Ellison Bakery Soft Raspberry Filled Cookies

Taste	Value		Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
26	18		13	9	5	5	4	0	80

I've never been a fan of soft baked cookies; I just don't get it. These cookies from Ellison Bakery are certainly tasty, and as they say, "genuinely comforting." However, with all their talk about time-honored values and better ingredients, someone there should take a minute to read their way-too-long artificial ingredient statement. Retails for $3.19.

Ellison Bakery
Fort Wayne, IN
877 298 4101
www.ellisonbakery.com



Cranberry Raisinets

Taste	Value		Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
29	17		12	14	5	5	5	0	87

This product is a HIT!
Shouldn't these be called Craisinets? Look, Raisinets are made with raisins and Craisinets should be made with cranberries. OK, I know there's legal stuff going on, but still, the most important thing is that these Cranberry Raisinets are great! Made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup, these are tasty. My only wish is that they also start making dark chocolate. They are a little more expensive than your typical raisin Raisinets. Retails for $0.89 / 100 calorie pack.

Nestle USA, Inc.
Glendale, CA
www.nestleusa.com





Sahale Snacks Cashews with Pomegranate + Vanilla

Taste	Value		Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
28	16		14	15	5	5	5	2	90

This product is a HIT!
When I first saw the picture of these Cashews with Pomegranate + Vanilla I went, "Ewww." When I thought about the flavor of cashews with pomegranate and vanilla I went "ewww" again, but when I opened the package and tasted it, I went "ahhh!" These Sahale snacks are really a good recipe -- they use organic cane juice, organic tapioca syrup and brown sugar as sweeteners; there are no trans fats and contain just 90 mg of sodium in a 1/4 cup. Retails for $5.29 / 4 oz.

Sahale Snacks
Seattle, WA
206 624 7244
www.sahalesnacks.com



Lowell Multi Grain Raspberry and Whole Grain Yogurt

Taste	Value		Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
26	18		14	13	5	5	5	0	86

  This product is a HIT!
Here's new combination -- yogurt with pieces of fruit, whole grains and probiotics, and you can actually taste the yogurt. What I do love is that it lists the bacterial cultures by name; what I don't like is that in their ingredients one of the sweeteners listed is glucose-fructose syrup, which is just another way of saying high fructose corn syrup. And while they're touting multigrain, they don't list the percentage of the daily recommended amount and there's only 1 g of dietary fiber. But this is so much better than so many of the yogurts on the shelves today. Retails for $1.49.

Lowell Foods
Franklin Park, IL
847 349 1002
www.lowelldairy.com



Kitchen Table Bakers Aged Parmesan Mini Crisps

Taste	Value		Health	Ingredients	Prep	Appearance	Packaging	Sustainability	Total
29	16		15	15	5	5	5	0	90

  This product is a HIT!
Don't let the package scare you away. I know it's a goofy name -- "The crisp made entirely of cheese" -- but this gluten-free and sugar-free mini crisp is delicious! Just look at the ingredients -- aged parmesan cheese -- and that's it! Nothing is added, but don't under any circumstance put anything on top; the flavor is too good to be compromised. Retails for $3.99.

Kitchen Table Bakers
Syosset, NY
800 486 4582
www.kitchentablebakers.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.

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