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.
I need a Blog BabySitter this week! So, I’m doing what any smart Mom does – I’m turning on the TV. Well, youtube, that is.
Have you checked out NuVal’s new videos on youtube?
Wait! Before you click away, I promise you will get goosebumps from this Customer Video. Maybe even a little teary-eyed (if you’re like me – I cry during coffee commercials!)
At NuVal, we always say that we are not a weight loss program. And we are not. We are a nutritional guidance system. But the weight loss stories are so awesome – and this video has two great stories that just make me feel so good about what NuVal is doing for grocery shoppers! So check it out!
As part of my job with NuVal, I get to work with registered dietitians at a whole bunch of different supermarkets. Carrie and Andrea are two amazing ladies with incredible energy and Big Y is very lucky to have them on board! They are always spreading the word about NuVal – on TV, on the radio, in schools, even on ginormous billboards overlooking the Massachusetts Turnpike. I am still in my surprise location this week – so Carrie and Andrea jumped in and offered one of their recipes for today’s blog post.
Carrie Taylor and Andrea Samson
Have a favorite recipe or a family recipe that has been passed down throughout the generations that you know isn’t quite the healthiest one…but you would love to try a “healthier” version? Join Andrea and I as we collaborate with the Morning Show on Lite 100.5 WRCH for our new program “Trade Up to Smack Down”.
We provide tips on ways to use the NuVal™ Scoring System to trade up to more nutritious ingredients for use in your recipes.
For example, love fajitas?
Trade up that plain wheat tortilla (NuVal™ Score of 3) for a multi grain tortilla (NuVal™ Score of- 47), full fat sour cream (NuVal™ Score- 27) to fat free sour cream (NuVal™ Score- 33), four cheese Mexican cheese (NuVal™ Score- 20) to reduced fat cheddar cheese (NuVal™ Score- 23) and mix up the protein.
iStock image purchased by Big Y
Trade up from beef (average NuVal™ Score- 30) fajitas to boneless, skinless chicken breast (NuVal™ Score- 39), turkey breast (NuVal™ Score- 48), shrimp (NuVal™ Score- 75), tilapia (NuVal™ Score- 82), salmon (NuVal™ Score- 87), tofu (average NuVal™ Score- 49) or fresh vegetables (average NuVal™ Score- 96) and beans (average NuVal™ Score- 55).
Don’t forget to season everything yourself with dried and fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime in lieu of using fajita seasoning mix that is loaded with sodium!
Examples like this and more are discussed on-air on 100.5 FM in the Hartford, CT listening area, as well as online on the WRCH webpage for the Big Y® Trade Up to Smack Down program. The webpage includes tips, videos shot of the Living Well Eating Smart Wellness Team showing examples on ways to trade up breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner as well as customer questions and comments about ways NuVal™ Scores can be used to trade up their favorite recipes and dishes.
Carrie Taylor and Andrea Samson are the registered dietitians for the Living Well Eating Smart program at Big Y Foods. Have a nutrition question? Visit their webpage at www.bigy.com/lwes or e-mail livingwell@bigy.com.
Congratulations to Commenter #20 Jordan, you’ve won yesterday’s Shelf-Stable Kids’ Snacks giveaway! Please send Melissa an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that she can can mail your prize out to you. Thanks to everyone who entered.
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday, everyone’s favorite day here at A Better Bag of Groceries. Every Tuesday, I blog about a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal scores and I give away something for free. Today, as I continue my adventure (not telling you where, just yet) it’s critical that I have some portable kid-friendly snacks packed with me.
One thing I’ve learned since coming to work for NuVal: there are snacks that score high and there are snacks that score low. And you know what – my kids like both. So I might as well try to steer them towards the higher-scoring stuff.
These are 3 of my favorites:
#1:
Chocolate Teddy Grahams: NuVal score of 26.
Why they stand out? The average for the category is a 7, so a 26 is a fantastic cookie score.
Compare them to: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Bite Size Cookies, NuVal score of 11.
#2:
Pepperidge Farms Whole Grain Goldfish: NuVal score of 25
Why they stand out? The average for the category is a 17, so a 25 is a really good score, especially for a “kids” cracker.
Compare them to: Sunshine Cheez-It Reduced Fat Baked Snack Crackers White Cheddar, NuVal score of 6.
#3
Raisins: NuVal score of 87.
Why they stand out? They get a score of 87 and that is awfully close to the highest score you can get, a 100.
