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Trader Joe’s Happy Trekking Trail Mix

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Trader Joe's Happy Trekking Trail Mix

Trader Joe's Happy Trekking Trail Mix

Another great product discovered in the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, May 2010. To view The Fearless Flyer online, go to Traderjoes.com. You will see the information right on the home page.

Ahhh trail mix…. Nutty and sweet and salty all in one bite!  Here is a new to us product that we discovered as a result of the Frequent Flyer, Trader Joe’s Happy Trekking Trail Mix.

This is one of those snacks (trail mix) that we really love, that are full of energy and lots of flavors in each bite.  There are some mixtures that are better than others – like when chocolate is included- but for the most part they are all good.

This Happy Trekking Trail Mix is one of those good mixtures. There are only 6 ingredients and they work well together. Each bit includes plenty of crunch (nuts) chewy (dried fruits) Sweet (ohh dark chocolate) all together in each bite. WOW!

The ingredients are:

  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Pistachios
  • Chocolate Chips (semi-sweet YEAH!)
  • Dried Cranberries
  • Dried Cherries

We thought this was a great mixture and those cherries and cranberries were really tasty with the chocolate and the nuts.

Happy Trekking Trail Mix

Happy Trekking Trail Mix

In fact, this mixture is soo good that you can even add a few more nuts to the mix and it still tastes great. We added a few of the salted ballpark peanuts to the last few handfuls of this mix – just to stretch it out… as we ate it way too fast!

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Hurrah– This product Gluten Free!

Trader Joe’s Manchego Cheese

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Trader Joe's Manchego Cheese

Trader Joe's Manchego Cheese

Another great product discovered in the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, May 2010. To view The Fearless Flyer online, go to Traderjoes.com. You will see the information right on the home page.

We actually re- discovered this cheese by flipping through the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer. We both love Tapas, those little bits or snacks typical to a Spanish bar or restaurant. We have enjoyed many different kinds of cheeses that are served for Tapas- and really did not know their names. This cheese is fairly distinctive, as it is dry-firm and has a distinctive dark rind.

So we read about this nutty, sharp tangy cheese from Spain, and thought OK sounds fantastic, right? So we had to laugh when we arrived at Trader Joe’s to discover that we already knew about the cheese, just not by the official name. HA!

So anyway this is a great cheese. It is firm and nutty and kinda crumbles when you cut it into thin slices. It makes a great cheese to go on a cheese tray maybe with a soft, ripe pear and some crackers.

According to the Fearless Flyer, this is a sheep’s milk cheese (hey news to us) and has been make in Spain for hundreds of years- Even mentioned in Don Quixote! (OK, yes I am curious now, and will have to seek out the book to check).

Another source for all things food, The Food Lover’s Companion,   mentions that this cheese melts easily. Then this got me thinking about a fantastic cheese sauce or even a yummy macaroni and cheese- Spanish Style. Hmmmm….  Maybe I will need to switch up some menus this week to sneak in a potato-cheese –thingy… What do you think??

If you enjoyed this post, please pass it along to a friend with Twitter. Also please take a minute to leave us a comment below. Even if you just want to say hello, we just love to hear from all of you!

Blog 30 Challenge

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This summer the month of June is going to be very special here at Living Trader Joe’s!

We decided to join the Blog 30 Challenge hosted by Dr. Jeanette Cates that runs the full 30 days of June. You can view more about her at her blog at www.jeanettecates.com. This is a challenge for bloggers to pledge to write 30 blog posts in 30 days. Jeanettes’ blog helps folks get online and stay organized.

We participated in another “Blog 30 Challenge” in April/May hosted by Connie Regan Green. Her blog is here at: http://conniegreen.com/ Connie’s blog is all about how to be a better blogger, and marketer, and thus communicate better with you, my loyal readers. As Delaina and I are both new to blogging, we were hoping to get some cool tips, and tricks to navigating all this technology from both of these smart, successful women. And boy have we learned a lot!

You might have noticed an increase in our postings in April and May. Well, we have the Blog 30 Challenge to blame, or rather thank for all that. By committing to writing a blog post each day, we found that I went through a number of emotions. These started out as fear (as in what the heck will we say today) to a kind of excitement as we prepared information to share with you all.

This time around, we are getting organized a bit earlier and planning some fun new stuff and even add some new categories to the blog. Mostly to answer questions that we have received when we tell people what we are doing/ eating. These new categories include:

  • Raw foods
  • Wheat free (products and recipes)
  • Vita Mix Blender! (Unbelievably good smoothies and more!)

All three of these new categories will not be hard to write for, as we will simply be sharing what new items we are shopping for/ eating and having fun with (crazy good smoothie concoctions) this summer here in Tucson at our local Trader Joe’s store.

As long as we are talking about additions and changes to the blog- we would LOVE to hear what categories you enjoy reading and which new ones you would like us to add.  So please drop us a note and let us know what we can do for you today.

Here’s to a wonderful summer,
Cheers!

Kris & Delaina

Trader Joe’s Fettuccine Alfredo

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Trader Joe's Fettuccine Alfredo

Trader Joe's Fettuccine Alfredo

Here is one of our secrets to dinner-on-the-table FAST success!

You know when you have having one of those busy days… The kind where you feel as if you have rushed around all day without a minute to just stop and think?  And then on the way home you think to yourself ,  a bowl of cereal is an OK dinner, right?

Well, cereal be gone! Here is the perfect answer to that troublesome dinner question after a long and busy day:

Trader Joe’s Fettuccine Alfredo.

We like to have one package of these noodles tucked away in the freezer to save us from the “cereal dinner”. This is quick and easy to heat up and it is also tasty by its self, or when you add some “extras” to it.  We like to think of it as Italian comfort food – a bowl of noodles in a creamy Alfredo sauce….. yummz!

When we say it is easy to prepare, the package contains frozen noodles and sauce “chunks” that you just heat up gently on the stove, or microwave, and Ta Da! Dinner is served in about 10 minutes.

Trader Joe's Fettuccine Alfredo - Ready to heat up

Trader Joe's Fettuccine Alfredo - Ready to heat up

Now we like the “comfort food” style of this dish of creamy noodles and sauce, but you can also think of it as a base to jazz up with a variety of other items.

Suggestions:

  • Leftover cooked veggies (we have used broccoli and peas)
  • Cooked shrimp or cooked flaked fish of any type
  • Sun-dried tomatoes  (in oil, sliced thin)
  • Mushrooms
  • Diced chicken

Use your imagination and check your fridge for ideas. You will be surprised at all the different and delicious meals you will be  able to create starting with Trader Joe’s Fettuccine Alfredo as a base.

Have you tried this product?

If you enjoyed this post, please take a minute to leave us a comment below. Even if you just want to say hello, we just love to hear from all of you!