded more of it.

That's why I think it's better to eat it straight out of the cup. You don't lose any of the sauce that way. The presentation isn't nearly as nice, but unless you're trying to impress somebody, there's really no reason to flip it over and have the dark brown liquid slide all over your plate.

There was a peach and blueberry panna cotta at Trader Joe's years and years ago. Sonia and I both liked that one better than this one. I thought for sure the beautiful wifey would favor this one, but no. She agrees the fruit flavors worked better. She thinks maybe a true espresso panna cotta might be good with heavier coffee undertones and more sugar. She prefers good old Mexican flan to this stuff.

$3.49 for two single serving cups, found in the refrigerated section. It's not bad, but we probably wouldn't buy again. Italian-inspired, but not imported from Italy. Seven out of ten stars from both of us on Trader Joe's Coffee Panna Cotta.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Sous Vide Turkey Breast Tenderloins

Well, shoot. I liked these quite a bit. I don't even know what sous vide (soo-veed) means. I even looked it up and I'm still confused. Rather than regurgitate what I just read on Wikipedia, I'll let you decipher the French phrase yourself...something about cooking meat for a long time at a low-ish temperature.

But all we had to do was heat these medallions up for 8 minutes or so in a sauce pan. When it's just two people, an entire turkey is overkill even for Thanksgiving. Trader Joe took away our Turkey & Stuffing En Croute, so what's a couple to do? This product was perfect.

But Thanksgiving is over, you say? Why review it now? Well, there are a few other holidays creeping up on us before the end of 2024, and this review will still be floating here in cyberspace when Thanksgiving 2025 rolls around. We're just here to tell you that Trader Joe's Sous Vide Turkey Breast Tenderloins get our seal of approval.

They didn't go crazy with seasoning here: just some soybean oil, onion, garlic, and salt. The meat was cooked to perfection, nice and even. It was all white meat, which I love. Even the little chunks of meat were convenient for serving and consuming. While they're more than a mouthful each, they were very easy to cut into smaller bite-sized pieces.

It was $8.99 for the package. Sonia and I ate our fill and still had some leftovers. It's obviously much less work than cooking a whole turkey and slightly cheaper. Plus, there's no greasy dark meat or bones to deal with. Would buy again. Sonia and I give Trader Joe's Sous Vide Turkey Breast Tenderloins 8 out of 10 stars.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Shimmering Candy Cane Body Butter and Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter

Body butter. I don't think I've ever used body butter. Isn't that basically just a fancy way to say "moisturizer"? Marketing gimmick if you ask me.

If you ask the beautiful wifey, she'll say these products are great. Six bucks each. Apparently they charge like a thousand times that much at fancy cosmetics places.

Pumpkin for fall and Candy Cane for the holiday season. Sounds fun. And I must admit they do smell good. I think they're more feminine than masculine, though. Watch the video review below to find out what fragrances of body butter I'd like to see from Trader Joe's as a dude.

This might be only the second non-food review we've done on this blog in 15 years. See: Trader Joe's Camel Milk Soap and Trader Joe's Mouth Wash with Tea Tree Oil. Pretty sure neither of those is available anymore.

Hygiene is important. Should we start reviewing stuff like toilet paper and tissues? We can't keep up with all the food as it is. If you have any requests, just let us know in the comments. 

As part of our Cyber Monday sale, subscriptions to our YouTube channel are absolutely free today! All you have to do is click the "subscribe" button below the video or on our YouTube profile page. No credit cards required. Get access to each and every one of our video reviews absolutely FREE!

Sonia gives Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter 9 out of 10 stars.

She gives Trader Joe's Shimmering Candy Cane Body Butter 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Cranberry Ginger Chutney

Well, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and as always, there's a ton to be thankful for. Even in the darkest of times, there are always good people and circumstances that can be appreciated. My heart is truly filled with gratitude as Sonia and I focus on our blessings and prepare for our Turkey Day feast. And with that, I leave you with this mostly negative review.

