Shopping Cart: New food products in stores, restaurants and online

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 4, 2008 10:03 PM PDT ∞

HEALTHY SNACKS: Carlsbad-based Mellace Family Brands has introduced a line of healthy oven-roasted, nutrient-enhanced snacks made from tree nuts, peanuts and dried fruits. Packaged in 3- and 9-ounce plastic tubs or foil pouches, Snacktrition comes in five varieties: Sea Salt Cashews with Fiber, Sea Salt Almonds with Calcium, Salt & Pepper Cashews with Fiber, Smoked Almonds with Calcium and Fruit & Nut Mix with Fiber and Calcium. Servings promise 3 grams or dietary fiber or 100 mg of calcium. A portion of sales benefits the Mama Cares Foundation.

BREAKFAST IN A SNAP: Breakfast Breaks is a new line of convenience meals for families on the go. Each Breakfast Grabber box comes with a single-serving bowl of General Mills-brand cereal (milk not included), a snack of either a fruit pouch, fruit bar or granola bar, a Minute Maid juice box, a spoon, napkin and moist wipe.

GIFTS FOR DAD: Wolferman's, a gourmet breakfast food delivery products business owned by Harry & David, has introduced three new items for Father's Day. The Father's Day Eggs Benedict basket, priced at $34.95, comes with English muffins, hollandaise sauce mix and Canadian bacon; Dad's Continental Breakfast Gift Basket, $24.95, includes English muffins, strawberry jam and Tiffin blend coffee; and the All Occasion Breakfast Tower ($37.95) with English muffins, scones, crumpets, apple butter and Tiffin coffee.

COFEE GOES POLAR: Jack in the Box has added Kona Coffee flavor to its line of ice cream shakes. The Kona Coffee Shake, flavored with real coffee from Kona, Hawaii, is served with whip cream and a maraschino cherry. It comes in 16- and 24-ounce sizes, priced from $2.49 to $2.99.

GLUTEN-FREE CONES: Edward & Sons Trading Co. introduces a line of wheat-free ice-cream cones. The cones, made with potato starch, cornstarch and other ingredients, are 10 calories apiece and sell for $3.99 for a box of 12.

BOX LUNCH WITH A DIFFERENCE: Oscar Mayer has taken the sack lunch upscale with its new Deli Creations Flatbread Sandwich line, featuring all the ingredients to assemble and microwave a hot deli sandwich in 60 seconds. Flavors are Buffalo-Style Ranch Chicken, Chicken and Bacon Ranch, Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken, Fajita Beef & Salsa and Steakhouse Beef with Garlic Parmesan Sauce. The meals, priced at $2.99, are sold in supermarket refrigerated meat cases.

GREEN CLEANING: Pacific Dry Goods has added a new product to its green products line, EcoTowel Bamboo. The machine-washable kitchen hand towel is made from 82 percent bamboo fiber and 18 percent corn fiber is designed to absorb 10 times its weight in liquid.