Barilla PLUS Pasta. Penne, Rotini, Elbow, Spaghetti, Thin Spaghetti and Angel Hair. $1.79 per 1-pound box.
Bonnie: Barilla PLUS continues the trend of enhanced pastas that began with Soy7, the high-soy-protein pasta introduced a couple of years ago. Barilla PLUS is a multigrain pasta made with ingredients not traditionally found in pasta, including oats, spelt, barley, legumes and flaxseeds. Those ingredients increase the protein, fiber and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids in the pasta without increasing the calories.
The soy-based Soy7 has only half the fiber and none of the omega-3s of Barilla PLUS. Like Soy7 and whole-wheat pastas, Barilla PLUS takes a bit longer to cook, is chewier and costs more than traditional pastas.
As for taste, I prefer traditional flour-based fresh pasta to Barilla PLUS. People who eat a wide variety of foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and salmon or other high-omega-3 seafood don't need Barilla PLUS. Others might want to give it a try.
Carolyn: Pasta is apparently a much better palate for added healthy ingredients than, say, brownies. I've tried soy pasta, whole-wheat pasta and now this new Barilla PLUS with oats, spelt, barley, beans and flax seeds — and pretty much liked them all.
These new super pastas do have noticeably higher prices, heartier tastes and heavier textures — you have no choice but to eat Barilla PLUS al dente, for instance. But with it covered with a good-tasting spaghetti sauce, even I didn't mind. Like Flintstone vitamins, Barilla PLUS and its whole-grain pasta kin are a relatively painless way of getting more nutrition.
Ritz Chips Barbecue. $2.99 per 9-ounce bag.
Bonnie: Nabisco is hoping you'll nibble these new BBQ-seasoned thin crisps instead of potato chips. Although Ritz Barbecue contains about the same amount of calories as regular potato chips, it has 3 to 4 grams less fat per similar-size serving. Ritz Chips are also a bit saltier. Otherwise, there's not much here except calories. Popcorn (which is a whole grain) or peanuts make a more nutritious nibble.
Carolyn: Ritz Barbecue Chips are Nabisco's latest attempt to turn Ritz Crackers into a snack chip. And who can blame Nabisco, given how few people have time to entertain or pack their own cheese and cracker on-the-go snack?
But Ritz Barbecue Chips need more barbecue coating and/or to be thinner, crisper and fattier. In other words, they're going to have to be a lot more irresistibly sinful to be sold in the company of barbecue-flavored potato chips.
Healthy Choice Flavor Adventures Frozen Dinners. Cajun Style Chicken & Shrimp, Grilled Chicken Baja, Apple Glazed Pork Medallions, and Roasted Chicken Marsala. $3.69 per 10- to 10.8-ounce tray.
Bonnie: Healthy Choice Flavor Adventures is an oxymoron. There's neither flavor nor adventure in these four new entrees. Those R&D folks at Healthy Choice need a real-life flavor adventure in New Orleans, Los Angeles or Baja, Mexico, to discover that real Cajun shrimp is not bland and the chicken in Baja is not flavorless and watery. The Roasted Chicken Marsala and the Apple Glazed Pork taste no better.
Nutritionally, these are fine as a low-calorie choice. But who would want to eat them? (I know two groups of people who wouldn't: Cajuns and Hispanics.)
But don't take my word for it: All four of these new entrees come with a money-back "great taste" guarantee. Buy one of these specially marked packages and be sure to save your receipt. You'll need it.
Carolyn: Healthy Choice Flavor Adventures sub-line of upscale frozen dinners debuted in summer 2003 and immediately became among my most-purchased TV dinners.
But I'll be buying only the Apple Glazed Pork Medallions of the four new line extensions. What it lacks in originality it makes up for in taste. The pork in Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine's Pork With Cherry Sauce is so lean it tastes more like chicken. Flavor Adventures' pork is fattier and therefore more like the real thing. The apple glaze is also a delicious restaurant treatment never before seen in the freezer case.
The Cajun Shrimp and Chicken is an interesting idea given a very boring Lipton Spanish Rice-style treatment. The shrimp is the strongest taste in it. The Baja is tasty but bland and not as good as similar entrees from competitors. Speaking of competitors: The Roasted Chicken Marsala is a blatant rip-off of Lean Cuisine's best-selling Glazed Chicken (which I, personally, have never liked), right down to the wimpy green beans.
In short, Healthy Choice is a follower rather than a leader here. Original Flavor Adventure flavors such as Chicken Margherita, Roasted Chicken Chardonnay, Grilled Whiskey Steak, Princess Chicken and Beef Merlot are all much more delicious AND adventurous.
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