Dole Fruit Bowls. Cherry Mixed Fruit, Mixed Fruit in Black Cherry Gel, and Mixed Fruit in Peach Gel. $2.38 per multipack of four 4- to 4.3-ounce cups.
Bonnie: Dole just added three new flavors to its individual portions of fruit packed in bowls. Two of the bowls contain canned diced fruit in peach or black cherry gel; the third is fruit cocktail replete with maraschino cherries in light syrup.
A maraschino is a cherry (often a Royal Ann) that's been bathed in sugar syrup, dyed and is usually flavored almond. I didn't like them as a kid in Shirley Temple cocktails, and I don't like them now. I wish Dole had used natural cherries instead.
All three still make a light grab-and-go snack, especially when compared to chips or cookies, or if it's a time of year when fresh fruit is harder to come by. Right now, it would make more sense to buy fresh cherries or peaches.
Carolyn: These are new flavors of canned fruit or fruit and gelatin in cups that Dole has sold for a number of years. This fruit cocktail contains more cherries than usual; the gelatin-based ones, different flavor pairings of gel and fruit. Whoop-dee-doo. But new government food guidelines that up the number of recommended daily servings of fruits and veggies give them added importance and relevance, as the flurry of recent press releases about them argues.
Having been served nearly identical "desserts" in school cafeterias in the '60s, I can tell you that kids didn't eat fruit bowls then, and I doubt they will eat them now.
Alexia Oven Blends. Garlic & Herbs. $3.49 to $3.99 per 18-ounce bag of frozen fries and 2-ounce sauce packet.
Bonnie: I'll give Alexia's new Oven Blends credit for innovation. This product consists of thick-cut, skin-on frozen russet potatoes to heat in the oven, along with an herbed garlic oil to spread over the fries after cooking (which is certainly a lot more avant-garde than ketchup).
Alexia fries contain no trans fats and are labeled all-natural — despite their autolyzed yeast extract, an MSG-containing flavor enhancer in the dipping sauce. That could be because the term "all-natural" is not regulated by the FDA. I prefer Alexia's truly natural Oven Fries. They also contain 2 to 3 fewer grams of fat per serving, in part because they're not slathered in garlic-herb oil-based sauce.
Carolyn: I am amused by Bonnie's concern that these new french fries are not entirely natural. Gourmet or not, we are still talking about french fries here, a classic junk food filled with fat and calories. Anyone willing to eat that shouldn't mind a little bit of tasty flavor enhancer.
Speaking of flavor, Alexia Oven Blends are lots more flavorful than its factory-flavored fries, probably because of the freshly poured-on sauce more than the unnatural additive.
That sauce also brings these a lot closer to the experience of snacking at an urban, Belgian-style french-fry stand with its dipping sauces, which Alexia is obviously trying to imitate. I, for one, would like to see this Oven Blend line extended to include many more of those french-fry-stand dipping sauces.
LU Creme Roulee Rolled Wafers. Dark Chocolate and Chocolate Hazelnut. $5.99 per 14- to 14.1-ounce can.
Bonnie: Biting into these new rolled cookies, I imagined enjoying one with coffee in a delicate porcelain cup, not a mug. They're that elegant. And one chocolate - or hazelnut-filled rolled wafer is so satisfying, it's all the treat you really need.
Unfortunately, though, word has apparently not reached this international company that hydrogenated oils are no longer fashionable in America. Most U.S. companies are well on their way to removing or reducing trans fats from their products to meet the government's 2006 deadline for listing trans fats on the Nutrition Facts label. Trans fats result from processing (hydrogenating) oils. I'll recommend these cookies as soon as LU Biscuits does the same.
Carolyn: The latest mini-trend in high-end cookies: crispy wafer rolls filled with creme. At least this new entry from LU is filled. Too frequently, I've been disappointed to find the pioneer Creme de Pirouline and competitor Pepperidge Farm Pirouette cookies half or wholly empty. LU's creme fillings are also richer. Although I usually prefer chocolate to hazelnut, LU's Creme Roulee Chocolate Hazelnut is even more delicious and interesting than its Dark Chocolate.
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