Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb Control. Strawberries 'n Cream, Peaches 'n Cream, Raspberries 'n Cream and Vanilla Cream. $2.49 per package of four 4-ounce cups.
Bonnie: Buyers beware! At first I thought Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb Control was just another sugar-free Dannon yogurt. Although Dannon is a yogurt-maker and this product is sold in a store's yogurt section and looks like yogurt, Dannon Carb Control isn't actually yogurt at all. It's a "cultured dairy snack." While cultured pasteurized milk is the primary ingredient of most yogurts, water is the main one in Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb Control. When you buy this new product, you're paying for mostly water.
In fact, if you look closely, the only mention of yogurt on the package is by comparison. It states, "Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb Control contains 80 percent less sugar and one-third fewer calories than regular low-fat yogurt." What it doesn't say is that Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb Control contains none of yogurt's good-for-you live cultures.
Skip this and reach for your favorite brand of the real thing.
Carolyn: Carbs aren't the only thing missing from Dannon's new Light 'n Fit Carb Control yogurt-like product. Although made in the La Creme mold, in terms of (small) size and gluey consistency, these Carb Controls lack La Creme's endearing richness and fruit taste. Eating one of these is like starting a conversation with an intelligent-looking person and then discovering he has absolutely nothing upstairs.
On the plus side: A whole container of Carb Control has the same number of calories as a single cookie. If you want to try one, the Vanilla Creme flavor tastes best.
Kellogg's Fruit Twistables Fruit Snacks. Triple Berry Twist, Fruit Punch and Wild Strawberry. $2.69 per 4.8-ounce box containing 6 fruit snacks.
Bonnie: The twist is back in the news: first when "The Twist" singer Chubby Checker staged a good-natured protest about not being inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then again when Kellogg's introduced its new Twistables fruit snack. Each Twistables contains three intertwined different-colored strands. Kellogg's claims that Twistables are made with real fruit juice. That's just a half-truth; they're made from juice concentrates, aka sugar. That makes these no better than any other fruit snacks — or Twizzlers or gummi candies, for that matter.
Reach for the namesake fruits instead. And then do your body an even bigger favor and have some fun exercising. Find a copy of the record and twist away.
Carolyn: Bonnie is right on (surprise!) about fruit snacks' kinship to fruit candy. That's why I like these new Twistables.
This particular new fruit snack has a texture somewhere between a Twizzler and a gummi bear. Unlike Twizzlers (the similar name not, I think, being an accident), Twistables also offer the potential fun (or, in the case of adults, the potential stress relief) of unwinding and rewinding the strands before you eat them.
Amy's Vegetarian Organic Refried Beans. Traditional, Black Beans, and With Green Chilies. $1.89 per 15.4-ounce can.
Bonnie: Amy's vegetarian organic refried beans are good for you no matter what diet you're on. That's because they're low-fat, moderate in sodium, moderate in carbohydrates, and chock-full of fiber, iron and vitamins. I only wish Amy had added more seasoning to all three. Right now they're all too mildly flavored and similar.
Carolyn: Organic and healthy needn't mean boring and tasteless, especially if the natural food-maker is Amy's. Amy's frozen organic pizza and pocket sandwiches (the latter a past winner of our Golden Shopping Cart Award for best new product of the year) are proof positive. So where were the chefs behind those products when Amy's started working on this new line of organic refried beans?
Out to lunch, I guess, because there is no discernible seasoning in any of these (which could be good, I suppose, for people who are trying to cut down on salt). But it's universally bad when you can't see or taste any green chilies in a product that boasts of them. The naturally more interesting taste of the Black Beans is the reason I can recommend them — and only them.
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