Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl (from Canada?) Review
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On this week’s Midnight Snack, we’re taking a look at the Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl that they somehow found in Canada. I double checked trusty Wikipedia and it doesn’t sound like that’s where burritos were invented. Technically this isn’t a full on burrito, since it doesn’t have any flour tortilla in there, but I digest. Let’s dive in and take a look at those nutrition facts.
It looks like a solid meal overall. The sodium gets up there, but, the meal itself is also close to 1/4 of the average American’s daily recommended caloric intake. While that and the saturated fat could be cause for concern, the solid protein and carbs a person gets from this should outweigh that stuff. We are talkin’ aboot frozen food from Canada, after all.
The only thing that may get your attention in a bad way with these ingredients is the annatto and microbial rennet cellulose. After digging into what they are, those ingredients are not as chemically-and-probably-bad-for-the-gut as they sound.
One interesting point about this is that it can be cooked in its plastic bowl on a baking sheet in the oven. It’s a little surprising that something like that wouldn’t melt, but future.
The Review
Packaging: Average
Nutrition Facts: Above Average
Ingredients: Above Average
Taste: Above Average
Preparation: Above Average
While they don’t include an actual tortilla to make this a full-on burrito, Trader Joe’s makes up for that with the taste of this Canadian burrito bowl. The packaging is nice, but it didn’t really jump out in the aisle any more than the stuff surrounding it, we’ve just been in a burrito-y mood for two weeks. The cursive on the front of the box detailing all the major ingredients is pretty neat. Speaking of ingredients, those were all pretty solid (after researching and clearing the name of our annatto and microbial rennet). If a person’s lactose intolerant, they should be aware that this has milk in it.
The first bite was excellent. The second was kinda okay. The chicken was very good, which was arguably the most important part. Some of the vegetables were a bit hard (caught on the second bite) but those were tasty, too. Their brown rice had a great consistency (save for 1 or 2 pieces) and the chipotle sauce lent an excellent amount of spice that was not too overwhelming. As per usual, the black box cabernet sauvignon was a great accompaniment.
