StarKist Sandwich — Ready products good for a snack

StarKist Sandwich-Ready Tuna Salad. Chunk Light, and Albacore. $1.37 to $1.99 per 3-ounce pouch.

Bonnie: StarKist is taking another stab at selling flavored tuna in a pouch. We reviewed some of its Creations six years ago. This new "deli-inspired sandwich-ready" tuna is tuna mixed with crunchy water chestnuts, celery and myriad unappealing additives. Those include xanthan gum, potassium sorbate, artificial flavors, titanium dioxide and more.

Each pouch contains 90 to 100 calories, 2.5 to 3.5 grams of total fat, 370 to 460 milligrams of sodium and 11 to 13 grams of protein, and is a source of omega-3 fatty acids. These are convenient to keep in your desk in case of a hunger emergency along with some crackers, although I still prefer my tuna plain. Sorry, Charlie.

Carolyn: These new StarKist Sandwich-Ready products don't remind me of the company's Creations, Bonnie, so much as the canned tuna salads that both StarKist and competitor Bumble Bee offered in the mid-'90s. Creations are barbecue, lemon and herb and garlic-flavored tuna; these pouches contain tuna salad made with celery and mayo-like salad dressing, or something closer to StarKist Lunch To-Go tuna snack kits, with its packets of mayo, relish and crackers. But this product comes premixed, requiring nothing more than opening up the single package.

StarKist has neatly avoided the biggest potential problem of this approach by using, what is to me, just about the perfect amount of dressing.

These would be ideal for brown-baggers who hate soggy sandwiches enough to be willing to pack bread slices separately or for anyone to keep in the cupboard at home for a super-quick solo sandwich or snack.

Newman's Own Organics Signature Chocolate. Super Dark, and Mocha Milk. $2.99 per 2.25-ounce and $3.69 per 3.25-ounce bar.

Bonnie: I've always admired the way Nell Newman ran her organic company, specifically for the money it's raised for the charitable foundation of her late father, Paul. I haven't, though, been wild about her products until now.

These new chocolate bars are made from cocoa beans from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms. To be certified, those farms must meet standards for not only sustainable farming that protects the soil, waterways and wildlife habitat, but also the welfare of their workers.

Add to that the creamy texture and intense flavor of each of these chocolate bars, and she's got a winner! I'm usually a dark chocolate lover, but Nell's melt-in-my-mouth, coffee-flavored Mocha Milk is my favorite of these two new varieties.