I know that once upon a time, I threw shade at the concept of a salad kit. It's kind of like how A looks down on restaurant salads - "why would you pay $15 for rabbit food?" Well. 2020 happened y'all. Pandemic fatigue is real. I work. I'm in school. The salad kit is an attempt at being a responsible adult who eats something green and leafy. Is it more expensive than putting something together yourself? Of course it is. You are paying for prep and plastic. Is it tastier than something I might make myself? Depends...but I'm not making anything particularly tasty at the moment, so no. We still in this y'all, and I've come to accept my limitations when it comes to pandemic productivity and creativity. Bring on the salad kits.
A picked this up for me. I asked him to buy a salad kit and did not care which one, and I appreciate that he chose the most fibrous one. At least he understands the functionality of a salad kit. I'd also like to point out that my number one pet peeve about this product is that the packaging design is not centered. I mean, it's centered on the green part but the actual design is indented on the actual front side of the packaging. It's indented and it doesn't look cute!
Like I said - it's fibrous and cruciferous filled. Which is fine for nutrition. Probably produces a lot of flatulence too, which honestly doesn't matter if you're not going anywhere and taking all your Zoom calls on mute anyway. Also oh dear radicchio - my least favorite cruciferous type.
1. I cheated. The buffalo wings didn't come with the salad. But I had them around and salad justifies the consumption of wings and fries because they obviously cancel each other out (no they don't and I know that's not how it works). Also I had leftover spring mix that I threw in, which is also cheating but we trying to not waste food and adding spring mix can dilute the bitterness of the radicchio.
2. I know I ate this right around the best by date, so is this salad kit crisp? I guess so? It's definitely crunchy, like really crunchy with the raw cauliflower, pistachios, and all the cruciferous stuff. You really have to work at eating this, which I don't mind. Also, I don't understand the concept of eating raw cauliflower, even when there's a copious amount of ranch dressing involved - to me it's like eating raw building material. But it's fine I guess.
2a. But let me just acknowledge and appreciate the fact that cauliflower here was used in its purest form and not reincarnated as a cracker, a cheese, or anything else less wholesome that we would want to make virtuous again.
3. The overall taste is fine. The pear crumbles are like the size of bacon bits (the kind that comes in a can) and are sort of sweet and crunchy. The honey ginger dressing is honestly trying too hard - it's super gingery. The ginger is kind of random but it does provide the acidity, sweetness, and spice that makes the flavor more complex and interesting.
4. I'm not eating this salad kit because it sparks joy - in this instance, it gets the job done, tastes decent, and can be paired nicely with a protein of your choice. Like a side of buffalo wings. I'm sure there are people out there that will like this more than I do.
5. That asymmetrical package labeling bothers me so much, I'm taking off one full point.
6. I believe this salad kit runs somewhere in the $2.99-$3.99 range. Cheaper than takeout. And it tastes alright I suppose and readily accommodates the leftovers in my fridge.
TL;DR: Trader Joe's Veggies & Greens Salad Kit. At some point during quarantine, it seems right to trade in Cap'n Crunch for a cruciferous crunch. 7 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? For the sake of function? Yep.
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