June 17, 2013

Which Trader Joe’s Foods Are Healthiest?

In our latest food smackdown, we put TJ’s convenience meals to the test.

I’ve fessed up before about my takeout addiction, and now I’m ready to come clean about another dinner habit: Trader Joe’s frozen meals. Even when I have plenty of time to cook a real dinner, I sometimes opt for a bowl of veggie gyozas or a chicken burrito instead. I know that these meals probably aren’t exactly a juice cleanse, but I like to think they’re not junk food either. So how healthy are they really? We decided to put a few meals to the test.

And for the real nutrition nerds out there, here’s the full rundown on the dishes we tested:

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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