Friday, December 18, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Meet Tyler, one of my talented colleagues at NuVal. Tyler, now a Business Analyst for NuVal, played rugby for Boston College. While he no longer has time for rugby, he still works out daily, before work, following the Navy Seal Cross-Fit Regimen. Tyler is a healthy, well-balanced eater, packing in lots of fruits and veggies. In fact, at NuVal, we call him the Salad Shaker. You know it’s time for lunch when you hear Tyler shaking his big salad in his oversized plastic container.
Recently, I bumped into Tyler in the NuVal kitchen, where we were both hunting for a mid-morning snack. Tyler was so excited. “Guess what, Melissa!” he said. “Check out the orange juice I bought. I read about Trop 50 on your blog and now I’m buying it all the time. It’s so awesome! I can’t believe it gets a NuVal score of 81!” He was so gleeful. And then, I burst his bubble. I do that to people. Just ask Josie over at YumYucky. You see, Tyler had made a very common mistake. He had grabbed the wrong Trop 50. Horrors! The Amazing Trop 50 of A Better Bag of Groceries Fame with a score of 81 has added Calcium and Vitamin D. The one that Tyler purchased only gets a score of 49.
That is why we need NuVal on our supermarket shelves.
Even when you are familiar with the scores. Even when you work with them every day. Even when you read about them on my blog or on TradingUpDowntown. Because most of us are in a hurry, it is so, so easy to grab the wrong juice.
So many people have written to me asking when NuVal will be in their grocery stores. We are currently in Price Chopper, Meijer and Hy-Vee grocery stores. Soon, we will be in United Texas stores. We are working hard to get more retailers to partner with us. You can help by going to the NuVal website and completing a store suggestion form.
In the meantime, if you are a Trop 50 fan, be sure to grab the one with the blue top when you are at the grocery store!
Question of the Day:
In which grocery stores would you like to see NuVal scores?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Top Ten (Mommy), Trop 50
Tags: NuVal Staff
Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:38 AM
After my blogpost about My Top Ten Favorite Foods, I thought it would be fun to blog about my kids’ Top Ten Foods. I wanted their list to really come from them, so I pulled out my flipchart from Staples that we sometimes use to draw big pictures, put it in the living room, and had a brainstorming session with my 6-year-old and 4-year-old. They thought that this was pretty cool. I took a picture to prove to my readers that this really is THEIR list. Notice the wrinkled paper and the kindergarten and pre-school penmanship. We were too tired to bring the easel up from the basement and we propped the flipchart up on the couch, so you can see that the the handwriting is quite slanted.
So, I asked my kids questions like, “If you could eat a food every day, what would it be?” I was surprised to see that their list was so healthy! I truly expected Cheetos, Kit Kats and cotton candy ice cream to make the list since they beg for these items at our Pool Club’s snack bar. Maybe they chose real foods because we were in our own house? Like most grown-ups, they tend to eat well at home and not so well when we are at a restaurant, vending machine, convenience store, etc. We took turns (of course!) with this list, so my six-year-old son chose the odd numbered items and my four-year-old daughter, the even.
1. Carrots
How excited was I that this healthy veggie which scores a 99 on the NuVal scale was the first thing out of my son’s mouth! I buy the smallest baby carrots I can find for the kids because they are not choking hazards. Sometimes, during the school year, I splurge on the small baby carrots that are pre-packaged.
2. Spaghetti
This was when I knew that my daughter was taking this exercise very seriously. Spaghetti is definitely her favorite food and she loves to eat it just like the dogs do in Lady and the Tramp. Now that I know the NuVal scores, we eat Barilla Plus Pasta Spaghetti Multi-Grain at home because it scores a 91. I had tried whole grain pastas years ago and did not like them, but this one tastes just like regular spaghetti. It’s a great alternative when you realize that Prince Spaghetti gets a 49.
3. Apple Slices
These get a 96 and they make a great accompaniment to a sandwich. When you can get your kids to eat something that gets a 96, why would you ever give them chips?
4. Pancakes
Now my daughter must have been thinking that by putting something on this list, we could get is back in our household because we stopped buying Aunt Jemima Frozen Mini Pancakes when I found out that they score a 6! This same child loves Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal which scores a 57, so I make it in large quantities and reheat leftovers for a quick hot breakfast.
5. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
My son begged for this cereal last week because Ice Age 3 Return of the Dinosaurs was on the box. We were shopping in Roche Brothers at the time and they do not have NuVal yet (although I wish they would get it), so I wasn’t exactly sure of the score, but I was in no mood for a melt-down in the cereal aisle, so I relented. I got home and looked it up and found out that it gets a 27, which is not bad when you consider that the median score for cereal is a 25. The key would be to get my son to switch to Cinnamon Toast Crunch with 75% reduced sugar because it scores a 40. That is even better than Cheerios (one of the best scoring Children’s cereals at a 34). The question is: Does the 75% reduced sugar have Ice Age 3 on the box? I hope so.
6. Ice Cream Sandwiches
My daughter, who does not like chocolate (crazy!), loves Hood Ice Cream Sandwiches. They score a 2. She also loves plain vanilla ice cream. As I discussed in my I Scream post, Breyer’s Extra Creamy Vanilla ice cream scores a 45. I will work on migrating her over to that choice. “Sorry, honey. The store was all sold out of ice cream sandwiches.” That will only work when I get to go grocery shopping alone – which is like a vacation!
7. Pineapple
Another award-winning pick from my son. Fresh pineapple gets a 99. The canned versions only score a 25. So, while it is more expensive and a huge pain to cut up, I buy the fresh. I admit there are weeks that it sits on the counter and the leaves get all dried out and it starts to grow a little mold on the bottom and then I feel guilty that I blew $4 on a fresh pineapple. But actually that is usually when it tastes the best, so it works in our busy house.
8. Orange Juice
This surprisingly healthy shout-out came from my daughter, Miss Spaghetti-Pancakes-and-Ice Cream. As I mentioned in Keeping Kids Hydrated – Guiltfree, Tropicana 50 Pulp-Free with Calcium scores a fabulous 81. That is amazing when you compare it to Minute Maid Orange Juice Pulp-Free which scores a 30. Before I knew about Trop 50, we were buying our juice from our milk man because I’m on this glass bottle kick right now. Sorry Milk Man! As I mentioned in My Top Ten Favorite Foods, be sure to buy the one with added calcium and Vitamin D, because the other one scores much lower.
9. Plums
My son must have thought there was a prize at the end of this because his last choice scored a 99 also. My colleague and friend is a dad of 2 and he has a “fruit before anything else at breakfast” rule in his house. I liked that, so I started giving the kids cut up plums or peaches with little tiny seafood forks that came with my everyday flatware (what else are you going to do with those?) at breakfast time. It’s a great way to squeeze in another fruit. I put the plums in paper bags until they get nice and ripe.
10. Soup
And on the hottest day of the year, my daughter chooses soup! She has always been a big fan of this hot and salty favorite. We love to sing the old Tom Jones favorite, “She’s a Lady” when she drinks the remaining broth right out of the bowl. She’s such a class act, my four-year-old. Unfortunately, I don’t have any scores on soup as of yet because NuVal is scoring that this fall. It will be interesting to see how they do. It was also interesting to read this morning that Campbell’s will be removing 25% of sodium from soups. Maybe they heard about NuVal?
Try this with your kids and see what they choose. I’d love to see your lists in the comments!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Apples, Barilla Plus, Breyer's Ice Cream, Carrots, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Orange Juice, Pancakes, Pineapple, Plums, Quaker Oats, Soup, Spaghetti, Top Ten (Kids), Trop 50
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 08:20 PM
As I learn more about NuVal scores, I am rethinking what I put in my mouth. When I walk in the door some nights with 2 kids, lunchboxes to unpack, dinner to make and everyone starving, I’ve stopped reaching for a handful of Cheez-its or pita chips. With their low scores, they’re just not worth it. As I approach my one year anniversary of working for NuVal (which I love!), I realize that I have a new Top Ten Favorite Food List that is different than what it was one year ago. Here it is:
1. Chobani Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt: Score of 94
I love this plain, thicker-than-regular yogurt so much. I mix in some fresh nectarine and blueberries. I also put it on baked potatoes. And when my neighbor called looking to borrow sour cream for a recipe she was making (none in my fridge), I gave her the yogurt instead and she said it turned out great. This yogurt is filling and substantial. It’s my quick fix on Monday afternoons when I need an energy boost before teaching my 6:30 pm Pilates class.
