Kool-Aid Jammers 10 Tropical Punch. $2.99 per box of 10 6.75-ounce pouches.
Bonnie: Ten's the magic number with these new Kool-Aid Jammers: They contain 10 percent apple juice, 10 calories and are packed 10 to the box. Jammers 10 are a decent option for kids with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes because they're artificially sweetened and contain only 2 grams of carbohydrates per serving. And, according to all the kids I gave them to, Jammers 10 taste good, too.
Jammers 10 are also OK for overweight kids, yet teaching moderation in the amounts they drink is even better.
Carolyn: Doctors have been saying that American kids are too fat for years — but it's a doctor's business to be an alarmist about such things. It's only when companies begin to put their money where the warnings are that I believe we really have a health problem.
This diet Kool-Aid is one such ominous sign — at least for kids who are used to eating and drinking whatever and whenever they want. (Jammers 10 comes in only one flavor, at least right now.) But Kool-Aid Jammers Tropical Fruit 10 is also a very good thing for dieting adults with a preference for more straight-ahead fruit flavors than Crystal Light's Strawberry Kiwi, Strawberry Orange Banana and Peach Tea.
Rold Gold Heartzels Pretzels. $2.19 per 10-ounce bag.
Bonnie: I was surprised to see the American Heart Association's check mark on these new Rold Gold pretzels. Surprised because I know that to qualify for that designation, a product must be low in fat (3 grams of fat or less), saturated fat (less than or equal to 1 gram), cholesterol (less than 20 milligrams) and sodium (less than 480 milligrams).
In addition, items with the AHA's heart check — and this is the part I found peculiar for a pretzel — must contain at least 10 percent of the daily recommended amount of at least one of the following: protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron or dietary fiber.
All regular pretzels are low in fat and cholesterol, and some even have fiber from whole wheat and iron from enriched flour. But Heartzels have enough of both to provide 10 percent of the recommended daily amount. And what registered dietitian would argue with that?
Carolyn: Not since the early oat bran days has a mainstream food product gotten such a health-related promotional push. These Rold Gold Heartzels are heart-shaped and have the American Heart Association's logo plastered across the package.
In other words, Frito-Lay is doing everything in its power to scare junk foodies away. And that's too bad because these actually taste quite good. Their wheat-oat base makes them heartier in taste but lighter in weight than traditional pretzels. They remind me quite a bit of Snyder's much more subtly and appealingly marketed Organic Oat Bran Pretzel Sticks.
Monterey Pasta Company Carb-Smart. Spinach Ricotta, Four Cheese & Chive and Seafood Ravioli, Classic Egg Linguine and Classic Egg Fettuccine, Four Cheese Sauce and Cheese Manicotti. $2.99 per 9-ounce egg pastas, $4.49 per 9-ounce package ricotta or ravioli or 10-ounce tub of cheese sauce, and $9.99 per 42-ounce package of manicotti.
Bonnie: My refrigerator is bursting from the flood of new low-carb products like Carb-Smart from Monterey Pasta. After the onslaught of low-fat products in the '90s (most of which, I would like to point out, no longer exist), I guess I should have been ready for this.
As with the low-fat craze, low-carb products do not necessarily contain fewer calories than their regular counterparts. In fact, they usually contain about the same amount. But unlike low-fat products, these Carb-Smart pastas are flavorful. Carb-Smart pastas are also higher in protein and price.
Carolyn: A new low-carb pasta sauce got skewered during Jay Leno's monologue recently. "Isn't this sauce eventually going to end up on top of high-carb pasta?" was Leno's pointed comment. The joke wouldn't have been so funny if the people in the audience had been familiar with Monterey Pasta Co.'s Carb-Smart reduced-carb pastas. These are fresh, refrigerated plain or stuffed pastas and sauces, similar to DiGiorno or Carnation in every way, including taste, only with fewer carbohydrates.
How did they do it? Press materials talk about "a new proprietary formulation that replaces high-carbohydrate impacting flour with natural cornstarches and proteins." (In other words, none of your beeswax.) I noticed soy protein in the product ingredient lists, though, which makes sense considering that the dry Soy 7 pasta Bonnie and I already know and love also has lower-than-usual carbs.
In any case, there is nothing to fear about Monterey Pasta Co.'s Carb-Smart line except possibly for some unmerited ribbing from uninformed late-night talk show hosts.
© Universal Press Syndicate