• Choosing the Healthiest Foods for Your Family

    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.

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    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.

Guest Post: Tina’s Granola

Monday, May 10, 2010 at 06:53 AM

Hello Blog Friends!  After a weekend of celebrating my 40th birthday and Mother’s Day, Tina Haupert so kindly offered to write a post for today.  For those who have not yet met Tina, you are in for a treat.  She is the author of  Carrots N Cake and a superstar in the world of healthy living blogs.  She also works for NuVal, helping with social media strategy and writing the blog Trading Up Downtown.  So, without further ado, I hand things over to Tina (who is not turning 40 and who is not a Mom – yet)!

Granola is one of my favorite foods ever. In fact, I love it so much, I usually eat multipleservings in one sitting. (It’s actually sort of impressive!) But, as many of us know, store-bought brands of granola can be deceptively high in fat and calories and low in nutritional value. Check out the NuVal scores of these seemly nutritious granolas: 

  • Cascadian Farm Maple Brown Sugar Granola: 16
  • Cascadian Farm Granola Oats and Honey: 18
  • Quaker 100% Natural Oats & Honey Granola: 22

Not all granola scores this low, however. Bear Naked Fit Granola, for instance, gets a 91 on the NuVal scale. But, making my own granola at home allows me to chose the most nutritious ingredients possible. Plus, it’s so easy to me and saves me quite a bit of money!

Tropical Blend GranolaRecipe adapted from Real Simple’s Easy Granola Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 cups Quaker old-fashioned rolled oats (NuVal score: 57)
  • 1 cup Diamond Sliced Almonds (NuVal score: 81)
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil (NuVal score: 24)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 bag Emerald Tropical Blend dried fruit (NuVal score: 24)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the oats, almonds, coconut, and pepitas with the maple syrup, oil, and salt.
  2. Bake, tossing once, until golden and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
  3. Add the dried fruit and toss to combine. Let cool.

Posted by: Melissa 5 comments

Posted in: Granola, Guest Bloggers

Tags: ,

5 Comments on “Guest Post: Tina’s Granola”

  1. #1 kalli@fitandfortysomething
    on May 10th, 2010 at 9:39 am

    this looks great!

  2. #2 Food Makes Fun Fuel
    on May 10th, 2010 at 10:27 am

    Making your own granola is definitely the way to go. I love picking the mixins! This recipe looks great and nice and versatile. I’d probably swap out the tropical fruit for something like blueberries and craisins

  3. #3 Lindsay @ The Ketchup Diaries
    on May 10th, 2010 at 10:41 am

    Homemade granola is fantastic!! Thanks for sharing the recipe and Happy Mother’s Day to you, Melissa :smile:

  4. #4 Julie @ Pickley Pear
    on May 10th, 2010 at 11:42 am

    I should make my own granola, would cost a lot less! Any idea what Costco/Kirkland homemade granola rates on the NuVal scale? I am addicted and it’s a great deal for a HUGE tub.

  5. #5 Jennifer
    on May 13th, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    I just made this recipe last night, and it is SO good. My family loves it, and I love it a bit too much…keep eating a handful as I go by. Looks like some of the ingredients were left out, though, because the directions mention coconut and pepitas…? Didn’t have any pepitas, but I did have coconut, so I just threw in about 1/2 cup.

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