Trader Joe's Beet Chunks

For a long time, I categorized beets under "old people food," right alongside prunes, oatmeal, and cod liver oil. If you're "old," don't be offended - this category was conjured up by 8 year-old me. For the record, I think oatmeal is no longer relegated to older people especially now that people have figured out how to make it delicious and convenient [for millennials]. Except I still don't love it. I've tried the overnight thing in a hipster mason jar- bot or cold I'm still not a fan. 

Anyhoo, I've gotten to the age where I think "old" is cool. In fact, it's one of my life aspirations to be a grandma, the kind who enjoys a nice book with a cat on her lap while sipping some hot tea, gets away with saying just about anything because she's earned the right to speak her mind by virtue of age, and manages to walk laps in the mall faster than all the youngins. Maybe beets will help me get there. :P 

The packaging spoke to me. Pink beet doodles are perfect for decorating the pages of my non-existent bullet journal.

Beets and sugar. So simple. BTW, beets have sugar. It's normal! Just like how labor contractions cause pain - that's normal too. (PSA: if you are pregnant, please read a book and/or go to a prenatal education class instead of only googling things (stop that), consulting internet chatrooms/preggo mommy forums, and not listening to your OB. Thanks for listening to my rant.) 

I know I have a baseline tendency to look down on prepared foods, only because at my current life stage I have the luxury and, dare I say, privilege of making a good portion of the food that A and I eat. Of course, TJ's is a wonderful place for people who want to eat nice food and don't want to or don't have the time to make it themselves. If you love your cauliflower gnocchi, go ahead and dress it up with some pesto and sausage or whatever else makes you feel satiated and accomplished. But another reason I generally stay away from the packaged, processed meals (snacks are a different story, amirite? :P) is because usually they are packed with sodium. Mind you, I am pro-salt, but the foods I make myself almost never taste saltier than the packaged stuff. 

But I am human. I find myself, like many other TJ shoppers, desiring to eat healthy without having to do the heavy lifting at times. As much as I wish I could grow a garden or cook like my grandmother, like seriously from scratch feeding 40 people without breaking a sweat, that is simply not reality. And while I might stomach cutting up my own butternut squash (which I haven't done since last year...because the desire to eat it has not yet surpassed the necessary effort to prepare it), I am not going to steam/roast, peel, and cut up some beets only to get beet juice all over my hands. And potentially all over my kitchen because that's how I roll. This is why I can't wear white jeans. Ever. 

Which brings me to the subject of the air fryer. I am slowly coming around to it again, thanks to friends and those OB residents at work that tempt us with fresh mozzarella sticks and tater tots at very ungodly hours. Why follow the package instructions when an air fryer can get oven results in half the time? It took about 10 minutes at 375F.

How do you rate a vegetable? They taste like the ones you can get in the refrigerated section except fresher. They're sweet and cook up on the soft side but with a bite. The chunks vary in size but are generally not too big or too small. They are quite versatile - I've been mainly throwing them into salads, meal prep boxes, and grain bowls. My TJ's cashier said she puts them in her "detox smoothies" (to which I said, "oh how nice." Because how does a smoothie detox better than your liver...but whatever. I know what she means). 

$2.49 for a bag that's about 10-12 oz. Plus the convenience of not having to exert much effort on my end? It's a winner in my book. Have not yet seen a comparable product elsewhere. Thanks, Trader Joe's.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Beet Chunks. The coolest, cleanest beets in town. 9 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Yes indeed.