Trade-Up Tuesday: Oatmeal
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday! It’s my weekly feature where I share a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal. I mean “share” in the literal sense, because one lucky commenter will receive a Giveaway.
The forecast here in New England is for single digit temperatures by the end of the week. That means it is officially Oatmeal Season! So, today I share with you my Oatmeal Story.
Back in the day BC (Before Children), I was an instant oatmeal girl. My mom was (and still is) a nurse. That meant that when I was growing up, she had to go to work at the crack of dawn. We went to our neighbor’s house early with our little packets of instant oatmeal in hand and our fabulous neighbor made us our breakfast and got us off to school. As an adult, when I traveled for Big Consulting company, instant oatmeal was one strategy I had for keeping on track. When you’re at a conference and you’re faced with a hotel breakfast buffet filled with ginorous bagels and danish, you can always make your oatmeal in a mug with the hot water intended for tea. Instant Oatmeal, however, while handy at times, pales in comparison nutritionally to cooked varieties. Quaker Instant Oatmeal with Maple & Brown Sugar scores a 25 and the High Fiber version only brings the score up to a 27.
Fast forward to my life as a Mom and you find me making Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. They cook in 5 minutes and I’m lucky that my schedule allows me to do this for my daughter. They score a 57 on the NuVal scale. Sometimes I make a big batch ahead and reheat during the week.
Quaker’s Steel Cut Oats score even higher. They get a 60. They do take quite a long time to cook – 30 minutes. Alas, my daughter does not like them. Not even the purple container could win her over. These oats are for Mommy only. And Daddy too.
Today’s GiveAway
Leave me a comment telling me about a Trade Up you’ve made since learning about NuVal. If you haven’t made one yet, check out the NuVal site at www.nuval.com and you will find a trade-up you’d like to make. I’ll choose one commenter at random to win 1 box of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and 1 box of Quaker Steel Cut Oats. The contest ends at 11:59 EST tonight. Good luck!
Posted by: Melissa 48 comments
Posted in: Quaker Oats, steel cut oats
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I just traded up to shredded wheat cereal! I really like it!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:08 am
I used to do packeted oatmeal, too. Then I switched to quick cook to make my own and now I do a 5050 blen of oat bran and steel cuts, which I’m sure must score high
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:35 am
I think I’ve commented about this before, but after seeing the ranking of my beloved Lance Peanut Butter crackers, I’ve cut them out of my diet and started eating fruit as a snack instead.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:47 am
From bananas to blueberries…luv them in smoothies!
Bee Happy!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I recently traded up from instant oatmeal to oat bran. Oat bran tastes so much better!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:31 am
coconut to blueberries in my morning breakfast!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I convinved my boyfriend he wouldn’t taste the difference between the regular mexican cheese mix and the 2% mexican cheese mix (which only scored a point or two higher, but every little bit helps!). This is a HUGE accomplishment! Also, I’ve been snacking on the almonds in our cupboard rather than the honey roasted peanuts (or worse, the chips!).
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I have starting using ground turkey breast in place of ground beef. My family hasn’t even noticed the difference.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I also traded up to Old Fashioned Oats most days & Steel cut on weekends. I can’t believe how much sugar they put in those packets! I like to eat my oatmeal with chopped banana, peanut butter, and plain yogurt. Cranberry sauce is my fav seasonal mix-in.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I traded up once to Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, which I eat with pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and Truvia most mornings. I haven’t mustered the energy to move to steel-cut oats … but I’m curious!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I eat oatmeal every morning. I use rolled oats, cinnamon, and a few raisins. I don’t like the instant stuff. The old fashioned oats are the way to go! Steel cut are good too!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Somehow, I stumbled across your blog! I have yet to try Steel Cut Oats, but everything is worth trying once, right?
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I’ve traded up to Quaker Old Fashion Oatmeal to the instant kinds. It truly makes a difference!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I’ve started eating plain shredded wheat cereal with a drizzle of agave instead of the frosted shredded wheat!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I’ve traded to whole wheat bread instead of white.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I’ve been eating more whole wheat pasta rather than the traditional white! Love the texture!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I traded up from putting mayo on my sandwiches to just spreading some avocado instead, it tastes so much better.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I eat kashi go lean for breakfast instead of special K!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Traded up to Shredded Wheat instead of every other cereal I was eating!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I go with GoLean instead of GoLean Crunch.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I traded up for Greek yogurt (despite the price tag!)
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I used to eat cold cereal because I didn’t like a hot bowl of oatmeal. I figured out how to make “breakfast cookies” out of cold Quaker old fashioned oats and it’s much healthier and more filling!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Whole wheat everything! I don’t even give it a second thought now.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
traded up to greek yogurt from regular plain for the extra protein
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I traded up to whole wheat pasta. I’ve even got my boyfriend hooked on it now, too.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
blueberries! who knew they had such a high point value?
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Ground turkey breast in my chili instead of beef. Tastes great and is better for me, love it!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I know eat plain yogurt and add fruit instead of the flavored kinds!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
oatmeal instead of cherrios every morning!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I’ve traded up to Greek yogurt and will start eating old-fashioned oats instead of the instant packets. It’s the little changes that make big differences, isn’t it?
Karen
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
I’ve traded my Dannon lite n’ fit for Fage 0%. Keeps me full SO much longer – why did I not do this sooner???
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Flavored yogurt to plain!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Instant oats to oat bran…so worth it!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I switched to Greek yogurt
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I traded Kix for Shredded Wheat
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I use whole wheat flour rather than white
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I love my trade up of eating whole wheat bread rather than the plain white stuff!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Instant oats have been traded for some tasty oat bran
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I’ve discovered some new pasta sauce. Who knew Hy-Vee brand would have the highest score on the shelf?
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by MelisaNutrition: It’s Trade-Up Tuesday! I’m giving away free oatmeal on A Better Bag of Groceries! http://tinyurl.com/ybpn4pp...
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
oh! i’m gonna trade up the kashi bar for raisins! great to know
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Oatbran for oatmeal! And shredded
wheat for regular cereal.
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
i used to use quick oats, but switched to old fashioned rolled!
on Dec 15th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I eat an apple every night and handful of rasins istead of snacking on junk!!!!
on Dec 16th, 2009 at 9:21 am
My kids used to love instant oatmeal… and then I made the old fashioned kind. They are now official oatmeal snobs and will only eat slow cooked (even steel cut!) oats.
on Dec 16th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Channel your inner Southern girl, and eat grits instead for a NuVal score of 70! I add a teeny bit of sea salt, Smart Balance Light, and lots of ground black pepper. Yummy to my tummy!
on Dec 16th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
i’ve recently started making stove-top oatmeal. it’s so worth the extra time.
on Feb 9th, 2010 at 10:40 am
I traded up from Far East couscous to Hodgson Mills Couscous. Big differece in score.