Simply great — on the outside

Simply Lemonade, and Simply Limeade. $2.49 per 1.75-liter bottle.

Bonnie: What I really like about both of these new beverages from drink-maker Coca-Cola is that they're made with lemon or lime juice, natural flavor and real sugar — not high-fructose corn syrup (HFC), a man-made substance used in Coke whose effect on human metabolism is being questioned.

In other words, these all-natural, refreshing drinks are similar to what you'd get at your kids' lemonade stand, with one exception: They contain none of the vitamin C that's normally found in citrus fruits. The company says "they don't make any claims" about vitamin C; I say it's probably destroyed in the processing. (Neither Minute Maid Limeade nor Lemonade, also from the Coca-Cola Co., claims to have vitamin C either.) So enjoy these new "ades" after getting your day's vitamin C from your morning glass of fresh orange juice.

Carolyn: Coca-Cola's Simply Orange Juice Co. is the "My Fair Lady" of the supermarket refrigerator case. Just as Henry Higgins dressed up cockney flower-hawker Eliza Doolittle in new clothes and better diction and fooled people into thinking she was a high-class dame, Coca-Cola's Minute Maid brand (using the more natural-sounding "Simply" name) put its commercial pasteurized orange juice into the carafes that expensive restaurants use to serve fresh-squeezed to make people think it tasted good enough to be worth its premium price. This summer, Coca-Cola's attempting the same trick with lemonade and limeade, using the "Simply" brand name again.

The problem to me is that these Simply juice drinks don't taste all that different from refrigerated lemonade and limeade in cartons. Simply Lemonade actually seems thicker with sugar-water than regular refrigerated Minute Maid Lemonade from concentrate. And high viscosity is not something I associate with freshly made lemonade.

Simply Limeade is lighter and better, and will lend an upscale look to your table, even if it really isn't much simpler or better than Minute Maid.

Limited Edition Oreo Cookies. Dunkers, and Dulce de Leche Caramel Creme. $2.99 per 13-ounce or 14-ounce package.

Bonnie: You have to be quick if you want to try either of these two new Oreos because they're in supermarkets only through the end of July. The question is: Should you rush out to get them?

No, for the Dulce de Leche. Unless you have an ultra-sweet tooth or fancy the flavor of caramelized milk and sugar, you'll find them too sweet. They don't contain more sugar than regular Oreos — they just taste like they do, with an intense artificial caramel creme (burnt sugar) flavor.