Edy's Slow Churned Rich & Creamy American Idol Ice Cream. Cookies 'N Dreamz, Most Orange-inal, Cheesecake Diva, One Split Wonder, and Mint Karaoke Cookie. $5.50 per 1.75-quart.
Bonnie: "American Idol" enthusiasts are gonna love this ice cream. Not for the five new flavors, but because of a chance to win four tickets, $3,500 in spending money and air transportation to the show's finale this May in Los Angeles. Or you can win an ice cream party and living room concert hosted by a former "American Idol" and lots more. Check out the details at www.slowchurned.com before the April 29 deadline.
As for the flavors, they're decent-tasting for light ice creams. My three favorites include Cookies 'N Dreamz (chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies), Most Orange-inal (think orange Creamsicle), and Mint Karaoke Cookie (mint ice cream with chocolate cookies).
All five varieties contain half the fat and a third fewer calories than regular non-premium ice cream. That's about 100 to 120 calories and 2.5 to 4 grams of fat per serving. Even better news: You don't need to buy the ice cream to enter the contest!
Carolyn: Presidential primary race got you all fired up to vote this November? Warm up by choosing which of five new limited-edition Edy's Slow Churned American Idol Ice Cream flavors will be added to the permanent lineup before May 31 on the Web site Bonnie just mentioned. (Do it before April 29, and you'll also be entered in the contest she just talked about.)
How appropriate for Edy's to pick light flavors to honor a show featuring "light" pop music. I also think performers and ice creams can be judged by similar standards of quality, interest and uniqueness. By those criteria, One Split Wonder is the clear winner. The fudge, fruit swirls and banana ice cream blend together in a way that mimics a banana split in everything but fat and calories. And I haven't seen this ice cream before, whereas there are many richer versions of these American Idol cookie flavors that taste better (or less "pitchy," as "Idol" judge Randy Jackson might say).
The Cheesecake Diva and Most Orange-inal simply aren't indulgent enough, despite the kind of very attractive packaging that Paula Abdul is always pointing out.
If you don't agree, don't complain to me. Seize the power given to you by Edy's and vote for your favorite.
Kellogg's All-Bran Strawberry Medley. $3.89 per 13.2-ounce box.
Bonnie: I expected to enjoy this new All-Bran with strawberries at least as much as I enjoy regular fiber-rich All-Bran. But that was not the case.
The aftertaste, the odd-textured berries and the pink milk had me scouring the ingredient list for culprits. Kellogg's added the artificial sweetener sucralose (indicated nowhere on the front label) and more strawberry-flavored, artificially colored apples than dried strawberries.
Shame on you, Kellogg's, for maligning the good name of your All-Bran!
Carolyn: For all its faults (the taste and look of hamster food), the original All-Bran is undeniably natural. This new All-Bran Strawberry Medley definitely is not. At least some of the dried "strawberries" are really strawberry-flavored apples. That and the sucralose make them taste fake.
And while Strawberry Medley's bran squares and flakes are improvements over the original version's pellets, they taste similar to each other and don't integrate with the strawberries and handful of granola clusters. In other words, if this is a medley, it's a discordant one written by John Cage.
It all seems so unnecessary, considering that Kellogg's already makes a great-tasting, high-fiber bran-flake cereal: It's called Raisin Bran.
Lay's Cracker Crisps. Original, Smooth Cheddar and Zesty Herb & Parmesan. $3.49 per 9.5-ounce bag.
Bonnie: Frito-Lay is bringing its snacks to the cracker aisle with these baked Cracker Crisps. As with Lay's Potato Chips, the main ingredient in these crackers is potatoes. And these crisps are overloaded with additives such as flavor enhancers and artificial colors and flavors, as with the company's flavored potato chips.
Cracker Crisps do contain 30 fewer calories and 6 fewer grams of fat than regular Lay's Potato Chips, but 20 more calories and 3 more grams of fat than Baked! Lay's Original Potato Crisps. And Baked! Lay's Original chips contain none of the additives found in these.
Carolyn: I can't give you a foolproof formula for a good snack chip, but I can for a bad one: Make meeting school dietary requirements your primary goal.
That's what Lay's has done, and the resulting new Cracker Crisps taste like a cross between Pringles and Wheat Thins. But Lay's already makes the Pringles clone Stax and the multigrain Sun Chips, both of which taste better and are therefore better choices for anyone not locked in a school in this supposedly free country.
Junior junk foodies of the 21st-century have my deepest sympathies.
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. For previous columns, visit www.supermarketsampler.com, and for more food info and chances to win free products, visit www.biteofthebest.com. © Universal Press Syndicate