REVIEW: My/Mochi Sugar Cookie, Hot Cocoa, and Gingerbread Ice Cream

Marvo 1 Comment

In order to cover all the holiday flavor bases, My/Mochi has expanded its Christmas time varieties beyond Cool Peppermint and introduced Sugar Cookie, Hot Cocoa, and Gingerbread Ice Cream. Yes, popular seasonal flavors like egg nog, fruitcake, and lumps of coal are missing, but maybe they’ll come next year.

Sugar Cookie

It features sugar cookie flavored ice cream with sugar cookie pieces floating in it. At first I didn’t taste anything. But as I chewed the mochi coating, a sweet, light buttery flavor came through that instantly brought Santa’s favorite to mind. While the pieces embedded in the creamy filling don’t enhance the baked good taste, they do add a bit of texture, but not one you’d expect from an ingredient called “sugar cookie pieces.” Instead of a cookie crunch, the pieces floating in the ice cream add a sugar crystal crunch, like the decorative sugar sprinkled on top of the cookie. Personally, I prefer a sugary crunch over a cookie one. With its combination of flavor and crunch, I find these to be quite delicious.

Hot Cocoa

I partially expected this Hot Cocoa one to taste chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, but it’s much better than that. Its description says it’s hot cocoa flavored ice cream with marshmallows, and it tastes like what I wish my hot cocoa made from water and instant hot cocoa mix would taste like. While there are tiny mallow bits, the creamy filling itself tastes like there’s a bit of marshmallow within the chocolate base, which gave it a bit of maltiness. The bits are not soft, and they’re also not like what you’d get in cereal, but they add a snappy texture to contrast the creaminess and chewiness of the other two components. I enjoyed these slightly more than the Sugar Cookies ones.

Gingerbread

Gingersnap cookies was the first thing that came to mind when I took my first bite from My/Mochi’s Gingerbread Ice Cream, and then my body instinctively braced itself for the ginger burn that it’s experienced with the cookie. Thankfully, it never came. The level of ginger in this ice cream is strong and similar to Nabisco Ginger Snaps, but not having the burn makes these easier to eat. However, there’s something about this variety that makes me enjoy it slightly less than the other two. They’re good, but I find myself reaching for the other two first.

Overall

I’ve never had a disappointing product from My/Mochi and that continues with these three. I’m also sure that if the company comes out with a Lump of Coal flavor someday, it’ll probably taste great too.

DISCLOSURE: I received free product samples from My/Mochi. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6-pieces
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Sugar Cookie), 8 out of 10 (Hot Cocoa), 7 out of 10 (Gingerbread)
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) Sugar Cookie – 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 10 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein. Hot Cocoa – 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 11 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein. Gingerbread – 70 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar (including 9 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.

SPOTTED: 11/29/2024

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Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.

A-Treat Pink Lemonade Seltzer

(Spotted by DJ at Redner’s.)

Member’s Mark Mixed Berry Pie

(Spotted by Robbie at Sam’s Club.)

Kroger Cinnamon Celebration Dessert Fluff

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)

Private Selection Southern Roasted Pecan Mini Pies
Private Selection Chocolate Fudge Mini Pies

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)

McCormick Greek Style Gyro With Tzatziki Sauce Seasoning & Sauce Duo
McCormick Shawarma Pita With Garlic Sauce Seasoning & Sauce Duo

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

Private Selection Chef Inspired Szechuan Style Broccoli & Edamame
Private Selection Chef Inspired Umami Chili Green Beans

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)

Egglife Roasted Garlic & Herb Egg White Wraps

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)

Hill Country Fare Original Hot Cocoa Mix
Hill Country Fare No Sugar Added Hot Cocoa Mix
Hill Country Fare With Mini Marshmallows Hot Cocoa Mix

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Lesser Evil White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn

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Lesser Evil White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn.

I see a future where this flavor is combined with a Lesser Evil chocolate popcorn flavor. (Spotted by Sage G at Whole Foods.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: 7-Select Hot Cocoa Flavored Snack Pie

Marvo Leave a comment

7-Select Hot Cocoa Flavored Snack Pie.

Does this come with warming instructions because it looks like it should? (Spotted by Sarah R at 7-Eleven.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email ([email protected]) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Updated Taco Salad (2024)

Karen 3 Comments

There was a time when I ate a lot of Wendy’s chili. Everybody else would have their huge Bacon Cheese Whatever monstrosities, large fries, buckets of nuggets, and mega Frosties, and I would sit there, primly eating my fiber-rich, beany soup. My will was strong.

But I’ve weakened in my morals since then and have started experimenting with other Wendy’s fare, even burgers. But I still consider myself a Wendy’s Chili enthusiast, so I had to try the latest incarnation of its Taco Salad. This new incarnation of the classic entrée boasts new crispy chili lime tortilla strips, fire-roasted corn, and a “creamy zesty salsa” dressing, in addition to the standard ingredients: lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, and, of course, chili.

When you open the plastic clamshell, it looks like a normal fast-food salad with a few tablespoons of corn kernels dropped on it; some of the corn had some visible char on it, but most did not. The other special ingredients—the seasoned tortilla strips, the creamy salsa dressing, and, of course, the chili–came separately. Considering the fact that my default portion was pretty close to filling the whole container before any of the add-ins went on, clearly construction of my bespoke salad would be a careful process.

If you eat Wendy’s chili regularly, then you know that sometimes it’s more watery than others. This time, it was pretty watery, so instead of dumping a bunch of it onto my salad and giving it a bath, I went in with a spoon and teased out the solid components, effectively straining out the water. I only got through about a third of the chili before I had enough for my plate, and I didn’t use all of the dressing because it seemed like too much of a good thing. If you want to eat this with all of the chili and all of the dressing, you are braver than I, and hopefully wearing clothes that don’t need to be dry-cleaned.

There is a lot going on in this salad, to put it mildly. I know saying, “It was like a party in my mouth” is totally played out, but my mouth was definitely experiencing some kind of festive event. I mostly enjoyed all the different flavors and textures, although the temperature fluctuation was a little strange; when I went from a forkful of pipping-hot chili to a cold clump of lettuce, it felt a little like something had gone wrong with my meal, but that’s just part of the experience.

Every component I can point to was good (although the “creamy salsa” dressing was basically just a less-tangy Ranch to my palate), yet I found trying to arrange perfect bites and get a little bit of everything in one mouthful was kind of…stressful. Next time I have it, and am confident I will have it again, I need to chillax and remember that I’m not being judged by the Wendy’s Police.

After all that, I’m pretty happy with this incarnation of the Taco Salad. Just be aware that assembling and eating the darned thing is more of a project than you might have been anticipating.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Salad w/dressing) 640 calories, 39 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 1550 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 27 grams of protein.