Honey Maid Lil' Squares are healthful snack

Honey Maid Lil' Squares Grahams. Cinnamon, and Honey. $4.19 per 13-ounce box.

Bonnie: Graham crackers have always been a decent snack for kids, as they're made with whole grains while having modest calories and few added sugars. These Honey Maid Lil' Squares Grahams are no different.

What is different about these new snack-size grahams compared to the full-size originals are boxes touting their 8 grams whole grains per serving. And these new Lil' Honey Maid boxes are 1.4-ounce lil'er.

Lil' Squares don't contain the full-size version's artificial flavor, and both varieties have 1 gram more fiber. These two improvements to the ingredients make this good snack even better.

Carolyn: Honey Maid Lil' Squares are old-fashioned graham crackers in modern, miniature, more snackable guise. Which is also almost exactly how I described Teddy Grahams when they were introduced to great sales success almost 25 years back.

I would say that these new Lil' Squares are a rip-off of Teddy Grahams, if both were not Nabisco products. Instead, they're more of an alternative for people who are too old for Teddy Grahams' cuteness or don't need (or want to pay for) the convenience of Teddy Grahams' on-the-go snack packs (a type of packaging that Lil' Squares as yet doesn't offer).

Lil' Squares also have a lighter texture and slightly improved nutritionals (at least if you care about the whole grains touted by Lil' Squares more than the calcium, iron and zinc advertised on the Teddy Graham boxes).

Monterey Pasta Company Ravioli. Artichoke & Colby Jack, Fire Roasted Mushroom & Four Cheese, Creamy Ricotta Florentine, Butternut Squash, and Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella. $4.99 per 8-ounce refrigerated tray.

Bonnie: Monterey Pasta Co. started as a neighborhood fresh-pasta shop in its namesake California city in 1989. It's now part of a larger company that adheres to principles that include not using hydrogenated oils, GMO ingredients or artificial coloring, flavorings, sweeteners, preservatives and/or synthetic substances. I applaud that.

Its newest line of raviolis is made with premium fresh ingredients; the Creamy Ricotta Florentine and Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella with organic ones. Each one I sampled was better than the last, all featuring tender pasta with delicately flavored fillings.