V8 Splash Smoothies. Peach Mango, Strawberry Banana and Citrus Blend. $1.49 per 10-ounce or $2.99 per 64-ounce bottle.
Bonnie: The name V8 used to mean a nutritious juice made with eight vegetables. Today this name is on a variety of fruit juices, including these new smoothies made with soy protein. Because of their opaque look, I thought these smoothies would taste viscous and nasty. I was wrong. These are refreshingly tasty, especially the Peach Mango, and nutritious. A serving of V8 Splash Smoothies contains more protein (from the soy), calcium, niacin, and vitamins B12 and B6 than regular V8, as well as one-tenth the sodium.
Don't get me wrong: Regular V8 is still a great drink and is more natural than V8 Splash Smoothies. But nutritionally, V8 Splash Smoothies are more in the league of a power bar.
Carolyn: V8 is a little late to the smoothie table. In fact, I thought smoothies were a trend that had passed. If not, these drinks should certainly accelerate their demise.
Smoothies should be rich and thick; these are thin and watery. The Strawberry Banana flavor looks like Pepto-Bismol and doesn't taste much better. Ordinary orange juice is thicker than the Citrus Blend and also tastes better. In other words, I couldn't disagree with Bonnie more.
Original V8 Vegetable Juice may not be any taste treat, but it could sure teach V8 Splash Smoothies a thing or two about richness and thickness.
Amy's Bowls. Santa Fe Enchilada, Teriyaki, Stuffed Pasta Shells and Brown Rice & Vegetables. $3.50 per 10-ounce frozen bowl.
Bonnie: Amy's Kitchen is playing follow the leader once again. She introduced pocket sandwiches that are like Hot Pockets, Toaster Pops that are like Pillsbury Toaster Strudel and, now, bowl entrees like the ones from Stouffer's, Uncle Ben's and Healthy Choice. But Amy's are not just like them.
The big difference? Amy's Bowls are all-organic, high in fiber and rich in nutrients. The Santa Fe Enchilada bowl serves up an amazing 10 grams of fiber, or more than two-thirds of what's recommended for a day. That's more fiber in one serving than in any frozen entree I've seen. This bowl is also tasty (although a tad mushy) and provides a decent source of vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. I also liked her pasta shells stuffed with broccoli, spinach, cheese and 5 grams of fiber.
Amy's Bowls are nutritionally similar to Healthy Choice's, but are higher in fiber and much lower in sodium than frozen bowl meals from Stouffer's and Uncle Ben's.
Amy's Teriyaki and Brown Rice & Vegetables are also tasty and nourishing, but less mainstream because they contain chunks of tofu. I still recommend all of these.
Carolyn: Most people probably buy Amy's products for "Bonnie" reasons: i.e., they're organic, all-natural and nutritious. I buy them because they taste great. Amy's roasted vegetable pocket sandwich and gourmet organic pizzas meet or beat anything made by Hot Pockets, DiGiorno or Freschetta.
But these bowls are more typical of natural foods. In other words, they're hearty mush. Mushroom is the dominant flavor in both the Teriyaki and the Brown Rice & Vegetables. It makes both bowls taste gamey, despite their lack of meat. The stuffed shells are the most mainstream and the best, although they're not appreciably better than Celentano's.
Quaker Quakes Cheddar Cheese Corn Ring Snacks. Cheddar Cheese, BBQ and Nacho Nacho. $2.99 per 6-ounce bag.
Bonnie: Rice snacks were the only cheese-flavored snack from Quaker until the introduction of these new Cheddar Cheese Corn Ring Quakes. As for taste, these are a big improvement over those dry cardboard-like rice cakes. Quaker Quakes are lightly cheese-flavored rings similar to Cheetos, Cheez Doodles or Jax, yet with about half their fat. Unfortunately, the Nacho Nacho and Cheddar Cheese Quakes are twice as salty. These Quakes also contain LOTS of additives.
Carolyn: Add cheese doodles to the list of foods that I never would have thought were fried.
Based on these baked Cheddar Cheese Corn Ring Quakes, I'd also add cheese doodles to the list of foods that taste fine with less fat. Quakes Cheddar Cheese taste and crunch just like regular cheese doodles. The Nacho Nacho and BBQ varieties are like General Mills' Wahoos!, only a lot less corny. Without seeing the package, you wouldn't think the Cheddar Cheese had a corn base either.
So buy these if you're on a diet and like fried snacks, not because you like corn. Also don't confuse these with Quaker's Quakes mini rice cakes or Quake cereal (although by giving all these products such similar names, Quaker certainly is inviting that kind of confusion).
Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "Jell-O: A Biography" (Harvest/Harcourt). Each week they critique three new food items. © Universal Press Syndicate