Bisquick Heart Smart Baking Mix; $2.89 per 40-ounce box.
Bonnie: There's a new Bisquick all-purpose mix available for those concerned about heart health. It contains 2.5 grams of fat, with no saturated fat nor trans fats. Regular Bisquick has 6 total grams of fat, including 1.5 grams of both saturated fat and trans fats.
This new Bisquick also contains more calcium and iron than the regular, which is why I'd recommend Bisquick Heart Smart for anyone who uses Bisquick.
Carolyn: Bisquick was invented by a railroad chef who needed to get fresh, hot biscuits into the dining car before his customers detrained.
Nowadays, Pillsbury refrigerated and frozen biscuits are much quicker, but the versatility of this blend of fat, flour and leavening (it could just as easily now be called Pancakquick or Casserolquick) explains its survival into this health-conscious age.
Bisquick Heart Smart replaces Bisquick Light and is even better for you, having even less fat and more good additives.
I haven't baked with Bisquick Light recently enough to say much about it. But in a side-by-side biscuit test of Heart Smart vs. regular Bisquick, the difference was both noticeable and unacceptable. The Heart Smart biscuits lacked the regular Bisquick's — and any good biscuit's — flaky texture and rich, "short" taste.
That's why I'd recommend Heart Smart only to people with heart conditions, or candidates for the same based on the large volume of "short" baked goods they make.
Dole Veggie Pasta Salad Kit. Italian Herb, Broccoli Ranch, Garden Vegetable and Cheddar Bacon Ranch; $3.99 per 11.75- to 13-ounce clamshell container of vegetables, dry pasta and salad dressing.
Bonnie: Dole had a wonderful idea to offer refrigerated pasta salads complete with pasta, veggies and dressing. That's about the only positive thing I can say. What's wrong with these? Let me count the ways.
First, the pasta offered is dry, not fresh. So it takes up to 13 minutes to cook, not three minutes, like refrigerated pasta (which would have been a lot more convenient).
Second, the package purports to contain four servings. With less than 4 ounces of pasta, 4 ounces of veggies, a half-ounce of cheese (only in one variety) and more than 5 ounces of dressing, this would feed four adults only if accompanied by a full meal. So where's the convenience?
Third, that amount of dressing is way too much for the pasta and veggies. Less than half that would work.
Last, and by no means least, the veggies are nowhere near as wonderful as I expected from veggie-expert Dole. Each kit contained a boring blend of carrots, celery or red cabbage and broccoli florets — and that's uncooked broccoli. When I serve broccoli in a salad, I always blanch it (plunging briefly in boiling water), as it tastes much better.
Good idea Dole, but horrific execution.
Carolyn: Dole's new line of fresh vegetable pasta salad kits isn't really a new line. It's just Dole packaging near-identical bags of cut-up broccoli, carrots and cabbage, and inexpensive, uncooked pasta and ranch dressing under different names — probably so Dole could make a quick buck. The Italian Herb's Parmesan herb dressing is the only real variation.
If Dole were serious about offering consumers the choice that comes in a real line, it would have featured different vegetables and cuisines (like Asian). It also would have instructed purchasers to microwave the vegetables for a few minutes so that the finished salads would have the al dente texture of most pasta salad vegetables, rather than the texture of rocks.
This cooking suggestion couldn't have been omitted to save us time, because the kits already require cooking the pasta on the stovetop for at least 10 minutes. (You can make many dry soup cups with noodles by adding water and microwaving. Could Dole have done something similar with this pasta, so it could be easy to make in the workplace?)
As it is now, I'd recommend only the Cheddar Bacon Ranch (because I like its bacon ranch dressing) to people who work at home and who are willing and able to boil the pasta and microwave the vegetables.
Bush's Best Honey Baked Beans; $1.59 per 28-ounce can.
Bonnie: I'm a bean lover. I always have been, as they're delicious and good for you. Beans are naturally low in fat — containing neither cholesterol nor saturated fat — and are rich in fiber, protein, calcium and iron. I add almost any variety of canned or freshly cooked dried beans to stews, salads or rice dishes, or I enjoy them just with some sauteed onions and red peppers. But I rarely eat baked beans because of their sweetness.
A 150-calorie, half-cup serving of these new Honey Baked Beans contains more than one tablespoon of sugar. At least this isn't any more than most other brands. So if you don't mind the sugar in baked beans, you might give these a try.
Carolyn: Up until now, consumers had two main choices in canned baked bean sauces: tomato, or brown sugar with bacon or molasses. Bush's new Honey Baked Beans is something in between: It's sweet without the dark molasses and brown sugar taste.
I actually think a molasses and brown sugar sauce has more character. But this certainly isn't bad.
Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat"(Quirk). Each week they critique three new food items.)
© Universal Press Syndicate
