Pepperidge Farm Whims. Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Toffee Chip Crispy Waves, and Chocolate Cashew, Chocolate Chocolate, and White Chocolate Pecan Crunchy Clusters. $3.49 per 5.3- to 5.6-ounce canister.
Bonnie: Pepperidge Farm Whims are bite-size cookie morsels that you can pop into your mouth for an elongated snacking experience. Specifically, either 17 Cookie Waves or nine Cookie Clusters equal a modest cookie serving of about 150 calories and 6 grams fat.
I prefer the crisp texture of the Crispy Waves' almost wafer-thin bites to the dry, not-as-delicious crunchy clusters of ingredients Pepperidge Farm is also calling cookies.
The problem is packaging that's designed to fit into a car cup holder. That means it's easy to chug down these tiny morsels while driving, and way too easy to eat more of the three, four or even the entire five servings in the container in one short car ride. I guess that's Pepperidge Farm's hope. At least the pieces are small, thereby cutting down on the chances of choking while overindulging.
Carolyn: Cookies have never been inconvenient. And they've always been appealing. But even store-bought ones are substantial enough so that most people are able to stop eating after three, four or five.
Forget that now that Pepperidge Farm is selling Whims Crispy Waves. These are silver-dollar-size cookie chips packaged in wide-mouthed car cupholder containers that are every bit as irresistible as the potato chips they emulate.
Addictives would really be a more accurate name, at least for the Crispy Waves. There was nothing at all whimsical about my eating of them; once I started, I desperately wanted to keep on going.
Whims also come in Crunchy Cluster varieties that I liked a lot less. These are a granola-like amalgam of chocolate, nuts and Rice Krispies that are baked to a tooth-chipping consistency. In other words, cookie add-ins. Pepperidge Farm calls them cookies, but to paraphrase Wendy's late spokeswoman Clara Peller, "Where're the cookies?"
Nabisco Crackers. Triscuit Rosemary & Olive Oil, Wheat Thins Multi-Grain Chips, Wheat Thins 100 Percent Whole Grain Crackers and Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato & Basil Crackers. $2.89 to $2.99 per 9- to 10-ounce box or bag.
Bonnie: Nabisco has four new cracker-like offerings. All have no trans fats, but only two contain whole grains as the primary ingredient. The term "whole grain" simply means that the grain remains basically as it grew in the field with all three components — the bran, germ and endosperm — intact.
Current scientific thinking is that eating three servings of whole grains a day reduces the risk of heart disease, some cancers, and Type 2 diabetes.
Triscuits have always been a whole-grain cracker; they're made using whole wheat, not refined wheat (a k a white) flour. I like regular Triscuits better than these new Rosemary & Olive Oil ones, since the originals are made without flavor enhancers. As for the Wheat Thins, the choice is simple: The 100 Percent Whole Grain version outshines both the Sundried Tomato & Basil-flavored and the Multi-Grain Chips. In addition to being made with 100 percent whole grains, it has more fiber than the flavored cracker and the chips and has none of artificial ingredients of the flavored.
One caveat with many crackers and chips is the fat, and these are no exception: A serving of Wheat Thins provides 140 calories and 6 grams fat; Wheat Thins Chips, 130 calories, and 4 grams fat; and the Triscuits, 120 calories and 4 grams fat. So enjoy even the whole-grain ones judiciously.
Carolyn: My first impression of these was that a couple of popular Nabisco snack chip brands have gone healthier and/or more gourmet.
When it comes to Wheat Thins new Sundried Tomato & Basil Snack Crackers, I couldn't have been more wrong. The tomato and basil flavoring are dusted on (in the manner of potato chips), rather than baked in, in a heavy-handed and artificial-tasting way. In fact, these reminded me quite a bit of Keebler's defunct Pizza Chips, the epitome of fake.
Wheat Thins 100 Percent Whole Grain are just the opposite; that is, too natural and healthy-tasting. If you didn't look at the box, you'd swear these were made by some natural food company like Garden of Eatin'. They certainly don't taste like Wheat Thins.
Wheat Thins Multi-Grain Chips are Nabisco's attempt to turn Wheat Thins into a snacking chip. This, despite the fact that Wheat Thins already are a snacking chip, and a much better-tasting one at that. These are actually wheat-flavored Ritz Chips sold under the Wheat Thins name to capitalize on that brand's association with wheat. This will only disappoint anyone (like me) who associates Wheat Thins with great taste.
Looking for something subtle and sophisticated that is true to its brand reputation? Then you should buy the new Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits. It's the only one of these new products to live up to the gourmet promise of its name.
Ready Pac Salad Kits. American Blue Cheese and Baby Romaine Blend. $2.99 to $3.49 per 5- to 11-ounce bag.
Bonnie: I don't think I've ever said this about a packaged salad before, but this new Ready Pac American Blue Cheese packaged salad does not have enough dressing. Usually these companies give you way too much. But according to the Nutrition Facts, there's enough lettuce in the bag for three servings, and according to the salad dressing packet, enough dressing for not even two. There wasn't enough dressing for me, someone who traditionally discards half the dressing from packaged salads. The dressing also needs more blue cheese; I needed a magnifying glass to locate the purported chunks.
Ready Pac's other new salad is just a nice blend of baby romaine and other colorful lettuces. No complaints there.
Carolyn: Blue is among the strongest-tasting, smelliest and most gourmet of cheeses. I avoid any restaurant dish containing it like I avoid people who sneeze and so, I know, do many of you. Ready Pac's idea of pairing it with an all-American iceberg lettuce blend seemed rather nutty, at least until I tried it.
I don't know whether it was because of the small amount of blue cheese in the dressing (at least, according to Bonnie) or the watering-down effect of the water in the iceberg, but this blue cheese dressing achieved palatability for me. And like Caesar, it's rich enough that you really don't need more than it and the croutons Ready Pac supplies to feel like you're eating a complete salad.
There was never any doubt I would like Ready Pac's new Baby Romaine Blend. It's sweet, tender and delicious enough to be worth the price premium, just like all the other baby green mixes.
Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat (Quirk). Each week they critique three new food items. © Universal Press Syndicate