Fruited plains

FruitaBu Organic Smoooshed Fruit Twirls and Fruit Flats come in Smoooshed Strawberry, Smoooshed Apple and Smoooshed Grape. (Fruit Flats also come in Smoooshed Apricot and Smoooshed Raspberry.) They actually count as a fruit or half-fruit serving for the five-a-day guideline. The Web site - fruitabu.com - is a graphic kick and might inspire a kid to look further into that fruit bin.

Smooth operator

Starbucks has a new addition to its list of beverages. This time it's something nourishing: Vivanno, which comes in two flavors, orange-mango-banana and chocolate-banana. These smoothie-like beverages - don't call them smoothies, says the Starbucks rep - have no added sugar.

The orange-mango-banana is our favorite, but chocolate lovers will go for the chocolate-banana. Coffee lovers, you are not forgotten. You can add a shot of espresso for that extra caffeine kick.

A 16-ounce cup costs $3.75, contains 270 calories and provides 25 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin C, 5 grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of fat.

Produce pick

With July and August the peak months of watermelon season, it's fitting that July is National Watermelon Month. So how do you select a ripe watermelon? Pick one that's firm and symmetrical, preferably free of cuts, bruises or dents. Then hit it like a drum and listen for that "thump" sound.

Bobby Flay gets in the game

How do you know when you've really arrived? It might be when you're asked to play ball in the big leagues. Chef/restaurateur Bobby Flay was the only chef asked to join Hollywood celebs, including Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, as well as Baseball Hall of Famers such as Tony Perez and Colorado's own Goose Gossage, in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. It was part of last week's All-Star Game activities.

Kitchen tip du jour

If your plastic wrap or foil jumps out of the cardboard box when you pull it, check the ends of the box. On many brands, there's a "button" to lock the rolls into place. Who knew? Apparently not many people, because the story made the rounds by e-mail, ending up on Snopes.com, where urban legends are checked out. Turns out it's true. Check your rolls at home.

Swimming downstream

Seafood and fish consumption was down slightly in 2007: The average American ate 16.3 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2007, a total of 4.91 billion pounds, slightly less than the 4.94 billion pounds in 2006, according to a just-released National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service study.

The U.S. continues to rank as the third-largest consumer of fish and shellfish, behind China and Japan.

Shrimp still is the top choice at 4.1 pounds per person, down slightly, while canned seafood, mostly tuna, held steady at 3.9 pounds per person.