Trader Joe’s–New Gluten-Free Products

I try to only go to Trader Joe’s once or twice a month.  While I love the store, my wallet doesn’t like it as much as I do, so I try to keep my visits to a minimum.    By making once or twice a month trips, I learn to plan better and I always feel like there is something new when I go.  Today was no different.  I have already dug into 2 of the products, so I will share my thoughts with you on those now.

Steamed Lentils

I think I tend to forget about lentils during the warmer months and depend on them strictly in the fall & winter.  One of my favorite comfort dishes is Honey Baked Lentils, though it is a little time consuming to make.  It can be done with good planning, something I strive to do more of.  I found a package of steamed lentils as I was heading to the back of the store to check out the samples.  I thought they would be great to try for salads or to mix in with quinoa or make veggie burgers.  The package (serves 5) was under $3.00.

The lentils are on the gluten-free list, but don’t have the “G” symbol on the box.  Each 1/2 cup serving is 120 calories, has 0g fat, 8g fiber and 9g protein.  The ingredients are simply: lentils, salt & natural flavor.  For lunch today I tossed these on top of a spinach salad and topped with a drizzle of French dressing.  I am thinking of making a new veggie burger recipe with the remainder by adding quinoa & spices.   If that turns out well, I will make sure to share.

Fig Butter

While the lentils may have been around Trader Joe’s for a while, the fig butter has not.  I stalk the nut butter, fruit butter & preserves aisle on a regular basis just in case there are any leftover pumpkin butter jars waiting to go to a good home.  The fig butter was sitting there with a “I’m New” sign.  Who was I to let leave it there?  Of course I grabbed it and tossed it into the cart.  As I was driving home I was lamenting the fact that I would have to wait until tomorrow to try the fig butter for breakfast, when I decided that I would have a bagel with lunch today!  To go along side of my spinach salad with steamed lentils, I toasted an Udi’s gluten-free bagel and topped it with a schmear of cream cheese & fig butter.  Oh, WOW!  This was an amazing combination and one I can see repeating tomorrow morning and many days thereafter.

The fig butter has only a few ingredients too:  figs, water, sugar, lemon juice concentrate & pectin.  The blurb on the side of the jar suggests the fig butter as a spread on toast or cheese.  It went very well together with cream cheese, but I can also see using this as a spread on the Ener-G crackers I mentioned the other day or as a mix-in for oatmeal!

The other 2 “new” items I picked up that I haven’t had the chance to sample yet:  Coconut milk (unsweetened – to drink or use in coffee or cereal) and South African Smoke Seasoning Blend.  I will make sure to share my thoughts once I give these products a try.

Have you tried any of the Trader Joe’s products that I mentioned above?  If so, which ones and what did you think?