Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Pumpkin Mania at Trader Joe's

Warning! This post is filled with pictures of delicious pumpkin items that can only be found at Trader Joe's. I really hope you have a Trader Joe's near you or this post may be depressing! (You can go to their website to find a store near you).


I stopped in at Trader Joe's the other day to get another can of their delicious coffee. It's my new favorite brand and a treat for me to walk around the store. While I was there I noticed some pumpkin items were out and the box of Pumpkin O's cereal caught my eye. I bought them to try because I couldn't find anymore Mini Wheat's Pumpkin Spice cereal at my usual stores. Have you tried that yet? Delicious. It's a limited time special cereal.



The cereal turned out to be really good....like Cheerio's on a pumpkin spice kick! And as you can see by the left bottom corner of the box, it's good for you! Only $2.49.

Anyways, my friend Bonnie introduced me to the coffee so I bought the medium roast, the dark roast and the decaf. It is so inexpensive compared to the Starbucks I was buying for $11.99 a bag and the Dunkin' I was buying for $8.99 a bag. Trader Joe's coffee is $4.99 and the decaf is $5.99. Crazy. And you can freshly grind it in the store.


I also picked up a box of their pumpkin cornbread mix ($2.49) because I was going to be making my famous chili. That was really good! Even my son who doesn't like cornbread ate several pieces. It was almost like a sweet bread but with enough cornbread taste to serve with the chili.


I was so impressed with the cereal and cornbread that I wanted to go back and get a few more pumpkin items to try. The store is not far, but not close enough to just run over there, so I made a special trip to have another look.

Wow, did they have a large, eclectic selection! There was pumpkin in things I would never dream of putting it in, like pita chips, and pumpkin in things you'd expect, like bread, muffins and pancakes.

 
 
Let's have a closer look....

Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookie Butter
So tempting!


There's my cornbread mix and below it, Pumpkin Biscotti

 
There were Pumpkin Spice Salted Caramels and Pumpkin Spice Brittle.
 


Pumpkin Greek yogurt!

 
 
I decided on the pumpkin bars ($1.99) and the Pumpkin Spice Coffee k-cups ($4.49).
 


Can you see the name of the bars..... "this pumpkin walks into a bar...."! As soon as I got in the car I opened the box. Wow, was that good! It was a soft, chewy bar with an almost creamy filling of pumpkin and spices. The filling reminded me of a fig cookie that literally sticks to the roof of your mouth and fills the rest of your mouth with texture and gooeyness and lots of goodness. Very satisfying.

This morning I tried the coffee. I have been put off by most drinks with the name Pumpkin Spice in it because I tried one of the aforementioned coffee shop's lattes and I thought it was horrible. What exactly is all the excitement over that about??

Anyways, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice coffee was really good. Just enough subtle taste of pumpkin and spices. It helped make it all so festive drinking it out of my new giant pumpkin orange mug!


This may be weird but when I make coffee with a k-cup I always run it through twice. That way I get a larger cup and the taste is still there. I am not crazy about drinking flavored coffee first thing in the morning so this will be saved for mid-morning coffee with a friend or for guests.

I have my eye on those Pumpkin Biscotti and the Pumpkin Spice Cookie Butter for my next trip to Trader Joe's. If I lived closer, I would be tempted to do my weekly shopping there. They have such unique items and all of the things I have tried are pretty good. It has a fun atmosphere to shop in and they give out free samples.

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? I hope you do so you can try out some of their pumpkin items. If you try something different than I did, please let me know!!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog parties:

Roses of Inspiration
Coffee and Conversation Link Party
What's It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Home and Garden Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Freedom Fridays
Flashback Friday
Best of the Weekend
Pink Saturday

23 comments:

  1. AnnMarie, Now I am wanting some to snack on. Wish I had one of those pumpkin bars. LOL. Love you new orange cup. My daughters and I love pumpkin bread and pumpkin ice cream. Hope you have a great Wednesday. xoxo,Susie

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  2. AnnMarie, wish I had a Trader Joe's near by! The cornbread mix looks delicious--it's definitely pumpkin spice season ;)

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  3. Hi AnnMarie,
    Ok you have convinced me to go to Trader's and get some pumpkin items. I love their pumpkin bread mix. I have not been there in a while and I'll have to visit this weekend.
    Thanks for this cute post on pumpkins times at TJ's.
    Julie xo

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  4. One of the bars would be good about now. No TJ's in my area, but we are suppose to be getting one by the end of next Summer. I am looking forward to a shopping trip there.