Compare them to: Ocean Spray Craisins, which score a 4.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win my favorite Shelf-Stable Kids’ Snacks. Just leave a comment below telling me one of the following:
Where you’re taking your kids this Spring
Your favorite childhood Snack
Joyel, my colleague at NuVal, is manning this contest for me and she’ll be choosing the winner randomly at 8 am Eastern tomorrow tomorrow. So don’t delay. I’m throwing some of these snacks into my bag now – and we’re back on our journey…
This week, I am in a surpise location. It’s sort of like Where in the World is Matt Lauer – and stay tuned because you will find out just where I am by the end of the week. Not to worry – the blog will keep going. There is still a Trade-Up Tuesday Giveaway tomorrow and I’ve recruited some friends to help me out. Today, I am honored to bring you the esteemed Miss Alicia Brown, MS, RD, LD and winner of 2009′s Registered Young Dietitian of the Year Award. Alicia is Health and Wellness Marketing Manager for the DFW area Market Street stores at United Texas. “DFW” is “Dallas Fort Worth” for those of you who don’t speak Texas and Alicia does a phenomonal job for them. By the way, she won’t be a “Miss” for much longer – she is getting ready for her wedding this coming October! Without further ado, I hand the keyboard over to Alicia…
Did you know March is National Frozen Foods Month AND National Nutrition Month? When most people think of frozen foods ice cream, pizza and frozen meals are listed as the top frosty finds. Can frozen foods and nutrition meet in the freezer section without a frozen standstill? I was determined to prove it true. So, just as any frequent shopper does, I grabbed my warmest jacket and headed to the frozen foods aisle at Market Street.
I was on a mission to find not just good nutrition products but great products. Thank goodness for the NuVal system we have in place at Market Street, I didn’t have to spend half an hour reading food labels. I was able to actually see the overall NuVal score just looking through the door (no frozen fingers for me).
The first product that jumped out at me was the frozen hashbrowns. Did you know they receive a NuVal score of 91?! When you compare to the fresh potato which scores a 93, this is a pretty great find. Now you wonder “how can hashbrowns score a 91? Aren’t they fried in oil?” Ahh but the OreIda Frozen Hashbrowns are just shredded potato. It’s how you prepare them that counts. Instead of frying them, how about baking them? Convenient and better for you.
Strolling a little further down the aisle I saw Alexia Sweet Potato Fries. With a NuVal score of 49, these make a great Trade Up from the frozen pre-fried French fries. The family doesn’t have to do with out their beloved French fries! In fact, some kids like the sweet potato fries better than the original.
Moving swiftly to the next aisle (to avoid the frost bite) I run across the frozen vegetables. I don’t think I need to convince you that frozen vegetables are a great way to get good nutrition at a lower cost and added convenience. But one little bag you may not have noticed is the Stahlbush Diced Sweet Potatoes. Considering a fresh sweet potato gets a NuVal score of 96, these hit the bullseye with the same score. I love to bake these or add them to soups. The best part, the only ingredient is: Sweet Potatoes.
One area of frozen foods that is often overlooked is the frozen breads. Most of us are accustomed to buying bread on the bread aisle. If we jump over from the bread aisle to the freezer cas we find a breat with a NuVal score of 93. This is one of my favorite hidden hits. When the traditional bread aisle only brings in a top bread score in the 40′s this is a goldmine. Why is Food for Life Bran For Life Bread in the freezer case? There are no preservatives. If it were on the center shelves it would go bad very quickly. So put on your winter gloves, reach in and grab some Bran for Life Bread.
My last tasty find in the frozen foods sections is Blue Bunny’s Sweet Freedom No Sugar Added Fudge Lites. Would you be surprised to know that this is the highest scoring frozen treat? Guess what the score is? How about a NuVal score of 100!! Now I’m sure you are raising an eyebrow but rest assured, I’ve already questioned this product’s score a couple times. But if we look closely at the ingredients we find that the Fudge Lites are made mostly of skim milk. When skim milk gets a NuVal Score of 91, it’s easy to see how the fudge bars have a good foundation to stand on. With a little bit of fiber and the absence of added sugar the score moves up to 100! Now that’s a treat!
Take a look the next time you hit the frozen foods area. If you normally pick up the frozen pizza or some frozen vegetables, peek a few doors down. You may be surprised at the Fantastic Frozen Foods you find.
Have you discoverd a Fantastic Frozen Food? I’d love to hear about it.
This week, I was out at Price Chopper, meeting and talking with customers with my friend and colleague Ellie Wilson, RD. We were in the salty snack aisle, admiring Price Chopper’s beautiful new shelf tags and showing customers how to trade up for better nutrition when a product caught my eye. Wise Reduced Fat White Cheddar Popcorn. It had a NuVal score of 25.
OK, why was this oh-so-exciting to me? Well, my kids are Smartfood fanatics. They love the stuff. But regular Smartfood only scores an 11 on the NuVal scale. That’s below the average score of 15 for other salty snacks – and way below the average score of 21 for popcorn. (I guess it depends if you consider Smartfood a salty snack or popcorn!) In any event, my kids love Smartfood, so sometimes I buy them them the Reduced Fat version, which scores a 19.
I was curious about this Wise product with a score of 25. So, I did what any other Grocery Geek Mom would do. I bought a bag of each and brought them home and had a little taste test!
So, as you saw, my kids found that they tasted exactly the same. I can tell you that Audrey, our afternoon sitter, whose voice you can hear on the video, felt that the Wise brand was a little less salty. My husband seconded that opinion. I think adult taste buds are a little more sophisticated! But if my kids think that these two products taste exactly the same, why not trade up to the higher-scoring brand? A little less salt is good for everyone. Thanks to Wise for making a wise product. I hope I can find these on a store shelf close to my home!
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!
