Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips

Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips. We all know that Kale is now a pop star in the so called Superfood category. Kale is an ancient green vegetable that has been cultivated for thousands of years in Europe. It is a Brassica which is in the same family as cabbage. Genetically it is very similar to cabbage, but the leaves don’t form a head. I can’t remember the first time I ate Kale, but it didn’t really gain popularity until just a few years ago and now you see it in various forms in all the healthy grocery stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. My wife is always looking for ways to get more into our diet and I have been growing it in our garden for years.

A couple of years ago I review the original Trader Joe’s Kale Chips and gave them 9 out of 10 bells. I really liked them as a snack. My wife liked them. I thought they were a great way to snack on Kale, albeit kind of expensive as a snack. You can make your own Kale chips pretty easily  Kale: The Complete Guide to the World’s Most Powerful Superfood (Superfood Series) and cheaply compared to store bought ones.

I was pleased to see a new version of the Trader Joe’s Kale chips in the snack section (this is a completely Vegan product too) and I seeing it was dressed with cashew butter and tahini I thought would bring some nice protein to the mix. There is also some seasonings tossed into the mix, mainly mustard. I start thinking this is either going to great or just plain awful.

I am hear to tell you this was one of the worst things I have ever put in my mouth! I can’t tell you how awful it was. Where the first version was interesting in the way it was seasoned and had a nice crunch to it. Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips did have the same nice crunch but the seasonings was just awful. I popped a few in my mouth and the cashew butter/tahini mix turned to mush and kind of stuck to the roof of my mouth. At the same time the kale tasted like dried grass this time, way stronger than I remember before. It all comes together in a big mess in your mouth and I literally had to spit it out!

I usually like most things I review from Trader Joe’s, and I think they do a good job coming up with unique and interesting products, but occasionally the product development team at Trader Joe’s goes off the rails in a big way. But you know that’s OK, but we need stores like Trader Joe’s to keep pushing the envelope and creating new foods that we like. Unfortunately, for this one I want to give them an A for effort but only 1 out of 10 bells as a rating. Sorry Trader Joe’s, but it was awful…