Rating Popular Foods from Trader Joe's

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​If you've been in a Weight Watchers Facebook group or been on WW Connect for five minutes, you'll know that a lot of Weight Watchers members love Trader Joe's. The closest Trader Joe’s to me is about 20-30 minutes away, so usually we just shop at Publix since it’s closer. But I wanted something different, so I decided to try a bunch of Trader Joe’s foods I’ve seen all over Instagram and TikTok and see how they were for myself!

I’ll include the SmartPoints and calories per serving and my rating for each item.
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Sunday: Thai Sweet Chili Veggie Burger and Chicken Chow Mein

We’ll start with the Thai Sweet Chili Veggie Burger since I had this for lunch on Sunday since I was too lazy to make anything. 

This had a really nice flavor! The Thai Sweet Chili flavoring was definitely there but not so strong that I felt it was spicy (and I am weak when it comes to heat in food, ha!). 

It didn’t really need any condiments because the flavor profile was really nice on its own. I had it on an Ole wrap with some lettuce and it made for a really nice wrap! It didn’t get too mushy in the microwave like other veggie burgers I’ve tried, either, which was a nice surprise. 

SmartPoints: 4 per patty 
Calories: 150 
Jessica’s rating: 9/10 

We had the Chicken Chow Mein for dinner - this was something I actually had fairly frequently when I started my Weight Watchers journey and wasn’t super great of a cook yet since it’s super quick and easy. It being low fat means it’s fairly low in SmartPoints. Just be sure to weigh this one when serving. The packaging says that 1/3 of the package is a serving and there are 3 servings per package, but I often find that it's more like 1/2 the package for the amount of grams listed. Score! Only thing I don't like about this is that it's usually pretty heavy on the red pepper, which I don't like. I pick mine out and give it to my husband.
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SmartPoints: 5 SmartPoints per serving
Calories: 210 
Jessica’s rating: 7/10 

Monday: BBQ Chicken Teriyaki with Riced Cauliflower Stir Fry

We paired the BBQ Chicken Teriyaki with the Riced Cauliflower Stir Fry for dinner Monday night and it tasted like takeout! We paired it with the riced cauliflower stir fry, which was also really good but I easily could have made it myself without the oil and saved the SmartPoint. But if you're feeling lazy, its a fantastic option.
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SmartPoints: 1 SmartPoint for a serving of the rice; 4 SmartPoints for 1 cup of the chicken
Calories: 150 for the chicken; 75 calories for 1.5 cups of the rice 
Jessica’s rating: 9/10 for both

Tuesday: Jicama Wraps

This was brought to my attention from Blogilates. We ended up throwing the jicama wraps on the stovetop to heat them up until they were lightly browned and softer and it made for a really nice wrap. They were small, so it was actually nice having multiple mini tacos instead of just one big one for two reasons:

1. I am a chronic over-stuffer. I never learn my lesson. My Ole wraps never stood a chance.
2. It helped me slow down a bit and feel like I was eating more since visually, I was eating more tacos even if the filling amounts were the same.​

​SmartPoints: None! This is a Zero SmartPoint food.
Calories: 30 calories for 85 g 
Jessica’s rating: 10/10

Wednesday: Sprouted Wheat 7-Grain Bread and Pumpkin Butter ​

Mixing it up today with a breakfast option (since dinner is just fish and sweet potato tonight, nothing fancy)! After my workout this morning, all I wanted were eggs and toast. I tried the Organic Sprouted Wheat 7-Grain Toast that I’ve seen a lot of people say they love (2 SmartPoints and 80 calories per slice) and I can see why - this bread has a lovely texture and crunch when toasted, especially the crust. The flavor profile of this bread is pretty good on its own, too. It probably makes for a great sandwich option.

I topped each slice with half a tablespoon of the seasonal Pumpkin Butter (2 SP per tbsp) and a little bit of pumpkin pie spice and you guys, this was the most decadent toast I’ve ever had. So good.

Total SmartPoints: 6 (+ the eggs if you’re on myWW Green) for the combo
Total calories (excluding eggs): 200 
Jessica’s rating: 10/10 for both the bread and pumpkin butter

​Thursday: Cauliflower Gnocchi 

I've seen this cauliflower gnocchi all over Instagram so I had to grab a few bags to try - especially since I'm a huge gnocchi fan. This cauliflower gnocchi totally lived up to the hype! It was super tasty, not too heavy but still had that lovely texture that you get from real gnocchi. Though, now Anthony and I are in a debate over if this is classified as a veggie tot or a pasta. I say pasta, he insists they're technically tots. Either way, they're delish. 

