Trader Joe's Organic Iced Oatmeal Baked Whole Grain Bar

Organic whole grain oats are super duper healthy. And they taste okay. Nothing to complain about, right? But hey, let's face it: whole grain oats are kinda boring, bland, and plain.

That's where that icing comes in. There's a lot riding on that icing. That icing is tasked with taking something dull and turning it into something you'll actually choose to eat over a Snickers or a Twinkie from the vending machine when you get that mid-day munchies feeling at work.

And it does a pretty decent job in this particular case. There's a sweet, almost milky, taste to these bars. They're nice and soft, too. Very easy and pleasant to chew. 

A lot of the ingredients are pretty obvious: oats, rice, sugar. But there are some surprises as well: fig paste, vanilla chips, and cinnamon. They all come together for a unique flavor that can curb a sweet tooth or a mid-day snack attack without too much indulgence. I was impressed.

$4.69 for six single serving bars is a bit steep in my opinion. But hey, they're organic, kosher, gluten free, and have three grams of fiber in every bar. 

Another product of Canada. You'd think we could produce oatmeal bars here in the states, but Trader Joe has always been international like that. 

Sonia and I will throw out seven and a half stars for Trader Joe's Organic Iced Oatmeal Baked Whole Grain Bar.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Stollen Crisps

Since I haven't spotted any other beloved German holiday treats such as Lebkuchen or Pfeffernüsse at my local Trader Joe's lately, today we're looking at the Stollen Crisps, which were available last year but eluded our sights in terms of a review.

Always busy this time of year trying to get around to all the seasonal products TJ's has to offer and we never manage to cover everything. But isn't that how life in general goes around the holidays? So much to do and a few things inevitably slip through the cracks. I don't know how you folks with big families do it. Anyhoo, let's get started with the review before we're staring down the barrel of 500 words for a simple looksee at what is essentially a box of fancy crackers.

My biggest problem with this line of "crisps" from TJ's is never the taste.

See: Trader Joe's Strawberry Jalapeño Crisps

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps

and Trader Joe's Fig & Olive Crisps.

They've always been unique and interesting flavors. My problem is the texture—they tend to be overly hard, to the point that they hurt my teeth after just a few bites. This problem can be mitigated by soft spreads, cheeses, and/or dips. Let's see if the stollen are any different.

Honestly, this product seems slightly less rigid than the previous selections mentioned above. Is it just my imagination? Have my teeth been strengthened by that enamel repair toothpaste I've been using? Your guess is as good as mine. They're still crunchy and crispy to a fault, but not quite as extreme by my reckoning.

There's a lovely grape and citrus smell that wafts from the bag after opening. They taste like fruitcake dusted with powdered sugar—like orange and lemon zest underneath raisins and sweet buttermilk bread. It's a very nice flavor indeed. There's a surprising amount of fruit in the crackers. Each piece contains at least four or five cross sections of raisin. That might be one of the reasons this offering seems a tad softer than its predecessors.

They recommend eating these with Brie or Gouda but I'm not really a highbrow cheese guy. If we had some kind of chevre on hand, I'd grab that, but unfortunately it's going to be Philadelphia to the rescue once again. But hey, it works. It's a delicious combination in my humble opinion.

The citrus element really makes this product memorable. Some might say it's too sweet with visible amounts of sugar on the crisps, but hey, it's the holiday season and it's time to celebrate.

$4.29 for the box. Product of Canada. There's something delightfully festive and Christmassy about this item, and I'd definitely buy it again. Sonia and I will go with 8 out of 10 stars for Trader Joe's Stollen Crisps.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Overnight Oats

Pumpkin Overnight Oats, hereinafter referred to as POO, was never going to be a contender for the hallowed halls of the Pantheon on this blog. I'll give anything the old college try, but I'm starting to see a pattern here. Super indulgent desserts that go the pumpkin pie route can totally work. I'm thinking Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake. Savory stuff that sticks to a squashy, herby essence is also a safe bet. Just one example would be Trader Joe's Fall Harvest Salsa. Products that get slathered in pumpkin pie spices and pumpkin puree while still trying to maintain an air of wholesomeness and healthiness like this one? Ehhhh. Those usually miss the mark in my opinion.

On one hand, the POO is thick and full of whole grain oats, much like TJ's other overnight oat offerings. It's $1.99 for the single serving cup. It's not a terrible value. It's filling. It's unique.

