a week of pre-made, chilled trader joe's lunches

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this past week/weekend were pretty busy in the Jones household, so i didn't have time to meal prep. trader joe's is still relatively new in Germantown, and I don't live particularly close to it, so i haven't had the chance to try some of their pre-made options until this week. i'm still non-weight bearing on my foot, so it is a pain to get down to the microwave at school. because of all of these reasons, i went for some of the pre-made, chilled meals from trader joe's. 

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monday: shrimp tempura sushi

$4 dollar sushi sounds too good to be true, right? the texture was pretty bad, and the sauce that i thought was going to be soy sauce based and the consistency of soy sauce was thick like hoisin. the roll itself was chewy and the extra tempura crunch did nothing to help that. after one piece, i ended up not eating the rest. 

​1/10 do not recommend

tuesday: spicy shrimp and cauliflower rice bowl

i don't like cauliflower and i am trying to get TJ's to change my mind (stay tuned for a cauliflower gnocchi recipe). the cauliflower rice wasn't too bad, but the shrimp's texture was gummy and overall not pleasant. i bought everything over the weekend, so by the time Tuesday rolled around the cucumbers were too ripe and mushy. the rest of the salad was okay but the dressing was a little strong. i ended up eating the salad with a little dressing and i took the shrimp and cucumbers off. 

3/10 .i might eat the salad (minus the shrimp) again but i would suggest putting a different asian-style dressing on it. 

​Wednesday: Spicy Lentil Wrap with SPicy Tahini sauce

after the first 2 days of TJ's pre-made lunches, i wasn't optimistic for the rest of the week. thankfully, this wrap was the exception. the tahini sauce was somewhat flavorful but it, and pretty much the entire wrap, was lacking in salt. unlike other pre-made wraps i've had, the flatbread wasn't soggy. it's also vegan if that's a plus for anyone. 

7/10 and i would eat it again. 

Thursday: Turkey club wrap 

the moisture of the ingredients of it made the flatbread soggy, and it practically disintegrated when i picked it up. i ended up eating the contents of the wrap and discarding the wrap. i bought all of these the previous weekend, so the lettuce was wilted. between the lettuce and the wrap, i didn't bother taking a picture... don't worry, you're not missing out. it also wasn't a particularly interesting wrap - just a turkey club in a wrap instead of in between two pieces of bread. 

5/10 overall, i think it would have been a decent wrap if i had eaten it on monday or tuesday, but i ate the meals with seafood in them first. 

​Friday: lentil wrap (pt. 2)

both the turkey wrap and the lentil wrap came with 2 servings, so by the end of the week i had two choices. the lentil wrap came with sauce, but the sauce didn't have a lid, just a seal, so there was the possibility of it being dry. the turkey club wrap had the mushy wrap and lettuce so i ended up going with the lentil wrap. it wasn't as dry sans sauce as i though it would be and overall just as good as it was wednesday. 

after this week, i probably won't be going to TJ's for pre-made lunches. this being said, i can still count on ole Joe for pre-popped popcorn that isn't styrofoam and some tasty macarons. i'm still working my way through the store... next thing to try is cauliflower gnocchi!