Snack Break: NEW Trader Joe's Snacks

When I was in college, I believe I referred to myself as a "Trader Joe's Hofessional." I tried to get away with saying that in this video but for some reason we edited it out...different times, I suppose.

Now in 2017, this "Trader Joe's Aficionado" still knows all the TJ's products, produce, dips, frozen goods and so on, but I especially know the snacks. I've snacked my way through more peanut butter-filled pretzels (salted!) than I'd like to admit, lived off Reduced Guilt pita chips and Triple Layer hummus for summers at a time, and even messed with pickle and cheddar bacon popcorns. If Trader Joe's carries it, I'll try it.

I recently made a trip to the Teej and took my sweet time loading up the ol' cart. While I was perusing cherry tomatoes, an elderly man came up to me in his wheelchair, placed a small flower atop the carton in my hands and told me I was an angel and that he'll see me "up there on Angel's Corner." I thanked him, pressed away my tears and carried on shopping for more snacks.

There were three other things that stood out on this particular trip: Caramel Ginger Popcorn, Montezuma's Absolute Black Dark Chocolate and Crispy Crunchy Okra. I needed to try all three.

Watch above for the real-time reactions and keep reading for the snack-by-snack breakdown.

Trader Joe's Caramel Ginger Popcorn: Popcorn-- especially when balanced out with something sweet-- is my all-time favorite snack. So this was already at a bit of an advantage. That said, I also thought it had potential to be disgusting. Could it be too much ginger? Does caramel popcorn really need another element? I really didn't know what to expect. 

The first bite was absolute perfection. It's as though the sweetest pieces of ginger were selected to be paired with the most delightful caramel corn. This isn't a cloyingly sweet, pull-your-teeth-out caramel; it's well balanced, lightly sweet, easy-to-chew caramel popcorn.

Would I buy it again? It's the new "oh I'll just put this in a ramekin on the side of the cheese board" popcorn, and then when the party-goers are gone you grab the rest of the bag. 

Montezuma's Absolute Black Dark Chocolate: I will always want milk chocolate or some other element like dried berries or nuts to be in my dark chocolate, so trying this was a challenge to myself. It gets very chalky, but I will say the flavor is pure dark chocolate. If you love dark chocolate, you will love this.

Would I buy it again? Not for me. 

Trader Joe's Crispy Crunchy Okra: Have you tried Trader Joe's dried broccoli snack? Yeah, it is kind of a disaster, especially for the digestive system. This is placed right next to it on the shelves, and I thought, "Here we go again." 

I'm happy to report the flavor is mild, it's pleasantly crunchy and it's absolutely nothing like its dried broccoli brother. If you're down with okra and you want a kale chip alternative, the dried okra is a fun option.

Would I buy it again? Maybe if I go through a three-day phase of wanting to be gluten free. (This is wont to happen once every several months.) 

What are some of your go-to Trader Joe's snack foods?

Ciao for now,
Kailey