A Visit to Price Chopper
Last week, while the kids were out of school for Christmas Vacation, I packed them up, picked up my mother, and we drove over the river and through the woods (literally) of Rhode Island and Connecticut to visit my Great Aunt Ruth. After a lovely visit with our favorite Aunt, we decided to stop by Price Chopper in Putnam, CT on the way home. I’m so glad we did.
My mother has heard a lot about NuVal and is a regular A Better Bag of Groceries reader, but this was her first experience seeing it live on the grocery store shelf.
My mom loved seeing all the scores. She kept saying, “We need this in a grocery store near us. We SO need this in a grocery store near us.”
This was my 6-year-old son’s second visit to a Price Chopper store. It was amazing to see him now that he had a little NuVal experience under his belt. He knew just how to look for the scores.
This Rice A Roni whole grain rice mix, which scores a 23, was a huge improvement over the kind we used to buy. You can see my daughter jumping up and down with excitement behind the box.
The rice mix we used to buy, Knorr Rice Pilaf , only scores a 3. We stopped buying that kind when we found out that little fun fact. You can read more about my Mommy Guilt over that one here.
My son now thinks of himself as a NuVal Pro. He loved showing off his NuVal prowess to his little sister.
He takes the Big Brother role very seriously. Here he’s showing his little sister how the Whole Grain Macaroni & Cheese gets a better score than SpongeBob Macaroni & Cheese. Remember that post? The Annie’s Macaroni & Cheese that we found did not score so well.
No, you do not need glasses. That is a 2.
My son loved showing Grandma how NuVal works.
My mom quickly got the hang of it. She had fun finding new, interesting products to try. Here she found a green olive tapenade with a good score.
That’s when I heard her say it again, “We SO need NuVal in a store near us!”
Every time I go to a Price Chopper, I find new things to try. There are so many products out there, but the scores shed new light on products that I would normally overlook. For example, on this trip, I found a very high-scoring canned tuna.
I had no idea there was lower sodium tuna. As a busy mom, shopping with 2 kids in tow, I rarely have time to explore new products. Normally, I would just buy the same old, same old – like this albacore tuna in water.
Now I know that I can get tuna that scores an 81 instead of the kind I used to buy (which scores a 55). I made a nice little tuna salad and served it on whole wheat toast. Yum!
It was bitter cold in Connecticut on the day of our trip and I was crazing something warm. Usually, I steer away from canned soups because of the sodium content. However, with all the scores on the shelf, I found a couple of higher-scoring soups that I took home to try.
It was so cool to show my kids the scores on a Trade-Up we’ve made in our household. We used to buy Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters for school snacks. They travel well in backpacks. However, they only get a score of 10!
Sorry my picture is so blurry! It’s tough taking pictures in grocery stores!
I remember I was in a Meijer store out in Michigan on a business trip when I found Minute Maid Fruit Falls with a score of 41. I wanted to pack it up in my suitcase and bring it home!
That is a 41, by the way. It looks like the folks at Price Chopper just had a little print alignment problem.
After quite some time in the grocery department, we finally ventured over to Produce.
“Wow!” my mom said, ogling all the scores of 99 and 100. “NuVal sure helps you to put nutrition into perspective.” Yup, that’s why I call them “Incredible Vegetables.”
So, we finally hit the checkout, with about 15 new products to try in my basket.
We climbed into the car, settled the kids in with water (NuVal score of 0) and chocolate Teddy Grahams (NuVal score of 25), and opened up our newly acquired Kashi Dark Mocha Almond TLC Bars (NuVal score of 27). After our busy and cold day, I still had 2 tasks ahead of me:
- Drive home
- Help my dad set up his new Ipod
Hmmmm. Teaching my mom and kids how to use NuVal to choose nutritious foods in the grocery store: Easy. Teaching my dad how to set up and use his new Ipod: Not so easy!
Winner of the Granola Challenge GiveAway
Congratulations to Commenter #14, Crystal! She correctly rank-ordered the three granola products.
Crystal will be receiving a great granola care package in the mail. Thanks for all the great guesses.
Question of the Day
If you could have NuVal scores in only one aisle of your grocery store, what would it be?
Posted by: Melissa 20 comments
Posted in: Macaroni and Cheese, Price Chopper
Tags: Macaroni and Cheese, Price Chopper, rice, tuna
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Just the perimeter of the grocery store…that’s an aisle, right?!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Whole Foods sells some good canned tuna that’s no sodium added solid white albicore chunk light packed in water, if you’re ever there.
