This month, we share our favorite five carbs from Trader Joe’s — in case you’re also eating your feelings.
By Amanda Holliday and Becky Bowman
The end of summer 2021 has been stressful. From back-to-school prep with COVID worries to the avalanche of awful news from all corners (including actual avalanches), from oak mites to record heat — the last few months have given us plenty of reasons to hide inside our homes.
So it seems a fitting time to debut a new DC Area Moms feature: The Carb Report, a semi-frequent two-voice review of our favorite carb-a-licious foods. Listen, if we’re all going to gain weight while we’re stuck in our homes, it might as well be a delicious experience, right?
With each edition, we’ll review five carb-a-licious options for your at-home dining and snacking. Your faithful reviewers — Amanda and Becky — will provide sometimes opposing and sometimes harmonious takes on the items.
We’re kicking off our reviews in a place near and dear to our hearts: Trader Joe’s. This palace of consumable carbs hardly needs an introduction, with plenty of locations throughout the DMV — so we’ll get right to the content.
The Carb Ratings
👍 = You’re a good carb, mate.
🤷♀️ = Meh.
👎 = Sorry, not worth the calories.
The Carb Products
Organic Garlic Naan Crackers ($2.99 for 10-oz box)
AH: Fun fact about us: These crackers are one of the reasons Becky and I bonded so quickly after we met. The idea for this blog post was born from us talking long into the night about our favorite snacks and treats when, all of a sudden, she changed my world by telling me about these crackers. I have no idea how I made it this long without knowing about them, but now they are a household staple. 👍
BB: Happy to have been of assistance! These crackers have carried me through the pandemic. I was long a fan of Trader Joe’s frozen garlic naans — but these crackers take the (savory) cake. And they remain a favorite even though I’ve had to cut back to avoid garlic-induced heartburn (whoops). 👍
Chocolate Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s Sandwich Cookies ($2.99 for 8 cookies)
AH: You know that snack that you have to hide from the kids just so they don’t devour every last crumb? The one you need to bury in the cabinet behind plastic containers without lids and old lunch boxes just to break them out in a rare moment of silence? That is where my cookies are hiding! Trader Joe’s must have known that magical combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a mama’s happy place after a long day. 👍
BB: I mean, how could you possibly go wrong here? It’s the normal goodness of a TJ’s Joe-Joe’s sandwich cookie (which come with all the deliciousness of a big-brand cookie but none of the high-fructose corn syrup), plus peanut butter! To me, the only drawback is the 130-per-cookie calorie count. But they’re fairly satisfying as a mid-morning coffee accompaniment, so I’ll take it. 👍
NOTE: Ingredients include 🥜 peanut butter. Please handle accordingly.
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups ($4.49 for 16-oz tub)
AH: Remember that scene from the movie Matilda where the horrid principal Mrs. Trunchbull eats the chocolates while saying, “Much too good for children?” I’m not going to lie, I feel that way about these peanut butter cups. The dark chocolate takes this peanut butter-chocolate combination to a new level of deliciousness that I just don’t want to share with my tiny person. 👍
BB: I was visiting a Northern California winery in 2013, and the tasting room served small dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Our party of wine-tasters oohed and awed over the PB cups and how delicious they were, so the server leaned in to share his secret: They were Trader Joe’s PB cups, topped with a sprinkle of sea salt. Consider that a “serving suggestion.” You’re welcome. 👍
NOTE: Ingredients include 🥜 peanut butter. Please handle accordingly.
TJ’s Cookie Butter Spread ($3.69 for 14-oz jar)
AH: This was the carb that started it all with Trader Joe’s for me: Cookie butter! Ground up speculoos (think gingerbread-type spice cookies) until creamy makes this treat spreadable like nut butter on bread — or tasty enough to eat right off the spoon. 👍
BB: I will probably be voted out of Trader Joe’s fandom forever for saying this, but I am not under the speculoos spell. (Probably better for my wallet, honestly, that I don’t love absolutely everything at TJ’s.) I don’t mind a spice cookie once in a while, in original form — but the ground-up notion just strikes me as strange. 🤷♀️
Dark Chocolate Covered Honey Grahams with Sea Salt ($3.99 for 8-oz bag)
AH: I can’t tell if it is the comfort of honey graham crackers or the feeling of a hug that dark chocolate and sea salt can give, but these snacks are amazing all around. Just a few of these are enough to satisfy a sweet craving, although it will be hard to stop! 👍
BB: Wow where have these been? How did I miss them? I’m a sucker for sea salt, and the grahams in the middle make these a bit more filling than a sea-salt caramel. Happy to add them to the rotation. 👍
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p.s. Got a favorite carb we should review? Tell us in the comments below or drop us a note! We love trying new carbs.
