Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 07:11 AM
Welcome to Trade Up Tuesday, a weekly feature here on A Better Bag of Groceries, where I tell you about a trade up I’ve made since learning about NuVal and I give away something for free. Full disclosure here – today’s giveaway is not a personal trade-up of mine. While I’ve started to delve into the Gluten-Free world (I’m so into quinoa), I haven’t actually tried these three products. However, when I was out at NuVal’s Latest Retailer-Partner (a.k.a., the Mystery Market), the large Gluten-Free section that they have caught my eye. So did the high NuVal scores on a few of the items.
Like these Gluten Free Blueberry Breakfast Bars with a NuVal score of 40…
these Gluten Free Herb Crackers with a NuVal score of 37…
and this Gluten Free pasta with a fabulous NuVal score of 82!!
So many people have gone gluten-free for a variety of health reasons. It’s great to know that they can find Gluten-Free sections in their grocery stores. What a bonus when they have NuVal scores too.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky commenter will win all three Gluten Free products. Just leave a comment below telling me who the Mystery Market is! I can’t wait to see all your responses. I will choose one winner at random at 7 am EDT on Wednesday AND I will reveal the identity of the Mystery Market! So you will want to tune in on Wednesday. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Gluten Free
Monday, August 23, 2010 at 07:12 AM
Welcome to Cooking With Catherine Katz, a regular feature here on A Better Bag of Groceries. Catherine is married to Dr. David Katz, founder of the ONQI algorithm which fuels NuVal scores. Catherine, a native of France, is an incredible cook and I love the recipes that she and David have created together in their book The Flavor-Full Diet. I am amazed every time I try one. Everything is healthy and delicious.
Catherine is a mother of 5! Whew! Catherine sent me this picture after their recent trip to the Caribbean.
What a gorgeous family!
While I had tried some breakfast and dinner recipes, I had not yet tried any of the wonderful lunch recipes that Catherine and David offer in the book. So one recent Sunday morning, with the kids watching Star Trek Revenge of the Sith (or something like that), my husband and I made Almond, Green Bean, and Quinoa Salad.
This recipe only serves 1. We didn’t realize that, but after we made it – and loved it – we quickly made another quadruple batch!
1 1/2 cups frozen French-cut green beans
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 teaspoon crumbled feta cheese
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped almonds
First we had to cook the quinoa – and this was our first time doing that. We chose Ancient Harvest Traditional Quinoa, which scores a 91 on the NuVal scale:
Beautiful grains!
It cooked up quickly and easily.
With the quinoa cooked, and the onions sliced…
we could focus on the rest of the recipe steps:
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in medium saucepan. Add the green beans and cook for 2 minutes (do not overcook). Drain and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the mustard, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
- Add the green beans and toss to coat.
- Add the quinoa, cheese, onion, and almonds and toss to combine.
While David and Catherine intended this recipe to be an everyday lunch sort of thing, I must say that you could bring this to a party. And people would definitely ask you for the recipe!
I am hooked on quinoa!
Thank you Catherine for another wonderful recipe!
Coffee Giveaway
Congratulations to Commenter #93, Mollie! You’ve won last week’s coffee giveaway. Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can get your prize out to you. Thank you to everyone who entered!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cooking with Catherine Katz, Lunch
Tags: quinoa
Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 07:13 AM
Hello Blog Friends! I’m on vacation. Here’s the view…
I’ll be back Monday. There’s still time to enter the drawing for the Coffee Giveaway! Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: vacation
Tags: vacation
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 06:58 AM
I love August! If January is my least favorite month, August is definitely my favorite. Especially the middle to end of August. I think it is something about the lack of holidays – the lack of structure – and oh yeah, it is when we go on vacation!
One of my favorite things about these last days of summer is the fresh produce that is in abundance – especially corn on the cob and tomatoes. I could eat nothing but corn and tomatoes until September!
Corn on the cob is tender and sweet. Yes, you need to have some dental floss handy. But it is soooooo worth it!
Corn on the cob gets a great NuVal score – a 91 - and my kids love it, so it’s a weekly treat in our house. Sometimes we boil it. And sometimes we cook it on the grill, right in the husk. Yum!
Even more than corn, I love tomatoes at this time of year. What I love most is when I have a neighbor who has a garden and who has more tomatoes than he or she knows what to do with. Because then I get beautiful, ripe tomatoes for free. Otherwise, I spend millions of dollars at my local farmers market buying fresh tomatoes because I just can’t get enough of them. No matter – it is worth it.
Tomatoes score a 96on the NuVal scale, so I feel quite virtuous eating my fill.
Check out my mother’s beautiful Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella plate.
It was fabulous!
Speaking of Summer Pleasures, I think it is time that I buried my kids in the sand:
Took a walk on the beach with my husband and kids…
and flew a kite.
That’s right – I am on vacation. Yay! Sorry, no posts for the next two days. I’ll be back on Monday. Be sure to tune in to see who won the coffee giveaway!
Question of the Day
What is your favorite Summer Produce?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: vacation
Tags: corn on the cob, tomatoes, vacation
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 06:53 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday! Every Tuesday, I blog about a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal scores and I give away something for free. Today’s Topic? Coffee! Not any old coffee. Coffee With Kick. Since I started working for NuVal just about two years ago, my coffee has gotten much darker! Yes, NuVal is really beginning to take off. It’s a very exciting time, with NuVal getting national attention in the Wall Street Journal and on Good Morning America. But that means that we have been working incredibly hard. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining. I absolutely love it. I’ve just turned up the caffeine level in my brew!
So is this a trade up? Um, no. It’s just a really good giveaway – so just go with it! You see, NuVal is not scoring coffee. We’re not scoring certain things that have no nutritional value and no nutrition facts panels (like coffee, teas, vinegars, cooking sprays, baking soda, lemon juice, lime juice, plain water, gum and corn starch). But that doesn’t mean I can’t give it away on a Trade Up Tuesday!
These are two brands that I have been buying recently. Growing up in Rhode Island and living in Massachusetts, there is a Dunkin Donuts on every corner. I have a whole bunch of distant family members who work for the company. It’s part of the culture here. But as I said, my taste for coffee has changed, so I was so happy when Dunkin came out with Dunkin Dark. I love it – especially Iced. This is a good compromise for me and my husband, who does not need his coffee as jacked as I do.
When I worked in Chicago, back in the late 1990′s, there was a Starbucks on every corner. I would visit the shop in my building every day, but I always went for one of their lighter roasts. Not these days. I take it dark, thank you very much. I recently saw this Morning Joe in my local Stop & Shop and we’ve been brewing it ever since. Good stuff!
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky commenter will win both the Starbucks and the Dunkin Dark coffee. Just leave a comment below telling me how you like your coffee (if you like it at all). Good news – you have all week to enter! I’ll choose the winner on Monday morning August 23rd. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: coffee, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: coffee, Dunkin, Starbucks
