Que college me sitting on the couch on a weeknight with my mom circa 2017. I’m dilly-dallying on my computer pretending to do homework for class the following day drinking a glass of pinot grigio. My mom’s watching Shark Tank on television and rambling about how unique or ridiculous the products up for investment are. I’m glancing up every once in a while with semi-interest until a buzzword got my full attention.
Overnight oatmeal.
My mom hits me on the shoulder.
You like that!” she says. And she was right. I do like that.
See, I had just transferred schools to one closer to home in hopes I’d save money. A tale as old as time. While all of my friends were at college far away, I was working on myself a bit more during my solo time. You know, going to the gym religiously, watching what I ate and most importantly, meal prepping and learning about new recipes.
I was never really one for breakfast, but I’d recently started making overnight oats because of how easy, delicious and inexpensive it was. Some raw oatmeal, the best oat milk money could buy, a couple of berries and of course, Trader Joe’s almond butter. My breakfast would cost under a dollar every morning and fill me until lunch.
So, when I overheard the term “ready-to-eat oatmeal” on Shark Tank, my ears perked up like a dog.
The product was MUSH, a ready-to-eat oatmeal brand that was pitched as a ready-to-eat, healthy breakfast by entrepreneurs Ashley Thompson and Kat Thomas. Each container was promised to be rich in flavor, high in fiber, gluten-free and naturally sweetened by dates for zero added sugar. As someone who was prepping overnight oatmeal daily at the time, I thought the idea was genius. But to me, there was one flaw. As a broke college student, I felt that per package, MUSH just seemed like way too much money.
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Though, Mark Cuban didn’t agree with me. They ended up making a deal and MUSH has been around ever since. It’s something I would see in the grocery store relatively irregularly and continuously had curiosities about, but I really can’t lie, that price tag always got me. Around $5 for one small tub of oats when I could do it for less than a buck? Never seemed feasible.
Then it happened. Last week, I got a message in my inbox from MUSH’s team. They wanted to send me every flavor of MUSH to try out for myself and see how I liked it. Ultimately, it’s as if they were reading my mind. So, what have I been doing every morning for the past week? Yup, eating MUSH.
The Tasting
I started out with their strawberry flavor since I love berries in my oatmeal so much. Upon opening, I didn’t really know what I was expecting. It literally looked like mush. I didn’t see any berry chunks, just mushy, off-pinkish/grey oatmeal ready for a good spooning. So, that’s what I did.
With the strawberry flavor, I absolutely wasn’t floored. I will say that it got me full which shocked me given the portion I received was on the smaller side, but it wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea.
For lunch, I figured I’d give MUSH a second shot with a non-fruity flavor, so I went with their MUSH + Crunch Honey Nut option, which includes more crunchy bits throughout. This is where the game changed a little for me. MUSH + Crunch definitely hit better than the non-crunch. The flavor was sweet but not too sweet, the crunch was subtle and not too overwhelming and the consistency (like the flavor prior) had me filled until dinner. Out of the two, the Crunch totally stole the show.
The Consensus
To continue on, I’ve had two MUSH’s every single day since receiving and I have to say I’m only really into MUSH with Crunch. Flavor-wise, every MUSH is pretty on-point. It’s got a classic, easy taste, but the MUSH by itself doesn’t feel worth the purchase for me. I get that it’s extra healthy and all that but it feels so able to do right in the comfort of your own kitchen the night before for pennies rather than multiple dollars.
I really, really wanted to fall in love with MUSH given the five whole years it’s been on my mind. I really even think the Crunch could go the extra mile with some added fruit, even. I love to go all out with my overnight oats, so I think even though MUSH is truly tasty, it will always lack a liiiiittle something for me.
Will I purchase MUSH? I’m not sure. I feel like I have to put myself in a scenario in which I’m more or less forced to purchase MUSH for me to give a definitive yes. For example, if I find myself on the road and I want to get breakfast at a roadside gas station and they just so happen to have MUSH, I’ll pick it up alongside a banana or something. If said roadside gas station were a Wawa? Maybe if I’m feeling health-conscious. Lastly, in my Brooklyn grocery store for $7? No, I will not.
Regardless, my opinion is only my opinion. MUSH was definitely fun to try out and I think everyone should give it a shot, especially if ready-to-eat oatmeal is your gig. Snag some below on Amazon and give yourself the at-home taste test. Let me know if you think I’m totally wrong!