Monday, June 14, 2010 at 07:09 AM
Monday is just the perfect day for a Confession, isn’t it? Let’s face it – none of us are perfect on the weekend. There’s always something that we put into our body or into our shopping cart that we’re a little ashamed of. For me, it was Apple Jacks this weekend. However, with all of the Toy Story Hype that is going on right now, I’m actually pretty proud of myself for coming home with only one Toy Story product in my shopping bag.
Let me explain…
In our house, Toy Story is big. Not just big, it is HUGE. My son has been a Toy Story fanatic for several years. Hands down, it is his favorite movie of all time. When he was four, he was Woody for Halloween.
And then, the next year he was Buzz…
My daughter joined in on the Toy Story craze, too. She was Little Bo Peep (one of the Toys from the movie) for Halloween that year.
In case you don’t know, Toy Story 3 comes out in movie theaters this Friday. My kids have been talking about June 18, 2010 for about a year now.
According to the Boston Globe, Walt Disney Co. expects to sell $2.4 billion in merchandise related to the movie. Well, of course, Walt Disney is off to a running start, even before the movie is released. We saw a lot of Woody and Buzz in the stores this weekend.
My daughter first spied the Toy Story gang on this Fruit Crisps display at Stop & Shop.
Then, we found them on “fruit flavored snacks,” one of the foods expressly prohibited by our pediatric dentist.
And what children’s character doesn’t make it to the front of the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese box? Kraft Mac and Cheese is to kids’ characters just as Wheaties is to Olympic athletes.
Woody even made it onto Edy’s ice cream.
In fact, our Target Flyer advertised a whole array of Toy Story Food products.
Of course, it’s not just food that Walt Disney is hoping to sell by pasting these favorite characters on the packaging. At Kohl’s we saw Toy Story 3 shoes:
And back at Stop & Shop, the Toy Story characters adorned bottles of kids’ shampoo and conditioner:
Let me just point out that the shampoo without Toy Story characters on the label had more ounces in the bottle and cost 70 cents less.
So, yes, some Toy Story Apple Jacks did make their way into our shopping cart this weekend. What’s the NuVal score? It’s a 24. The average score for cold cereal is a 27, so it’s below average. I guess it could have been worse. The Toy Story Kraft Macaroni and Cheese gets a 5 on the NuVal scale.
How did I get away with only one Toy Story product in my cart? Well, all of a sudden, my son is done with Toy Story. He even talked about donating his Toy Story toys this weekend. He has moved on to Star Wars, big time. He still wants to see the movie, but that’s about it. He told me that he is just too big (I’m almost 7, Mom!) as he surfed youtube for Beatles videos, rattled off facts about the Presidents, and read about the Celtics in the Sports section of the Globe. I guess it’s fitting that in the new movie coming out this weekend, Andy goes to college and his toys get shipped off to a daycare. I get misty just thinking about it!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions, Macaroni and Cheese
Tags: Apple Jacks, Macaroni and Cheese
Monday, April 5, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Welcome to Cart Confessions, a frequent feature here on A Better Bag of Grocerieswhere I ‘fess up and tell you about something that landed in my shopping cart that I am not so proud of. Today, it’s Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Colors.
How did these purple, pink and green fishies end up in my cart? Take a guess! Yup, you got it right. My husband did the grocery shopping! That is typically my job, but things have been a little chaotic these past few weeks on the homefront. And so it happened that I needed some time to catch up on NuVal work and he took the kids grocery shopping. And he does a wonderful job. Truly. I mean he has even bought stuff for blog giveaways. He has literally been in aisles calling me from his cell as we review UPC codes over the phone. So I will forgive him for this one slip-up. I mean, really, he just gave in to the kid-pressure. Look how happy my daughter is about her colorful fish!
I do buy Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, but I typically buy the Whole Grain variety which score a 28 on the NuVal scale. That is a great score when you consider that the median score (half score above, half score below) for crackers is a 14. I don’t usually buy Goldfish Colors because they used to score an 18. Did you notice that I said “used to score.” Past tense. They now score a 24. Pepperidge Farm recently changed the recipe. I checked in with Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD and Manager of Nutrition Communications at NuVal. She said that the reason the score has improved from an 18 to a 24 is that the new recipe has more healthy unsaturated fats than the previous recipe.
That is one of the coolest things about NuVal. We keep up with manufacturer reformulations. They happen all the time and we keep track of it. So, if the cereal company adds fiber and takes out some sugar, we rescore the product. And consumers (well, at least those consumers who are lucky enough to have NuVal in their local grocery stores) have the most-up-to-date data at their fingertips.
Back to the Goldfish. The kids devoured the bag of Colors and reveled in the fact that they got Daddy to buy something that Mommy usually says “no” to. Now, we are back to Whole Grain Goldfish. And hopefully, I am back to being Queen of the Grocery Shopping in our household.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions
Tags: Goldfish, Pepperidge Farms Goldfish
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 07:21 AM
Happy Friday, Blog Friends! I thought I would head into this glorious Spring weekend – during which I can envision myself on my deck with a cocktail in one hand and a salty snack in the other – with a blog post about chips. Not just any chips. Chips that Mom’s eat to feel all virtuous and all. What I mean is – something other than a Cheese Doodle.
So, it’s Cart Confession Time! These Stacy’s Naked Chips find their way into my shopping cart every week. To be completely honest, we actually used to get TWO bags. But, you know, they’re not REAL chips. They’re pita chips! So they must be “healthy”, right? Well, they get a 24 on the NuVal scale. And that is fine. The median score for salty snacks is a 17, so they’re better than “average”. But many grown-ups probably snack on them thinking that they’re better than potato chips. Not true! Lay’s Original Potato Chips score a 24. Guess what Baked Lay’s get? Better right? Nope, they get a 24 also!
