Trader Joe's Spicy Mexican-Style Riced Cauliflower

Some days, I don't need anything special or life-changing. I just need something consistently reliable, adaptable, and nourishing. Arguably, the most life-changing things aren't the cookie butters, viral Tik Tok pastas, or quarantine dalgona coffees. It's those things that you can incorporate into your every day, day after day even when it's no longer cool. That's how lifestyle changes and fighting racism works anyway. But today, we're chatting riced cauliflower. 

Trader Joe's has been on top of every cauliflower product you can think of. In my house, it is an unspoken rule to refer to the cauliflower products by the proper nomenclature. It's riced cauliflower, not cauliflower rice. Cauliflower is cauliflower and therefore cannot be rice. However, it can be riced, as a verb. Does this mean we have to call it "pizza-ed cauliflower" instead of cauliflower pizza? 

This is a recently introduced spicy Mexican-style flavor of riced cauliflower. I have previously tried the "stir-fry" version, which is fine. Life has gotten busier for me, so it's nice to have convenient, healthier things that I can whip up quickly. Note that the sodium content here while not terrible is higher than the stir-fry version. Which means it probably tastes better. 

1) I do my best to cook off the moisture. Soggy riced cauliflower does not spark joy - you might as well eat baby food. 

2) This riced cauli mix is definitely a lot more flavorful than the riced cauliflower stir-fry. It has a bit more color from the vegetables and is actually SEASONED. It's a bit spicy - not too much but substantial enough for me. There is this undertone of tomato and lime. The cilantro I believe is there but it's not super apparent. 

3) I topped it with some shredded cheese blend and added it to a bowl of greens, random veg, leftover chicken, and some sliced avocado. It's like eating Chipotle - flavorful, satisfying, fast, and pretty healthy. Except it took less than 10 minutes and is way cheaper than the new "power bowl" or whatever the cauliflower rice bowl at Chipotle is called. 

4) Someone ate the leftovers that I was planning to use for another Chipotle-at-home-lunch. This prompted me to repurchase this product. 

5) $2.99 for this bag. Not the most cost effective if you're on a food budget to feed a family but also not expensive, relative to what you would pay if eating out. 

5b) Is Trader Joe's luxury or budget? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Though if you ask me, it's not as simple as picking one option over the other. :) 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Spicy Mexican-Style Riced Cauliflower. Riced cauliflower tastes better when it's seasoned, duh. Pick it up for low-carb, healthy, DIY Chipotle bowls. 8.5 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Done and did it.