Description: No-bake dessert bar mix with crumb crust, peanut butter filling and chocolate topping. Cardboard “pan” included in the box. Yields 15 servings.

Preparation summary: Measure one tablespoon of water and two tablespoons of softened butter or margarine into crumb mix. Heat in microwave, stir and press into tray. Then add 1/4 cup melted butter into the filling mix, heat in microwave and layer on top of crust. Top with included pouch of chocolate sauce and let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Highpoints: You’ve essentially made a rectangular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup laden with butter, which few people can snub.

Lowpoints: The high level of grainy sugar contained in the peanut butter filling seems like the perfect recipe for a cavity. Leftovers dry out quickly, and within 24 hours you’re stuck with clay bars in a tacky cardboard tray.

Average retail price: $5.99

Availability: Most major grocery stores

Description: Canned black beans in a thick sauce of red bell peppers, Anaheim chili peppers, dried onion and lime juice.

Preparation summary: Eat cold or heat briefly on stovetop or in the microwave.

Highpoints: These sensuous-tasting beans, with their thin, slippery skins, offer a subtle tomatoey essence, mild chili edge and rich sustenance. I added a drip of extra-hot pepper sauce to the bowl and the buggers just got better.

Lowpoints: If eating legumes makes you the subject of bean jokes then that’s the disadvantage.

Average retail price: $1.19

Availability: Major grocery stores

Description: Frozen, single-serving meal containing small-cut penne pasta and about 10 soy protein “meatballs” in marinara sauce.

Preparation summary: Cut a small slit in plastic film and heat in the microwave on high for two minutes. Stir, recover and continue heating for two to three minutes.

Highpoints: The pasta is al dente, the sauce is not very acidic and the fat content measures a comfortable 4.5 grams.

Lowpoints: Though the “meatballs” look remarkably real, they lack the Italian seasonings necessary to pass muster with even the most prolific consumers of mock flesh.

Average retail price: $3.69

Availability: Most major grocery stores

Description: Boxed fettuccine noodles with cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack and Mexican seasonings.

Preparation summary: Bring water, milk and butter to a boil as stated in the instructions. Add the dried noodles and seasoning contents. Boil on medium heat for eight minutes. Let stand three to five minutes.

Highpoints: If you suffer from low blood pressure and believe in the power of sodium, a couple of servings of this stuff will get rid of those clumsy dizzy spells.

Lowpoints: Flavor is quintessential Rice-A-Roni and hardly resembles a chicken quesadilla. The end result tastes no different than the other rice and noodle meals in the company’s salty product line.

Average retail price: $1.69

Availability: Major grocery stores