Fall Harvest at Trader Joe’s

It’s almost Fall, and Trader Joe’s is already unleashing seasonal items in stores across America. If you take a peak at the Trader Joe’s Instagram Feed, you’ll see some of their delicious new products. We took to the aisles and bought some of our favorites and wanted to share them with you. Check out our latest video featuring:

• Pumpkin Pie Perfect Bars
• Grain and Seed Batard
• Halloween House Decorating Kits
• Harvest Alfredo Sauce
• Apple Cider Donuts
• A Great $5 White Wine
• (And, of course…) Pumpkins and Pumpkin Spice

We also make a delicious pizza out of the Harvest Alfredo Sauce using Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Broccolini, Pancetta, Mushrooms and Fresh Mozzarella Cheese. You can check out that recipe HERE.

What’s your favorite fall treat from Trader Joe’s??

Advertisement

Honey Raisin Oat Bran Muffins

 

I love me a good Bran Muffin.

…and we’re not talking the healthy kind! The more the honey and sugar to disguise the bran, the better. It’s for this reason, my bran muffin consumption usually falls in the “special occasion” category.

BUT WHAT IF I WANT THEM ALL THE TIME?!?!

That’s where this recipe comes in. I found a Mimi’s copy-cat recipe on the internet, and made many tweaks to get the nutritional profile to a range that I would feel comfortable with calling this “breakfast” as opposed to “dessert.”

Some of the changes included swapping the regular flour for my favorite 100% White Whole Wheat Flour, swapping out the oil for a mix of melted butter and mashed banana, and drastically changed the glaze entirely (that one was painful).  I also added some extra flavor in the form of vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice.

Is it nearly as decadent as I am use to? No. But is it a whole lot healthier and tasty enough for me to enjoy? Absolutely.

This would pair really nicely with Vanilla Greek Yogurt and Berries for breakfast…and Coffee…Of course.

• Servings: 12
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup Oat bran
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 3/4 cup Buttermilk (or milk + 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Tbsp Melted Butter
• 1/2 Mashed Banana
• 1/3 cup Chopped Raisins
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 1 Egg
• Glaze:
  • 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
  • 2 Tbsp Honey
  • 1 Tbsp Hot Water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix first five ingredients (the dry ingredients)
• In a separate bowl, combine the next seven ingredients (the wet ingredients).
• Create a well in the dry ingredients, and mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just incorporated (don’t overwork this).
• Grease muffin tin (I use the coconut oil spray), and place ~ 1 Tbsp of batter into each section. Should be 1/2-3/4 full.
• Bake for ~ 20  minutes. While muffins are baking, whisk together all glaze ingredients in a separate bowl
• Remove while warm and place on a plate. Cover with glaze (about 1/2 tbsp per muffin). Glaze will fall down the top of the muffin and gather at the bottom of the muffin.
• Best when consumed immediately and piping hot!

Pumpkin French Toast

The other day, I walked into Trader Joe’s, and for the first time, I felt a little intimidated by the amount of pumpkin items on the shelves. I am a lover of all things pumpkin (well… most things pumpkin) and even I almost thought “they have gone overboard,” but something inside me just couldn’t mutter those words.

Seriously, I love fall: Halloween, Thanksgiving, shopping, crisp and cool air, apple cider, school starting and tourists leaving. The flavor of ‘pumpkin’ just really helps me feel like fall has arrived. Call it ritualistic if you will.

My Pumpkin Stash

I started with the Pumpkin PopTarts Organic Frosted Toasted Pasteries. They were amazing, but were admittedly an impromptu purchase that should have never ended up in my basket, and only did because I was starving. I am all about moderation, but these little guys have no place on your breakfast plate.

The next thing I purchased was the “Pumpkin Walks into a Bar” bar. I will try just about anything in that line of products because I think the title is just that clever. Fig has been my favorite, but the pumpkin was pretty delicious too. My first experience with this item was when I was coming home from Disneyland on Dapper Day, and was trying to make it back to San Diego before rush hour, so I skipped lunch and only had those bars in my car. They were so delicious, I ate two of them. The next time I had a whole one to myself (once I was properly fed), I felt it was a little too sweet for my liking. However, my 18 month old daughter LOVES these bars and goes nuts for them.

The other fancy item I tried this year was the Pumpkin Cornbread to go with my Black and White Chili. Without sounding like a broken record, I always find the cornbread at trader joe’s to be a little too sweet for my taste buds (and that is saying a lot!! I love sugar!!) and this was no exception. I was also missing out on the giant chunks of corn that come in the normal cornbread. It was delicious, but I think from here on out I would stick to the traditional cornbread mix. I DID however feel inspired to attempt to make pumpkin cornbread cupcakes with Maple Frosting out of this mix, so stay tuned for that.

Truth be told, I am a bit of a purist when it comes to my pumpkin. I much prefer just getting a can of old fashioned pumpkin puree and just adding scoopfuls to my recipes already in rotation. I purchased a can at Trader Joe’s on my last trip, anticipating I would make Taylor Switft’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies but ended up doing something different, but just as yummy.

If you go onto Pinterest, you’ll see close to a million recipes for Pumpkin French Toast…WELL HERE IS A MILLION AND ONE! But seriously, there is a reason why this is so popular: it is delicious. There are just some foods pumpkin just fits really well into (while there are others, like, say, Pumpkin Spice Pringles, that make me lose my lunch).

Another great part of this: my daughter loved it. But then again, I wasn’t really expecting her to NOT love it, because she is a hoover and eats everything, especially pumpkin spice things.

So, without further adieu, I present you:

• Servings: 2
• Time: 2hr 30mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 3 Slices of Milton’s Multigrain Bread
• 2 Tbsp Organic Pumpkin Puree
• 1 Egg
• 1/4-1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Spice
• Butter
• Optional: Powdered Sugar and Agave Maple Syrup

Directions:

1. Beat egg, add pumpkin puree and mix well. Add milk (start with 1/4 cup and if it looks thick, add more. I always try to put in as little milk as possible with my French toast). Finally add in the pumpkin spice (or if you are out, you could just use a mix of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg and if you are trying to emulate the Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice, a pinch of clove too)
2. Heat skillet on medium and add a pat of butter to the pan and let melt. I have tried to skip this step before,
   but the French Toast just gets stuck to the skillet, so, just do it and be liberal with the butter. You can always blot some off after.
3. Dip bread (you can cut it in half if you like) in egg/milk mixture. Make sure each side is fully saturated.
4. Cook French Toast a few minutes on each side until it starts to brown. Remove from skillet and top with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup.

**CUTE CULINARY ITEM ALERT**

I had a little “me” time the other night, and I somehow found myself browsing the aisles of Crate and Barrel (which I could easily drop a couple thousand each time I walk in that store). I went to get a basket for my bathroom, but left with a quiche dish and the most adorable little powdered sugar spoon ever. I couldn’t pass it up, and was truly my inspiration for this post.