Product Report--New in April

What's new in the food business? Well, here are a few new products hitting the shelf this month. Let's see how many might work on a controlled carb eating program:

• 180 Red with Goji, from Anheuser-Busch. Yet another energy drink, this one is 180 Red with Goji, described by the beer folks as having a "refreshing, slightly sweet cherry taste balanced with subtle tartness." It's the fourth in the company's nonalcoholic 180 line and contains sugar. So no goji for us. (By the way, goji berries are grown in Tibet and have high antioxidant levels as well as energy-stimulating properties.) Scratch this one.

• Boca Meatless Breakfast Wraps, from Boca Foods; The Boca Burger folks are expanding their breakfast line by adding a soy-based, whole-grain wrap. Comes in two flavors: original and Southwestern, both filled with egg whites, cheese and meatless sausage. Low in sugar but still about 21 net carbs per serving.

• Grate-It-Fresh Parmesan Cheese, from Kraft. Now this is a nice idea--a block of fresh Parmesan cheese with its own grater. Kind of the cheesy version of the pepper grinder blends you can buy these days. Twist and grate. But it won't come cheaply--suggested price is $4.99 for the seven-ounce size.

• Flat Earth Fruit and Veggie Crisps, from Frito-Lay, I've seen these in stores already. They tout that each one-ounce serving contains a half-serving of fruit or vegetables. Flavors are: Farmland Cheddar, Garlic & Herb Field, Tangy Tomato Ranch, Wild Berry Patch, Apple Cinnamon Grove, and Peach Mango Paradise. What they don't tout is that these are basically potato chips with some fruits and veggies added, not to mention quite a bit of sugar, at least for the apple flavor.

• Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls. What is it with the "bowls," already? This is your standard breakfast in a bowl: sausage and egg; bacon and egg; or pancake and sausage bowls, to be precise. Sausage and bacon bowls sound like a good low-carb option, you think? Nope, both have hash brown potatoes in them so you might as well eat the pancakes.

• Girl Jerky, by Jack Link's. Okay, that's not really the name, but the beef jerky manufacturer is adding "softer textures, bite-sized pieces and sweet and savory flavors" in an attempt to attract the female jerky customer. The company's marketing veep says they are "satisfying new snacks high in protein yet low in carbs, calories and fat." These new Jerky treats come in four flavors--Maple & Brown Sugar Ham Jerky , Prime Rib, Chicken Fajita, and Maple & Brown Sugar Barbecue Pork Tender cuts. They seem to average about 3-6 grams of sugar per serving, much lower than...

• New Magical Cereals from General Mills. I wrote about these a while back--new "lightly sweetened" Disney's Little Einsteins Fruity Stars Cereal, Disney's Princess Fairytale Flakes, and Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Berry Crunch Cereal, finally making their way onto supermarket shelves. Here are the first six ingredients in Little Einsteins Fruity Stars, touted as a "whole grain" healthy cereal: whole grain corn; sugar; corn meal; corn syrup; corn starch; corn bran. Mmmmm....how fruity it is!

So much for new product rollouts for April. Sigh.