SoBe Lean Diet Beverages. Energy Citrus, Mango Melon and Green Tea. $1.29 per 20-ounce bottle.
Bonnie: SoBe just added some new flavors to a drink line they call Lean. I'd call them Mean, as they prey on folks' naivete. Each is sugar-free, low-calorie and low-carb while being sweetened with Splenda and fortified with vitamin C. Each also has what SoBe calls unique ingredients that will purportedly aid in weight loss, specifically the mineral and herbal supplements Citrimax and Carnitine. Their weight-loss claims are about as truthful as the ones for those infomercial "exercise" belts sold on TV.
Carolyn: SoBe Lean noncarbonated diet fruit drinks are notable not only for what they don't contain (many calories, since they have only 12.5 per 20-ounce bottle) but also for what they do (herbal ingredients that are supposed to keep you from wanting to eat or drink anything else). The Green Tea and Energy varieties offer the additional benefits of antioxidants, and guarana and taurine, respectively. Moreover, the Green Tea actually tastes like tea — unlike the Energy, which tastes little like the label-promised citrus.
Crystal Light is SoBe Lean's closest competitor, but you have to make it from powder (the premade version being fairly hard to find in convenience stores), and it offers no health claim beyond low calories.
So how can I Be any clearer about what I think you should do to quench your thirst if you're worried about your weight? SoBe it.
Mrs. Dash 10-Minute Marinades. Zesty Garlic Herb, Lemon Herb Peppercorn, Mesquite Grille, and Southwestern Chipotle. $2.99 per 12-ounce bottle.
Bonnie: Mrs. Dash's 10-Minute Marinades do add flavor in just 10 minutes. And the flavors they impart are even related to their namesakes. So what's wrong?
I can't believe I'm saying this, considering the number of times I've complained about foods with high sodium, but these need more salt. Salt, not the sodium-based, chemical flavor enhancing additives found in most marinades.
If you're among the 65 million Americans with hypertension (high blood pressure), then this product is for you. The rest of us will probably want to add just a smidgeon of salt or to make our own.
Carolyn: These sodium-free liquid dressings are a natural next step for a woman known for her saltless dry seasoning blends — though Mrs. Dash's new 10-Minute Marinades hardly taste natural. Acidic and intense is more like it — similar to many fat-free salad dressings. Like them, these are thin liquids containing many dried veggie particulates.
The Mesquite Grille and Southwestern Chipotle are the strongest of the four strong flavors. The former is like a vinegary barbecue sauce that, therefore, no one but those on severely sodium-restricted diets needs. The more unusual Chipotle deserves a wider audience. Just be sure to use it on foods able to hold their own flavor. (In other words, don't make my mistake and use it with mild white fish.)
Haagen-Dazs Brownie Bar. $3.99 per 14.2-ounce box containing four individually wrapped bars.
Bonnie: Three hundred and sixty. That's how many calories are in one new Haagen-Dazs Brownie Bar. Is this chewy brownie and vanilla ice cream enrobed in rich milk chocolate dotted with roasted walnuts pieces worth it? Not to me. From something called a brownie bar, I was expecting more brownie and less ice cream. The dietitian in me also thinks that most people would be satisfied with something much, much smaller.
Carolyn: One problem with getting attached to products of large companies is how bereft you feel when they coldheartedly decide to stop making them. I still feel the loss of Ben & Jerry's and Betty Crocker's ice cream brownie bars even a decade after their demise. Ben & Jerry's stopped making their ethereal version because of repetitive motion injuries suffered by workers who were putting them together. To which I say: Back strain didn't stop Michelangelo. (Yes, their brownie bar was that good.)
Haagen-Dazs' new attempt is good for what it is: a brownie-based ice cream sandwich. To be precise, it's a very small (quarter-inch-tall) brownie topped with about three-quarters of an inch of premium vanilla ice cream that's then been dipped in milk chocolate, then topped with walnuts that echo the walnuts in the brownie. It's wonderful in an over-the-top, chocolate overload kind of way. But there's still more than enough room for a revival of a true brownie sandwich novelty. Are you listening, U.S. ice cream companies?
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