My New Year’s Resolution
2009 has certainly been an interesting year! In July, I suggested to my colleagues at NuVal that we begin a blog project to promote the NuVal message. In fact, I volunteered to write about my experience as a busy mother of two young children, striving to choose the most nutritious food for my family. What a fabulous experience it has been! What started as a small blog on blogspot, has now grown to A Better Bag of Groceries and well, you know the rest! I am thankful to my colleagues, friends, family and neighbors who have inspired me with recipes and ideas and who have given me permission to write and photograph them.
One thing that nags me, though, is that I have not always been prompt in answering questions that sometimes pop up in your comments. My New Year’s Resolution (drum roll please) is to get back to your questions within 24 hours. There are times when I need to consult the nutrition and scoring experts on the NuVal team to answer your questions, but 24 hours should be enough time.
To get me started on the right foot, I’d like to answer some of your questions that have been left hanging. So, here goes….
1. What is the score for Almond Butter?
In response to Trade-Up Tuesday: Peanut Butter, Marisa from Loser for Life and Anne from The Doctor Takes a Wife both asked about the score for Almond Butter. Maranatha Creamy Almond Butter scores a 24 on the NuVal scale.
2. Does Price Chopper carry Teddie Peanut Butter?
Peanut Butter was indeed a popular topic among ABBG readers. My loyal reader from Food Makes Fun Fuel asked if she could buy Teddie Peanut Butter (which scores as high as a 49 for the No Salt brand) at Price Chopper. Maureen Murphy, Manager of Consumer Services and Trends for Price Chopper (and a wonderful person, I might add!) got right back to me on this question. According to Maureen, “Price Chopper sells Teddie Peanut Butter in all stores and it is on our Good Till Easter program at $2.79. It should be available in your store as well. If you can’t find it please ask the Grocery Manager.”
3. Does NuVal score items differently if nutrients are added in? Or is the item scored based on total amount of nutrients both added and natural?
Lily from Lily’s HealthyPad asked this excellent question in response to Tyler Trades Up. I sought the counsel of Annette Maggi, MS, RD, LD, FADA, Sr. Director of Nutrition for NuVal LLC for this one! Annette says, “Both natural and added nutrients are factored into the NuVal score. However, nutrients that are added are capped to prevent micronutrients like vitamins and minerals from overinfluencing the scores. Certain nutrients are not capped. These include fiber (because so few Americans get enough of this important nutrient) and omega-3 (due to the flavor profile, this nutrient is really “self-capping”). Nutrients that are naturally occurring are not capped. This is also true for nutrients that may have negative impacts on health. For example, the sugar that naturally occurs in fruits is not penalized, but added sugar lowers a product’s NuVal score.”
4. Why do roasted red pepers only get a 7 on the NuVal scale?
Great question! I love roasted red peppers, and like Nicole from preventionrd.com and Elina from healthyandsane.com, I thought they were a great way to get extra veggies in. The roasted red peppers that I used for Miss Conduct’s Easy Greek Casserole and for The Incredible Vegetable Sandwich were Pastene’s Roasted Red Peppers (which come in a jar). Again, Annette came to the rescue and analyzed this product for me. “The product has 5 calories per serving (80% come from sugar) and 85 mg of sodium, so the sodium for the calories is what is driving the score down. Additionally, while there is some vitamin C in the product, it has very little positive nutrition.” Alternatively, you could use Miss Conduct’s awesome suggestion to roast your own if you have a gas stove. I do not have a gas stove (a tragedy, really) but I do have a gas grill!
5. Why is the NuVal score for ground turkey (33) so low?
Rachel from Good Taste, Healthy Me asked this great question in response to my Venus Soup post. Another Rachel (Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN and NuVal’s new Communications Manager) was kind enough to help me with this answer. “When scoring a food, over 30 nutrients and nutrition factors are taken into account, some which positively impact health and others that negatively impact health. Ground turkey is lean meat; however it does have saturated fat which brings the score down. Additionally, ground turkey has very few “positive” nutrients to drive the score up. The range of scores for frozen poultry is 14 – 39 and the median is 29.”
