Trader Joe's - Brown Rice - Fully Cooked (Microwaveable)

I've tried to make the switch to brown rice when packaging up meals. Although if I don't have any cooked brown rice on hand when packaging up meals it can get a little time consuming (due to the fact brown rice takes a lot longer than white rice to cook). When I spotted packages of Trader Joe's Brown Rice - Fully Cooked (Microwaveable) I was intrigued and picked up a package.

 

These are along the lines of the pre-packaged rices sold by Uncle Ben's. All you have to do is rip the top off the bag and pop it (standing up) into the microwave and heat for 90 seconds. After that, you've got brown rice that's ready to plate up any way you choose.

 

Texture wise ... in all honesty, you can tell it's not freshly made brown rice. But if you sprinkle it with a little salt, pepper and a little butter and serve it alongside a vegetable and protein of your choice you think you're having the real thing. It's slightly drier in texture, but it's not terrible. I wouldn't go out of my way to say it's the best convenience variety brown rice I've had, while it's certainly not the worst, but it's not bad for an on the fly type of scenario.

 

A serving, 1/2 cup is 120 calories or 3 points plus values.

Asian Inspired Dinner!

This is an Asian inspired dinner I made a few weeks back for my boyfriend and I.  I knew we were going to have Bool Kogi so I decided to make rice (because it’s a staple – either rice or potato for us) and went with an oriental stir fry vegetable to give us some dimension and a flavorful side vegetable.

I had picked up a package of Bool Kogi Korean sesame marinated boneless beef ribs at Trader Joe’s and planned on grilling them up for us.  Since the weather wasn’t necessarily on our side that day, I decided to broil them in the oven and they turned out perfectly.  The flavor is good, but considering these are boneless beef ribs, the texture is a little funny.  I’ve always preferred pork ribs over beef (just a personal preference) but I did find this was pretty tasty.  I would repurchase, but only when we were looking for something “different” (just because I prefer pork ribs over beef).  Incase you are wondering, these are completely raw and are sold in the raw marinated meat section at Trader Joe’s. A serving is 3 ounces of meat and it is 6 points plus per serving.

I paired it with 1 cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Rice.  This is the best tasting brown rice I have had!  3 minutes in the microwave and it’s perfect.  Nice, fluffy, filling and delicious.  I have a rice cooker, which can cook brown rice (which takes forever, BTW) so it’s crazy to me that you can have delicious tasting brown rice in 3 minutes.  Bravo Trader Joe’s – you never cease to amaze me.  A 1 cup serving is 5 points plus.

I then “stir fried” up Fusia’s brand of Oriental Stir Fry.  The package came with a mixture of frozen vegetables (broccoli, carrots, pea pods, peppers, onions, water chestnuts) along with a teriyaki style stir fry mixture.  I had 2 servings of vegetables, which calculated out to be 2 points plus.  The vegetables would be a great addition to add in precooked chicken and within minutes, you’d have an oriental stir fry on the table.

Dinner was literally done in 15 minutes and was quite yummy!  13 pointsplus total.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite Trader Joe’s and/or Aldi product for a quick and easy meal?