With over 40,000 products in the average supermarket, people don't have time (or the money) to test every product on the shelves – so we do it for you! (Points system explained below the products!)

Each week we will post the latest reviews and I hope you will log in to see what’s hot…and what’s not!

Yotta bar: Natural Orange Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
30	17	15	15	na 10	5	5	97

This product is a HIT!

Love this new product! Unlike many other snack bars that are so dense and chewy you could be chomping your way through a piece of cardboard this one has a good mouth-feel and a good flavor. We love the fact that it contains one whole serving of fruits and veggies. We do have one tiny criticism: some consumers might find it confusing when reading on the back label “6 veggies inside each bar” and might think it has 6 servings instead of the one serving of combined fruit and vegetables that is stated on the front. As we said, it’s just a tiny criticism and we love this product! Also available in cherry and apple cinnamon flavors.

Retails for $1.49 - $1.59 / 1.2 oz.

Undercover Vegetable Company,
Maple city, MI
231 228 7114undercoverveg.com

Kettle Brand Potato Chips: Death Valley Chipotle Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
29	18	13	15	na 10	5	5	95

This product is a HIT!

Like all Kettle Brand chips these chips are nice and thick with a good bite to them – as far as the new flavor goes – we like ‘em! The spicy flavor is very good, with more of a peppery taste than smoky chipotle and more of a black pepper and cayenne flavor than straight chili. We did however have to perform surgery on the bag to open it and we are disappointed that it’s not re-sealable. Available in other flavors.

Retails for $2.99 – 3.29 / 9 oz.

Kettle Brand
Salem, OR
503 364 0399
kettlefoods.com

Lightfull Satiety Smoothie: Mango Oasis Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
28	15	14	13	na 10	5	5	90

This product is a HIT!

Most smoothies are a little thicker than we would like, but this one not only has a great flavor, but also a lighter consistency – guess that’s why they called it “Light-full” – it actually lives up to its promise. We do find it annoying that on the label this company has fallen prey to the “net carbs” fad which is either misleading or confusing to the average consumer. Available in other flavors.

Retails for $2.19 - $2.79 / 8.25 fl oz.

Lightfull Foods, Inc
San Francisco, CA
888 229 1063
LightFullFoods.com

Cheetos Cracker Trax Baked snack Crackers: Spicy Cheddar Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
27	17	14	8	na 10	5	5	86

This product is a HIT!

If you are thinking you’ll get the familiar taste of Cheetos, but in a fun new shape – think again! When you take a bite of these crackers they taste much more like a cracker and have a very different mouth-feel. What you get is a wheat-based cracker with a good flavor. We were very pleasantly surprised. However we do wish that in this case Frito Lay would follow the excellent example of some of their other products by using all natural and limited list of ingredients. On another note, one surprising thing is that on the label the serving size is stated as being about 25 pieces – usually the serving sizes tend to be understated, but we think in this case it might not be typical to eat as many as 25 of these filling little crackers. They are low fat and low cal – great! The re-sealable bag is easy to open, but lame in terms of freshness-extending storage. Available in Cheesy Cheddar.

Retails for $3.49 / 12 oz.

Frito-Lay, Inc
Plano, TX
800 352 4477
cheetos.com

Promax All Natural 70 calories bar: Nutty Butter Crisp Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
22	18	12	10	N/A 10	5	5	82

Any product that touts itself as being “All Natural” when it contains High Fructose Corn Syrup starts some alarm bells ringing for us. The taste is a little gritty and just doesn’t live up to the promise of being “Nutty Butter Crisp”. While we understand the need for convenient, hand-held, high energy foods we can only hope that the next generation of kids growing up will choose fruits and vegetables, rather than products containing over 40 ingredients like this one. On a more positive side, we do like the fact that this company is offering consumers a choice of bar size based on caloric content – giving them the option of a snack portion at 70 calories or meal replacement portion at 300. Available in other flavors.

Retails for 79c / 0.65 oz.

Promax Nutrition Corp
Concord, CA
888 728 8962
promaxbar.com

Points System:

Each product is judged and taste-tested based on the following seven criteria:

1. (30 points) Taste: The most important attribute of any food

2. (20 points) Value: Is it worth it?

3. (15 points) Health: Based off the nutritional information, is it nutritionally balanced?

4. (15 points) Ingredients: What's in it, how natural is it?

5. (10 points) Preparation: When applicable, how accurate or good are the directions?*

6. (5 points) Appearance: Is it appetizing and does it resemble its photo or description?

7. (5 points) Packaging: Is it appropriate for the product and does it have any benefits such as reseal ability, added freshness, better storage, etc?

*Products that do not require any preparation will have the full value of these points included in their total score.