Why?
An excellent question. The simple answer is that I, like many of you reading, am busy. An even better question is what motivates that business – is it a lack of time management or a dearth of efficiency? For myself, and likely for you too my dear reader, our business stems from the pursuit of excellence. It is the desire to take time itself and crystallize it through our accomplishments and progress. It is the knowledge that there is always more to be done, more to be quested after in the search for something greater. It is the intrinsic desire, inherent to life, to create order and organize the limitless information surrounding us – fending off the force of entropy, That Outer God, for but a moment more.
But seriously – why?
For any of the aforementioned reasons, or countless more (a lack of cooking appliances and tools, insufficient skill, or even awe at the power of the humble microwave), you’ve found yourself in the same position as I have: running out of time AND hungry – hardly a recipe for success. And you, like many others, have turned to Trader Joe’s in search of a cheap, easy to make, nutritious, and, dare I say, delicious meal. Frozen meals get a bad reputation, and rightly so in many cases. They’re synonymous with ultra-processed foods, scary levels of sodium, downright criminal cholesterol content, and a disappointingly bland taste. In short, the connotation of “Frozen Meal” is that of unhealthy, unpalatable, and unlikely to make for a good dinner. But, ask yourself – must this be the case? Was this fate written in the margins of Newton’s Principia, lying in wait for refrigeration and industrial meal processing to make it’s truth be known? Or is it that frozen meals, in moderation, and with proper selection, can be suitable stand-ins for the days where convenience takes priority – in the dilemma of a frozen meal or no meal at all?
That’s why I made Trader Joe’s Frozen Meal Reviews – to catalog the famed frozen selection of America’s most inviting grocery store, and separate the icy standouts from the frozen duds. I cook meals from scratch regularly – but always cognizant am I of the moment when fresh ingredients and raw components demand a toll of time that I can’t pay. It’s for moments like those that I decided to start tracking the factors that made a frozen meal an acceptable substitute. Now, I hope to share my insights with you, so that you too may avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits, of Trader Joe’s arsenal of meals.
Aren’t those bad for you?
Read above.
But also yes. The point of this site is not to encourage you to eat frozen meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is an acknowledgement that sometimes we need the convenience of a frozen meal, and some guidance in picking the “best” one. So go buy fresh meat and produce, and cook yourself a hearty homemade meal whenever you can. But for the times when you can’t, feel free to check back in.
Furthermore, and this will be expanded upon in the grading rubric, nutrition will be considered as a separate grading criteria, constituting 1/3rd of the overall score given to each dish. I am not an expert nutritionist by any sense, but I’ll try to apply my best judgement and modern consensus while assigning my grades.
What are your biases?
Good on you for asking. The full extent of my biases is unknown even to me, but I will come out as having a colossal sweet tooth. I’ll attempt to limit any unduly influence this has on my rankings, but the reviews are ultimately a reflection of my preferences. If you hate sweetness in your foods, and crave the bitter burn, then take my taste rankings with a pinch of salt. Or a brick of dark chocolate in your case.
Can you review my favorite dish?
Yes! If it is available at my Trader Joe’s, in southern Virginia, then I will make an attempt to give you my opinion (which may or not be your opinion – no guarantees). Send any suggestions to me@aryamansingh.xyz.