Chicken salad is one of those meals that I've grown to love. It's
simple, it's easy and it's perfect to have all year round (especially in
the summer months). I've always checked out the chicken salads at Trader
Joe's because they look delicious and I am a fan of their curry chicken
salad. So, needless to say when I spotted the new Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt White Meat Chicken Salad I nearly jumped for joy and popped a container in my shopping cart without even batting an eye at the ingredient label.
I was excited because it was a pre-packaged chicken salad that wasn't loaded with a ton of fat and unnecessary calories. I portioned out 3 meals from the container (two for lunches and one as a late night dinner). I layered the chicken salad onto a tortilla, added a little lettuce and wrapped it up. I took a bite ... and was immediately heart broken.
This chicken salad contains no mayonnaise! The dish consists of grilled chicken, celery, carrots and onions which are mixed with low fat Greek yogurt and spices. Even with all that, unfortunately, the Greek yogurt gives the salad a very tart flavor. It's very plain tasting on the flavor scale. I added some salt and pepper to it to hope to give it some pizazz but it fell short. Sure, it's creamy, but it's missing that classic tang you get from mayo. Admittedly, when I make chicken salad at home, I don't use a lot of mayonnaise and I tend to cut it with yogurt ...but I just can't jump on the yogurt as a mayonnaise substitute in a dish where mayo is one of the main ingredients. I tried adding a tablespoon of light mayo to it and mixing it in but the tartness from the yogurt just overpowered it.
I was just not a fan at all and ended up tossing the container. Which I have to admit was kind of cringe worthy because a container is nearly $5. I'll stick to my homemade chicken salad that takes a little time to prep but is on point in the flavor category.
A serving, 1/2 cup (or 99g) is 100 calories or 2 points plus values.
I was excited because it was a pre-packaged chicken salad that wasn't loaded with a ton of fat and unnecessary calories. I portioned out 3 meals from the container (two for lunches and one as a late night dinner). I layered the chicken salad onto a tortilla, added a little lettuce and wrapped it up. I took a bite ... and was immediately heart broken.
This chicken salad contains no mayonnaise! The dish consists of grilled chicken, celery, carrots and onions which are mixed with low fat Greek yogurt and spices. Even with all that, unfortunately, the Greek yogurt gives the salad a very tart flavor. It's very plain tasting on the flavor scale. I added some salt and pepper to it to hope to give it some pizazz but it fell short. Sure, it's creamy, but it's missing that classic tang you get from mayo. Admittedly, when I make chicken salad at home, I don't use a lot of mayonnaise and I tend to cut it with yogurt ...but I just can't jump on the yogurt as a mayonnaise substitute in a dish where mayo is one of the main ingredients. I tried adding a tablespoon of light mayo to it and mixing it in but the tartness from the yogurt just overpowered it.
I was just not a fan at all and ended up tossing the container. Which I have to admit was kind of cringe worthy because a container is nearly $5. I'll stick to my homemade chicken salad that takes a little time to prep but is on point in the flavor category.
A serving, 1/2 cup (or 99g) is 100 calories or 2 points plus values.
FYI trader joes will take back any product you don't like. They'll offer you a sample in store before you purchase too. another reason to love them! Too bad this was so disappointing, but it was worth a try!
ReplyDeleteI agree with this review. This stuff is just horrible.
ReplyDeleteI bought some too and immediately thought it was sour tasting. I had to look at the expiration to date to make sure it was not expired. I will not buy this product again. I live too far away to just take it back. Yuck
ReplyDelete