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!)

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Bertolli Premium Champignon & Portobello Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
30	19	14	15	n/a 10	5	5	98

This product is a HIT!

Here's a new product that is just phenomenal, and we realize it's a shock, but this sauce contains mushroom pieces that are actually identifiable as mushrooms! The aroma, the taste - fresh and flavorful – and, unlike a lot of ready-made pasta sauces, there is no sugar added. The consistency is thick and inviting, not watery at all. The pouch cooks in the microwave with a warning on the package about the crackling sound it makes – it is disconcerting as you expect to open the door of the oven to find a tomato-splattered cleaning nightmare, but in fact the sauce has cooked perfectly in the pouch in just 90 seconds! Available in other flavors.

Retails for $2.89 / 13.5 oz.

Bertolli USA , Englewood Cliffs, NJ
800 450 8699
villabertolli.com/

La Famiglia Del Grosso Uncle Jim’s Late Night Puttanesca

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
24	14	13	14	n/a 10	4	5	84

This pasta sauce is on the watery side, but it has a nice, fresh-tasting flavor and we like it. Oddly, we didn't get a strong input flavor-wise from the olives, capers, mushrooms or artichoke hearts; although we can clearly see them, and they give the sauce a nice texture; the flavor leans more towards a simple, but good, marinara. We suspect the ingredients must have been cooked separately and added later. We love that this company is family-owned and that the personality that radiates through each different sauce makes us wish we were a close cousin of the Del Grosso's who gets invited to all the family meals! Available in other flavors.

Retails for $7.99 / 26 oz.

DelGrosso Foods Inc., Tipton, PA
800 521 5880
delgrossosauce.com

Chocolatea Ginger Tea fine Milk Chocolate Hand Blended with Crushed Tea

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
20	12	14	12	n/a 10	3	5	76

We love the look of this new product: the package design is enticing and inviting, but we were surprised to find this "Fine Milk Chocolate" didn't have the sheen and appearance that gourmet upscale chocolate usually has, opting for smaller squares, giving the bar itself a more generic look. We know by the name we should expect a combination of tea and chocolate, but strangely, the flavor was not strong on either tea or chocolate – and we were thinking ginger tea would be an herbal concoction and were confused to see black tea on the ingredients - and cranberries – which explained the mystery gritty texture. There are many different flavors available and perhaps we were just unlucky with this one.

Retails for $4.50 - $6.00 / 3 oz.

Smile Chocolatiers , Malibu, CA
Smilechocolatiers.com

Brothers-All-Natural Potato Crisps With a Hint of Fresh Onion and Garlic

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
10	10	13	15	n/a 10	1	5	64

This product is a MISS!

We love this new trend of crisps that started with fruit, but sadly, when it comes to potatoes this process just doesn't succeed. The taste, the crunch – both are disappointing even if you have never tasted a conventional chip to compare it to. We applaud the idea of a chip that is better for you than its baked or fried rivals, but we question this product being manufactured in China. This is a case where good health is not going to be enough to sell a product that doesn't deliver. There is no satiety whatsoever. Available in other flavors and in fruit varieties.

Retails for $0.75 - $1.19 / 0.42 oz.

Brothers International Food Corp , Batavia, NY
585 343 3007
brothersallnatural.com

Natural Ovens Bakery Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Total
15	16	7	10	n/a 10	3	3	64

This product is a MISS!

Natural Ovens Bakery should market these "cookies" as muffin top cookies and then consumers won't be disappointed by their mushy consistency and lack of crisp cookie crunch. Even as a soft cookie these are lacking in luster, and due to the lack of chemical preservatives the package warns you to "Freeze promptly after purchase – for best results". Maybe that's where we went wrong, but this package doesn't lend itself to freezing, as the thin cellophane will make it a candidate for freezer burn in no time. The package claims 210 mg of Omega 3s. In each package? Each cookie? It's not clear. The second ingredient is Crystalline Corn Fructose – a cousin of our dreaded foe High Fructose Corn Syrup!

Retails for $3.89 / 11.4 oz.

Natural Ovens Bakery , Manitowoc, WI
800 558 3535
naturalovens.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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