Flat Green Beans ♥ Trader Joe’s Product Review

Which frozen vegetables from Trader Joe's taste good? are worth eating? and worth the money? Let's look at a bag of frozen green beans that are just a little bit different. My take? Trader Joe's Organic Flat Green Beans are great!

This Is Not a Sponsored Review, it's just me, Alanna and your long-time veggie evangelist, sharing my view about a Trader Joe's vegetable product that my fellow vegetable lovers might find useful.

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The Short Answer: Recommended

Fingers crossed that Flat Green Beans will stay in Trader Joe's product line because they are excellent!

"Flat" green beans are probably "romano beans" which I discovered at a farmers market many years back. Ever since, on the rare occasions the beans appear, I'm happy to buy a bunch. So to find them at Trader Joe's? Frozen? Great work, TJ's!

What's in the Bag?

A pound of organic flat green beans. Perfect!

What's the Country of Origin?

Greece.

How to Cook According to Trader Joe's

Either on the stove or in a microwave, just the beans, a little water and seasoning.

Taste & Texture

The beans are large and meaty (and yes, flat) with an almost silky texture. Most of the beans are full beans but maybe a quarter, in the bag we sampled, were broken pieces. Whole beans vs broken pieces doesn't affect taste but if you want a pretty side dish for a special dinner, say, you might need to buy extra to compensate.

How Many Servings?

Trader Joe's says a 16-ounce bag will serve 6. A Veggie Venture's apples-to-apples (green beans-to-green beans?) uses 4 servings per pound for most vegetables including green beans.

Risk of Freezer Burn

Flat green beans are at great risk of freezer burn, that's what we call the accumulation of ice crystals that can form on frozen food exposed to air, as is just gonna happen with irregularly shaped foods like beans frozen in a loose bag. Freezer burn breaks down the food's cell structure and while it doesn't become unsafe, it becomes less palatable. I love just a couple of miles from Trader Joe's and I put grocery away right away, frozen foods first. Still, within just three weeks, the flat beans had become freezer burned. So buy em! But cook 'em asap!

Make It Homemade?

I've shared two recipes for romano (flat) green beans, both, I think, would work well with this Trader Joe's frozen flat beans. Check out Garlicky Romano Beans and Romano Beans in Butter-Braised Garlic.

Shopping at Trader Joe's During 2020

When I started featuring Trader Joe's product reviews almost a year ago now, I intended to do one a month. But then ... well ... 2020 happened and here we are.

Because Trader Joe's doesn't offer either pickup or delivery, my grocery dollars moved elsewhere. I missed certain products but was quite surprised how easy it was to let Trader Joe's go.

But a couple of weeks ago, I ventured back in and was impressed. (Again, this is NOT a sponsored review, just me sharing my experience.)

Someone was waiting at the front: limiting how many shoppers enter the store (which makes for a much more pleasant shopping experience!), making sure shoppers are masked up (anti-maskers are a problem here in Missouri) and wiping down carts. I bought a few things, my Trader Joe's-only staples.

Checkout was great too. The checkout lines are clearly marked for social distancing. Other stores put plexiglass between checkers and shoppers. Trader Joe's has plexiglass but also keeps shoppers maybe 20 feet away from the checkout while the checker rings up and bags the order. The only facetime is during payment. This process is great for customers but essential for Trader Joe's employees. Again, gret work TJ's.

So anyway, I was impressed and thought others might appreciate knowing. Anyone else having a good/bad experience shopping at Trader Joe's? Let me know ...

Trader Joe's Fans

If you love Trader Joe's, look for more product reviews here, Trader Joe's Product Reviews. Enjoy! There are products I really like!

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TRADER JOE's FLAT GREEN BEANS

Hands-on time: 2 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Instructions from the package.

Water
16-ounce (454g) bag of frozen Trader Joe's Organic Flat Green Beans
Salt & pepper to taste

Stovetop – Bring a cup of water to boil in a saucepan or skillet, add the frozen beans and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook uncovered until the beans are tender, about 5 - 9 minutes. Drain, season to taste and serve hot.

Microwave – Place the frozen green beans and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook at full power for 3 minutes. Stir the beans well and cook at full power until the beans become tender, about 4 - 6 minutes. Allow to cool (and finish cooking) for 2 minutes. Season to taste and serve hot.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving (assumes 4): 35 Calories; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium; 8g Carb; 4g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 2g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 0 & PointsPlus 0 & SmartPoints 0 & Freestyle 0 & myWW green 0 & blue 0 & purple 0

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More Trader Joe's Positive Product Reviews

~ Trader Joe's Shakshuka Starter (Product Review) ~
~ Trader Joe's Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Product Review) ~
~ Trader Joe's Flat Green Beans (Product Review) ~

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Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables. Join "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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