A 2 for Annie’s is definitely not good. I found some whole wheat mac n’ cheese. It’s a little silly because it’s shaped like D.W. but I’m sure it will taste great
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Soups or vegetables since that is where I live at the grocery!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I absolutely LOVE Campbell’s Select Harvest Light soups! Very YUMMY!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:13 am
I have been eating soup for lunch for 2 weeks straight, I will have to try the Select Harvest Light soup. I tend to buy progresso soups, not sure of the score. If only we had NuVal in our area, life would be a lot simpler. Great information on the tuna and Fruit Falls!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:22 am
So excited that the Select harvest light scores well. That is all I have been buying for my husband for lunch. It is very good. That’s good to know that there is a lower sodium tuna. How does Geisha tuna score? I wish Nuval could come into Hannaford’s, that would be great! I occasionally go to Price Chopper and when I do I am much more attentive to the scoring. I actually picked out a different rice brand because it scored higher.
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:30 am
If I had only one aisle to choose, it would be bread. The aisle is huge with so many selections and its hard to tell the bags apart. I end up reading 15 nutrition panels before I choose and it takes way too long.
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I agree with John. And after you do compare all the nutrition labels for bread, it is still too confusing to determine which one is best overall.
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
bread is definitely a tough aisle, but I also wouldn’t mind the condiment/sauces aisle either. It would be nice to have it spelt out for you. There’s always too much sodium in one or calories or msg or whatnot!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I found the campbell’s select harvest light soups a few weeks ago (they happened to be on sale) when I was looking for a healthier soup. The calories they posted right on the front of the can made me a huge fan. I know that the calories only represent one serving and one can is two servings but double the calories and you still get a low calorie meal while filling up the cavernous hole that is my belly. Just like Kim, above, I have been eating soup for lunch now since around Thanksgiving (one way I’ve reduced total calorie intake around the holidays) and I love it. I heat it up and eat it with a couple of rosemary and olive oil flavored triscuits (what is their naval score?).
If I could have one aisle in my grocery store with Nuval it would be the snack aisle – bagged snacks are so easy to toss in lunch bags/snack bags. I’d want to know that I am giving the best possible options to my kids.
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Betty –
The NuVal score for Rosemary and Olive Oil flavored triscuits is a 32. The median score for Crackers is a 14, so those Triscuits do very well.
Melissa
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Wow, I’m glad the Fit granola scores so well – I just bought some of it a couple weeks ago, and I love it!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
I try not to shop through the aisles much but would like scores on soups and pastas. If only NuVal scores were somewhere in Maryland.
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
i’m happy to see boxed goods like mac and cheese and rice a roni with high Nuval scores… Actually I would like the NuVal score placed right there because I love rice!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
I was just wondering…how high of a score is considered healthy. Some of the scores you mentioned in the 20s seem low compared to the 90s for vegetables. Is it OK to buy something in the 20s and 30s?
Thanks for your posts. Love your blog!
on Jan 6th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
I didn’t know Rice A Roni had a whole wheat version – nice! I’m surprised the Select Harvest Light soups aren’t a bit higher. Maybe the sodium?
I would have to choose the cereal aisle for NuVal scores. I think the cereal aisle can be tricky for people with the wide range of fiber, serving sizes, sugar content, etc.
on Jan 7th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Hi Teresa -
Great question about scores. Yes, some of the scores in the 20s and 30s do seem low compared to the 90s for vegetables. Take this tip from our scientific experts at Nuval: There is no “magic score” you should aim for when buying food. We at NuVal believe a balanced diet consists of foods from all categories and can be found all over the NuVal scale. However, the more high-scoring items you eat, the more nutrition you will receive. NuVal gives you the information to make an informed decision.
One thing to remember is that there are median scores (1/2 of the scores are above it, and half are below it) in every category. So, for example, scores for Crackers range from 2 – 87, but the median score is a 14. So, if you are eating Triscuits (which score in the low 30s), you are eating a better than “average” cracker.
Melissa
on Jan 8th, 2010 at 1:06 am
I just read this article. It blow my mind. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=9502762&page=3
I’m not a super avid calorie counter, but I do look at that information and count on labels being accurate. Especially when they list numbers lik 882 calories per serving. If the FDA only requires the numbers to be with in 20% of their actual measure shouldn’t we see some rounding going on? 882 implies exactness. Now if the label read “about 900 calories” I would get it.
/rant
I just didn’t have anywhere else to post this. I’d love to hear your opinion on this as a nutritionalist.
on Jan 9th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
I’ve been following your blog for maybe a month now.. I love it! And as a diatitian-to-be, and connoisseur of all things nutritious I love the mission of NuVal. Is there anywhere here in Seattle that implements this NuVal rating system?
And if I were to pick one aisle for NuVal scoring it would be the meal/protein bars. I don’t eat them often, but in a pinch I’ll grab a Luna Bar, Lars Bar, Cliff Bar.. but I’m not really sure how they would stack up..
on Jan 10th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Hi Carissa!
I’m glad you like NuVal and congratulations on becoming a dietitian! We are not yet in the Seattle area, although we hope to get there soon. One thing you can do to help is go to http://www.nuval.com and suggest a store under the “Where to Find NuVal” tab. I agree that the meal/protein bars will be interesting. I also reach for Luna Bars in a pinch and my son (age 6!) loves them. You just gave me a new blog topic to research and write about!
Melissa