Recently, Trader Joe’s added another kind of chicken to their fresh meat selection – this time marinated in curry. We have enjoyed these curry chicken tenders twice now – they come out moist and full of flavor. We’ve eaten them with whole wheat cous cous (threw in some raisins), and simply with some vegetables. I typically eat them with a bit of the chutney you can get from TJs. Highly recommended.
February 23rd, 2008
Garlic ginger marinade from Primo Gourmet
We first tried this sauce after finding it at the Burlingame street fair (or something – those things with all the tables of art and stuff). We used it as a dipping sauce for Trader Joe Lemongrass Chicken Stix, Chicken Egg Rolls, and fresh vegetables. It is fabulous for that purpose – slightly spicy, a slight hint of… vinegar like sourness. We both absolutely love this sauce! Nothing has come close for dipping. Even better, the nutritionals are good – 0% on the fat, sodium, and carb, and only 1 g of sugar per serving.
We ended up getting several bottles from their store online – arrived quick and wrapped in a lot of bubblewrap (bonus!)
Online: http://www.primosgourmetfood.com/GARLIC+GINGER+MARINADE+12oz.html
Or wait until they come to your area: http://www.primosgourmetfood.com/eventschedule.asp
Oh yeah, and the Thai Peanut sauce of theirs is my husbands favorite: http://www.primosgourmetfood.com/THAI+PEANUT+SAUCE+12oz.html
November 26th, 2007
Trader Joe’s Greek Style Nonfat Yogurt… in honey, blueberry, or pomegranate
I just found the best flavored non-fat, fat-free yogurt EVER (edging out Brown Cow’s fat free Vanilla for top place in me books). It’s at Trader Joe’s, and it’s greek style. It’s like their 0% Face yogurt (plain fat free greek style), but flavored. It’s thick and simply amazing – you have to try it. Comes in Honey, Blueberry, and Pomegranate in the individual size cups – 120 calories each (not bad!).
The Blueberry is my favorite, but only by a bit — all three flavors are delicious. The Honey is particularly great with stuff mixed in (like granola and/or berries). God bless Trader Joes (again!) — now just don’t go discontinuing this fabulous yogurt!
October 8th, 2007
Brown Cow brand non-fat yogurt – specifically, vanilla
A few weeks ago at the Burlingame street fair I was enlightened to the best darn yogurt I’ve ever tasted – vanilla non-fat yogurt from Brown Cow. It’s different in that it has the most amazing texture of a non-fat yogurt — it’s stringy it’s so creamy. Simply amazing texture. Plus, it has enough flavor to carry itself on it’s own, without the aid of some fruit (although, it tastes even better with fruit!)
Anyway, I really recommend trying this out. Note though that only two of the non-fat yogurts I’ve tried have this particular texture – vanilla and lemon (both are good, vanilla is better). I’ve also tried the non-fat chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, and apricot mango and all of those don’t have the same stringy/creamy texture. They’re good, but not great. I’d rather have my regular non-fat Yoplait “thick and creamy” style (which has fewer calories to boot).
But rock on Brown Cow – your non-fat vanilla is seriously my favorite yogurt going!
I’ve found this stuff at Rainbow Grocery, Whole Foods (new one in Potrero Hill has large and small containers), and Draegers (Safeway carries Brown Cow too, but not this flavor… or any non-fat variety for that matter).
September 7th, 2007
Dr. Praeger’s Sweet Potato Pancakes
We found these really delicious sweet potato pancakes (more like a patty) in the frozen section of Rainbow Grocery (Folsom St, San Francisco). And they are absolutely fabulous, especially with a bit of fat-free sour cream on the side.
A tip – cook them for a bit longer than the instructions until they’re slightly browned (for us, about 10 or 11 minutes per side).
We also tried the Dr.Praeger spinach pancakes as well – they’re not good, neither of us liked them. I didn’t even finish mine, but the husband finished mine and is in fact cooking another one right now. But they weren’t too popular – not nearly as good as the sweet potato ones.
Update: We tried the Brocolli pancakes – they’re quite good (not as good as the sweet potato ones – but close). We’d definitely get them again.
August 25th, 2007
Promise Activ Supershots
I’ve never been a fan of the “watery” yogurt – the kind that comes in drink form. I’ve always been a fan of the thick yogurts that are… not runny. However, I decided to give these Promise SuperShots a try when I saw them arrive at Safeway – we use the Promise fat-free spread as a margarine substitute for some time now (sometimes – we do prefer Benecol but it’s so expensive so we usually get both…), and I like to get as many plant sterols into my diet to try and reduce cholesterol.
I was shocked to find out how great these things taste – they are very flavorful. We’ve tried Raspberry, Peach, and Strawberry. Raspberry and Peach were great, Strawberry wasn’t nearly as good. The flavor is the main thing – it’s a nice strong flavor, and the drink is very nice and smooth (a milky consistency), so it’s not offputting. If it was thicker I think I might not enjoy it – but because the consistency is nice and thin it’s more of a drink than a “drinkable yogurt”.
They are a bit pricey (almost $5 for 4 of them), but that could be Safeway.
Info/nutritionals: Promise web site
July 27th, 2007
Al Fez spices (stir fry paste)
We found these Al Fez spices and cous-cous mixes at Cost Plus and tried a few varieties. Their seasonings are generally low sodium and very low fat. A couple misses (such as their tabloue, which was disgusting), but a big hit was found with the lemon tagine stir-fry paste. You mix the stuff in with chicken (we did plain chicken breast on a non-stick frypan) – and the result was amazingly moist and flavorful chicken that we ate with some cous-cous and vegetables. I could believe how great this chicken was – it actually tasted like something you’d get at a restaurant. And this is from next to no work, and for a very low cost (paste is cheap, and you only use a small amount).
Anyway, I was extremely impressed. Unfortunately I didn’t find the paste at our closest Cost Plus on my last visit, but I’m hoping they get it in – they still carry this brand.
June 29th, 2007
Desert Pepper Trading Company salsa’s
Desert Pepper makes the best salsa’s, and luckily they’re also pretty easy to find. The best flavor, I think, is the Corn Black Bean flavor – it’s not very spicy, but still really delicious. It’s great on some Light Tostitos (you know, the ones with the fake fat…). Peach Mango is also quite good, and the pinto bean one is really good (but honestly, Trader Joe’s Spicy Black Bean dip is just as good – perhaps better with that slight vinegary flavor – and cheaper). Naturally, the salsa’s listed above are all fat free.
Anyway, I have found these salsa’s in a bunch of places, including Whole Foods (every location I’ve been to), and Cost Plus of all places. You can also get it from Amazon.com.