2. Almonds: Score of 81
My boss and friend got me hooked on these. I opt for the roasted, unsalted brand and my husband loves them too. Since I work out early (5:30 am), I often need a post-breakfast, mid-morning snack. These do the trick.
3. Frozen Grapes: Score of 91
Someone brought frozen grapes this year to the 4th of July cookout. And boy did it bring back memories. I ate a lot of frozen grapes back in my obsessive Weight Watcher days (circa 1996) because they kept me from eating ice cream. My husband affectionately called them frozen eyeballs. So I resurrected them this summer. They are so easy – just rinse and throw them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. They still look like frozen eyeballs, but they are so tasty and the kids love them too. But this post is about MY top ten. The kids’ will be next week. Moving on…
4. Special K with Protein: Score 0f 60
As I mentioned in my Adult Rated Cereal post, I don’t have time for a lot of munching in the morning. So bye-bye to some of my more laborious cereals and hello Special K with Protein. But it MUST say Protein on the box. My DH has mistakenly bought the regular one (which scores only a 23) and we had to return it. It is a little sweet, very filling, and it lasts me until Almond Time.
5. Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Pita Bread: Score of 65
These very flat pitas are so satisfying. We go through at least two packages of these a week because everyone in our house seems to like them. And the score is much better than most other breads or pita products.
6. Skim Milk: Score of 91
This is just one of those perfect foods. You get some protein, your Vitamin D and your Calcium. I’ll admit, I probably was not getting the recommended number of dairy servings per day until we switched to milk delivery in glass bottles. I was even able to get the kids to switch to skim. There I go talking about them again. This post is about MY favorites.
7. Tropicana 50 Pulp-Free with Calcium Orange Juice: Score of 81
This is a recent find from when I blogged about juice. We were drinking Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice with Calcium and Vitamin D with a score of 51. Now we’re drinking 30 points higher because the Trop 50 has less sugar. I really think they should change the name though. It makes me think that it is juice for people over age 50. And I’ve got 11 years before I get there. Note: Make sure you buy the one that says “with Calcium and Vitamin D”. The other Trop 50 right next to it scores much, much lower.
8. Quaker Steel Cut Oats: Score of 60
They take a long time to cook, so I often make a big batch and reheat them on busy weekday mornings. These oats are for Mommy only. My daughter loves oatmeal, but not this kind. Even the purple container could not win her over. But I love their sticking power. It’s all about getting me to Almond Time.
9. Chick Peas: Scores vary
And this is why I need NuVal in my grocery store. Because while I do have access to the scores because I work there, I can’t remember them when I am trying to pick out the chick peas that have the best score. Progresso chick peas get a 58, but the Food Club organic brand that I can buy at my local Roche Brothers store, get an 82. Yes, I’ve had a long-time love affair with chick peas. A friend and colleage of mine dubbed me the Queen of Leafy Greens and Chick Peas back in the ’90s. They are just the protein you need on salad.
10: Vegetables: Scores vary, but they are really high
Yes, I am a veggie lover and I have been one since early childhood. I used to ask my mom, “Can I have lettuce for my treat tonight?” and she’d say, “Well, OK. Only if you’re good.” When I get back from traveling or a vacation where veggies were scarce, I feel the difference. And it makes me crabby. My favorites are asparagus (100), arugula (100), broccoli rabe (100) and brussels sprouts (94). My husband knows to just let me order that $6 plate of one of these when we go out to dinner. The good news is that frozen vegetables without additives score really well too. I always have a bag of frozen brussels sprouts in my freezer in case we run out of fresh veggies before that weekly shopping trip.
So that is what is on my shopping list each week. Next week, I’ll post on my kids’ Top Ten list. What’s on your Top Ten List? I’d love to hear about it.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Chobani, Greek yogurt, Special K, Top Ten (Mommy), Trop 50, almonds, chick peas, flax pita, frozen grapes, skim milk, steel cut oats
