Trader Joe’s does a decent job with the staples. I can get bread, milk, eggs, and other basics there, and at prices that are more competitive than people might realize. For a store that brands itself as upscale, TJ’s is a legitimate one-stop shop for many consumers.
But let’s be honest. A lot of people don’t go to TJ’s for the normal stuff. They go to the grocer because you can get some wild stuff you can’t get elsewhere. I’ve personally got mixed feelings on some of those exotic, out-there foods, but there’s no arguing that a huge part of Trader Joe’s appeal is its singularly unique shelf offerings.
Like this product.
Trader Joe’s Bamba Puffed Peanut and Corn Snacks can be found on the room-temperature shelves in the store. They come in a 5-ounce plastic resealable bag and cost $2.99. That’s around 56 cents an ounce.
For the uninitiated, Bamba is one of the most popular snack foods in Israel. Made of puffed corn, peanut butter is added to Bamba at the end of production. This TJ’s variation also adds dark chocolate into the mix.
Nutritionally, TJ’s Bamba is made from dark chocolate and puffs. The dark chocolate is made with sugar, unsweetened chocolate processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, and natural vanilla flavor. The puffs are made with peanut butter, corn grits, sunflower oil, and salt. There are several allergens in them, including milk, soy, and peanut. In addition, they may contain egg, wheat, almond, cashew, coconut, and pecan.
Each 1-ounce serving has 160 calories, 8 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 7 grams of added sugars, and 15 grams of carbs.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
These are a little different, but I liked them. The puffs taste like what I would expect from corn puffs — the texture and base taste reminded me of cheese puffs minus the cheese — with a peanut butter flavor on top of that. In my view, the chocolate really makes these a home run, adding a sweet counterbalance to the salty puff. (These have a different flavor from the peanut puffs Aldi sells during German week, by the way.)
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Bamba Puffed Peanut and Corn Snacks are a surprisingly fun snack food. The salty-sweet combination comes together quite nicely, with the peanut butter and chocolate mixing together well atop the puffed corn. These are maybe a little on the expensive side, but given that you can’t exactly pick these up anywhere in the States, they may be worth it. If you’re a peanut butter and chocolate fan and you like corn puffs, I think these are worth a try.
