Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 06:50 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday, a great day here on A Better Bag of Groceries. Every Tuesday, I blog about a Trade Up I’ve made since I’ve learned about NuVal scores and I give away something for free.
You know, I’ve done so many Trade Up Tuesdays now. Truth be told, it’s getting a little harder to think of shelf-stable items that I have truly traded up to and that I can package up for you and send to you in the mail. It’s not easy. As I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out what this week’s Trade Up Tuesday should be, it suddenly dawned on me. I have made a huge change in one area of the supermarket: Salad Dressing. I absolutely no longer buy the bottled stuff. Not. At. All.
When I saw the abysmal scores for salad dressings, it made me re-think the whole idea of buying bottled dressing. Not to mention, the ingredients list is pretty pathetic. For example, here are the ingredients for Wish-Bone Light Ranch:
Water, Corn Syrup, Natural Flavors (Milk), Soybean Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Sugar, Garlic Juice, Onion Juice, Cellulose Gel, Lactic Acid, Distilled Vinegar, Chives, Monosodium Glutamate, Onion Powder, Xanthan Gum, Garlic Powder, Garlic, Color Added.
Ewwwww.
Soon after I began working for NuVal, I found myself no longer buying salad dressing. Instead, I make a simple mixture of extra virgin olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, Kosher salt, and black pepper. That’s it. Nothing more. The only downside to my dressing is that it tends to solidify in the refrigerator. So, you need to take it out and stick it in a measuring cup of warm water before serving. No big deal.
Now, if you are interested in knowing which of the bottled brands get the best NuVal scores, I can tell you:
- Full Circle Organic Raspberry Vinaigrette: 21
- Emerill’s Vinaigrette: 23
- Kraft Light Creamy Reduced Fat: 28
- Annie’s Natural’s Raspberry Vinaigrette Light: 23
Today’s Giveaway
Today, I’ve assembled the ingredients I use for my very basic salad dressing: olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Also included is the Good Seasons Italian All Natural Cruet Kit. It has a couple packets of salad dressing mix in it, which you could use – or not. But the reason I included this kit is for the glass cruet. This is what you need to make your own homemade salad dressing. It’s healthy and eco-friendly! One lucky commenter will win my salad dressing kit. Just leave a comment below, telling me what you would put in your salad. You can enter twice by telling me the NuVal scores for those items. Hint: you can find some sample scores by searching this blog or www.tradingupdowntown.com or at www.nuval.com. I will choose one winner at 7 am EDT on Wednesday morning, so don’t delay!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Salad, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Salad, Salad dressing
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 07:13 AM
In my humble opinion, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who eat to live and those who live to eat. I fall into the latter category. And I suspect that most readers of A Better Bag of Groceries do as well. Food – and the preparation of food – is part of my soul and I think that is why I have never been a frozen dinner person. Ever. I mean, ever. Even when I was flying from Boston into Chicago on a weekly basis for work, living in a little apartment for one, I cooked. Every Monday night, I walked over to the Potash Brothers Market, bought some fresh provisions and never did they include a frozen dinner.
Put that all aside…
There are people who eat to live. Food is just fuel for them. No big deal. I have a beautiful, impeccably fit, incredibly intelligent and amazingly accomplished friend. She is a working mother of two super children. Her idea of family dinner is chicken nuggets for the kids and a Lean Cuisine for herself. At times I envy her ability to be so low-key about it. But like I said, there are two kinds of people in this world.
So today’s post is for The Other People In This World. Those who buy frozen dinners!
There’s the good:
- Amy’s Brown Rice and Vegetable Bowl: NuVal score of 50
- Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine Roasted Turkey and Vegetables: NuVal score of 42
- Amy’s Tofu Vegetable Lasagna: NuVal score of 35
The Average:
- Weight Watchers Smart Ones Fajita Chicken Pizza: NuVal score of 20
- Birdseye Steamfresh Meals for Two Shrimp Alfredo: NuVal score of 20
And The Ugly:
- Hungry Man Grilled Bourbon Steak Strips: NuVal score of 10
- Lean Pockets Pepperoni Pizza Sandwiches: NuVal score of 4
So why no frozen dinners for me – even when it’s just me (which is very rare these days)? They leave me feeling hungry and later feeling bloated. According to Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD, and Nutrition Communications Manager at NuVal, more than half of the frozen dinners on the market contain over 600 mg per serving. Can you say puffy fingers?
