Pizza Romano Black Truffle and Wild Mushroom Pizza

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
30	16	15	14	5	5	5	1	91

This product is a HIT!
This imported from Italy black truffle and wild mushroom pizza is one of the best pizzas I've ever tasted. The big surprise is that it has no tomato sauce... I want to meet the chef who developed the perfect balance between the sometimes too heady truffle, 3 types of mushroom and mozzarella. And what I also love about this pizza is that they actually use whole milk mozzarella, rather than the typical frozen pizza part-skimmed mozzarella. This is what pizza is supposed to taste like! And by the way, if you ever wondered, it is true that truffles are actually found by trained pigs! Retails for $13.00

Divine Pasta Co
Los Angeles, CA
818 559 7440
www.divinepasta.com



Best Darn Burrito: Chicken

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
20	17	5	5	4	5	5	1	62

This product is a MISS!
Is this the Best Darn Burrito you have ever tried? Well, with way more than 50 ingredients, 1615 mg of sodium and 101 grams of carbs, you might think that this is designed to the perfect snack for a long haul truck driver. There are also 42 grams of protein and just 16 grams of fat. What I do not understand is how all this stuff amounts to just 530 calories... And then there is the taste. Best Darn Burrito? Maybe it is just because I live in Los Angeles, but I don't think so. Wait, there is one thing I do like though; this very cool carton makes it easy to eat. Retails for $3.49 - $3.99

Valley Foods Inc
Youngstown, OH
313 274 2245
www.bestdarnburrito.com



Northland Cranberry Pomegranate

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
25	18	14	12	5	5	5	1	85

This product is a HIT!
The Dark Knight better beware! The power of the dark fruits is here! I actually need Batman at my side... this product that is touting the benefits of dark fruit actually has apple juice as its primary ingredient, followed by grape, pomegranate and cranberry juice concentrate. Yes it is 100% juice and yes it has a good flavor, but come on... apple juice is not a dark juice and if you are going to talk about the power of antioxidants list on the label just how many there are - and oh yeah... What is with putting gluten free on the label? Retails for $4.45 - $5.02

Northland Products, LLC
Port Washington, NY
866 719 5215
www.northlandjuices.com



Mrs. Dash Marinade Garlic Lime

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
27	17	15	12	5	5	5	0	86

This product is a HIT!
Most marinades are little more than salt and vinegar laden ketchup or salad dressing, but Mrs Dash has done it again with a salt-free, no MSG, Garlic Lime Marinade that actually tastes great! And it only has 1/12 grams of fat and 1 gram of sugar. These days with the price of beef, a marinade like this is a great way to tenderize a cheaper cut. Yes, I do wish that this product was all-natural. Retails for $2.99

Alberto-Culver USA
Melrose Park, IL
www.mrsdash.com





Crisco Imported Light Olive Oil

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
25	13	15	15	5	5	3	0	81

The folks at Crisco were known for lard. As America's health consciousness changed, so did the fats we cook with. I give credit to Crisco for moving with into olive oil; but they could have done a better job... Look at the side of the package and you'll see that the olive oil could have come from Tunisia, Spain, Turkey, Italy or Argentina - or any combination. The good news is that doing it this way brings down their cost - but what do we get? This oil is as expensive as Italian imported olive oil. Now remember that all oil has 14 grams of fat and 120 calories per tablespoon. So just because it says light on the front, it only means light in flavor and color. One last thing, this thin plastic, overly squeeze-y container is a drippy and the oil spurts out when you open it. Retails for $5.49

The J.M. Smucker Co
Orrville, OH
800 766 7309
www.crisco.com



Phil taste-tests and judges each product based on the following 8 criteria:

1. Taste (30 points): the most important attribute of any food
2. Value (20 points): is it worth it?
3. Health (15 points): based off the nutritional information, is it nutritionally balanced?
4. Ingredients (15 points): what's in it, how natural is it?
5. Preparation (5 points): when applicable, how accurate or good are the directions *
6. Appearance (5 points): is it appetizing and does it resemble its photo or description
7. Packaging (5 points): Is it appropriate for the product and does it have any benefits such as resealability, added freshness, better storage, etc.
8. Sustainability (5 Points): 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.