Trader Joe’s Creamy Polenta with Carrots and Spinach Review

Trader Joe’s Creamy Polenta with Carrots and Spinach Review – Many times I overlook at food item at Trader Joe’s because it just doesn’t scream from the shelves or it’s something that’s been around a long time and I just ignore it because it’s been there for so long. I have to dig into my archives to see if I’ve reviewed it or not and luck had it I had not reviewed this one yet and I am so glad I decided to pick it up!

With the weather getting colder and we are eating heavier foods that stick to your ribs, this is a perfect dish as a side for something like roast chicken or even on it’s own. I picked up one of those new Trader Joe’s Heritage whole chicken and roasted it in the oven with some of the Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper in the grinder. I’ll review the heritage chicken later, but let’s just say it’s worth the little extra cost for it.

Whenever I see the “Product of France” logo on a Trader Joe’s package, I know that this will be a higher quality product. I don’t know how they do it but these instant meal type frozen products from France are excellent. I really like polenta and we make it from scratch all the time. It’s not hard to make. Trader Joe’s even sells uncooked polenta in the baking section and we use it all the time, but sometimes you just want to throw something in the microwave or in a pan without having to do any prep work and still come out with something you love.

You can see from the pictures, this is a frozen item in a bag. There are these big chunks of frozen polenta and some spinach and carrot bits that are separate. For this, I decided to do the microwave instructions instead of the stovetop and I don’t think it would’ve made any difference. It takes five minutes on high in a covered dish. Everything seems to melt and the vegetables cook. I stirred it up and zapped it for another few seconds just to make sure it was piping hot. Careful of whatever you heat it in, it will be very hot.

All I can say is wow! This was much better than I expected. The polenta was creamy and buttery. The vegetables were a great addition to the polenta and it was filling. I served it with roast chicken and had some gravy that was perfect on top of the polenta. It was a nice change up from the usual potato or rice that I serve on the side and I will most definitely be buying this again! BTW, this is vegetarian but not vegan.

I am going to rate this 8 Bells! Based on the ease of making and the yum factor!

INGREDIENTS
water, pasteurized cream (skim milk, butterfat), spinach, polenta (cornmeal), lowfat milk, carrots, shallots, extra virgin olive oil, butter (pasteurized cream), salt, garlic, black pepper extract, carrot juice concentrate or carrot extract (carrot concentrate, rosemary extract), vegetable stock (vegetable concentrate [carrot, onion, leek], water, spices).