Weight Watchers Smart Ones Artisan Creations Stone-Fired Crust Pizza. Four Cheese, Pepperoni, and Fajita Chicken. $2.22 per 6- to 7.25-ounce pizza.
Bonnie: Regular readers of this column know how much I dislike microwavable frozen pizzas. So you'd also probably know I wasn't looking forward to testing these new Artisan Creations Stone-Fired Pizzas from Smart Ones. Amazingly, these were a pleasant surprise. None of these had the telltale cardboard taste usually associated with microwave pizza.
I'm guessing the non-solid silver disk you bake these pizzas on might have something to do with that. That, or it could be because the crust was first stone-fired. Whichever, I found these a quick and low-calorie (if slightly high in sodium) option for those who regularly eat microwave pizza, though not quite as quick as the box directions indicated. To get a nice crispy crust and melted cheese, I had to microwave these twice as long as the package recommended.
Carolyn: The 18th-century wood carvers and bread bakers who inspired the word "artisan" would have drummed Weight Watchers out of the craft guild if they had ever seen these new Smart Ones "Artisan Creations" Stone-Fired Crust Pizzas. Weight Watchers claims to have pre-baked the crusts on stones, but they came out of my stone-less microwave tasting like the worst offerings from the early '50s frozen-pizza stone age.
The creatively named Four Cheese contains less than 2 percent of three of its four cheeses and is desert dry. The Pepperoni and Fajita Chicken are better, mainly because their toppings actually show up and give those varieties a bit more moistness. They're all still a perversion of the artisan and pizza names.
Mann's Snacks on the Go! Snack Packs. Broccoli, Carrots & Celery; Celery, Carrots & Grape Tomatoes; Carrots, Celery & Raisins; and Celery, Carrots & Stringless Sugar Snap Peas. $1.99 to $2.99 per 6.75- to 8.75-ounce trays featuring vegetables, fruits and dip.
Bonnie: Mann's Snacks on the Go! are my kind of snack. Each of Mann's new Snack Packs contains celery and carrot sticks with a light ranch dressing. What distinguishes each variety is its fourth ingredient -- broccoli, grape tomatoes, raisins, or my favorite, sugar snap peas.
Each is nutrient-rich with vitamins and minerals from the fruit and veggies, with 50 to 140 calories per serving, depending on the fourth item. I only wish Mann's had included a more natural dressing or, better yet, natural hummus or peanut butter as the dip. Then these could have been a lunch instead of just a good snack.
Carolyn: Anyone not aware of the caloric advantage of fresh fruits and veggies over snack cakes and chips need only put Mann's Snacks on the Go! Snack Pack with Celery, Carrots, Grape Tomatoes and Ranch Dressing beside a Little Debbie or Nabisco 100 Calorie treat. By comparison, this 100-calorie veggie pack and its sister 120-calorie varieties offer a huge amount of food. In fact, each Mann's technically contains two servings.
Were these specifically designed for couples or the 1.98 sibs in the average American household? Judging from the two boxes of raisins in the Carrots, Celery & Raisins (a variety not coincidentally containing more than twice the calories of the others, and so the only one I don't recommend), I'd say yes.
I agree with Bonnie that these would be even more appealing if Mann's would switch out the ranch dip for peanut butter, hummus or soft cheese.
Bear Naked All Natural Granola. Maple Pecan, and Peak Flax Oats and Honey With Blueberries. $4.84 per 12-ounce resealable bag.
Bonnie: Both of these new cereals from Bear Naked are minimally processed and made using recognizable ingredients such as oats, honey and maple syrup. They also contain no preservatives, artificial flavors, trans fats, hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup.
Each is an excellent source of whole grains, with at least 18 grams per serving -- the Maple Pecan granola contains 20. The Peak Flax Oats and Honey With Blueberries is also an excellent vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acids with 320 milligrams per serving.
I like the flavor of the Peak Flax Oats best, but either are good. Just don't fill up your cereal bowl, as a serving is a mere quarter cup.
Carolyn: Most college kids acquire the "Freshman 10" in the all- you-can-eat school cafeteria. I gained those extra pounds by daily snacking on granola after a college chum told me it was good for me.
I would expect obesity from snacking on ice cream or potato chips every day, but not from something made of flax seed, like one of these new Bear Naked granolas. But the fact is that a 2.2-ounce (a small half-cup) serving of either of these new granolas packs almost as many calories as a similar-weight, standard-size Snickers. And the one-cup bowlful most people will end up eating teeters on ice cream sundae indulgence.
I'm not saying these don't taste good. In fact, the dried blueberries in the Peak Flax Oats really taste like blueberries and are a nice respite from the ubiquitous raisin; the Maple Pecan, with its glazed pecan sugar bombs, borders on decadent. But if I want to blow a lot of calories, I learned (in college) to do it with the ice cream, candy and cake that I like even more.
Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. She has an interactive site (www.biteofthebest.com) about products she recommends. Follow her on Twitter: BonnieBOTB. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book" (Running Press). Each week they critique three new food items. (c) UNIVERSAL UCLICK
Author: Bonnie Tandy Leblang
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