Price: $4.99
Serving: 1/4 cup, 2oz
Servings per package: About 7
Calories: 130 per serving
 Calories from Fat: 90
Fat: 10%, 7g
 Saturated Fat: 14%, 3g
 Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 5%, 14mg
Sodium: 17%, 410mg
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 10%, 30g
Fiber: 7%, 2g
Sugar: 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 10 Points

Trader Joe’s: Fondue? Or fon-don’t? If prep time and the possibility of complicated ingredient pairings are stopping you from enjoying this quintessential continental creation, the answer is a resounding fon-sure!

Trader Joe’s Fondue is a savory blend of Swiss Emmental and Gruyere cheeses that’s just about perfect with baguette slices or fresh fruits & veggies. Really, though, if you’re not in a fondue mood, you can use this easy-to-prepare cheese blend to make au gratin potatoes, souffles, even quesadillas! However you enjoy it, you’ll agree… it’s fon-tastic!

Abi says: Starting with a maximum of five stars and working our way down from there, I have these thoughts for you on fondue:

a) Typing up this review made me hate Trader Joe’s super-long on-the-box product statements. And puns. At first it seems really cute, but after awhile I just think “Come on Trader Joe’s, ‘fon-sure’? Really?” -1

b) Fondue is sort of gross if you think about it too much. It is cheese and booze and spices, heated, then consumed with bread and vegetables. And while sometimes fondue is incredibly appetizing, there are other times where all I can think is ‘this is what it would look like if I ate a bunch of cheese and drank some wine, and then puked.’ -1

c) Cheeeeese. But oh my goodness, I do adore cheese. And this is a way to justify eating cheese for dinner. +1 for Fondue.

d) Cheese is not a sexy dinner. A couple of years ago my partner and I went out for fondue for Valentine’s day and then we saw a movie and then we went home and passed out on the couch. Why? Because once you start eating fondue you cannot stop eating it! It is just dip, that’s all. And really, who can stop eating things that involve dip? Before you know it, you are a significant other are roly-poly from consuming crazy amounts of cheese dip. Unless you are planning on participating in the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling this is not to your benefit. -1 for Fondue.

e) Trader Joe’s is telling the truth about the approximate number of appetizer and/or snack-sized servings in this pouch of fondue. You could heat this up and serve with bread and apples to please 7 people. Or you and your partner could try to eat as much as possible and then have to throw out half a bowl of fondue. Fondue is for friends. +1 for Fondue.

Final result: a four-star rating for fondue.

Ingredients: Swiss, Emmental & Gruyere Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, rennet [ANIMAL]), wine, water, potato starch, kirsch, sodium phosphates, salt, spices

P.S. Doesn’t the box look like the setup involves dipping cheese into fondue? I know, I know, it is supposed to illustrate that the fondue is made out of that sort of cheese, but I had to admit that for a second I thought “Oh my gosh, I hadn’t even considered dipping cheese into fondue. Would that work?”

Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 box, 9oz
Calories: 330 per serving
   Calories from Fat: 190
Fat: 32%, 21g
   Saturated Fat: 39%, 8g
   Trans Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 14%, 40mg
Sodium: 35%, 850mg
Protein: 9g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 25g
Fiber: 6%, 1g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 POINTS

Trader Joe says: Paneer Tikka Masala with Spinach Basmati Rice - Authentic Indian Recipe

Abi says: I love Indian food. I like the rich flavors, the enthusiastic use of seasoning, the way you can eat with your hands using rice and/or naan. I like that there are dishes with cheese and dishes with meat and dishes with neither cheese nor meat.

What I don’t like is that paneer tikka masala doesn’t travel well. Sure, I can throw some leftovers in a plastic container, but the constant fear of a purse full of sauce is a huge deterrent. I’m talking serious fear here. I love my purse. I love paneer tikka masala. I don’t want my purse to get any paneer tikka masala lovin’. What can I say? I am a jealous lady.

You know who else is jealous? Everyone who saw this meal, from my commute buddy to coworkers, people either saw the box and said ‘Wow, that looks really good. I need to start bringing frozen food to work.’ or they endured the amazing aromas of my lunch and said ‘I am going to go get some Indian food now. Also, I hate you Abi for making me spend money instead of eating my sandwich in peace.’*

This meal weighs in at just 9 ounces, but provides such a hearty portion of tikka masala’d paneer that I was worried I wouldn’t have enough rice. The tikka masala is fragrant with spices that must come straight from heaven. The individual cheese cubes are not quite in the same abundance as shown on the box. In fact, the picture on the box is only really a “Serving Suggestion” if the suggestion is “Buy two boxes of the meal and put them on the same plate.”

Alas, I can’t tell you much about the spinach rice. In my enthusiasm to consume this meal I completely forgot to taste it solo. I just mixed everything together into one rather unattractive mass of super-delicious food. So, as a sauce-conveying mechanism, the green rice is awesome. As a stand-alone meal component I’m at a loss.

What I can tell you is that Trader Joe’s knows what they’re doing with this meal. There is exactly enough rice for the paneer and sauce, the flavor of the tikka masala is divine without being overly spicy (I adore spicy, this was medium intensity), and there’s no chance that the meal will end up all over the inside of your purse. Could this meal get any better? Yes, it could include a chocolate lava cake, then it would be perfect.

Bravo, Trader Joe’s!

*Not an actual quote. More like the gist of a quote. Yes, that person did go buy Indian food.

