Welcome! I am a mom of a busy 8 year old and an adventurous 6 year old. I also happen to work for a great company called NuVal. NuVal is a nutritional scoring system that rates foods on a scale of 1-100, based on how nutritious they are. We are implementing NuVal in grocery stores around the country.
NuVal may not be in your area yet. But I see the scores while they are "hot off the press" and because of that I am able to make better decisions about what to feed my family.
I am not a registered dietitian. I am just a mom who happens to work for NuVal. I am also an AFAA-certified Group Exercise Instructor. NuVal is a system designed to lead customers to the most nutritious food choices. It is not a diet or weight-loss plan. Before starting a diet, you should always consult your personal physician. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC.
Superbowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, Fat Tuesday! Ugh – we’re in the midst of a string of high-calorie holidays. I find myself enjoying one too many treats and then needing to get back on the healthy eating bandwagon again and again.
This week, we had a Snow Day that ended up not amounting to much. That meant the kids and I were home for the day and I had to juggle working from home and entertaining kids. Thankfully, PBS Kids came through in a big way and my husband came home early. It ended up being a very productive day.
Check out this list of accomplishments:
Made cupcakes with the kids
Decorated them (actually, my husband did this while I worked)
Helped the kids write their Valentine’s cards (they are so small this year and my daughter has a long name)
Helped my son with his homework
In addition to the Pre-Valentine’s activities with the kids, I realized that I had a fridge full of veggies needing some attention. Usually, I spend some time on Sunday making salad, prepping vegetables, and trying out a new recipe for my blog, but last Sunday was packed full with a church activity, a family get-together and a SuperBowl party. So, here it was, already Wednesday, and I had vegetables just waiting for me to prepare them. This Snow Day could not have come soon enough!
Check out this list of Snow Day Cooking Accomplishments!
Made summer squash to go with dinner and GOT MY SON TO EAT IT!!!!!!!
Yes, I am shouting out that last one. I GOT MY SIX YEAR OLD SON TO EAT SUMMER SQUASH! I am so proud of him – and of myself for my persistence. I checked in with Dina Rose, Ph. D. who has a great blog called “It’s Not About Nutrition.” Dina tells me that experts say it can take 8 – 14 exposures before some kids will even try a new food. That’s not eat, that’s try. Dina adds that ”when a child says he doesn’t like something, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it. It means he doesn’t want to eat it right now. How do we know that? Most the time kids say they don’t like something they haven’t even tried it yet.” So true.
Dina also recommends exposing “your kids to vegetables at as many meals and snacks as possible throughout the day, every day. Rotate both the vegetables and how they’re prepared. This strategy normalizes vegetables so they’re not a big deal at dinner, and it exposes kids to the wide ranges of tastes, textures, appearances, aromas and temperatures associated with vegetables.”
Well, I followed Dina’s advice and finally, my son decided he liked it!
So what is my point? Well, other than to bask in the glow of a productive unplanned Snow Day, I have two points.
My first point is that a commitment to healthy eating takes time, energy and planning. It can be so hard to find the time to shop for and prepare nutritious meals for families. That is something that Michelle Obama mentioned in her Let’s Move video. If I hadn’t had those couple of extra hours Wednesday, I would still have uncooked broccolini, uncooked summer squash, unwashed lettuce, all the ingredients for Miss Conduct’s Easy Greek Casserole still in their packages and a 6 year old who hates summer squash.
And I would not have had this yummy, nutritious lunch to bring to work the next day:
Choosing to live healthfully is not easy. But I hope that my family will be rewarded with long and healthy lives.
My second point is that there are a lot of cupcakes in life. My kids love cupcakes for every holiday and season. We’ve made Halloween cupcakes, Fall cupcakes, St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes, Easter cupcakes, and Hanukkah cupcakes (and we’re not even Jewish). My son wants to make cupcakes that say “Abraham Lincoln” for Abe’s birthday today. When I say that there are a lot of “cupcakes in life,” I mean that rhetorically. There are parties and celebrations, dinners and cocktail hours. We can’t avoid them, nor should we. But we can take a couple of hours of time to get back on track when we’ve had too many cupcakes.
Question of the Day
If you ended up with an unplanned “Snow Day”, what would you like most to accomplish?
On Tuesday, Michelle Obama unveiled “Let’s Move,” her national public awareness campaign against childhood obesity. I feel that the First Lady could not have chosen a more pressing crisis. One in three American children are overweight or obese. One. In. Three.
Did you miss the press conference? This two-minute clip will bring you up to speed.
My husband and I support several fights against diseases that have hit close to home: autism, multiple sclerosis, cancer and congenital heart defects. The difference is that with these diseases, there is no cure.
