Cart Confessions: Late July Organic Dark Chocolate Cookies
Welcome to Cart Confessions, a frequent feature here at A Better Bag of Groceries, when I ‘fess up that, hey, I’m no Super-Mom and sometimes often some less-than-nutritious products end up in my shopping cart. I have to tell you that I don’t make this stuff up. Many people in my hometown know that I write ABBG and know me as the teacher of Boot Camp and Pilates classes, so there are times when I’m covering certain products up in my shopping cart lest I bump into someone while grocery shopping! When I found out the NuVal score on these Late July cookies, I found that these were one of those products.
I blame my 7-year-old son for this one. He first spied these at Stop & Shop about a year ago – in a snack pack. He is born on the 4th of July and he just loves his July birthday and anything at all to do with the month of July, so he asked if he could get these cookies as a special treat. I looked at the label. Lots of great health claims:
- 2 g whole grain per serving
- anti-oxidants
- processed without dangerous pesticides
- no trans-fat or high fructose corn syrup
- no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives
I figured they must be at least a little bit more nutritious than a regular cookie, right? No. They score an 8 on the NuVal scale. They get the same score as a Double Stuff Oreo. A Keebler Chips Deluxe Soft and Chewy Cookie with a score of 12 would be a better choice.
Can I just add here that I paid over $4 for this box at Shaw’s? Crazy.
Bottom line. A cookie that you buy in the “Healthy” section of your grocery store is still a cookie.
Posted by: Melissa 7 comments
Posted in: Cart Confessions, Cookies, Uncategorized
Tags: Cookies, Uncategorized
on Aug 16th, 2010 at 8:21 am
It never ceases to amaze me how devious front of package marketing can be! I always love to read about your “cart confessions”!
on Aug 16th, 2010 at 10:35 am
I would confess that I bought a pack of a gluten-free/dairy-free knockoff Oreos and I’ve been enjoying them far too much lately.
on Aug 16th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
We really need Nuval around here!! It would make choosing items SO much easier.
on Aug 16th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Are ingredients irrelevant under Nuval? A cookie is a cookie, sure, not a health food. Most of our diet should consist of real, unprocessed foods, mainly fruits and vegetables. But, if we are going to indulge in the occasionaly cookie, shouldn’t we try to buy the ones with the most REAL FOOD ingredients and the least chemical additives, preservatives, and colors? I happen to think that ingredients do matter. A cookie by definition is a treat, had lots of unnecessary sugar, and should be indulged in rarely. But, when you eat one, eat the one made from the best ingredients with the least amount of processing. Ideally, you would be making them at home from whole wheat flour, but if you are going to buy them, buy ones made from real food. And, our family tries very diligently to avoid HFCS, because no matter your opinion on it in and of itself, it is a marker for a processed food made with the LOWEST QUALITY ingredients the manufacturer can buy. Also, you only have to enrich flour if you have already REMOVED all the good things first.
The Late July ingredients are:
Organic wheat flour, organic evaporated cane juice, organic palm oil, organic powdered evaporated cane juice with organic corn starch, organic whole wheat flour, organic cocoa, organic cocoa (processed with alkali), organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic brown rice syrup, organic evaporated cane juice syrup organic roasted barley, organic vanilla extract, sodium bicarbonate, soy lecithin, sea salt.
The oreo double stuff are:
SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR), NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID, HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL AND/OR PALM OIL AND/OR CANOLA OIL AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN-AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
The Keebler ones that are supposed to be healthier under Nuval also have HFCS: ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS), SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, DEXTROSE, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SALT), SUGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CHOCOLATE FLAVORED DROPS (SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL†, COCOA, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, POLYSORBATE 60, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, DATE PASTE, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF MOLASSES, SALT, BAKING SODA, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, EGGS, SOY LECITHIN, ANNATTO COLOR, WHEY.
So, since the Nuval website doesn’t seem to give much detail on exactly how food it scored, should I assume that it is how my mother-in-law (queen of the fat-free, sugar-free frankenfood) started eating after going on WW, which is eat plastic as long as it is low-fat plastic?
I think I will continue to read ingredient labels myself and find ones that have actual food in them.
on Aug 17th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Stacey -
I agree with you that ideally you would be making cookies from scratch with whole wheat flour. In fact, I do that with my children and I have blogged about it! You can read about it in http://www.abetterbagofgroceries.com/2010/07/cooking-with-kids-soft-wheat-toll-house-cookies/.
The goal of NuVal is to help people make informed choices about the overall nutritional quality of the foods they choose to eat. While no system is perfect nor addresses each individual’s unique nutrition needs, we believe this tool will help shoppers be more successful in building healthier eating habits for themselves and their families. I have made changes from processed to unprocessed foods for my family. If you read A Better Bag of Groceries further, you might see what I have to say about making popcorn from scratch, instead of using microwave popcorn. http://www.abetterbagofgroceries.com/2010/04/retro-popcorn/. That is only one of many, many examples.
NuVal was developed by a team of leading nutrition and medical professionals and the scoring algorithm is based off the national dietary guidance, as well as evidence-based science. Unprocessed, whole foods are counted highest in the NuVal Scoring System, as demonstrated by fruits and vegetables and whole grains (such as brown rice, quinoa, bulgar, etc.) being some of the highest scoring food.
Since I am not a dietitian, I consulted with Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD and NuVal’s Manager of Nutrition Communications, to get her opinion on high fructose corn syrup. Here is what Rachel had to say:
“We appreciate your concern for high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients which may be present in processed foods; however, the algorithm which backs NuVal is founded in evidence-based science and at this point there is no clear substantiation that these are detrimental to health. If further public health implications are proven, the Scientific Advisory Committee which manages the scoring algorithm will make the decision to update the algorithm.
Our goal is to provide our shoppers with information and tools, but not to dictate what they eat. If you prefer to avoid specific ingredients, please do continue to review the ingredient list when choosing the foods you purchase. Even when choosing between organic products, NuVal can be used as a tool to help you ‘trade-up’ to options with having more overall nutritional quality.”
So, thank you Stacey for your comments. I think that A Better Bag of Groceries should be a place for people to freely discuss this confusing world of nutrition that we live in. In health, Melissa
on Aug 17th, 2010 at 10:45 am
In response to Stacey’s comment, I might add that all of the above-mentioned cookies get a very low NUVAL score which actually gives you the upper hand over your my mother-in-law–queen of the fat-free, sugar-free frankenfood–that comment made me laugh and I appreciated it so much because you are absolutely right, if you were to actually compare a non-processed homemade cookie which I personally make and have had the privilege to have scored by Nuval (my husband Dr David Katz is the inventor of the alogorithm) with whole wheat pastry flour, rolled oats, fresh eggs, brown sugar canola oil and bittersweet chocolate (that’s it–no salt or baking soda by the way) gets a considerably higher score–I seem to remember in the 30′s! The problem is that our supermarkets have all these processed cookies out there and that’s where NUVAL gives us a reality check–these cookies, whether with HFC, sugar, or dextrose, and even those “blessed” with the organic label, are still junk! NUVAL’s low score tells you (and your mother in law!) just that!
on Aug 18th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Indeed the world of nutrition is confusing and we all know “made from scratch” is best.
I have seen Nuval in supermarkets in Connecticut and so wish it were in my grogery stores.Through Nuval I have learned to make better choices when shopping.