2 Fall 2 Furey-ous: Flyby Tries Fall Trader Joe’s Snacks Part 2

In the Venn diagram of Trader Joe’s lovers and Flyby readers, we are almost certain that everyone falls in the middle section. And so, in an effort to please our many fans, with ~fall~ finally in the air this past weekend, we schlepped over to the Trader Joe’s on River Street and filled our carts (and bellies) with an impressive number of dorm-friendly, new seasonal items.

That’s right — Flyby is BACK with another fall haul (yuhh that rhymed), full of fun and fresh items to try this pumpkin-spice season. We know you’re wondering which items you should definitely try (most of them!!) and which items you should just never, ever, buy (sadly there are a few), so read below for our honest takes on this year’s newest fall snacks.

We know. You don’t have to say it — you’re welcome.

Maple Almonds

These tasted exactly like Justin’s Maple Almond Butter (or does Justin’s taste like these?). Regardless, these were unexpectedly delicious — a sweet-salty, not-too-mapley snack that would go great on oatmeals or even salads if you’re really feeling yourself.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Sort of like a coffee cake but with a vague pumpkin spice flavor that makes you question your taste buds — in a good way. Universally appealing, you could make friends fast if you brought these around with you. We didn’t even realize it was gluten-free until we were writing this up! We’re hard-hitting journalists who noted the allergen info immediately!

Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Whoaaa for all you HUDS oatmeal artists out there, we’ve got a winner. Corinne fell HARD for these ones. Like these-must-be-consumed-at-every-hour-of-the-day hard. These are truly the perfect way to “spice up” both your breakfast and your life. But, unfortunately they aren’t vegan (rip Janani) :(

Organic Pumpkin Spiced Granola Bark

Wasted potential… *audible sigh*... just wasted potential. Prior to the taste test, the possible combination of pumpkin + granola + bark made for quite a dreamy idea. However, much to our dismay, this fall-themed snack ended up tasting pretty mid. Like, it was fine… but here at Flyby, we. do. not. settle.

Greek Yogurt: Honey Crisp Apple Cinnamon

Hear us out – Quaker apple cinnamon flavored oatmeal meets HUDS vanilla yogurt. This one was a real dub. Real chunks of apple plus cinnamon galore equals the perfect creamy fall snack.

Pumpkin Rolls with Pumpkin Spiced Icing

Win. Period. The consensus was clear – these rolls offer great pumpkin vibes with their orange festive color, sneaky pumpkin filling, and top notch taste. The provided icing cements the pumpkin spice flavor, while also allowing you to channel your inner Cupcake Wars as you skillfully (not) adorn their tops. And these somehow were quite successful in a microwave, even though the instructions very clearly required a working oven. #hooray

Organic Creamy Cashew Yogurt Alternative: Pumpkin

“First of all it’s not yogurt… it’s water.” – Janani

“Simply, why?” – Corinne

“Legally, it cannot be called yogurt, which is probably why it isn’t.” – Ellen

In summary, avoid.

Greek Nonfat Yogurt: Pumpkin

Ellen was a fan and was especially excited about the pumpkin puree taste. Corinne was not but probably because her taste buds were still fuming about the dreadful yogurt alternative (see above). But overall, an adequate pumpkin snack, folks.

Pumpkin Tortilla Chips

A solid fall option in case you’re feeling some chips and salsa (which we always are). They taste like tortilla chips with a ~suggestion~ of pumpkin, but they had real pumpkin seeds in them. Probably for show, but this really excited Ellen.

Pepita Salsa

While this salsa was super tasty and paired perfectly with the pumpkin tortilla chips, nothing about this was #fall. Points for trying, Mr. Joe, but we see right through you. Side note, these are slightly spicy to the absolute weakling (*cough* Janani) but would not be spicy to literally anyone else.

Pumpkin-Flavored JoJos with Other Natural Flavors

Pretty good pumpkin alternative to Oreos (and also vegan!). Janani is a die-hard fan; Corinne is a regular fan; Ellen was not a fan but is now a convert. Thank God. “Yummy.”

This Pumpkin Walks into a Bar Cereal Bars

These are basically just Nutrigrain bars with super cute packaging. Heads up, due to their EXTREME sweetness, we predict these cereal bars combined with a 9 a.m. would make for a terrible mid-lecture sugar crash. And they would definitely make your dentist sad.

Harvest Blend Herbal Tea

It’s giving warm hug. When you miss your dog or your mom or your 5th grade teacher, go make this tea. The chai spices are great and the absence of caffeine means you can pop off at midnight Brain Break with this one. 10/10 would recommend.

Pumpkin-filled Samosas (???)

Janani disagrees that you can call these samosas, but they do taste good. Game changing realization… you can microwave these, too.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

If you make this, you’ll put every fall-dark academia Pinterest person out of business. It’s warm spices and coffee that make you feel cozy — what more can you ask for before your 9 a.m.?

In summary, yes. This article was just a glorified excuse to eat our way through most of Trader Joe’s newest seasonal offerings. But now we know that the microwave in Mather JCR is very good for making pumpkin rolls. And warming pumpkin samosas. And pumpkin muffins. And we also know that no matter what, there is no good reason to ever buy a pumpkin-flavored cashew yogurt alternative.

We consider this haul a success — and we really hope this experiment helps you navigate the many offerings on the Trader Joe’s shelf this fall too.

Happy pumpkin-spice season — ’til next time <3