My Honest Mosaic Foods Oat Bowls Review

Grocery store oatmeal is exhausting. It's healthier than grabbing a doughnut in the morning, but after years of tearing open brown packets and chewing on mysterious fruit-flavored bits (I still don't know what they're made of, but I'm confident that it's not fruit), I've been craving something different.

I was searching for frozen meal kits online when I stumbled on Mosaic Foods. Their line-up includes pizzas, veggies bowls, soups and--to my delight--oat bowls loaded with fruit, nuts, quinoa and other goodies.

First-time customers have to order 6, 12 or 18 meals at once, so I loaded up my box with three of each variety. Mosaic Foods has a rotating menu, but these were the available options at the time:

• Cranberry Cinnamon Oats
• Peanut Butter, Banana and Cacao Oats
• Golden Milk and Blackberry Oats
• Veggie Sausage and Gouda Oats

I've never tried oatmeal with compote, peanut butter, spices, vegetables or vegan "meat," so this opened a new world of possibilities. I applied a first-time coupon code, placed my order and waited for my box to arrive.

Mosaic oat bowls go straight in the freezer. When you're ready to eat, you heat them up in the microwave for a few minutes, stir and enjoy. Pretty straightforward.

Overall, these oat bowls are tasty, but some of the marketing is a little misleading. At $6.99 per bowl (at the time of writing this), they're also not cheap, so this is more of a splurge than a regular habit--unless you can afford it, of course.

Also, for the record: this is NOT a paid promotion. My opinions are completely honest and unfiltered. Let's dig in!

Cranberry Cinnamon Oats

I loved the cranberry chia compote on top that you stir into the oatmeal. I never thought of adding compote to oatmeal, but the bright, fruity flavor, crunchy seeds and soft texture complement the chewy oats. I could see myself adding jam to store-bought oatmeal in the future.

The website markets this variety as "your favorite fall flavors bundled in a bowl," and I could definitely taste the inspiration. Walnuts and pumpkin seeds crunched in every bite. Cinnamon added an extra touch of fall vibes, making this a good addition to cold winter mornings.

If you enjoy textured oatmeal, you'll appreciate the heavy sprinklings of nuts and seeds. However, I wouldn't recommend this one for people who prefer softer oats. The compote is also hot when it comes out of the microwave, so make sure you don't burn your tongue (like I did.)

Peanut Butter, Banana and Cacao Oats

A strong peanut butter aroma wafted from the bowl as soon as I removed it from the microwave. When I took a bite, peanut butter dominated everything. I love peanut butter, so I wasn't complaining, but I couldn't really taste the cacao. This tastes more like hot peanut butter mashed with oats than a healthy peanut butter cup.

Usually, I eat peanut butter cold, but it works surprisingly well in a hot dish. I guess it's not that different from peanut butter chicken. The rich, nutty flavor smothers the oats with a hint of sweetness.

Like the Cranberry Cinnamon Oats, this bowl is loaded with seeds, so prepare yourself for a lot of crunchiness. The banana flavor lingered in the background. I liked that the ingredients on the label are pretty straightforward: bananas, peanuts, whole grain oats, hazelnuts, etc.

I recommend this variety for anyone who likes sweetness in the morning but wants to cut back on pastries. However, the website reports that this recipe has 16g of fat--21% of your daily value--so this isn't ideal for people who prefer lighter fare.

Golden Milk and Blackberry Oats

True to its name, Golden Milk and Blackberry Oats has a cheerful golden hue. This bowl contains whole blackberries, not artificial "blackberry flavoring," adding a plump texture and juicy flavor to the oats. I couldn't taste the almond milk, but the crunchy sliced almonds definitely grabbed my attention. Faint sweetness and spiciness rounded out the flavors.

Overall, I enjoyed this recipe. However, I should mention that the "golden milk" branding is a little misleading. Turmeric doesn't appear on the ingredients list (maybe it falls under "spices," but if that's the case, I didn't detect it in the oats), and the flavors are more fruity than earthy. I noted a slight Indian influence, but this variety doesn't contain true golden milk.

Veggie Sausage and Gouda Oats

I cracked open the Veggie Sausage and Gouda Oats right away because I was excited to try a savory take on oatmeal. This variety offers a new twist on vegan meat, too. Forget about the jackfruit and seitan: Mosaic somehow turns dried apples into plant-based sausage.

I had a few reservations about mixing oatmeal with "meat" and cheese, but when I thought about it, oats don't have to be sweet. Like tofu, they're just a blank palette for any flavor.

When I took the bowl out of the microwave, a greasy, yellowish film had bubbled to the top. I'm not sure which ingredients produced it, but if greasiness puts you off, you might not care for this recipe.

However, I didn't mind it. I couldn't taste the cheese very well, but the onions and red peppers were the masters of umami. The grease--or maybe it was the gouda--made the oats soft and chewy. Eating oatmeal with vegetables made me feel healthy since, admittedly, I don't get enough in my diet.

As for the dried apple "meat": the picture on the label makes them look like seared breakfast sausage crumbles, but in the container, they're soft and greyish like hot dogs. You'll have to pan-fry them yourself if you want that seared effect.

They didn't quite taste like sausage--it was more of a savory flavor that's hard to describe. The texture was a little chewy and rubbery. Fortunately, eating them with a spoonful of oats masks the slightly unusual taste, and making dried apples taste even remotely like meat is impressive.

Should You Go For It?

When you have some extra cash, Mosaic oat bowls are worth a shot. Frozen foods can taste bland, but these bowls retain a decent amount of flavor. They're easy to stash in the freezer and heat up in the morning. However, they tend to be high in fat and sugar, so this isn't quite as healthy as a bowl of organic oats and seeds.

Have you tried Mosaic Foods? Let me know what you thought in the comments. And if you haven't, get $20 off your first order with my (non-sponsored) referral link.