Price: $1.99
Serving: 1/2 package, or ¾ cups
Calories: 250 per serving
Fat: 14%, 9g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 27%, 650mg
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrates: 13%, 38g
Fiber: 0%, >1g
Sugar: 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 POINTS per half box

Trader Ming’s (Joe’s) says: Our green curry meal features a richly flavored green curry sauce made with creamy coconut milk and fragrant spices, then paired with a mix of veggies, including baby corn and mushrooms. Each package contains jasmine rice to complete the meal.

Our Trader Ming’s Rice Boxes are inspired by the exotic flavors found in Thai cuisine. Now you can experience the sweet and spicy flavors of Thailand in just minutes. Just about two minutes in fact.

Maggie says: Oh, Trader Joe’s. Even your copy is funny.

A little background: It’s overstatement to say I have a love-hate relationship with the Trader Ming’s series of trapezoidal-shaped noodles-in-a-box lunches. It’s more that our relationship is “meh”. I was excited when they were first introduced, as I was vegan at the time, and so were the noodle boxes! And they were cheap—well, cheaper than the name-brand version. Kismet! And then, after I consumed several—perhaps dozens—of Trader Ming’s noodle boxes, I was pretty over it. They’re too sweet for me, like much Americanized Thai food. But I when saw this new flavor, I was intrigued again. I love green curry sauce, as a rule, and I even like the Trader Joe’s version of green curry sauce, and so I thought I would give this a shot.

On opening the box and the packages, I was reminded of the huge strides processed food has taken. How can they make packaged rice with just the right flavor and texture? When I can’t even make it that well at home? The green curry sauce, unheated, was less impressive. It was more gray than green and had that funny metallic scent common in packaged sauces. However, as I was mixed up the sauce and the rice, a little sauce got on my spoon—the directions say to use a fork, but I’m a rebel like that—and I licked it, and…hmmm. Tangy. Lemongrassy. This might be excellent, I thought.

And it was — in spite of me boiling the heck out of it. When you heat shelf stable meals, remind yourself: this stuff is already cooked. You are not cooking it, or defrosting it; you are simply heating it so that you will enjoy it more. No need to blast it up to “thermonuclear”.

On to the food: Someone at Trader Joe’s obviously heard my complaints about too sweet Thai food, because this green curry sauce is not too sweet at all. It has a little kick—they weren’t shy on the green chili paste—and the kaffir lime leaves are strongly represented, which is excellent as that is one of my favorite Thai ingredients. The coconut milk gives it a nice depth of flavor. In short, this is real food—it’s as good as anything you’d find in a restaurant. The problem: I gave it three and a half stars (we no longer allow half stars on Heat Eat Review, so I moved this to 4 stars - Ed.) because there are nowhere near enough veggies or sauce, so what I ended up eating was excellently-flavored rice with a few bamboo shoots. And I took this shortage personally, because every sauce-soaked vegetable was so darn tasty.

Update: I’m only moderately full after eating the Trader Joe’s Jasmine Green Curry, but it seems like the somewhat-full feeling will stick around for awhile. That’s the good news. The bad news is, I found a whole chunk of rice at the bottom that hadn’t even been touched by the sauce. Not NEAR enough sauce here, Trader Joe’s!

Price: $4.99
Serving: 1 souffle, 2.6oz
Souffles per package: 2
Calories: 270 per serving
 Calories from Fat: 140
Fat: 25%, 16g
 Saturated Fat: 50%, 10g
 Trans Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 28%, 85mg
Sodium: 3%, 80mg
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrates: 9, 27g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Sugar: 13g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 per souffle

if you need ramekins
if you don’t need ramekins

Trader Joe’s says: Do you dream of baking your own souffles for an elegant snack or dessert? Just don’t think you have the know-how? Trader Joe’s Ready to Bake Chocolate Souffles to the rescue! These fabulous, chocolate-y souffles (already in their own ceramic ramekins) go from freezer to oven without defrosting and are ready to enjoy in 20 minutes. Serve them as is, or for a dessert worth of the finest restaurant, top with freshly whipped cream and/or fresh raspberry puree. Voila! Your dreams have become a reality.

Abi says: These souffles are fantastic. Each one is pillowing and just a bit eggy (in a good way) and has enough fluff and puff to deliver intense chocolate without weighing you down. Also, each souffle is a satisfyingly rich dessert at 270 calories. PER RAMEKIN. Granted, these souffles are also half the size of the unfairly portioned Patrick David frozen chocolate souffles. But they are also more richly chocolatey. And come in classy ramekins, a state that may be a plus or a minus depending on whether or not you need tiny, tiny bowls.

When I first saw these puffy tubs of heaven at Trader Joe’s I thought “Five bucks? That’s a lot for two Trader Joe’s desserts!” Then I realized that the price included approximately 25¢ worth of Chinese ceramics, which inflated to American prices equals a couple of dollars. If you need ramekins, this is an excellent deal as they cost a buck or two each and these ones come with yet-unbaked souffles!

If you don’t need ramekins, you might buy these once just to try them and then never buy them again because unless you’re planning on opening a second-hand china shop, the world has enough ramekins. Sadly, I fall in the later camp. I adored these, but I dread piling up a cupboard full of ramekins just because I happen to enjoy chocolate souffles. Another downside to such a wonderfully elegant and fresh dessert is that these take 22 minutes to bake in a 375 degree oven. That’s a long time when you’re used to the 1 minute chocolate lava cakes.

For those uninitiated into the world of souffles, I’ll let you in on a secret: souffle liquid can be made at almost any time and then refrigerated into ramekined individual servings for later use. Not familiar with how to make souffles? Check out this terrific recipe (with plenty of photos) from Cooking for Engineers.