But on the other hand, I don't think the pumpkin spices and pumpkin puree really work in this application. You can get away with throwing things like apples and peanut butter into oatmeal, but would you really ever want to throw a piece of pumpkin pie into your oatmeal? I doubt it. I wouldn't.

Sonia isn't as turned off as I am. And honestly, I thought there was a good chance this would be so bad that I'd gag and spit it out of my mouth. It's truly not that awful. I could finish it by myself if I had to. I just don't think either of us would ever buy it again.

Kosher. Gluten free. Keep refrigerated. Sonia will go with seven out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Pumpkin Overnight Oats. I'll throw out five stars for the POO.

Sonia's score: 7 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chile Crackers

Aside from some aesthetically-pleasing packaging and the fact that I generally enjoy spicy foods, these crackers don't seem particularly alluring to me. They're being prominently displayed at TJ's stores and on traderjoes.com right now, but I'm still a bit skeptical. Can a cracker flaunt a nice crunchy texture while simultaneously delivering wheaty goodness and peppery heat?

Meh. Sorta. They're oddly dense. They're not like super light wafery crackers. They remind me a bit of the recently-reviewed Savory Squares in terms of density and overall texture, but those were made with tapioca and almond flour primarily and these are wheat-based.

Upon first bite, they don't seem very spicy. I must admit the pepper builds up on the tongue after munching on a full cracker or two but I wouldn't have minded a good bit more chile pepper flavor. 

There's also tomato powder listed in the ingredients, but I wouldn't say they taste tomatoey either. It's just a dull, dry, salty wheat flavor with a modest amount of heat.

My favorite Trader Joe's brand crackers in recent memory are definitely the Green Olive Flats, which provided us with a pleasant surprise. Despite both Sonia and I loving spicy, peppery foods, I don't know if we'd pick these up again. 

I love the concept here but I don't love the execution. I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with these crackers.

$2.99 for the 5 ounce box. Product of the United Kingdom. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Chile Crackers seven out of ten stars. I guess that's about right.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Spanish Style Rice

I'm down with white rice. It's the primary staple for over half the world's population. Brown rice? Check. Fried rice? Sure. Basmati rice? You know it. And this here Spanish rice? It's tasty.

But isn't it more like Mexican rice than Spanish rice? If you do a quick search, the internet machine will tell you Spanish rice is yellow and Mexican rice is orange. This looks orange-ish to me.

Sonia says it's pretty close to the rice her aunt would make when she was young, and it's certainly a dead ringer for the rice they serve in all the mom and pop's Mexican restaurants around here. At any rate, Spanish rice and Mexican rice are pretty similar, and this particular Trader Joe's offering is quite delicious. The seasoning blend is on point, featuring garlic, onion, paprika, and tomato powder.

Microwave and stove top heating methods are given. We nuked ours and it came out just fine.

Vegan. $3.69 for the four serving box, which comes with two separate plastic pouches of two servings each. Would buy again. Sonia and I will both throw out eight out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Spanish Style Rice.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes

Below, you'll find another video review featuring both the beautiful wifey and me.

I'm not sure if I put the nutrition info anywhere in the video, so I'll drop it right here.

$2.49 for 5 green onion pancakes actually imported from Taiwan. Vegan. We would definitely buy Trader Joe's Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes again.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Brown Sugar Cardamom Buns

Fun fact: cardamom is the third-most expensive spice in existence after, presumably, saffron and that stuff they get from the sandworms on Arrakis. It's apparently used widely as a baking ingredient in Scandinavian countries. Those zany Vikings and their cardamom...

But seriously though, I don't think I've had many, if any, pastries with cardamom as a prominently featured flavor/ingredient ever in my life...until now. And if I'm honest, I didn't like it that much, however, the beautiful wifey enjoyed it quite a bit. We haven't disagreed on a product this strongly in quite a while.

We both agreed that there was something fall-ish about this item. Cardamom isn't a far cry from allspice or clove in terms of flavor and intensity. It might not be a pumpkin spice, per se, but it's "pumpkin spice adjacent" in my opinion.

The brown sugar element was nice, providing a sweet, nutty essence to the bun. But the relative bitterness and spiciness of the cardamom was a turn-off for me, while Sonia thought it made the product unique and memorable. The bready part of the pastry was fairly standard, highly reminiscent of last fall's Apple Cinnamon Buns, neither stale nor unusually fresh—passable but not praise-worthy if you ask me.