As I said, my guess is that most ABBG readers have food in their soul. So I’m not sure that you will find today’s post all that interesting or relevant. You will have to let me know!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: frozen dinners
Tags: frozen dinners
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 07:02 AM
This is the question my seven-year-old son asked this morning as we were rushing around to get the kids to summer camp, my husband to his train on time and me to the office. It definitely made my husband and I stop and have a good laugh for a minute.
I can see why my son would think that ravioli comes from cows. My kids love ravioli and by Thursday – when I am dead tired from a long week – it’s a meal solution that sounds great to me. Boil some water, open bag, plunk it in, stir. Also, our milk delivery service comes on Thursday – in a truck that is painted like a cow.
In addition to glass-bottled milk and Rhode Island farm fresh eggs, we often buy ravioli from our milk man because they get it from the famous Venda Ravioli on Federal Hill in Providence. So, it makes sense that my son would think that ravioli comes from cows, since we get ours from our milk man!
We have not scored Venda ravioli at NuVal. It is a local product that is not stocked at any of our Retailer partners (yet!). However, as you might guess, most run-of-the-mill ravioli does not do so well on the NuVal scale:
- Mama Rosie’s Round Cheese Ravioli: NuVal score of 4
- Louise Frozen Cheese Ravioli: NuVal score of 9
However, if your kids are huge ravioli fans and you would like to trade up for better nutrition, you could consider the following:
- Mama Rosie’s Low Fat Cheese Ravioli: NuVal score of 27
And sometimes I buy that kind at the supermarket too.
My son’s question this morning did make me think, though, while driving to work. Do our children really know where their food comes from? Should we have spent more time visiting some farms this summer instead of swimming at the pool? I always get so frustrated with teenage cashiers who don’t know their asparagus from their Belgian endive, but my son just asked me if ravioli comes from cows!?! I think that we all have a lot of educating to do.
Interestingly, my son has also started to read nutrition facts panels on products this summer. He likes to read calories and vitamins, but he is most focused on calcium and he believes that the more he can get in his diet, the sooner we will become a true Jedi fighter. Yesterday, he was sipping a juice box and he said, “Hey Mom. This box says that is is a good source of calcium on the front. But it only says 10% on the side.” Hmmmmmm. He may think that ravioli comes from cows, but he is one smart cookie.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: ravioli, Uncategorized
Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 07:08 AM
So, last week, we packed up our family of four and headed to West Harwich, MA on Cape Cod, where we rented a beach cottage for an old-fashioned family vacation. We did it all: played mini golf, rode the Cape Cod Rail Trail, drove go-karts, jumped on trampolines, drove bumper boats, took a whale watch, strolled the streets of Provincetown during Carnival, relaxed on the beach and swam in the waves. What we did not do was hit the All You Can Eat Buffet and slurp frozen margaritas all week. For me, vacation is about taking a break from the usual and spending much-needed quality time with my little family of four. It is not about undoing the benefits a daily healthy lifestyle with a week-long binge-fest.
That being said, I do find it fun to let my hair down a little and eat a few treats that I normally don’t have in my kitchen at home. When I hit the Harwich Star Market on Saturday, I could not resist some of Ray’s Everything Bagels (NuVal score of 4)…
and some of my favorite Ben & Jerry’s Low-Fat Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt, NuVal score of 15.
and some Frontera Gourmet Mexican Salsa Jalapeno Cilantro (NuVal score of 8).