Childhood obesity is different. As Michelle Obama put it, “This isn’t like a disease where we’re still waiting for the cure to be discovered. We know the cure for this.”
I spent Tuesday evening checking out the Let’s Move website. Check it out – you can sign up for updates and become a friend on Facebook right on the front page.
Let’s Move has 4 goals:
Make Healthier Choices: Improve the information and tools that parents need to make the changes they desire.
Improve the quality of foods in our schools.
Improve the access and affordability of healthy foods
NuVal is an incredible tool. In my opinion, NuVal should be the universal tool to help parents choose the best foods for their families. Right on the store shelf, NuVal takes all of the nutritional information and sums it up in one number. In a split second, busy moms and dads can make an educated decision about the products they are buying.
As for the quality of food in school systems, judging by the menu that comes home with my first-grader, it’s not nutritious. Again, NuVal can drive change here. The school district of Independence, Missouri will be the first in the nation to implement NuVal scores beginning this fall. Let’s hope that many other school systems will join Independence in their campaign for better nutrition.
Every First Lady has her platform. Sometimes, the First Lady succeeds in making a difference and sometimes not. I, along with my colleagues at NuVal, stand ready to help Michelle Obama succeed. And I think we can.
Welcome to Marvelous Meals with Rachel – a new feature here on A Better Bag of Groceries. Rachel has offered to feature her unique recipes for nutritious, delicious meals on a regular basis. This is going to be awesome. It’s like having my own personal chef who is also a Registered Dietitian. I feel like a celebrity!
Meet Rachel Rodek, a Registered Dietitian who has a whole alphabet soup after her name:
MS is for her Masters’ Degree in Science which Rachel has in Nutrition Communications
RD means she is a Registered Dietitian
LDN means she is registered to practice as a Registered Dietitian in Massachusetts
Rachel joined NuVal as our Manager of Nutrition Communications in December. Rachel, Tina and I all sit within chatting distance of each other in the NuVal office. I am so lucky to be in the company of others who are as passionate about food, fitness and good health as I am. When Rachel is not busy communicating about nutrition for NuVal, you are most likely to find her counseling elite athletes in sports nutrition, working out, painting or planning her upcoming wedding in June.
Without further ado, I bring you Rachel!
At least once a week, I try to have a super meal. One that makes me feel good all the way through. It can be tough to fit in a nice meal – life gets hectic, schedules get tight – but having that one meal (with leftovers!) gets the week off on great footing. This past Monday night was Marvelous Meal night for me: Salmon topped with sauteed spinch, walnuts & feta and Baked Brussels sprouts with pears.
Salmon, as you know, is a rock star in the world of fish. Not only is it a great source of protein, it’s the highest in omega 3 fatty acids - a fat that has been linked to many possible health benefits: helping protect your joints; reducing internal inflammation; and lowering risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthiritis. One serving of salmon has about 3,000 mg of the positive fat and scores highest among fish with an 82.
When I heard that Brussels Sprouts scored a 94 on the NuVal scale, I had to find a way to incorporate them more into my diet. These petite cabbages get a bad rap, and I’ll admit that I hadn’t thought highly of them myself, but when done right they can be absolutely delicious. One key to scrumptious Brussels is cooking time. When these cruciferous veggies are left in the oven for too long they produce a bitter taste – one reason why many people don’t like them. I wanted to share the recipe that allowed me to welcome them into my life with open arms!
Brussels Sprouts with Pears
1 pound brussels sprouts, outside leaves peeled off and halved
2 pears, cored and diced (NuVal score 96)
2 tbsp lemon juice (I didn’t have any, so I used a clementine)
2 Tbsp honey (Score 1)
2 Tbsp olive oil (Score 11)
Salt and pepper
Combine halved brussels and diced pears. Whisk together honey, lemon juice, and olive oil. Add to Brussels mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well to coat.
Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes (until tender), stirring half way through.
Salmon with spinach and feta
2 large or 4 small Salmon filets
1 bag spinach
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (NuVal score of 82)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Place salmon, skin side down, in a baking dish – sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sautee onions in 2 tsp olive oil, add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until wilted and water has evaporated. Let cool then mix in nuts and feta cheese. Layer spinach mixture on top of the salmon.
Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes, or until opaque.
Delectable!
TradeUp Tuesday Winner Congratulations to Commenter #30, Mallory. You’ve won the Kashi GiveAway which includes a NuVal T-shirt!