$4.49 for two big sweet spiced buns, found with the other baked goods. This one will get a thumbs up from the beautiful wifey and a thumbs down from me. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Nathan's score: 5.5 out of 10.

Sonia's score: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Savory Squares

Ah, nice. New crackers. Might as well try 'em. Kosher. Vegan. Gluten free, too, eh? Must be rice-based or something like that. Wait. Nut and seed flour? Tapioca, almond, sunflower seed, flaxseed, and potato-based?? Now this I gotta taste. To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical, but there's no way we're not trying these immediately.

From the moment you open the bag, there's an interesting smell. It's nutty, I'd say...not very cheesy to be honest...and definitely not like your ordinary wheat-based cracker. And the taste? I'm glad I went in with zero expectations, because I think I would have been disappointed if I had been craving a traditional Cheez-It type cracker. I mean, sure, it's an obvious comparison, but I don't find these fascinating alternative crackers to be a substitution for the classic wheat and cheese-based snack. 

I wouldn't say they're better than Cheez-Its. I wouldn't really say they're worse, either. They're just...different. I'm quite puzzled by these other reactions online that say these are "100% a dupe for a Cheez-It." I strongly disagree with that assertion.

These are like wannabe Cheez-Its from a health food store. I grew up with a wheat allergy when I was young. This tastes like the weird, expensive stuff my parents would give me to make me think I wasn't missing out on anything. When my friends would sneak me a taste of the real deal, I knew I was missing out on something.

As I got older, however, items with that health food store kinda vibe really grew on me. As a young adult without access to a Trader Joe's, I found myself craving that alternative stuff but actually buying the name brand wheat-based products simply because they were cheaper and easier to find in regular grocery stores. Now I'm middle-aged and I can buy original Cheez-Its or their alternative flour counterparts whenever I want to.

I'm not usually in the mood for cheesy crackers, but if I got a craving, I'd probably just get traditional Cheez-Its three quarters of the time and something like Trader Joe's Savory Squares the other quarter. Sonia doesn't like the aftertaste of these crackers. She thinks they're a little too bitter. She also thinks the texture is too hard and dense as compared to Cheez-Its and other wheat-based crackers.

$3.99 for the five serving box. I appreciate these crackers for their unique ingredients and pleasant crunchy texture but I don't think they're really my thing in the end. Six out of ten stars from me. Sonia will go with six out of ten as well for Trader Joe's Savory Squares. Let us know what you think of this product down in the comments, particularly if you're on a vegan or gluten-free diet.

Bottom line: 6 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola

When I was a kid, I had to have sugary cereal first thing in the morning. Nothing else would get me out of bed. Bacon and eggs? Nah. Not my thing, certainly not minutes after waking up. Sugar was like my caffeine up until the age of 22 or so. After that first dose of candy coated morsels in a bowl and an episode of Inspector Gadget, I was ready to face my day.

Now I'm the opposite. Lately, cereal has been like a mid-afternoon sweet tooth craving type snack for me rather than breakfast. I do like some sugar in the form of a beverage in the morning, but the food I crave first thing when I'm up is more like lunch or dinner fare. Peanut butter and chocolate on rolled oats with milk sounds like a nice pick-me-up later in the day.

Some granola can be unpleasantly hard. I feel like this product has a nice granola crunch, but the mouthfeel is tempered by copious amounts of peanut butter and chocolate, both of which are much softer than plain granola. Mix some milk into the equation and we've got some bite-sized nuggets that are downright soft on the outside but still firm and crunchy underneath.

Flavor-wise, there's a pretty nice balance of chocolate and peanut butter. I'll almost always err in the direction of peanut butter when mixing the two—not that I have anything against good chocolate. It is "dark chocolate," which is generally not my preferred variety, but I feel it works quite well in this case when played against peanut butter, sweetened crisp rice, and vanilla in the background. This product tastes vastly better than Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Protein Granola in my humble opinion, but then again, this one doesn't have pea protein, so it was always going to do better in the flavor department.

It's great for turning plain yogurt into a Reese's-esque treat, or it's fine in milk or even just straight out of the package. It could serve as breakfast, dessert, or a mid-day snack with equal proficiency in each case. It's one of the better granola products I've had recently and I really can't think of any major complaints.

