Fall is here, you were probably tipped off by the changing leaves, crisp air, or the fact that every food product is now offered in a “pumpkin spice” flavor. It seems as though everyone has succumbed to the annual pumpkin spice craze, myself included. It’s hard not to want a PSL while crunching leaves in your UGG boots.
All jokes aside (yes, that was a joke people), the obsession needs to chill. After discovering pumpkin flavored dog treats at Trader Joe’s, a question popped into my head: what happens to the .1% of people who don’t like pumpkin spice?
Do they just hibernate for all of fall? And off of that, what happens in the .01% chance you get sick of pumpkin spice? I realized then that we were neglecting all the other flavors of fall.
After my fall-flavored epiphany, I decided to find all the fall seasonal products in Trader Joe’s that weren’t pumpkin spice. With the Trader Joe’s “Fearless Flyer” in one hand and a pumpkin iced coffee in the other (guilty), I made my way down the aisles on a mission
While the flyer did not seem promising, I managed to find 14 fall-inspired products without any traces of pumpkin.
1. Apple Caramel Greek Yogurt
To satisfy any caramel apple cravings without the cavities.
2. Cinnamon Spice and Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal
Just ignore the pecan pumpkin oatmeal sign in the corner.
3. Apple and Maple Pecan Granola Cereal
Also ignore the pumpkin spice granola.
4. Harvest Blend Herbal Tea
The tea is a combination of cinnamon, ginger and apple flavors (no pumpkin). They say in the flyer for this product, “yet, even at Trader Joe’s, we know that pumpkin isn’t the only flavor of fall.” Really TJ’s?
5. Spiced Cider
They have a few variations of apple cider, but this one is spiced. Keep to the side and you won’t notice the pumpkin cereal bars.
6. Caramel Popcorn
Just like you’re at a state fair.
7. Julienned Root Vegetables
Root vegetables aren’t the first thing that come to mind when I think of fall flavors, but they were in the “autumnal entrees” section so we’re just gonna roll with it.
8. Kale, Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Pizza
Butternut squash is a staple vegetable for fall dinners.
9. Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Like the root vegetables and butternut squash, sweet potatoes go with the seasonal theme.
10. Butternut Squash Parmigiana
How can you go wrong with anything parmigiana?
11. Fall Zucchette Pasta
Or pasta?
12. Maple Leaf Cookies and Soft-Baked Snickerdoodles
Some festive cookies to spruce up your cookie platter.
13. Halloween Joe Joe’s Cookies
Don’t let the pumpkin face scare you, they’re just chocolate and vanilla.
14. Chocolate Chai & Almond Bar and Assorted Belgian Chocolate Pumpkins
The bar has a nice chai flavor while the pumpkins are decorative (oh the irony).
The Verdict: Pumpkin spice remains the flavor of fall, but there are still ways to get around it.