Trader Giotto’s Spelt Risotto

Sometimes I want something wholesome and filling but I don’t have time to chop vegetables and cook up a meal for my family. Fortunately, Trader Joe’s has some excellent frozen foods and Trader Giotto’s Spelt Risotto is among the best. Sure, the name may not inspire much excitement but the ingredients, flavor, and texture stand out.

First, the ingredients are simple, wholesome, and perhaps most significantly don’t include sugar in an form. It’s the absence of sugar that initially attracted me to this product. I’m also happy to serve it to my young daughter. It makes a particularly easy and good item to include with her lunch.

It’s nice and all that it’s sugar-free but how does it taste? Very good actually! The spelt, veggies, and creamy combine for a balanced and delicious flavor that’s predominantly savory. The texture is also a marriage of creamy and firm that’s to the spelt and chickpeas. You can’t go wrong!

Rating: 5 out of 5 Hawaiian shirts. It’s good for you, taste great, and very easily prepared; the trifecta of qualities I want from my food. Keep it in your freezer for those times you’re running short on time and you’ll be happy you did.

Frozen Wild Argentinian Red Shrimp – Review and Recipe

While looking for an alternative to fresh shrimp, I came across these Argentine Wild-Caught Frozen Shrimp. It’s important for me to have wild-caught shrimp as they are more flavorful, tend to have less bacteria than farm-raised shrimp (Consumer Reports “Special Report: Shrimp Safety“), and shrimp farms can have large negative impacts on the environment. Of course, purchasing wild-caught means you pay a premium over farm-raised shrimp. Fortunately, you’re covered with TJ’s Frozen Wild Uncooked Argentinian Red Shrimp. It’s not too expensive and a bag of this in the freezer means you’re ready to go anytime a seafood craving strikes. Since they’re uncooked, you can easily incorporate them into your favorite recipe – pasta, stir-fry, soup, etc.

*UPDATE: Jan 2016 — Lately, I’ve had a difficult time finding these shrimp in the two TJ’s locations closest to me so if you come across some, I suggest you stock up (And let me know where you found them!)

*UPDATE: June 2016 — I’ve seen it in stock in two TJ’s I’ve visited recently. Get it while the getting’s good!

Rating: 4 out of 5 Hawaiian Shirts – Not as flavorful as fresh shrimp. Undeniably the next best thing.

RECIPE SUGGESTION: Stir-Fried Shrimp with Garlic Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of TJ’s Argentine Wild-Caught Red Shrimp
• Olive oil
• Old Bay Seasoning
• Fry the shrimp in a pan with the olive oil on medium heat. When they’re about half-way cooked, add the Old Bay Seasoning. Serve as soon as the shrimp are cooked all the way through.
• For the sauce: slowly melt 2 tablespoons of butter on a stove top in a sauce pan with finely diced garlic until it starts to brown. Then it’s ready to serve.