$3.99 for the resealable bag. Kosher. Would buy again. Nathan's score: 8/10. Sonia's score: 9/10 for Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Mini Croissant Swirls

We bought this product relatively recently, but since then it has been brought to my attention that this item is "on a production hold" or something to that effect. Pretty sure that translates to "it's discontinued and you'll never see it again," but just in case there are some bags left in your local TJ's freezer or they resume production at some point in the future, we'll go ahead and review it because why not? There are yummy-looking croissants in my freezer so I'm going to eat them and tell you my thoughts...

The French consistently do pastries quite well. And this is, indeed, a product of France. The bread part of this dessert is scrumptious—flaky, buttery, simultaneously crispy and soft. It's a top-shelf baked good all the way. Sonia loved dunking her croissants in coffee and slurping the java off the bottom of the miniature pastries.

The chocolate chips are tiny, but there's a surprisingly generous amount of them in the swirls. They come out of the oven semi-melted from the heat, and then they finish melting in your mouth. Quite good. Truth be told, I'd probably gravitate toward a fruit filling or maybe even some kind of custard or cream, but I can't complain about milk chocolate in the end. The swirls aren't nearly as delicious after they've cooled fully, but we can't fault them for not being fresh...you know, when they're not fresh.

$3.99 for eight small but bakery-quality croissants. Would buy again (if it ever returns). Another eight out of 10 star affair for Nathan. Seven out of 10 for Sonia on Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Mini Croissant Swirls. Not bad.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Dutch Griddle Cakes

Those Dutch are apparently pretty savvy when it comes to breakfasty, carby, cakey stuff. Stroopwafels, anyone? These aren't quite as desserty as stroopwafels, but they're thick and hearty and bread-o-riffic, and they go great with butter and syrup and anything you might put on a good ol' 'Murican pancake.

And that's probably what they're most obviously comparable to: pancakes. But there is an element of something...denser than a pancake. I wanted to say, like, an English muffin or a Welsh cake, but no. Neither of those are quite right. When all else fails, I check to see what traderjoes.com says, and they nailed it when they compared these puppies to crumpets. Those TJ's crumpets might have been the only honest-to-goodness crumpets I've ever had, but I remember the texture and it was just delightfully deep and dense, and wasn't too far a cry from these doughy Dutch discs.

They're a little buttery even before you put butter on them. Maybe it's the canola oil? Are we even supposed to be eating canola oil? I've given up on figuring out what's good for me these days. That young muscular guy who never wears a shirt says donuts are good for me and that crazy old man with the suit and bowtie says I shouldn't be eating garbanzo beans. Me am confusion. I digress.

A reader mentioned that these go great with the recently-reviewed chicken breakfast sausage patties. Dang, I wish we had saved one because I bet that would be an excellent combo. But these are very tasty on their own, too—pancake style.

$3.49 for eight griddle cakes. Product of the Netherlands. Would buy again. 8 out of 10 stars from both Sonia and Nathan for Trader Joe's Dutch Griddle Cakes.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Joe's Os Cereal Bars

We've never reviewed the original Joe's O's cereal on this blog. We have, however, reviewed the Honey Nut O's, the Organic High Fiber O's, the Fruity O's, the Triple Berry O's, the Pumpkin O's, and the Hot Cocoa O's. Joe's O's and their derivatives share some obvious similarities with classic Cheerios cereal, namely: whole grain oat-based morsels in little "O" shapes.

These cereal bars are nothing but Joe's O's, peanuts, and peanut butter all smooshed together into individually-wrapped bars. There's a really nice balance of sweetness and rich, creamy peanut butter flavor. The oats are filling and wholesome but they don't overshadow the dessert-ish aspects of the bars. Both the beautiful wifey and I were pleasantly surprised with the flavor.

Despite their overall softness, there's a crispness to them that's nice, too. I was thinking there was some rice in there somewhere, but nope. It's all just oat cereal and peanut stuff.

The serving size is adequate to grab a breakfast on the run or to curb your mid-day sweet tooth. The fat, calories, and carbs aren't too bad, considering how relatively indulgent they taste. 

They're a little messy, particularly in the heat, but thankfully you can keep them in the wrapper while you eat them to avoid getting oily peanut butter all over your hands.

