Diet Food Reviews

Trader Joe's Lemongrass Chicken Stix

By: Laura S | Oct 20, 2009

I was craving Asian food, but wanted something light for dinner. Spotting Trader Joe's Lemongrass Chicken Stix on my shopping trip, I decided to supplement a healthy bowl of miso and vegetable soup with a few of these delicious treats. I was not disappointed!

The cooking instructions indicate that you can bake these spring rolls in a conventional oven for 10-12 minutes, or deep fry them for 3-4 minutes. I opted for the healthier approach (baking), but you could probably also put them in the microwave for a quick solution; they would just lose a bit of their crispness. Peeking in at them while baking, they looked a bit greasy, but when they came out, they were fine - no blotting required.

Each stick is about half the length of a restaurant-sized spring roll, but unlike restaurant rolls, you get a lot of meat in each one with just a bit of cabbage and vegetables. This bumps the value up and makes you feel like you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. The flavor was delicious, though the lemongrass was very strong. I love lemongrass, but it definitely overpowers the flavor of the chicken in this filling.

More Reviews on Trader Joe's

• Trader Joe's Chicken Gyoza Potstickers
• Trader Joe's All Natural Cape Gooseberry Fruit Bar
• Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Fruit and Nut Bar
• Trader Joes Dry Roasted Edamame

The ingredients list is quite short for such a processed product: chicken, cabbage, sugar, cornstarch, lemongrass, green onion, soybean oil, ginger, salt, water, modified food starch, yeast extract, spices, lemongrass flavor, flour, and soy lecithin. Nothing there to really worry about. Each serving is 2 sticks (49 grams), and provides 100 calories from 4.5 grams of fat (7% of the daily value), 1 gram of which is saturated fat (5% of DV), 200 mg sodium (8%). Each serving contains 10 grams of carbohydrates of which 1 gram is fiber (4%) and 2 grams are sugars. Finally, in one serving you also get 5 grams of protein.

I paid $2.99 for the box, which contains 5 servings; at 60 cents a serving, this is a great deal, but it should be noted that a serving is small. It was great for me to accompany a light meal, but because of how small and delicious these are, it would easy to eat the whole box - so make sure to eat it as part of a meal. I will definitely be buying these in the future.

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