Trader Joe's Cranberry Ginger Chutney tastes like a chunky-style apple cider vinegar beverage. I can see what they were going for but I'm not fond of the execution. It's way too vinegary for me. We both love Indian food and Indian spices in general, but this? Sonia was way more positive than I was, but I don't think either of us would buy it again.

The cranberry and ginger aspects work quite well. There are nearly whole cranberries in certain bites. The raw ginger and tart cran flavors offset the sweetness and there's just a whisper of bite from the cayenne. It's that sour acidity from the vinegar that throws me off.

It'll be just the two of us tomorrow. I don't know who I pity more: those of you who will be completely alone on Thanksgiving Day or those of you who have more than a handful of relatives to tolerate, LOL. Either way, we'll be with you in spirit. Thanks for reading and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Sonia's score: 6.5 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Thanksgiving Stuffing Popcorn

Can you believe it's been over nine years since the debut of Trader Joe's Turkey & Stuffing Kettle Chips? Took them long enough to do a popcorn version.

But it was well worth the wait. They got this product right. Conceivably, it will be too salty for some. Unlike the recently reviewed Crunchy Pops, which were very salty with not much flavor otherwise, these fluffy popcorn kernels are bursting with the taste of onion, black pepper, parsley, thyme, and other classic Thanksgiving stuffing seasonings.

$2.99 for the 5 oz bag. Kosher. Would buy again. Trader Joe's Thanksgiving Stuffing Seasoned Popcorn is obviously seasonal, so if you're as big a fan as we are, stock up while you can.

 

 

Bottom line: 9.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Organic Iced Oatmeal Baked Whole Grain Bar

Organic whole grain oats are super duper healthy. And they taste okay. Nothing to complain about, right? But hey, let's face it: whole grain oats are kinda boring, bland, and plain.

That's where that icing comes in. There's a lot riding on that icing. That icing is tasked with taking something dull and turning it into something you'll actually choose to eat over a Snickers or a Twinkie from the vending machine when you get that mid-day munchies feeling at work.

And it does a pretty decent job in this particular case. There's a sweet, almost milky, taste to these bars. They're nice and soft, too. Very easy and pleasant to chew. 

A lot of the ingredients are pretty obvious: oats, rice, sugar. But there are some surprises as well: fig paste, vanilla chips, and cinnamon. They all come together for a unique flavor that can curb a sweet tooth or a mid-day snack attack without too much indulgence. I was impressed.

$4.69 for six single serving bars is a bit steep in my opinion. But hey, they're organic, kosher, gluten free, and have three grams of fiber in every bar. 

Another product of Canada. You'd think we could produce oatmeal bars here in the states, but Trader Joe has always been international like that. 

Sonia and I will throw out seven and a half stars for Trader Joe's Organic Iced Oatmeal Baked Whole Grain Bar.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Belgian Cookie Collection

First of all, THANK YOU to those who have followed, shared, commented on, and supported this blog for so many years. If you read this blog but haven't checked out our YouTube channel lately, I highly recommend doing so. From 2011 - 2022 we were doing just 4 or 5 video reviews a year for the heck of it. In July of last year, I decided to do a video for just about every single written post. I figured I already had a "script" from each of these blog posts and some visuals in the form of the product photos we were taking for each review anyway, so I began reading the review into a mic and then simply adding some background music and stock photos.

From there, we picked up the frequency of our "live action" video reviews where the beautiful wifey and I sample Trader Joe's food items on camera and have full discussions of those products. Although I still have far to go, I've gotten better at editing. I've worked in some very interesting AI generated songs into certain videos. Sometimes I write the lyrics and let the artificial intelligence do the instrumentation and other times I let the AI write the words, too. Some of the videos are quite watchable but it's difficult to stand out in the sea of quick cut TikTok'ers and young "Trader Joe's Haul" aficionados who've already amassed millions of loyal fans.