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  5. Hello AnnMarie,

    I do love Trader Joe's. They have the best stuff there. Especially fresh flowers and the prices are incredibly reasonable.

    I love their Pita crackers but last week I did buy their Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle mix. The pancakes turned out delicious.

    Have a great week,

    Janet

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  6. LOVE their pumpkin bars...I better get to Trader Joe's tomorrow!!! I would hate to miss all the pumpkin goodies...
    deb

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  7. Wow that sounds like fun. We do have a Trader Joes not too far away but I have never been. I want to go now.

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  8. Hi AnnMarie, I wish Trader Joe's was closer to me. Love this time of year when the stores stock all the pumpkin treats. I did get some pumpkin coffee and it was really good! I better take a trip to TJ.
    Thanks for sharing. cm

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  9. AnnMarie, I love pumpkins, and pumpkin pie, but I feel that maybe we are getting too carried away here. I would try the coffee and the cereal, as well as the bar, but the yogurt...I think Greek yogurt should not be tampered with so much. maybe some garlic to make tzatsiki... I guess I'm a purist at heart. Thank for a walk into Joe's I love that store, but sadly I live verrrry far away...

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  10. This pumpkin walks into a bar....omg, that is hysterical. I want that job...making up the names for food items!! ;) I'll take some pumpkin anything as part of my pay!

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  11. No, I'd never even heard of Trader's Joe and yes I get depressed everytime I see someone's post. I love all of the sights and smells of Fall. These all look yummy.

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  12. NaNa- (from one Nana to another)....LOVE Trader Joe's. Our closest one is almost 2 hours away. My daughter used to live just a few blocks from it so we always went there when she lived in that area. I miss the store-so many GREAT things there.
    That bar sounds delicious. It's good to be back to blogging and visiting again! Have a great day- xo Diana

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  13. You make me smile, sweet friend :) Mmm... You have me craving pumpkin goodies. The pumpkin cornbread sounds delicious!

    Happy October, dear AnnMarie. Hugs!

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  14. We have one less than an hour away, our stores around here have been carrying better ingredient stuff so we haven't been over there in quite some time, but we may be taking a trip soon

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  15. Looks like I need to get to Trader Joe's ASAP! I love pumpkin everything!

    Alexis @ www.chemistrycachet.com

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  16. Great roundup, AnnMarie! There were a couple of things here I haven't seen yet at mine (brittle and cookie dough). A couple of my favorites are the pumpkin butter and the pumpkin pita crisps. Thanks for linking up at Best of the Weekend!

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  17. Oh, you found so many amazing things!! Trader Joe's is one of my most favorite stores...ever! They always have wonderful seasonal items and the best prices! It is one of the stores I looked for first in the Nashville area...wanted to make sure I was going to be able to get my fix!! :-)

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  18. Oh my gosh, pumpkin heaven! lol! Although I am not a huge pumpkin lover, you have to eat at least a little this time of year. I would try the cereal. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  19. YUMMY! The nearest Trader Joe's is about 30 minutes away; that's probably a good thing:-)

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  20. Nope, no TJ in our area. The closets is 150 miles away. When I lived in Columbus, OH I shopped there all the time. Love that store. They should pay you for this post, AnnMarie. You did a great job of promoting the store. I've had the pumpkin spice lattes in the past and they were really good. Maybe your barista didn't know what he/she was doing. Enjoy all your pumpkin goodies! xo ~ Nancy

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  21. Hi AnnMarie! :)
    Thank you so much for visiting my blog yesterday from Benita's blog post! It is so nice to meet some new bloggers!!
    I love Trader Joe's, I love how they sample things in their store so you can try their items. I was in there yesterday and they were sampling the pumpkin spiced coffee and it was amazing! That went into my cart!! The pumpkin salsa and pasta sauce is also amazing...I've begun to hoard a few of those because I know they are only for a limited time!
    Have w wonderful rest of your week!
    Kimberley

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  22. Never met a pumpkin I didn't like….we're getting our first Trader Joe's here in Birmingham. It's supposed to open this month, so you'll have to share your favorites with me! I've never shopped at one before.

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  23. Good Afternoon!
    We have a Trader Joe's and of course after visiting Amanda in Sacramento, I am pretty much Trader Joe's out! LOL- it is a great store and the fresh flowers at such reasonable prices are wonderful. You chose some great pumpkin products and oh their coffee is delicious! We have a local store called Central Market that I am really crazy about-best fresh salmon and best veggies ever.
    Nice to be home and catching up with everyone, you have been very busy!
    xo
    Jemma

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