Ice Cream Cupcakes a great choice for kids' gatherings

That's a lot for a middle-aged office worker but not too bad for a hungry teenager. Me? I prefer fresher-tasting food.

Carolyn: Oscar Mayer's Deli Creations obviously aim to compete with gourmet sandwich shops. But those shop owners have nothing to fear. Deli Creations are basically Lunchables for grown-ups.

Like Lunchables, these involve opening a lot of little packages and mixing stuff together. Kids might see this as fun; adults in a hurry, as just a pain in the neck. The flatbreads remind me a lot of Lunchables pizza crust — OK but hardly gourmet. The sauces taste like warmed salad dressings. The meats are tender but very salty. In fact, salt is the main taste of all but the Buffalo-Style Ranch Chicken and the Fajita Beef & Salsa, but even these aren't good enough to recommend.

The concept of a packaged, refrigerated meal kit works better for less-ambitious foods such as hot dogs and pizza. People looking for a quick cheap lunch should buy those Lunchables. Everyone else should take the extra 15 minutes (and extra dollars) to get a freshly made sandwich from a corner shop.

Amy's Mexican Quesadilla With Beans & Rice Kids' Meal. $4.29 per 8-ounce frozen package.

Bonnie: Amy's new organic Mexican Quesadilla is a kids' meal I can recommend to all ages — except for active teenagers, for whom it would only be a light snack.

It contains two cheese-filled quesadillas, refried beans, Spanish rice and an odd-shaped, unfrosted chocolate cake — which makes this a kids' meal. That and the game on the back and the picture to color on the inside of the box.

The 7 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein are impressive, the latter especially so, considering this contains no meat. And the calories (420) and fat (15 grams of total fat, of which 5 grams are saturated) are reasonable. The high sodium (680 milligrams) is the only downside, but it's not high enough to keep me from recommending this.

Carolyn: I continue to be impressed by Amy's knowledge of good taste and nutrition. This new kids' meal is another great example. It's as good a Mexican meal — frozen or otherwise — as I've ever had. The cheese quesadilla, with its healthy and flavorful wheat tortilla, is like a Mexican-style grilled cheese sandwich. I even liked Amy's unorthodox (and presumably also nutrition-boosting) addition of broccoli to the Spanish rice. It added flavor and texture without overwhelming the rice's identity.

The box's cover should tell people that this meal contains a cake dessert, so they can plan accordingly. That's the only bad thing I can say about this.

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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. For previous columns, visit www.supermarketsampler.com, and for more food info and chances to win free products, visit www.biteofthebest.com. © Universal Press Syndicate