New Product Reviews

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!

Tostitos Pinch of Salt 100% White Corn Crispy Rounds

Taste Value Health Ingredients Prep Appearance Packaging Total
30
20
15
15
n/a 10
5
4 99

np_061208_whitecorn.jpgThis product is a HIT!

The people at Frito Lay have done it again. We love that this company has made such a commitment to healthy snacking, at least when it comes to chips. One look at the ingredient list "Whole White Corn, Vegetable Oil and Salt" says it all. And now their new "Pinch of Salt" line is one of the smartest things to hit the snack aisle in decades. With just 75 grams of Sodium this is the perfect snack for those aging baby boomers with their hypertension! And most importantly they taste great, which goes to prove we don't need tons of sodium in our foods for flavor; just good ingredients are enough.

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



Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt Honey Flavor

Taste Value Health Ingredients Prep Appearance Packaging Total
29
15
15
15
n/a 10
3
2 92

np_061208_Oikos.jpgThis product is a HIT!

There's little doubt that 2008 is the year of Greek Yogurt. At the recent National Products Expo West convention there seemed to be authentic Greek yogurt everywhere. Stonyfield is one of our favorite yogurt brands and is leading the trend with their new Oikos Organic Yogurt. This is what yogurt is supposed to taste like, although we found the honey flavor a little intense and somewhat overpowering the flavor of the yogurt itself. Makes us question the need to add sugar to a honey yogurt. But after all it is Greek and Greeks love their honey! Stonyfield also clearly identifies the fact that this product contains live cultures and names them. Hey, you "other" brands: are you paying attention?

Stonyfield Farm, Londonderry, NH
800 776 2697
oikosorganic.com



Baji’s Indian Lentil Biryani Authentic Basmati Rice

Taste Value Health Ingredients Prep Appearance Packaging Total
25
17
11
15
7
3
5 83

np_061208_lentil.jpgTypically, Basmati Rice has a unique, aromatic quality; however in this Lentil Biryani product from Baji's the spice actually overwhelms the delicate taste, resulting in a fiery, spicy heat rather than a well-balanced Indian flavor. For those of you who like your food extra hot, you'll probably enjoy this as a side dish for two or a vegetarian entrée for one. The package proclaims that this is a 90-second meal, but when cooked for this amount of time the dish was still clumpy. Available in other flavors.

Retails for $2.41 - $3.09 / 9 0z.



Passion Foods, Inc., Sudbury, MA
978 443 6225
www.bajispassion.com



Phil's Fresh Foods Shredded Beef New Mexico Style Burrito

Taste Value Health Ingredients Prep Appearance Packaging Total
22
15
12
15
8
2
5 79

np_061208_shreddedBeef.jpgNow you might think the name of this new product would make us biased, but we're not – and no, we didn't start a burrito company! Having said that, Phil's Shredded Beef Burrito is pretty tasty, not bad at all. Our only criticism is that the tortilla is very chewy and doughy, but that might have something to do with the cooking time. We cooked this burrito for two minutes in the microwave as per instructions, but thought it could do with more cooking. We noticed from the website that the cooking time has now been upped to four minutes, so maybe that would have helped. Wish they would have told us! Available in other flavors.

Retails for $2.79 - $2.99 / 8 oz.



Phil’s Fresh Foods, Boulder, CO
303 554 7000
philsfreshfoods.com



Primo Purified Water

Taste Value Health Ingredients Prep Appearance Packaging Total
20
13
15
5
n/a 10
5
3 71

np_061208_primo.jpgThis company is trying to make a statement on the environment, which is great. Of course we want everyone to be socially responsible; we are just not convinced that Primo, with their "American Grown Bottle", is going about it the right way. They are packaging their "Purified Water" which has been "Perfected with Minerals" (mystery minerals that are not listed) in bottles made from corn instead of oil. Is this really the way to save the planet? Wouldn't a glass or recycled bottle be more green? And wait a minute, what about the trend of moving away from individual bottled water bottles anyway? And as far as the label proclaiming you can "taste perfection", that just sadly isn't true. There are a lot of bottled waters that taste way better than this one.

Primo Water Corp
Salem, MA
Phone: 877 266 5370
primowater.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.


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