Trader Joe's Contemplates Inner Peas (pea flavored crisps)

If you've ever tried Snapea Crisps, these are very similar. Which is fine, because Snapea Crisps are pretty damn tasty. The main difference is that these, having been made for the Trader Joe's label, do not contain GMOs.*

Inner Peas are a crunchy snack made from dried peas, rice flour, and cornmeal, in an elongated shape resembling a pea pod. As far as the texture, they're somewhere between crunchy and puffy Cheetos. Great for dipping, and they go well with hummus. Or, like me, you can just munch on them by the handful, straight out of the bag. They're good for satisfying a craving for an salty, slightly oily snack and are a fun alternative to potato chips.

For a snack food, they're not bad nutrition-wise. 130 calories per generous serving (about 24 crisps) and 6 grams of fat (only 1 gram is saturated fat). You'll have to look elsewhere for your daily fiber and protein, though, because these have only one gram of each.

I paid $1.29 for a 3.3 oz package, which is about three servings.

Oddly, the package is not marked as vegan, although I don't see any animal ingredients. There's also a kosher dairy symbol on the front. Strange...

Protein source: Peas
Allergens: Corn, peas

* ETA 11/2013: I am no longer confident that Trader Joe's private label brand is GMO-free as their website would have you believe -- as a result, I choose to no longer eat their non-organic products. Do your own research, decide for yourself, vote with your grocery shopping dollars, and eat at your own risk.

TJ's Vanilla-flavored Coconut Milk Non-Dairy Beverage

I'm still trying to find a milk alternative I really like. My criteria for the perfect milk alternative are: it has to taste good alone, mixed with hot coffee, and on cereal. Ideally, it will also be a good source of protein and calcium, and low in fat and sugar. As you may know if you've been following along my quest, I've tried and reviewed soy, almond, rice, and hemp milks. I've also tried oat and hazelnut milks. While none of these were *terrible* and many had notably good qualities, none quite met all of my criteria, either. So... I'd been wanting to try a coconut milk for a while, preferably vanilla flavored, but it's still not super widely available in stores. This is another product I really wanted to like.

Appearance: It's really bright white - whiter than dairy milk. As you pour, it seems like a similar consistency to dairy milk.

Taste: Wow. This stuff is weird. The flavors are really strong and really separate. I was hoping for a harmoniously blended, creamy vanilla-coconut flavor. Instead, I got: Vanilla. Sugar. Coconut. Chalk. I tried it on my corn-based cereal this morning, which has a pretty distinct flavor, but the coconut milk's flavor was so overpowering that I couldn't taste the cereal. I had to dilute it with some dairy milk just to be able to finish it. If the weird flavors hadn't been so strong, it might have been tolerable.

Mouth-feel: This was just as weird and disconcerting as the flavor. It was simultaneously watery and creamy.

Nutrition: 90 calories, 5 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 7 g sugar, and 100 mg (about 10% RDA) calcium per 8 ounce serving. I'm not super impressed by those numbers. They've also added vitamins A, D, & B-12; folic acid; magnesium; selenium; iron; and zinc -- all of which are nice.

Overall: Really disappointing. I've tried a few frozen coconut milk desserts and vanilla coconut yogurt and really liked them, so I am very surprised by this. I really don't like giving bad reviews to any vegetarian product, but I don't recommend this one. I thought it was pretty awful. Maybe there's a better brand out there? I hope...?

Allergens: Coconut, "natural flavors"
Ingredients of concern: Carrageenan, "natural flavors"
Vegan

Trader Joe's adventure

I enjoy shopping at Trader Joe's -- there's such an interesting selection of natural, organic, and vegetarian/vegan foods that you can't find elsewhere, and always so many new things I want to try. Unfortunately though, the nearest store is about a half hour from where I live, so I don't get to go there too often. I really wish they'd build a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in my town instead of a third Wal*Mart (and I really wish I was joking about that third Wal*Mart).

I happened to be in the next city yesterday and needed to pick up a few groceries, so I decided to drive a few extra miles out and hit the TJ's. My approach to grocery shopping depends on my mood and need. Sometimes I'll walk into a store with a list in hand and try to be out ASAP; other times, like yesterday, I'll wander aimlessly, slowly surveying the shelves, waiting for interesting new things to jump out at me. I had a few vague ideas about what I wanted to find: some fake meat staples, some healthy snacks, actual fresh fruit or veg, a new milk alternative to try, and whatever else struck my fancy. I walked out of the store with a lot more than I'd planned, yet had to leave a lot of things on the shelves that were really calling to me.

Some of the things I picked up:
* TJ's Vanilla flavored coconut milk beverage
* TJ's Meatless Meatballs
* TJ's Chickenless Crispy Tenders (which appear to be Gardein in disguise)
* TJ's Contemplates Inner Peas (a "Snapea Crisps"-like crunchy pea snack)
* TJ's organic vegetarian chili
* TJ's Short Stack Syrup (a butter-pecan flavored pancake syrup without high fructose corn syrup)
* TJ's organic sprouted tofu twin pack
* Some red pears and yellow potatoes

I've already had a chance to try a couple of these, and will write up the reviews in separate posts. The rest I'll try to comment on as I get around to them.