Friday, July 29, 2011 at 07:55 AM
Wow! I can’t believe we’re 14 weeks into our New Food Challenge! My husband and kids have been really good sports – trying a new food every single week. It’s been awesome to see them expand their palates.
Weekday summer breakfasts for us are almost always cold cereal, with fruit and some protein on the side. If it’s my day to get the kids off to camp, I make them Smoothies with Greek yogurt. If it’s my husband who is on breakfast duty, he makes scrambled eggs. Typically, the kids eat Cheerios, which get a great cereal score of 37. (The average NuVal score for cold cereal is a 27.) My husband and I like to eat Muesli in the summer, such as Swiss Muesli, No Sugar Added, with a score of 46. But when I was out at Big Y this week, this granola caught my eye.
Chappaqua Crunch Simply Granola gets a NuVal score of 43. And I thought, “Hmmm. It would be fun to try and we’d all we eating the same cereal. Plus, I’d get the kids to go up in score a little more.”
Now, I know that looks like a pretty hefty price tag for a small bag of granola. But you have to remember that the serving size of this granola is only 1/3 of a cup. So this bag would last a long time.
It’s just a little cereal…
Some fruit (NuVal score of 100 for both strawberries and blueberries)…
And about one cup of skim milk (NuVal score of 91)…
Yum!!
This Chappaqua Granola was a huge hit for all four of us. We are all fans!
My kids tried theirs in smaller bowls. These bowls are so old – they are from the first Cars movie!!
Look how sleepy my kids are on summer mornings.
Sleepy but smiley!
So, this is good. Now our kids have a cereal choice: Cheerios or Granola. They are expanding their palates, trying new things. I am very proud of them – my adventurous little eaters.
Happy Weekend Everybody!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Granola, New Food Challenge
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 07:16 AM
So these Pretzel Chips walked into a party that I happened to be at this summer – and I just fell in love.
Yes, I am having a torrid summer affair. Don’t tell my husband! With Snack Factory Pretzel Chips. I mean, I’ve always been a pretzel fan. I’m a Salt Girl, through and through. But these pretzel chips are so flat and extra crunchy! They’re just perfect dipped in hummus, my dip of choice. Yup, one bite and I was hooked.
I mean, how bad could they be, right? When I went to the grocery store, there they were, artfully displayed in a big basket within the more-expensive realm of the Cheese Bazaar. Just the way they were being marketed assured me that they must be more nutritious than regular ‘ole salty snacks.
The back of the bag lured me in too. 
Oh, I thought about these pretzels – a lot! They were calling me from the kitchen cabinet. And I thought, these are better than your average pretzel. Boy was I wrong.
I did a little research and checked out the NuVal score on these Original Pretzel Chips. They score an 8 on the NuVal scale. Eight. These Snack Factory Pretzel Chips really aren’t all that special. They get the same NuVal score as Utz Extra Dark Pretzels (oh, I had a summer affair with them a few years back), Utz Ripple Potato Chips, and Pringles Reduced Fat Sour Cream and Onion Potato Crisps. I would be better off snacking on some Lay’s Classic Potato Chips with a NuVal score of 15.
I checked out the ingredients and it sure made sense. Not just added salt, but sugar too. And what is malt syrup?
There is one bag left in my cupboard and when it’s gone that will be the end of my personal relationship with Snack Factory Pretzel Chips. Yes, I’ll probably still buy them for the occasional party or book club get-together. (Ha! Let some other woman fall in love!) But I’ll be sure to let her know the NuVal score.
Interestingly, I did find out that some of Snack Factory’s other Pretzel Chips score higher! For example, the “Everything” flavor gets a 13. And the Honey, Mustard and Onion flavor get the best score: a 19. The average score for Salty Snacks is a 15, so a 19 is above average. Very good!
Question of the Day
Have you ever had a love affair with a food that you had to end?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Pretzels, Score Lowdown
Tags: Pretzel
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 08:10 AM
It’s Wordless Wednesday. I am on the road today – out visiting some NuVal stores in Central Massachusetts with one of my favorite dietitians. So, I really will be silent. But I can’t wait to get back to check in and see what you all have said about today’s photo! Have a great day!
Yesterday’s Winner
Phew! That was tough! For the record, here are the serving sizes:
- Sesmark Sesame Thins: 8 crackers
- Kashi Heart to Heart: 7 crackers
- Reduced Fat Cheez-Its: 29 crackers (wow!)