6. Why does olive oil score so low?
This excellent question came from Rhodey Girl (whom I love, because I am also originally a Rhodey Girl) in response to Miss Conduct’s Easy Greek Casserole. Again, I enlisted the help of Annette (since I am not a dietitian and I do not even try to play one on my blog!) According to Annette, “The real differentiator in liquid oil scores is omega-3 fatty acid content. Canola oil has more than 9 grams omega-3 per 100 grams of oil, followed by soybean oil with 6.8 grams omega-3, corn oil with 1.6 grams and olive oil with less than 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids.” Who knew?
These last 3 questions are a little easier for me to handle!
7. When is NuVal coming to Miami, FL?
As soon as we can! The Customer Management Team at NuVal is working hard to get more retailers to adopt NuVal. You can currently find NuVal scores on the shelves of Price Chopper, Meijer and Hy-Vee supermarkets. In just a couple of months, you will also be able to find them in United Texas Markets. One way that you can help to get NuVal scores in your local grocery store is to complete a store suggestion form on the NuVal website. So, Jessie, of Vegan-Minded, please fill out a form for your favorite Miami-area store!
8. Why can’t I see more scores on the NuVal website?
We recently redesigned the NuVal website, and yes, there are fewer sample scores than there used to be. However, we are planning to make all NuVal scores available on www.nuval.com in 2010.
And my favorite question, about one of my favorite Incredible Vegetables.
9. When you buy Brussels Sprouts on the stalk, do you just break them off the stalk?
Yup! Or you can trim them off with a paring knife. Whatever floats your boat. Thanks to Tracey of Veggies and Cake for clarifying that one!
Posted by: Melissa 10 comments
Posted in: NuVal Questions
Tags: FAQ's
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Thank you for that great info and for scoring the almond butter!
I hope NuVal comes to my area soon!
So glad you will be adding more scores to the website. I do like to check on some items before adding them to my shopping list!
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Good to know about the peppers – thanks for answering my question
You can also broil the fresh peppers until they are charred, place them in a freezer bag for maybe 10 minutes, and then the skin should come off easily. I love roasted red peppers and will now be on the lookout for the sodium levels!
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Can I ask a follow up question? (thanks for answering by the way!!) Are the omega-3s added or natural? Would that make a difference to the NuVal score??? Thanks, and sorry for being a pest, but changing the type of oil I use could be done so easily!
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
RhodeyGirl -
Thanks for pestering me! And keeping me honest! Notice how quickly I am getting back to you!
I consulted with Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN and NuVal’s Manager of Communications. According to Rachel, “The Omega-3 fatty acids in the oils discussed are all naturally occurring. Although Olive Oil does not have much of this “Super” fatty acid, it does have the highest amount of monounsaturated fatty acids, which has great health benefits as well. To reap the benefits of both these oils, consider using Canola oil in baking since it has less of an after taste, and use either Olive Oil or Soybean Oil in cooking dinner – depending on what flavor you’re looking for.” I hope that helps your oil decision!
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
You answered the olive oil question! I went to Hy-Vee yesterday for the sole purpose of checking out Nuval in action. It was pretty cool.
I’m working very hard to create healthy food and responsible food for my family. I eventually typed up my own food manifesto (http://bit.ly/4IhsYo). Using my new rules plus the NuVal system seems like a good way to go. The only problem is I don’t shop at Hy-Vee that often, I have two other grocery stores closer and when you walk or ride the bus that counts for quite a bit. I entered my two closer groceries in the “suggest a store” form.
I do have a couple concerns fiber and flax seem to inflate the score a lot. More in fact than I think they should. Back from my weight watchers day I remember they cap fiber at 4g/serving. I know you don’t directly influence the way the Nuval system works, but it might be something to chew on.
on Dec 28th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I love this! It was brilliant to start a NuVal blog! It’s one of my favorites and I find NuVal scores so interesting and insightful, even as a dietitian! Keep up the great work, I love it!
on Dec 29th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Awesome news! I will definitely fill out a form and and submit it to my local store. Thanks.
on Dec 29th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Thanks for answering my question! My name’s Ashley though.
No worries! I’m awful with names so I can certainly understand.
on Dec 30th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Happy new year! I love nuval and your site. Thanks for answering all of our questions.
on Dec 31st, 2009 at 11:49 am
the writer of food makes fun fuel is a boy (regarding question number 2)