Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 07:06 AM
It’s 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. It’s a very popular day here at A Better Bag of Groceries!
So, why black-eye peas on this Tuesday December 27th? Well, I make them every New Year’s Day.
Back in the Days B.C. (Before Children), I had a roommate who grew up in Virginia. She had a fiance who grew up in Tennessee. These were my friends who introduced me to the Southern tradition of eating Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day. According to Southern folklore, Black-Eyed Peas are the first food to be eaten on New Year’s Day for luck and prosperity throughout the year ahead.
There are a lot of variations on the Black-Eyed Peas for New Year’s Theme, including:
- Eat them with leafy greens. The beans represent coins and the greens represent paper money.
- For lots of luck in the New Year, one must eat 365 Black-Eyed Peas on New Years’ Day.
- Add a shiny penny or dime to the pot. The person whose bowl contains the coin receives the best luck for the New Year.
On the last one, all I can think of is “Ewwwwww! Germs!” My second thought (as a Mom, of course) is “Choking Hazard!!!”
Black-Eye Peas really are a Rock Star on the NuVal scale. The dried legume version score a 92!
So, now you are wondering why I’m pairing today’s Black-Eyed Pea giveaway with Cooking Light. Well, my favorite recipe for making Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day comes from my auld acquaintance, Cooking Light magazine. I ♥ Cooking Light magazine. So, this giveaway includes a one-year subscription to Cooking Light magazine. Woo Hoo!
Black-Eyed Peas with Swiss Chard.
1 pound Swiss chard (NuVal score of 100)
1 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas (NuVal score of 92)
1 teaspoon olive oil (NuVal score of 93)
1 cup finely chopped onion (NuVal score of 93)
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste (NuVal score of 88 for Goya regular tomato paste with no additives)
2 garlic cloves, minced (NuVal score of 91)
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (NuVal score of 2 for College Inn Light and Fat Free Chicken Broth)
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (NuVal score of 24 for Athenos crumbled feta)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
Directions:
Wash Swiss chard thoroughly. Remove and chop stems. Slice leaves into 1 inch strips.
Please peas in a large Dutch oven; cover with water to 2 inches above beans. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes. Drain peas; set aside. Wipe pan with a paper towel.
Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in peas and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until peas are tender. Stir in chard stems and cheese; cover and cook 4 minutes. Stir in chard leaves, oregano, salt, and pepper; cover and cook 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.
So, do these Black-Eyed Peas really bring you luck? I would say most definitely. My husband and I are always saying how lucky we are. We truly have been blessed and we have so many things to be grateful for. Yes, we eat these Black-Eyed Peas every New Year’s Day, and so far, we haven’t had an “unlucky” year. Like I said, “what have you got to lose?”
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky winner will win the two packages of Goya black-eyed peas and a one-year subscription to Cooking Light magazine! All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me your New Year’s Day tradition. (If you don’t have one, just leave any ‘ole comment. This giveaway is not to be missed!) I’ll select one winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday December 28th. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Black Eyed Peas, New Year's Recipes
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 07:00 AM
Hello Blog Fans! Today is a special holiday edition of Trade-Up Tuesday. I want to thank all of you for stopping by each and every day all through the year to read and comment here at A Better Bag of Groceries. And so I’ve assembled a little festive gift for this last giveaway before Christmas.
It was really hard to choose what to giveaway today. As you know, most of the rich foods that we associate with Christmas don’t really get the best NuVal scores. But since this is NuVal’s official “Mom” blog (really, “Mom” and “Dad” blog), I know that many of my dear readers will be burning the midnight oil this week. With the way Christmas falls on a weekend, there is precious time left to play Santa. And I know that I am finding as the kids get older, it becomes harder to keep the magic going.
I know that the lines at Dunkin’ Donuts will be extra long each morning this week as bleary-eyed parents stop for their morning joe on their way to work after a late night of stealth wrapping. Yes, it’s a tough week. But hang in, everybody. The end is in sight.
My sister, Pilates Julie, gave us the greatest gift last weekend. She called us on Friday and told us that she wanted to take our kids to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie and then for an early dinner so that we could have a few hours to get some Santa stuff done. Hallelujah! We were so thrilled. Not only did we not have to endure listening to chipmunks on the big screen for two hours, but we were able to get all of our Santa wrapping done in the light of day – a whole week before Christmas! It was wonderful.
So, I am not tempted to keep this coffee giveaway for myself, because thanks to Auntie Julie, I’m in good shape this week. But I am sure there are some of you who could use this “America Runs On Dunkin’ ” gift pack. It includes a whole pound of coffee, a Dunkin’ mug, and a $5 gift card. And oh, by the way, coffee is not scored at NuVal. Why? Because it has no nutrients. But it just might be what gets you through to Christmas Eve.
Today’s Giveaway
One very lucky winner will win today’s Dunkin’ Giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me why you could use it this week. Still have cards to write, wrapping to do, shopping to do, hosting a crowd? Here’s your chance to tell me. I’ll select one winner at 8 am Eastern Time on Wednesday December 21st. Good Luck Everybody!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Dunkin Donuts, Giveaway
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 07:07 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 special holiday edition of T-U-T. It’s a prize pack of higher-than-average-scoring snacks that I keep in my cupboard for the impromptu entertaining that tends to happen at this time of year.
I came up with the idea for this giveaway last weekend when our neighbors ended up stopping over for a little while to help us decorate. We appreciated the help as we untangled Christmas lights while the kids watched the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker on Netflix. So, I quickly made our gathering into a little happy hour. Our neighbors have recently gone gluten free, so I was glad that I had some GF options in the house. My neighbor was able to enjoy Cedar’s red pepper hummus, Mary’s Gone crackers and a glass of wine.
