Old Bay Blackened Seasoning. $1.99 per 1.9-ounce bottle.
Bonnie: Old Bay is a blend of seasonings in a bright yellow-and-blue tin that's synonymous with the Chesapeake Bay; blackened is a style of spicing linked to the Cajun region. This new version, named Old Bay Blackened, purports to be a marriage of the two. It's full of flavor, but is a watered-down (I guess I should say spiced-down) version of blackened. The folks at Old Bay must think the American palate can't take the heat.
Whether you can or can't, this is a tasty blend of spices that goes great with any seafood or poultry. Just sprinkle a serving of fish or chicken with two teaspoons of the mixture, and cook in butter or olive oil in a skillet for a flavorful dish.
Carolyn: I enjoyed the catfish dinner I made from this Old Bay Blackened Seasoning. It was pleasant and easy, if not quite what I expected. I associate both Old Bay and blackened seasoning with a certain amount of culinary heat. But even using twice as much of this new version of Old Bay as suggested, it was hardly hot at all.
Intense flavors engender intense feelings; a mild flavor like Old Bay Blackened inspires only mild feelings. But the potential audience of people who might mildly like this is much larger than the one for traditional blackened seasoning or the more intense original Old Bay. Even people like me, who like heat, might use a milder seasoning more often.
A packaging note: Old Bay Blackened comes in a plastic bottle rather than the classic tin, although its label retains the blue-and-yellow color scheme and the funky fish clip art.
Tropical Sprite Remix. $1.39 per 2-liter bottle.
Bonnie: Sprite's first spin-off flavor is tropical. Like regular Sprite, this contains no caffeine and is a clear beverage, but Remix contains a tropical fruit flavor (pineapple?) in addition to the original lemon-lime.
If you like Sprite and often mix it with a splash of juice, you might like this. The 20-ounce bottle contains 2 1/2 servings, or about 250 all-sugar calories. There's no diet version yet.
Carolyn: There are no new ideas, just new variations on old ones. The inspirations for this new soda variation are remixed music CDs and the remixing going on at convenience stores.
In fact, a Coca-Cola Co. spokesperson said this new Sprite flavor is named after the way kids mix flavors of soft drinks at fountains to create their own unique flavor combinations.
I feel bad if self-expression in this country has been reduced to unique combinations of commercial products. But I like this new Sprite with a twist of (colorless) Hawaiian Punch. It's more interesting than regular Sprite in the same way that Mountain Dew Code Red is more interesting than Mountain Dew. (I doubt it will be as popular.)
Slim-Fast Low-Fat Ice Cream Snacks. Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich, Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich and Chocolate Fudge Bar. $3.99 to $4.29 per 21- or 21.6-ounce box of six sandwiches or bars.
Bonnie: I had pretty low expectations for these new Slim-Fast frozen novelties because they're low-fat ice cream — usually an oxymoron. But I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty these are. In fact, I was downright amazed at how yummy the chocolatey wafers of the ice cream sandwiches are.
The fudge bars are similar to Fudgsicles, not surprisingly since the same company makes both. By the way, Fat Free Fudgsicles contain even less fat and sugar than Slim-Fast's. But Slim-Fast Ice Cream Sandwiches have 3 to 6 grams less fat and up to 50 fewer calories than regular ones. All three Slim-Fast novelties are also good sources of calcium. I'd recommend any of them.
Carolyn: Diet ice cream novelties are the new hot thing in the extremely faddish ice cream freezer case. Skinny Cow and Smart Ones staked out the early claims; Slim-Fast is the newest competitor. Slim-Fast's ice cream sandwiches are only OK. (Its cookies are a lot better than its ice cream.)
But the Chocolate Fudge Bars are superior. They're much bigger and better than Fudgsicles. In fact, this has the taste and, more important, the richer texture of chocolate ice cream on a stick. A wooden stick, I might add, which adds to the feeling of quality (and nostalgia).
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