$2.99 for five bars. Kosher. Yet another product of Canada. Would buy again. Sonia and I are both on board for the same score: 8 out of 10 stars for Trader Joe's Joe's O's Peanut Butter Cereal Bars.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Sonora Style Flour Tortillas

Like many young Latinas, Sonia grew up eating corn tortillas on a regular basis. Quesadillas were go-to snacks in her household. The occasional flour tortilla wasn't unheard of, but "Sonora style" was unfamiliar even to my Mexican-American wife...until now.

Sonora is a state in "El Norte" or Northern Mexico, just south of the US state of Arizona. Their tortillas are known for being stretchy and soft and for puffing up a bit when heated on a griddle. Sonia swears they were puffing up way more right until the moment I entered the kitchen with my camera. Just like photons of light, flour tortillas apparently behave differently when being observed.

And they taste different raw compared to when they're toasted. Heating these tortillas really woke up the nutty, wheaty flavors of the flour. At room temperature, I felt they were somewhat bland. They got crispy after a minute on the griddle, too, but there was still a pleasant, soft chewiness to them.

In short, we found they made great quesadillas and they'd be perfect as a shell for grilled burritos. Personally, we felt like they weren't fantastic when served raw as a soft taco shell, for example, but this is our first time at the Sonora style tortilla rodeo.

If you're familiar with Sonora style tortillas, let us know how authentic this Trader Joe's offering is. Compared to other tortillas, we both think they're interesting, tasty, and fairly versatile.

$2.99 for the 12 serving resealable pack. Would buy again. Sonia's score: 9 out of 10. Nathan's score: 8 out of 10 for Trader Joe's Sonora Style Flour Tortillas.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Tiny Fruity Cuties Cereal

In 2013, we checked out the now defunct Trader Joe's Fruity O's. To be honest, I don't really remember what they were like, but at least I have that old review to jog my memory. I'd imagine these fruity cuties are quite similar, although I believe these are modeled after Trix while that old product was an imitation of Froot Loops.

This time around, instead of "O" shapes, we have fun, assorted fruit shapes, a la "Fruity Shapes" edition Trix cereal. Well, now that I take a closer look, are these really fruit shapes? They look like yellow and orange crescents alongside pink and purple flowers. Meh. Whatever.

It's been a hot minute since I've had Trix, but if memory serves correctly these do indeed taste similar to the classic General Mills offering. It's sweet and lightly fruity. The ingredients just say "natural flavors" so I'm not sure exactly what fruits are supposed to be represented here. I'd say it's something vaguely citrusy..? 

Most of these sugary corn-based cereals irritate the roof of my mouth after a bowlful, but I must say this one didn't seem quite as offensive as others on that front. These are just a tad softer, although I've heard this product gets stale and hard rather easily.

Despite being corn and oat-based, the product is not officially gluten-free since, according to the side panel, the product "may contain wheat." Good to know.

$3.99 for the 11 serving box. Kosher. Product of Canada. Would buy again. Sonia's score: 8/10. Nathan's score: 7/10 for Trader Joe's Tiny Fruity Cuties Cereal.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Garlicky Pasta

I've used the word "garlicky" on this blog many times, but I still have a problem with that "k" sneaking in there. There's no "k" in the word "garlic." But I guess we would want to pronounce it like an "s" sound without the "k." In other words "garlicy" looks like "garlissy," you know what I mean? We could always just hyphenate it like "garlic-y" like we do when the word is made-up or not-yet-recognized as a real word. But apparently folks use "garlicky" enough that it has an official spelling, and that spelling includes a "k" whether we like it or not.

So...this pasta is more garlicky than anything else. I guess it's pasta-y too, but all pasta is pasta-y, so that's not even worth mentioning. But I mean, if you're gonna call it "garlicky," I'd prefer it be really freaking garlicky than, you know, just kinda garlicky. And I mean, it comes covered in a medium-thick garlic sauce that is pretty tasty. It has a decent amount of garlic flavor. I guess I just want more, but then again I am a total garlic fiend. I think chunks of actual garlic might help, too.

Sonia loves this dish although she, too, wishes there were more garlic flavor. She added red pepper flakes to her portion of the bag and says it really helped open up the garlic essences in the sauce and gave the whole thing a little kick.

Texture-wise, the spaghetti-esque pasta pieces are soft and supple. The sauce is pretty smooth with no chunks of anything except some sparsely scattered bits of parsley. I think garlic, onions, scallions, or anything from the allium family could have helped not only in the flavor department but the texture one too. Carrots and bell peppers or any other basic veggies might have worked, like in the recently-reviewed stir fry.