Welcome to TradeUp Tuesday, a weekly feature here on A Better Bag of Groceries, where I talk about TradeUps I’ve made and give away free stuff. Today’s Topic: Kashi! Ask anyone who is focused on living and eating healthfully to tell you some of their favorite brands and Kashi is sure to come up. When I first started blogging about NuVal, the students in my Pilates class wanted to know, “How does Kashi score?” Great question! And the answer is, “it depends on which Kashi you mean.” There are some Kashi products that are NuVal Rock Stars, scoring among the highest in their categories. And then there are some Kashi products that score lower than you might think.
Let’s take Kashi cereal products for starters:
Kashi 7 Whole Grain Cereal Puffs 91
Kashi GoLean High Protein and High Fiber Cereal 47
Kashi Go Lean Crunch 33
Kashi 7 Whole Grain Flakes 29
Kashi Good Friends 26
Kashi Strawberry Fields 11
Are those good scores or bad scores? Well, cereals range from 4 – 100 on the NuVal scale and the median score (half score above it, half score below it) is a 25. So, I try to aim for cereals that score above a 25. Most people think that Kashi Good Friends score better than they do. And that Kashi Strawberry Fields is quite low. You would be better off choosing Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies which get a score of 13.
How about the products in this week’s GiveAway?
Well, you already know that Kashi Go Lean scores a 47. Kashi 7 Whole Grain Nuggets score lower – only a 28. Hmmm. those nuggest might be best served as a sprinkle for your non-fat Greek yogurt rather than as a whole bowl of cereal. The Kashi TLC Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookies are my favorite treat. They score a 24, which is great for a cookie. The median score for cookies is only a 3. I also love the Kashi TLC Dark Mocha Almond Granola bars, which score a 29. Can you tell that I like chocolate?
So, I guess the moral of the story is to choose your Kashi (and all your products, really) carefully. Don’t assume that one brand makes only highly nutritious products. It’s not always the case.
To enter today’s GiveAway:
One lucky winner will get all 4 Kashi products plus a NuVal T-shirt!!! All you need to do is leave a comment below and I’ll randomly select one after 11:59 PM Eastern time tonight. Just tell me about one product that has a NuVal score that surprised you. For ideas, check out nuval.com, A Better Bag of Groceries, Trading Up Downtown or Nutrition Outlook. Be sure to check back here tomorrow to see if you’re the winner!
Healthy living bloggers everywhere are blogging about NuVal! One of my favorite posts was published last week by Jen who blogs at Healthy Laps. Jen lives in Boston but took the time to drive all the way out to Marlborough, MA to check out NuVal at a Price Chopper store. I’ve been working for NuVal for a year and a half now and blogging about NuVal since July of last year, and still Jen managed to shock me! That’s the way NuVal works. You’re always finding out something new.
You see, Jen took a picture of my favorite roasted unsalted almonds. Now, the score for plain almonds is an 81. So, I thought that by buying the roasted unsalted version, I would be choosing almonds with the same score. I mean, they even say “No Guilt” on the top of the container. Boy was I wrong! The roasted unsalted almonds only score 48! Oh no! All this time I thought I was being so virtuous!
Right away, I checked in with Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN and Nutrition Communications Manager for NuVal. She investigated the almonds for me. Apparently those roasted unsalted almonds contain some peanut oil. Who knew?
I went home and checked out the label. Yup, there it is – peanut oil. And some other oils too!
Now, if I had a store with NuVal on the grocery shelves, I never would have fallen into this trap. The products would be clearly marked with the NuVal score. I can’t wait until I have those scores handy!
So, now I knew that I had to buy raw almonds and roast them myself. And that meant that this weekend, I undertook the Great Almond Experiment. It was a little like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
All three times, I put the almonds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and added nothing – no salt, no oil.
The first time (at 450 degrees for about 13 minutes), they came out too burned.
The second time (at 45o degrees for about 7 minutes), they were still too raw and chewy.
Finally, the third time (at 450 degrees for exactly 9 minutes), I got it just right.
This last time, I took them out of the oven as soon as I could smell them. Once they were out, I loved hearing them crackle as they cooled. I have to admit, they still are not as tasty as the Roasted Unsalted Almonds I was buying. A little oil makes everything taste yummy. But I am thankful to Jen for spotting this little NuVal fact at Price Chopper. A little knowledge goes a long way.
The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System gives nutritional guidance to consumers frustrated with complicated nutrition labels and misleading packaging promises. Under NuVal, all foods and beverages are rated on a scale between 1 to 100. The higher the score, the higher the overall nutrition.
Awards
A Better Bag of Groceries was recently named by Medical Assistant Colleges as a Top 50 Blog for Understanding and Preventing Childhood Obesity. Hooray!