Since my sister is lactose intolerant, I also keep that in mind when she is coming over. She loves Cabot Vermont Cheddar Cheese 50% Reduced Fat with Omega-3 DHA. It gets a NuVal score of 25 and it’s lactose free.
In today’s giveaway, I’ve included some pantry staples that I always keep stocked:
- Aurora Raw Almonds: NuVal score of 81
- Mary’s Gone Crackers: NuVal score of 37
- Original Triscuits: NuVal score of 32
- Stacy’s Pita Chips: NuVal score of 24
- Holiday Cocktail Napkins: Not scored, but awfully cute
At this time of year, I so enjoy taking a few moments to celebrate the holidays with friends, neighbors and family. And you never know when the opportunity might come up. So, it’s best to keep the pantry stocked.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win this Holiday Entertaining Prize Pack. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what you keep stocked in your pantry or fridge for when company comes. You can enter twice by leaving a second comment with the NuVal score of that item if you know it. You can find some NuVal scores on the NuVal website, or by searching this blog, or by searching Trading Up Downtown. I’ll select one winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Christmas, Holidays, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Aurora, Mary's Gone Crackers, Stacy's Chips, Triscuits
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 06:58 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday! Every Tuesday, I blog about a trade-up I’ve made since learning about NuVal scores and I host a giveaway. It’s a great day to stop by and visit.
I can’t believe I haven’t hosted my Hot Cereal Giveaway yet this fall! I guess it’s because we’ve had an incredibly warm autumn here in New England. Yes, we’ve been spoiled! We’ve been enjoying temperatures in the 50s and 60s during the day, so I haven’t really been breaking out the hot cereal too much just yet. However, I just checked the forecast and the cold is coming in by the end of this week. Even though I am not a big fan of cold weather, I’m almost a little glad. We have some favorite traditional holiday activities coming up this weekend, and it would be weird to do them in 60-degree weather. It’s hot cereal time!
NuVal definitely opened my eyes to some new hot cereals. First of all, notice that I say “hot cereal” and not just “oatmeal.” That’s because there are so many different varieties out there.
I grew up on Quaker Instant Oatmeal, the maple and brown sugar kind (NuVal score of 24) - for a very practical reason. My mom was (and is still) a nurse and she worked first shift – which begins at 7 am. So we went to our neighbors at some very early hour – it must have been 6:15 am – with our little packets of Quaker Instant Oatmeal in hand. And that’s what we had for breakfast. It was a habit that I carried forward. When I traveled a lot in my 20s, and the hotel buffets were ladened with croissants and ginormous bagels, I always kept some Quaker Instant Oatmeal in my work bag. And I still keep instant oatmeal with me at work. But when I do have time to make a real pot of oatmeal (or, excuse me, hot cereal), these are three that I have come to know and love.
- Hodgson Mill Oat Bran: NuVal score of 58
- John McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal: NuVal score of 55
- Hodgson Mill Multigrain Hot Cereal: NuVal score of 82
For the record, while I was researching the scores for this blog post, I discovered that Quaker has come out with a hot cereal called, quite simply, “Quaker Multigrain Hot Cereal” and it scores a 91 on the NuVal scale. I will have to try that one!
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky commenter will win all three of my favorite hot cereals. All you need to do is tell me something that you like to eat or do when the weather first turns cold. I mean really cold, like winter cold. I’ll choose one lucky winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday December 7th. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Hodgson Mill, McCann's, NuVal, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 07:08 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 trade-up is really all about my son.
He loves peanut butter! He eats it every single day.
You don’t see my son as much here on A Better Bag of Groceries these days. You see my daughter all the time. The reason for that is she loves to cook. She may even be a future food blogger. She cooks, she takes pictures. It’s like having a Mini Me right next to me in the kitchen.
My son, on the other hand, could take or leave the cooking. When he does cook, we really praise him – probably even a little too much. He made Cooking Light’s Roasted Green Beans for Thanksgiving. “Wow, what a great job you are doing leveling the spices in the measuring spoon,” we swooned. I swear I could see his younger sister rolling her eyes a little bit. She must have been thinking, “Really? Clapping for leveling the measuring spoons? I’ve been doing that since I was three years old!”
You see my son knows what he likes. And when he likes something, he sticks with it.
He likes sports – a lot! He is constantly playing them – baseball, basketball, football, street hockey, tennis.
He wears holes into the knees of every pair of pants he owns.
And what does he want to eat for lunch every day to fuel up for all these sports? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Now, I switched over from “traditional” peanut butters to Teddie soon after I joined NuVal. When I saw that Teddie Smooth Unsalted scored a 49 on the NuVal scale, I just had to. Most conventional peanut butters score in the 20′s. Fortunately, my son accepted this change, no problem!
With all these sports going on this fall, we often found ourselves eating lunch at one of the fields. I would pack a picnic lunch because we didn’t have time to go home after my daughter’s soccer game and my son’s baseball game. Peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches were perfect. And much better than the offering at the Baseball Complex’s Snack Bar. I also love that my son takes PB&J to school just about every day. I don’t have to worry if the turkey has been kept cold enough by the ice packs in his lunch box.
The other thing I love about Teddie is the price. I found these jars for under $3 each.
Teddie Super Chunky also scores high. It gets a 38. That’s my husband’s favorite.
Yes, my son’s love of Teddie Smooth Unsalted is one of those things that I’m proud of as a Mom. He likes a nutritious peanut butter. Now, if only I could get him to cook more often!
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win both jars of Teddie Peanut Butter. Just leave a comment below telling me something in your life that you’ve always loved, so you’ve “stuck” with it. I’ll randomly choose one winner at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday November 30th. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: peanut butter, Trade-Up Tuesday