But for the most part, my shopping cart looked pretty much the same as it does when we are at home. Even though we were on vacation, we still ate healthy. While bagels for breakfast were a treat, we accompanied them with lots of fruit and ate outside on the patio in our pajamas.
We wrapped up hummus, avocados, veggies and sliced chicken with Joseph’s Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Lavash Bread (NuVal score of 68) and brought the wraps on our bike rides and to the beach.
For vacation dinners, we typically eat 3 nights out and 4 nights in. While I enjoy a break from the kitchen, I don’t love the cost of 7 family dinners! Not to mention – it’s tough to find healthy choices. To make things easy, we brought three Dream Dinners with us, so I really didn’t have to “cook”. As always, we paired our Dream Dinners with a beautiful salad:
As for our nights out, we did one at a traditional Cape Cod family restaurant called The Weatherdeck. OK, not really my favorite. Almost everything was fried. I settled on a broiled scallop plate. But when on the Cape….
Better was Land Ho!, a new restaurant in Harwich Port, recommended to us by our photographer when we had our family portrait taken on the beach. I had swordfish on top of a bed of spinach. Yummy and nutritious! And I didn’t have to do dishes.
But my favorite dinner of all was in Provincetown. After a breathtaking Whale Watch on the Dolphin VIII, we strolled the streets of P’town where everybody was celebrating Carnival. In P’town, employees stand outside the restaurants and tell you all about the menu to try to get you to come in. And that is how we landed in a South African restaurant, Karoo Kafe. I played it safe and ordered the Vegetarian Plate: hummus, stuffed grape leaves, Falafel, Tabbouleh and Power Salad (chick peas, lentil, quinoa and couscous).
My husband enjoyed an Antelope burger. Amazingly, we have scored Antelope at NuVal. It gets a 39! I tried a bite. I loved it. It tasted like very lean beef. The kids had hot dogs (of course!) and sweet potato fries. Overall it was my favorite meal of our vacation.
We came home, got on the scale and found no extra vacation pounds upon us. Whew! Our kids are still chattering on about all the fun they had. I’ll never forget this face after my son’s first hole in one:
and I will cherish the memories of our healthy family vacation on Cape Cod.
Question of the Day
What did you eat on your summer vacation? Do you know the NuVal score?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: vacation
Tags: vacation
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 06:58 AM
Big Y!!!
Yes, I know. I’ve been teasing you for far too long. The newest supermarket to put NuVal scores on their shelves is none other than Big Y, headquartered in Springfield, MA.
I have been just dying to divulge this secret to all of you. We have been working on this launch for months now, but we had to keep it top secret. Finally, on Monday, Big Y held a press conference announcing that they will launch NuVal on September 6th. I headed out to the press conference along with some of my NuVal colleagues.
When we arrived, the people at Big Y had really decked out their headquarters NuVal-style. It was amazing to see all of the beautiful signs, pamphlets and marketing pieces the team at Big Y had created. They have done a super job.
Dr. David Katz gave an outstanding presentation to all of Big Y’s Store Directors. He always wows the crowd! Here he is with Big Y’s Registered Dietitians, Andrea Samson and Carrie Taylor.
If you are in the Big Y area, you might see Carrie on TV or hear Carrie, Andrea and Dr. Katz on the radio talking about NuVal. Very cool!
After the Store Director Presentation, we headed back up the stairs to Big Y’s beautiful atrium to meet members of the press. Television, radio and newspaper reporters were there to hear Dr. Katz and Big Y’s CEO, Charlie D’Amour announce the big NuVal launch.
Dr. Katz talked about how thrilled he is to finally have a supermarket close to his home in Connecticut with NuVal scores on shelf. Me too! There is a Big Y in Walpole, MA – just about a 15 minute drive from my house – and so worth the trip!
Yesterday’s Giveaway
Congratulations to Commenter #34, Paul W! While you didn’t guess Big Y, Paul, you are the winner of the Gluten-Free Giveaway. Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can send your prize to you. Thanks to everyone who entered. I loved reading your guesses!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Big Y
Tags: Big Y