SmartPoints: 4 for 1 cup of gnocchi 
Calories: 140 per cup 
Jessica’s rating: 9/10 

Friday: Chicken Cilantro Wontons 

I love these and have since I started my Weight Watchers journey back in 2015. They’re small so perfect to use as either a side dish or to make part of a larger meal like I did Friday night. I whipped up a soup in my Instant Pot and let it slow cook for a few hours, and then for the last thirty minutes I added in the wontons (from frozen - they’re little so do not take long at all to thoroughly cook). 

Dinner was fantastic. My only wish with these wontons would be to have the flavor profile be a bit stronger - the chicken cilantro flavor is there but it's very mild. However, that mildness lets these wontons be really versatile in what kind of cuisine you decide to make them with. 

SmartPoints: 1 SmartPoint for 4 pieces
Calories: 50 calories for 4 pieces
Jessica’s rating: 9/10

Saturday: Mahi Burgers 

The mahi burgers are pretty good, with a minimal fishy taste to them and are super easy to slap on a George Foreman grill. However, these are pretty small. This is another instance of weighing and measuring before you log it into your fitness tracker, because when I had this for dinner on Saturday and then lunch on Sunday, both of my patties were only about 2 ounces once they were cooked. 

SmartPoints: 2 SmartPoints for 3.2 oz
Calories: 140 for 3.2 oz
Jessica’s rating: 6.5/10

Other Trader Joe’s foods I tried this week:

Turkey Corn Dogs
​My husband loves these so we always stock up on a few boxes whenever we go to Trader Joe’s. These are super easy to make since you just microwave them so they make for a pretty good option if you’re craving some carnival-style comfort food. 

SmartPoints: 5 each 
Calories: 150 each 
Jessica’s rating: 7/10

Chocolate Hummus & Original Savory Thin Crackers 
This hummus was just okay, in my opinion. When paired with crackers or fruit, I thought that the flavor was kind of bland and I wish the chocolate profile was a bit stronger. However, I’ve found this to be an excellent option when blending into nonfat plain Greek yogurt; a tablespoon of that and a stevia added into the mix really makes for a good chocolate yogurt. 

The Original Savory Thin Crackers were something I saw a lot of Weight Watchers members hype up as a wonderful cracker option, but it was just your standard rice cracker and the SmartPoints value was pretty standard. It was fine, just didn't live up to the hype!

SmartPoints: 4 SmartPoints for 30 g crackers; 1 SmartPoint per tbsp hummus 
Calories: 130 for 30 g of crackers; 25 calories for 1 tbsp hummus
Jessica’s rating: 6/10 for both

Chocolate Peanut Butter Light Ice Cream
I'll talk first about the light ice cream. This is Trader Joe's competitor to Halo Top, Enlightened, etc., and it comes in this flavor and cookies and cream. 

It was alright. I thought compared to other ice creams, it was kind of chalky. I don't think any of the Halo Top type ice creams are particularly good (though Chilly Cow was fantastic, but I can't find it at my local stores anymore). If you pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds, it helps not only make it soft enough to scoop but helps with the chalkiness a little bit. I added some Choc Zero syrup and that masked it, too. I'm not sure if it was from the peanut butter in the ice cream, so I'd be curious to see if that chalkiness is present in the cookies and cream flavor, too (and if I just had a weird batch, please let me know in the comments, ha!).

SmartPoints: 3 SmartPoints for 0.5 cup
Calories: 90 calories for 0.5 cup
Jessica’s rating: 5/10

Non-Dairy Oat Frozen Dessert, Strawberry with Almond Brittle & Candied Strawberries 
This ice cream was brought to my attention by Blogilates when she raved about how creamy it was in a TikTok. I’m trying to reduce my intake of animal products, so figured I’d give this ice cream a try regardless of the SmartPoints. 

Casey was not lying - this ice cream was incredibly creamy. You would never know that this was a vegan alternative if you went into this blind. The almond brittle and candied strawberries gave this a really nice touch, too. ​

SmartPoints: 9 SmartPoints for 0.5 cup
Calories: 195 calories for 0.5 cup
Jessica’s rating: 100/10 (no, that is not a typo)

Have you tried any of these foods from Trader Joe's or have any other favorites that weren't mentioned? Let me know in the comments!
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