Starbucks has introduced two new frosty fruit drinks, Orange Mango Banana Blend and Banana Chocolate Blend, but don't dare call them smoothies. The java giant is branding these drinks – the first poured out in a new line of healthier offerings – as Vivanno Nourishing Blends.

Noncoffee drinkers and caffeine fiends alike enjoyed these slurpers, made with whey protein, fiber powder, a whole banana, milk, ice and Naked juice. For me, the banana flavor was overpowering in both blends, and the texture was as frothy as an organza prom dress, but other newsroom tasters – sucking down the drinks, with the intake of a Hoover vacuum – dismissed my comments as pettifogging.

The drinks, with no artificial sweeteners and at least 16 grams of protein per 16-ounce serving, have impressive stats. The Orange Mango has 250 calories with 5 grams of fiber and 2 grams of fat. The Banana Chocolate has 270 calories, 6 grams of fiber and 5 grams of fat.

The 16-ounce blends are $3.75 each, but for a little more you can add a slug of espresso to the chocolate offering or a dusting of matcha green tea powder to the Orange-Mango. At Starbucks now.

Puck's new pies

Just when you think the supermarket's freezer section cannot support any more frozen pizzas, Wolfgang Puck adds to the pie pantheon with a new all-natural line.

The honey-infused crust of the Barbecue Chicken Pizza was light and crispy, but the honey flavor was M.I.A. It was the barbecue sauce that knocked you down and kicked you for falling – the flavors of the chicken, fontina cheese and the red onion slivers just couldn't rise and shine above that potent tang.

The Uncured Pepperoni Pizza was deemed decent by another taster and was all the more palatable because it didn't cost full freight. A coupon combined with a sale brought the normally pricey pie (with its unrealistic promise of three servings) down to $3.

Wolfgang Puck All Natural Frozen Pizzas are in supermarkets for about $6 for a 14.75-ounce pie.

A home run

OK, so the Friar Faithful have been sorely tested this season with the San Diego Padres' less than stellar standing in the National League West. But See's Candies still wants to give fans something to cheer about. Baseball buffs can customize any box of Sees candy – bonbons to brittle – with a free logo of their favorite local team. Available at all San Diego See's Candies locations through Aug. 23 or while supplies last.

Organic and kosher

Corn isn't just for your breakfast flakes any more. Bushels of No. 2 yellow corn are at the sweet, smooth and 40 percent alcoholic heart of Prairie Organic Vodka. From Minneapolis' Phillips Distilling Co., Prairie is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Clean and silky, the spirit offers faint fruitiness on the tongue and hints of cornmeal muffins at the finish.

No pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified seeds are used in Prairie, and used corn cobs and other byproducts are turned into biogas energy. The fifth-generation distillers maintain their operation is a deep shade of green – and No. 2 yellow. $24.99 now at Bristol Farms and coming to Ralphs.

- PETER ROWE