100 calories vs ...

100 calories vs ... New from Kemps is a line of 100 Calorie Minis -- miniature frozen treats, including chocolate-coated ice cream bites, mini ice cream cones and mini ice cream sandwiches. Kemps still sells the miniature ice cream sandwiches introduced before it discovered the 100-calorie bandwagon, so once more Mr. Tidbit can happily compare a 100-calorie offering with the original version.

As usual, the new one costs more. At one discount supermarket, the box of 18 Kemps 2.25-ounce regular mini ice cream sandwiches is $4.23 (23.5 cents each, or 10.4 cents per ounce). The box of nine Kemps 2-ounce 100 Calorie Minis ice cream sandwiches is $3.49 (38.8 cents each, or 19.4 cents per ounce). The 100 Calorie Minis cost 65 percent more each, or 86 percent more per ounce. But wait. It gets better!

Sure, you might say, the originals are cheaper, but the 100 Calorie Minis version permits the suddenly necessary easy quantification (and possible reduction) of one's calorie intake. Right. So; 100 calories in the 2-ounce 100 Calorie Minis. How many calories are in the cheaper 2.25-ounce regular mini ice cream sandwich?

100.

That's correct; the slightly larger regular mini sandwiches also contain 100 calories each. And there are 4 grams of fat in the 100 Calorie Minis sandwich and only 3 grams in the regular version! (Mr. Tidbit assumes that the lower fat count and fewer calories per ounce found in the cheaper product are due to the slight differences between the contents of the ice cream and cookies in the two versions, and to the slightly higher ice-cream-to-cookie ratio in the new one.)

Touched by 50 cents Kellogg's latest is Corn Flakes With a Touch of Honey. A 12-ounce box was $3.49 at one store; the 12-ounce box of regular Kellogg's Corn Flakes was $2.99. The new product is slightly denser (there are 11 cups in the 12-ounce box, but 12 cups in the 12-ounce box of corn flakes untouched by honey).

AL SICHERMAN