Sonia is definitely a bigger fan than I am, but I'm not hating by any means. It looks like four and a half stars from the beautiful wifey and three and a half stars from me, meaning she'd give it a 9 out of 10 and I'd give it more like a 7 out of 10. 

Should I just do scores that way from now on? Should we each just give an "x out of 10" score and then we just average it for the bottom line? Is that less confusing than two "x out of 5" scores? Let me know in the comments.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Bake At Home Organic Garlic Bread

I really try not to let other people on the internet influence my opinion when writing reviews, but in this instance I couldn't escape all of the negative chatter about this product. Some folks were even circulating rumors that Trader Joe's corporate had directed store managers to take this bread off the shelves at certain(?) stores. Others said crazy things like their family of 15 couldn't even finish the six serving loaf and loads of other such nonsensical hyperbole.

I'm here to tell you it's not that bad. Is it great? No. But it's not terrible in our humble opinions. I mean, it's an odd concept: organic bread vacuum sealed up in plastic and preserved like King Tut, complete with oxygen absorber. There's even garlic spread already spread in between the two halves of the loaf. Then you unseal it, even out the spread between the halves, and toss it into the oven for 15 minutes at 425°F.

The bread kinda smelled like sourdough and plastic even after removing all the packaging. It browned nicely in the oven and came out smelling a bit better than when it went in. The top half of the loaf was inordinately thin and the bottom half was equally thick, so the top wound up being crispy and overly crunchy while the bottom remained doughy and much softer—although honestly, both halves were quite stiff and chewy.

As weird as it looked and smelled, I thought the taste of the garlic spread was okay. The bread itself wasn't bad either, but nor was it anything special. Mind you, this bread had a "best by" date of July 2nd (purchased this past Sunday). That's "fresh-baked" bread that can sit on your kitchen counter for almost three months...at least in theory anyway.

$3.99 for the loaf. Interesting concept. Don't think I'd buy again. Still, it isn't anywhere near as awful as some people are saying it is. Sonia and I polished most of it off in the course of a single day. Easy enough to prepare. It's just a little tougher than I'd have liked, texture-wise, and the flavor was just good but not stellar—far from inedible, but certainly a little weird. Three and a half stars from Sonia. Three stars from me for Trader Joe's Bake At Home Organic Garlic Bread.

Bottom line: 6.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Mini Mochi Rice Nuggets

So many Japanese food products can be called "mochi," things can get a bit confusing. The first mochi I learned about were spherical ice cream treats with a soft, stretchy rice shell. Then I discovered sweet, chewy little rice bits called mochi served as toppings at all those frozen yogurt places. Then I became aware of appetizers with mushrooms inside also known as mochi. And we've seen at least two iterations of these crunchy mochi from Trader Joe's, one with a rock band theme and another with a spicy fire motif on the packaging. What do they all have in common? Well, rice, I suppose. Other than that, there's quite a gamut of Asian snacks, desserts, and appetizers all bestowed with the moniker "mochi."

But what's in a name, right? Are these little guys any good? Well, they're very much like, though not identical to, the above-mentioned rock band-themed mochi rice nuggets. The most obvious difference: these ones are smaller. You might have guessed that from the word "mini" in the product title. They are miniature indeed. They are essentially dime-sized, as seen in the photo.

The only other differences are alternate types of oils and lecithins used in the ingredients. Both contain rice and sea salt. They're crispy, crunchy, and very mild in terms of flavor.

I don't particularly care for them as stand-alone snacks, but Sonia likes them that way. They turned out to be great additives for soups and salads. You don't even necessarily need an Asian salad for them to work, either. Their taste is neutral enough that I loved them thrown into my typical spring mix with spinach, chickpeas, mozzarella, and Italian dressing.

Soup-wise, they work with everything from tomato to ramen to vegetable. If you're craving a crunch in your soup, these are basically just rice-based croutons. Other suggestions I've read about but not yet tried include: adding them to eggs, casseroles, or noodles, or even smashing them up and using them as gluten-free breading or crust. All of those sound tasty.

At $2 for the resealable bag, it's hard to complain about the value either. While I can't really feature myself ever craving these crispy crunchy croutons by themselves, I would totally purchase them again for their versatility as an additive to other foods. Sonia likes them both ways. Four stars from her. Three and a half stars from me for Trader Joe's Mini Mochi Rice Nuggets.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.