But Stacy’s Naked Chips MUST be better than Dorito’s, right? Uh-uh. Doritos score a 24 also. Fascinating, isn’t it? This is why I love my job!
And how about pretzels? They must be better than potato chips, right? Nooooooooo. Rold Gold Tiny Twists score a 13. Snyder’s of Hanover Thin Pretzels score a 9.
So what’s a crunch-and-salt-craving Mom to do? Well, there are a few salty snacks that do even better than Stacy’s, Doritos, and Lay’s:
- Bearitos Blue Corn Tortilla Chips: NuVal score of 40
- Terra Sweet Potato Chips: NuVal score of 49
- Garden of Eatin Blue Chips with No Salt Added: NuVal score of 52
As for Stacy’s Naked Chips – I still love them. My husband and kids do too. Nothing goes better with our favorite red pepper hummus. I’ll just keep our weekly purchase down to ONE bag!
Question of the Day
What do YOU crave that is crunchy and salty?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions
Tags: Stacy's Chips
Friday, March 12, 2010 at 06:45 AM
Happy Friday! I like to keep the posts light for TGIF, so today a fun “Cart Confession” seemed to be in order.
These Scrabble Junior Cheez-Its are the hot new item in our house these days. How did they end up in my cart? Well, they actually did not end up in my cart. I did see them on the shelf at Stop & Shop, but I resisted them. My mother, however, could not resist these cute Cheez-Its with letters printed on each one. So she purchased them and brought them over to our house. You see, her one and only Grandson is a First Grade Big Time Reader and she will do anything to promote that!
I have to admit, I too am sooooo proud of him.
My son is addicted to books.
And newspapers. Here, he is dressed as one of his heroes, Abe Lincoln.
He also loves word puzzles, word searches, and word games. He’s actually a lot like his Mom! I hear myself saying, “Put the book down and go play!” and I have to laugh.
Now, most Moms will tell you that we are usually bombarded by silly characters when it comes to marketing to children in the grocery stores. SpongeBob is on everything from crackers to soup to macaroni & cheese. When the Monsters vs. Aliens DVD was released, B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach Ph. D., and Ginormica graced packages and signage in every aisle. I went grocery shopping sans kids that week. Character marketing is everywhere and it’s blatant. For most moms, it’s easy to shrug off these products as gimmicky attempts to get your kids to whine ask for stuff.
But the idea of using the popular board game Scrabble to promote a product to kids is new – well, at least it is to me. The people at the Sunshine Biscuit company, who make Cheez-Its are smart. They know that moms (and Grandmas) will eagerly choose a snack that might help promote reading and/or spelling.
Are Scrabble Cheez-Its a “sin” to be confessed? They score a 15 out of 100 on the NuVal scale. Since the median score (half are above it, half are below it) for crackers is a 14, that is actually better than your “average” cracker. Still, as you may remember from my Cracker GiveAway, there are other kid-friendly crackers out there that score better:
- Wheat Thins: 24
- Triscuits: 32
- Pepperidge Farm Goldfish: 24
But you can’t make words out of those crackers!
I’m not going to lose any sleep over Scrabble Cheez-Its – at least not for now. As I mentioned, they are the Most Requested Snack in our house these days and hey, you look like Smart Mom when you send them in to school for snack. There’s even a little game board on the back of the box so that you can play. Next week, I will be throwing them into my cart. Thanks for the suggestion, Grandma!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions, Crackers
Tags: Cheez-Its, Crackers, Scrabble Cheez-Its
Monday, March 1, 2010 at 07:23 AM
It’s Monday and time for Cart Confessions, where I ‘fess up and tell you all about a product with a lowly NuValscore that somehow made it into my shopping cart. I have to say, in general, my pantry is looking pretty good these days. It certainly looks a lot different than it did when I first started working at NuVal. I’ve learned so much about the true nutritional value of food. Dr. Katz himself could come to my house and I would not be ashamed to show him what products we’re buying these days. So, when I went shopping this week, I had to look kind of hard to find something with a low score. And there it was – Hood Ice Cream Sandwiches. We were out of them and they were on the list. NuVal score: 2. Yup, a 2.
I personally do not eat ice cream sandwiches. I get up too early in the morning to work out to blow it all on an ice cream sandwich. However, my husband loves them and they have been an absolute must-have in our freezer for all of our 13 years of marital bliss. He has passed his adoration for “sandwiches” on to our offspring. They are the Number 1 requested dessert item in our house. My husband insists on Hood Ice Cream Sandwiches, probably because they are a local Massachusetts company and ya know, Hood rhymes with Good. In any event, they are in our freezer – always.
It’s hard to blame them. They do look good, don’t they.
I have to admit, I had a bite after that photo shoot. OK, it was really half.
And how can I resist this happy kid?
‘
I’m not sure if I can get my husband and kids to kick the Hood habit. There are some better alternatives in the Ice Cream Novelty category:
- Fudgesicle (No Sugar Added with Calcium): 64
- Healthy Choice Premium Fudge Bars No Sugar Added: 51
- Skinny Cow Vanilla & Chocolate Lowfat Ice Cream Sandwiches: 24
I guess it’s OK for everyone to have a treat once in a while. Even a Mom taking pictures of food for her blog!
Question of the Day
What is your favorite ice cream novelty?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions, Ice Cream Sandwiches
Tags: Ice Cream Sandwiches
