"Winning" food products not only are convenient and taste good, but contain a better balance and variety of nutrients, and are made from minimally processed foods whenever possible. None contains trans fats or artificial sweeteners.

Nutrition Criteria:

Not all Winning Foods candidates meet the strict legal definitions for "healthy" or even "low-fat". Each is chosen for a relatively optimum balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate/fiber, and/or contains beneficial nutrients in significant quantities compared to other products in its category. There are no "cut-off" values for fat, sodium, cholesterol, etc., but we do look for a minimum of some and a maximum of other nutrients.

Here are some of the general nutrition criteria we use when selecting food products (per serving):

Once a food product passes nutrition muster, it goes on to a taste testing...

Tasting Panel:

Taste is a somewhat subjective thing, after quality and freshness have been accounted for. That's why we use a diverse team of tasters -- different ages, geographic locations, occupations, etc. Half of our tasters are food professionals, however, to ensure sensitivity to the subtler aspects of taste and texture. Products are put through a panel of five or more tasters.