Review: Trader Joe’s Magic Beans (Chocolate Covered Nougat Beans) & Bread In the Fridge?
Well, JFG Nation, yesterday confirmed it – even when you discuss it on your blog, STILL no one cares about your fantasy football team. Or about the fact that my Buffalo Bills have been eliminated from the playoffs for 16 years straight. Sigh.
As we head into the end of the year, I am in full pantry-cleanout mode, so I apologize if some of these things don’t look new – they are all new to me because they’ve been sitting in my kitchen uneaten for the Fall. You should see some of the things I found in my junk food closet. HOW MANY PACKAGES OF OREOS DO I OWN? TOO MANY.
I was reading this article the other day about foods you should never put in the fridge and that you should keep in your pantry, and bread was one of them. Really? Look, I get it – if you buy a nice baguette from a bakery, or if you grab a fresh loaf from Panera, yes – don’t fridge it. You’re gonna make it hard as a rock and awful.
But a loaf of bread, like just plain old white or wheat bread from the supermarket? I ALWAYS STICK THAT ISH IN THE FRIDGE. Someone told me to use a bread box once. I can think of no faster way to grow mold than a bread box. I don’t even live in a super humid climate, but I know that every bread box I’ve seen is like a magic trick: bread goes in, moldy bread comes out!
So tell me, JFG Nation: Do YOU put bread in the fridge? I’m not the only weirdo, am I? Let me know in the comments below.
Today’s Review: Trader Joe’s Magic Beans!!
Trader Joe’s Magic Beans: The Money Shot
Beans Beans the magical fruit, the more ya eat the more you…oh, these Trader Joe’s Magic Beans are chocolate covered nougat beans. Got it. I swear I’m an adult.
This is a totally random product by TJ’s, though, isn’t it? Did someone pipe up during a board meeting: “Look, I got it. You know how people LOVE ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’?”
“Seriously, Harold? ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’? Go do a lap.”
Each of these Trader Joe’s Magic Beans were decently big – think “the top two segments of your pinky” big. Wow, that was a weird reference. Anyways, each bean had a high gloss, and lots of funky colors – straight out of a fairy tale.
Munching on a few of these Trader Joe’s Magic Beans, the flavor was straightforward. The outer coating was a relatively easy chewable chocolate coating – besides the high gloss, the outer shell wasn’t a shell at all. These had no M&M-like candy crunch. No, instead, the outside coating was just a decently sweet milk chocolate.
The inner core was a mix of what essentially tasted like toffee bits and bits of almond. Sweet, crunchy, it was the inner core that gave these beans texture. Not a hard crunch – it reminded me of the same toughness that a Butterfinger bar has: a decent candy snap. This was not like chewing a piece of hard candy.
Altogether? A simple, easy to eat, candy bean. When I saw chocolate covered nougat beans, I thought these would be a lot more like Whoppers than anything else, but they were not. Chocolate covered toffee brittle probably tastes very similar to this. And that’s not a bad thing – just a good, if not super creative, flavor profile. And hey, FUN FACTOR! MAGIC BEANS!
PURCHASED AT: Trader Joe’s, Bethesda, MD
COST: $3.99
Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.
Sincerely,
Junk Food Guy
Discuss - 11 Comments
I have a big family, so I buy 2 loaves of bread at once. I typically put the second loaf in the fridge to preserve it a little longer while we eat the first loaf. But while we’re eating the second loaf, it goes on the counter. I just like the texture of room temperature bread better than refrigerated.
Bonus: My mom used to store bread and chips in the microwave (like a bread box). One day she set the timer on it (so she thought) and walked away… Only she had actually turned it on. That thing smoked and sparked and shot lightning! She stopped keeping bread in the microwave.
@Jeni: omg, that chips-in-the-microwave story is GREAT
If it’s good bread that I’m going to be nursing awhile, I’ll freeze it and take as much as I need out at a time. The cheap stuff is out on the counter because it gets used everyday.
We keep bread in the freezer. You can make a sandwich for lunch with it, and it defrosts just fine. Needless to say the same thing happens when you toast it.
We never keep bread out, it juat molds too fast in our home. Fridge or freezer always.
My mom also freezes bread that she buys from Costco.
I’d bring up your pre-season comments about Carolina Panthers, but it’s Christmas!
@Ruckus: yeah I was totally wrong. I think I said Carolina blows…oops. I still think Seattle edges them in the NFC CHampionship game
Since I only eat bread (in this case english muffins) on the weekends, it’s kept in the freezer! I just thaw it in the microwave then toast it.
Maybe you should make a monster mash of an oreo cake with all the leftovers you have!
@Sarah: How come only bread on weekends?
@ Junkfoodguy: Quote “How come only bread on weekends?”
Well that’s how I end up doing it. It’s just not a common thing for me, and right now english muffins and small and portable for making easy sandwiches. I usually put a veggie burger on it with some cream cheese.
I come from a family that always put bread, buns & cookies in the freezer. Lasts a lot longer & once thawed (like 20 seconds in the microwave) I can’t tell any difference.