Product: Trader Joe's Double Roasted Salsa

This salsa with an S/C value of 0/0 would be a favorite, even if it wasn't a 0/0. It's heat value is advertised as medium hot but to my burnt out taste buds, it's pretty mild. It's got great flavor, though, brought on by the double roasted anaheim peppers and cilantro. The TJ's Fire-Roasted Salsa, also shown, may sound better but has sugar so doesn't get the 0/0 S/C rating.

Pros: no sugar, great taste
Cons: none that I can see
Cost: $2.49 for 12 oz jar
S/C: 0/0

Product: Almond Meal/Flour

I recently went shopping for almond meal/flour for my low carb cranberry nut bread recipe (which I still haven't made yet) and came home with Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal from my local health food store. It was a whopping $11.99 a pound! Today I was shopping in Trader Joe's (good old TJ!) and came across their brand, Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal. At $3.99 a pound, I think I know what I will be buying when a recipe calls for almond flour. The nutrition info is just about the same on both brands and the S/C value is 1/1 per 1/4 cup serving. After testing both almond meals on the same recipe, I think I prefer the lower priced Trader Joe's. It's a bit darker in color and not ground quite as fine, but in the cranberry bread recipe I tested, the Trader Joe loaf seemed to hold together better.

Product: Trader Joe's Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds

I first bought this several weeks ago, before starting the BFC. It fits in great with the program as a 2 Tbsp serving has 5 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 55 mg sodium and 9 g protein. It tastes great and the flaxseeds give it a little crunch. It does need to be refrigerated and stirred but I can do that easy for the nutrition benefits. Most well known brands of peanut butter are laden with sugar. Google this item for other users reviews. I think it's wonderful! If you spread one serving of this on a slice of low carb bread, you can still be within the "1" carb serving range.

Pros: low carb/sugar/sodium, high fiber

Cons: none, really IMO

Cost: ?

S/C: 2/1