Gluten-free desserts not great — besides brownies

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Dessert Mixes. Yellow and Devil's Food Cake, Brownies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. $4.49 per 15-ounce to 19-ounce box.

Bonnie: General Mills is following its line of Gluten Free Chex cereals with these new Gluten Free Dessert Mixes under the Betty Crocker label. They're priced only about $2 more than Betty Crocker's regular baking mixes, or much less than mixes sold by smaller companies.

As a refresher, gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains, including rye and barley. Even the tiniest amount of gluten can damage the digestive system of those with celiac disease.

The best-tasting of this line is the brownie mix. The others are just fair to me — although probably a godsend for those who can't eat gluten. But even though these may be "healthy" in terms of gluten, they're as high in calories, fats and sugars as regular desserts are. So, like all desserts, these should be enjoyed in moderation.

Carolyn: Wheat allergies are becoming more common for many Americans. I say this not based on hard statistics but the simple fact that mainstream food company General Mills has begun making and selling gluten-free foods, including this new line of dessert mixes it says is good enough to be enjoyed by "everyone, even those who do not follow a gluten-free diet."

That goal is achieved by these brownies, which are moist, chewy and so rich with chocolate flavor they don't even need the chocolate chips I routinely add to brownie mixes. Chocolate chips are actually this mix's second ingredient.

Hot out of the oven, the chocolate chip cookies also tasted quite good, but the taste and gritty texture of the rice and potato flour became pronounced as the cookies cooled off — deficits that even reheating the cookies in the microwave couldn't fix. That's why I can only recommend them served hot to a hungry group.

The cake mixes are total avoids. The yellow one resembled sweetened cornbread. If this is as good as baked goods get, this junk foodie would just as soon have fresh fruit for dessert!

Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup. $1.09 per 10.75-ounce can.

Bonnie: I took my first spoonful of the new reformulated tomato soup with apprehension. After all, this is Campbell's oldest soup and my comfort food — the soup my mom gave me when I was sick.

Campbell's reduced the sodium with the use of sea salts, changing the level to meet with the federal health guidelines of no more than 480 milligrams per serving. I thought this was like tinkering with Mother Nature, but kudos to Campbell's — my beloved soup tastes the same and has 32 percent less sodium.