Who doesn’t love a good snack! With the year of COVID, many people have gotten creative when it comes to trying new things.  I have tried several new snacks that I am excited to share with you.

Mochi

Mochi is a popular Japanese rice cake made from mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice. It has a gooey, delicious texture and it’s available in a variety of flavors. Mochi also comes in an icecream form. Mochi ice cream is a Japanese mochi confection with an ice cream filling. It’s a little different than the regular Mochi, it just has ice cream on the inside instead of rice cake. Some flavors can be sweeter than others, it all depends on preferences. The more popular flavors are red dean, green tea, strawberry and mango.

Mochi is available in many stores, including Walmart, Lotte, Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and H MART. Mochi can be a pricey treat, but it’s well worth it. The cost of a Mochi varies depending on the brand and where it is purchased; the price ranges from .50 cents to $5.00 per Mochi. If you want to try something new from Japan, I highly recommend Mochi.

Tru Fru

Tru Fru is a nutritious snack made with real fruit that is covered with premium chocolate. It doesn’t even taste healthy. Tru Fru is a gluten free, tasty and refreshing snack that you should try. They are hyper-chilled and fresh picked fruits that are ripe. Tru Fru’s are intended to be eaten right out of the bag or defrosted. Either way, they’re delicious. 

Tru Fru comes in a variety of different fruits and chocolate. Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries, and Blueberries are available with either covered white and milk chocolate or white and dark chocolate. The brand Tru Fru also sells Hyper Dried snacks. The Hyper Dried snacks are dried fruit with chocolate coating. Strawberries, raspberries, mangos, bananas and coconut melts are available with either Milk or Dark chocolate. 

Tru Fru’s can be purchased at Walmart, Harris Teeter, Target, Wegmans, Giant, Sprouse Market and even Amazon. You can also visit their website to find one of the local stores that sells Tru Fru. The Tru Fru 8 ounce bags are normally $5.99.

Açaí Bowls

If you enjoy fruit, I recommend trying açaí bowls. An açaí bowl is a bowl of blended acai berries and other fruits topped with fruit, granola,seeds, nuts, or chocolate. Açaí bowls, which have a thick consistency, are a healthier alternative to ice cream. They are high in antioxidants and high in nutrients. Açaí bowls can also be topped with a variety of ingredients. You can buy frozen açaí bowl packages and defrost them at home, or you can buy açaí bowls from smoothie shops, and there are even stores that only sell açaí bowls. You can find frozen açaí bowls at Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam’s club and even Amazon. You can also make your own açaí bowl at home, there are recipes online. Frozen Acai Bowls or if you make your own they will usually cost $1.50- $3.00 per bowl. It is much less expensive to make them yourself or to buy them frozen.

If you want to buy them at a shop, a new açaí bowl shop called Playa Bowls has opened in Reston Town Center (read more here), if you bring your student ID you can get a discount. There are also a variety of smoothie shops that sell them. Smoothie and açaí bowl shops typically charge between $10.00 and $15.00 per bowl.