- Triscuit Original: 6 crackers
Congratulations to Lynn who writes the blog Sit. Stay. Cook. You were the first person to get the answer right and so you’ve won the Cracker Giveaway. Wow, I’m impressed! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can mail your prize out to you. Thanks to everyone who guessed!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Wordless Wednesday
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 06:56 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 is a big Confession Day! Are you ready for this one? Before I worked for NuVal – and maybe even in my early days with NuVal, I used to buy those multi-packs of little snack bags of Cheetos for my kids. Especially in the summer. I don’t know why. I guess I just thought it was the Mom Thing To Do. You know – I am a Mom, therefore I must throw multi-packs of snack chips and brownie mixes in my shopping cart. That kind of mentality. I guess I felt like my kids were so active, especially in the summer – so what if they snacked on some Cheetos that scored a 4 on the NuVal scale?
But, it’s funny. The more you make more nutritious choices and turn that kitchen pantry over, I think the more you find that you stop some of those silly habits. And here we are at the end of July, and I just realized that I have not bought the kids any Cheetos yet. And they haven’t missed them. Instead, we’re packing our pool bag with high-scoring crackers.
This is exactly what you would see if you bumped into me at the pool or the beach:
My husband and I like Sesmark Sesame Thins, NuVal score of 35. They’re so good dipped in hummus!
My daughter loves Original Triscuits, NuVal score of 31. She especially enjoys them with some thinly sliced Cheddar Cheese. After hours of swimming, she and her girlfriends make a fort out of beach chairs and towels and have a little Triscuit tea party.
Both my kids love Reduced Fat Cheez-Its and I’m pretty happy about their NuVal score of 24. Last weekend, I found my son on the basketball court, handing these out to all the kids. Perhaps he is a future politician.
And finally, my husband and I just discovered that we love Kashi Heart to Heart crackers! They’re much like a Triscuit, but a little less salty. They come in with a NuVal score of 34.
Now crackers range from 1 to 91 on the NuVal scale, but I must tell you the crackers that score a 91 are like a Whole Wheat un-salted flatbread. I don’t think my son would get too many takers when handing those out on the basketball court! The average score for a cracker is a 17. So, these crackers that we’re snacking on are all above average – great choices!
There is one danger in bringing a whole box – and that is that you just might eat the whole box! We bring boxes to save time. Getting everybody out the door to our beloved Pool Club with bathing suits, towels, sneakers, tennis rackets, dive sticks, lunches, beverages, sunscreen, etc is tough enough without portioning out crackers into snack bags. Plus, as I mentioned, we are always sharing with other families, having impromptu happy hours, etc. But it does help to keep in mind what the serving size is for each type of cracker. And that is where you can help me today!
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win all 4 boxes of our favorite summer time snack crackers just by commenting below. But I’d love for you to guess what the serving size is for each kind of cracker! So, leave a comment below telling me how many crackers are in one serving for Kashi Heart to Heart, Original Triscuit, Reduced Fat Cheez-It, and Sesmark Sesame Thins. This one is tough! So, I’ll try to select the winner from someone who can get it correct. But if not, I’ll just select a winner randomly from all the entries. Does that work for everyone? Don’t be shy, give it a guess! The winner will be announced at 8 am on Wednesday July 27th. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Crackers, Trade-Up Tuesday
Monday, July 25, 2011 at 07:06 AM
Kalli is my Bloggie Friend from California. She writes Fit And Forty Something.
She is Kalli From California. My kids, by the way, think that is hilarious. You know the way that her name kind of rhymes with the state in which she lives. Ahhhh, grade school humor. Anyhoo, Kalli posted this Savory Salmon recipe a week or so ago, over on Fit and Forty Something, and it looked so easy – and I happened to have all the ingredients in my pantry. I also had a piece of salmon that I needed to cook. So, I whipped it up.
Kalli says, and I agree, that you really could try this with any fish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt ( I used Greek yogurt): NuVal score of 93
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used grape): NuVal score of 96
- 1 cup chopped Greek olives: NuVal score of 10
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp dill
- 1 tsp crushed or chopped garlic: NuVal score of 91
- Atlantic Salmon: NuVal score of 87
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line a cookie sheet with foil
- Place the salmon on the cookie sheet
- Combine the ingredients (except the salmon in a bowl)
- Layer mixture on top of the salmon
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes and then finish it under the broiler for a few minutes.
The yogurt mixture keeps the fish so moist!
Delicious! When I tried this recipe out, I was in the middle of one of my Cooking Blitzes. I was working on Catherine’s Shrimp Pasta Primavera recipe, I was making a crock pot recipe for the week ahead, and I was marinating chicken for the next night – all at the same time. I was a hot mess! So, that’s why I opted for the oven method instead of adding the outdoor grill to my endeavor. But next time, I will definitely see how this works on the BBQ. I think it will be very tasty, indeed. Thanks Kalli, for sharing!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Blog Friends, Fish, Fit Friends at Forty, Salmon
Tags: fitandfortysomething, savory salmon
