GoodBelly Probiotic Fruit Drink plus Multivitamin Strawberry Rosehips Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Sustainability	Appearance	Packaging	Total
28	16	15	15	n/a 5	2	5	2	88

This product is a HIT!

For those people who want a probiotic, but not from a dairy product, GoodBelly might just be the answer. This product is not only dairy-free, but also soy and wheat free. Note: it does contain barley, however, so it is not for Celiacs. The only thing to remember is that probiotics work best when taken with a prebiotic. The taste is good, but who designed this package? While you could argue the holes at the top are designed to avoid spillage, with any package this small, it seems ridiculous. My other complaint is that it is a soft-bottomed package which might lead people to open the wrong end. Available in other flavors.

Retails for $4.49 / 4 pack.

NextFoods
Boulder, CO
303 443 3631
goodbelly.com

Quaker Oatmeal toGo High Fiber: Maple Brown Sugar Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Sustainability	Appearance	Packaging	Total
27	18	12	9	n/a 5	3	5	5	84

When a product comes along that is almost great it breaks my heart. Quaker's new Oatmeal toGo High Fiber could have been one of the major hits of the year. The genius who came up with “trying them warm” should get a raise. However, the "chef" who came up with the recipe featuring High Fructose Corn Syrup (or any sugar for that matter) as the second ingredient should be fired! This bar tastes great, but I would suggest that once you get a good look at the ingredients you’ll pass it on by and steal the idea of microwaving other bars! Even the photo of the healthy runners on this box cannot distract you from the unhealthy ingredients.

Retails for $3.29 / 6 bars.

The Quaker Oats Company
Chicago, IL
800 555 6287
quakeroatmeal.com

First Juice: Organic Banana plus Carrot Flavor

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Sustainability	Appearance	Packaging	Total
30	18	15	15	n/a 5	3	5	5	96

This product is a HIT and a RISING STAR!

First Juice is actually a juice that kids are going to love. The combo of banana and carrot is nice and smooth, very aromatic and full of flavor. Moms are going to love that this product has 50% less sugar than apple juice and is certified organic. The consistency of the juice is also perfect for the 6-30 month old set – and there’s no added sugar – just the natural sugar form the juice concentrates.

Retails for $3.99 / 32 oz.

First Juice, Inc
Mt Freedom, NJ
917 841 8294
firstjuice.com

Del Monte Harvest Selections: Beef and Vegetable Stew

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Sustainability	Appearance	Packaging	Total
15	17	10	11	5	1	2	5	66

While it is true that a stew, by definition, has more sauce than meat or vegetables, the photo on the front of this package looks very different than the contents. The viscosity of the sauce is slightly off, as is the taste of the “seasoned, diced, cooked beef” – and it is way too salty. With today’s technology we shouldn’t have to sacrifice taste for cooking in 90 seconds.

Retails for $3.05.

Del Monte Foods
San Francisco, CA
800 543 3090
delmonte.com

World of Grains: Multigrain Cookies

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Sustainability	Appearance	Packaging	Total
30	18	14	14	5	2	2	5	90

Hooray for the company that brings us M&M Mars for getting into the whole grain cookie business. One package of these Multigrain Cookies contains 15g of whole grains and just 130 calories. As with all whole grains, because of the density of the cookie there’s little doubt in my mind that this one serving will satisfy. With no artificial flavors and sweetened with evaporated cane juice; this is a snack of the future – and when they say "multigrain" they really mean it – there are 13 different grains in these cookies.

Retails for $4.50 / 4 on-the-go packs.

Mars Health and Nutrition US
Hackettstown, NJ
800 207 4548
worldofgrains.com

Our ratings have evolved!

More of our readers and viewers are concerned about the impact on our environment and of course the effect on agriculture. So, it’s time for SupermarketGuru to meet that need and to take into account the important effect the entire chain of food production is having on our planet and ourselves.

As of this week we are changing our New Product evaluation scoring : adding 5 points for sustainability and subtracting 5 points from preparation; total possible score remains at 100 points.

Phil taste-tests and judges each product based on the following 8 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. (5 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 resealability, added freshness, better storage, etc.

8. (5 Points) Sustainability: is the packaging biodegradable, is it wasteful, is the company endeavoring to offset their carbon footprint?

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

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More from Phil Lempert:

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