If we do the video review first, I generally want there to be a written companion, but doing a traditional blog post essentially doubles my workload—having to shoot and edit a video as well as a written review with still photos. So on one or two occasions, I simply copied the video transcript, cleaned it up a bit, and posted it as the written blog post here. For longer videos such as the one below, posting the transcript isn't really practical, so I'll simply post a few summarizing thoughts and let the video do most of the talking. All that to say that the meat of this review is in the YouTube video only and if you'd like to hear our thoughts, simply click "play." Many thanks to those of you who already watch, like, and subscribe.

TL;DR — Watch our YouTube videos.

Trader Joe's Belgian Cookie Collection in a nutshell: The presentation of this $11 import is stellar. Most of the 90+ cookies are fairly run-of-the-mill shortbread covered in various types of Belgian chocolate. Only 3 or 4 of the twelve varieties really stand out as unique. We'd buy again if we were headed to a big holiday shindig or buying a gift for someone who really loves Belgian sweets. For a cheaper and smaller option of comparable quality, see Trader Joe's Belgian Cookie Trio.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Stollen Crisps

Since I haven't spotted any other beloved German holiday treats such as Lebkuchen or Pfeffernüsse at my local Trader Joe's lately, today we're looking at the Stollen Crisps, which were available last year but eluded our sights in terms of a review.

Always busy this time of year trying to get around to all the seasonal products TJ's has to offer and we never manage to cover everything. But isn't that how life in general goes around the holidays? So much to do and a few things inevitably slip through the cracks. I don't know how you folks with big families do it. Anyhoo, let's get started with the review before we're staring down the barrel of 500 words for a simple looksee at what is essentially a box of fancy crackers.

My biggest problem with this line of "crisps" from TJ's is never the taste.

See: Trader Joe's Strawberry Jalapeño Crisps

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps

and Trader Joe's Fig & Olive Crisps.

They've always been unique and interesting flavors. My problem is the texture—they tend to be overly hard, to the point that they hurt my teeth after just a few bites. This problem can be mitigated by soft spreads, cheeses, and/or dips. Let's see if the stollen are any different.

Honestly, this product seems slightly less rigid than the previous selections mentioned above. Is it just my imagination? Have my teeth been strengthened by that enamel repair toothpaste I've been using? Your guess is as good as mine. They're still crunchy and crispy to a fault, but not quite as extreme by my reckoning.

There's a lovely grape and citrus smell that wafts from the bag after opening. They taste like fruitcake dusted with powdered sugar—like orange and lemon zest underneath raisins and sweet buttermilk bread. It's a very nice flavor indeed. There's a surprising amount of fruit in the crackers. Each piece contains at least four or five cross sections of raisin. That might be one of the reasons this offering seems a tad softer than its predecessors.

They recommend eating these with Brie or Gouda but I'm not really a highbrow cheese guy. If we had some kind of chevre on hand, I'd grab that, but unfortunately it's going to be Philadelphia to the rescue once again. But hey, it works. It's a delicious combination in my humble opinion.

The citrus element really makes this product memorable. Some might say it's too sweet with visible amounts of sugar on the crisps, but hey, it's the holiday season and it's time to celebrate.

$4.29 for the box. Product of Canada. There's something delightfully festive and Christmassy about this item, and I'd definitely buy it again. Sonia and I will go with 8 out of 10 stars for Trader Joe's Stollen Crisps.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chocolate Almond Protein Smoothie

Just a quickie for today. Sonia drank most of this beverage. I just tasted it and noped out pretty quickly.

It's chalky as I suspected it would be. I can also taste the pea protein underneath the chocolate and almond flavors. There's really not a ton of chocolate flavor, to be honest.

It was $3.49 for the 16 oz bottle. Sonia liked that it was filling and full of protein. She'd buy again in a pinch but wouldn't necessarily seek it out. I wouldn't drink it again.

Sonia's score: 6.5 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 4.5 out of 10.