Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 08:14 AM
NuVal Score of 99
It’s Wordless Wednesday. So I’ll keep my lips sealed (and my fingers off the keyboard), sit back, and see what you all have to say about today’s photo. The comment line is now open for business!
Yesterday’s Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to Commenter #31, Mila. You are the lucky Barney Butter Giveaway winner! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can ship your prize out to you. Thanks to everyone who entered! Loved your “splurge stories.”
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Wordless Wednesday
Tags: Bob's Red Mill, Wordless Wednesday
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 07:13 AM
Welcome to Cooking With Catherine Katz! If you haven’t tried one of Catherine’s recipes yet, today is the day! Every recipe she gives me is simply amazing. These Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies are to die for. And they are so easy.
Catherine (second from right in this photo of Gorgeous Katz’s) is married to NuVal visionary, Dr. David Katz. Together they have 5 (count ‘em!) children.
It’s hard to believe that Catherine and I have been collaborating on this blog/recipe project for almost 2 years now. Where does the time go? Anyway, she always seems to send me the perfect recipe. This time was no exception.
This cookie recipe has only 4 ingredients! Actually, Catherine informed me that the original recipe called for baking soda and salt, but that she eliminated them to make it more nutritious. She’s absolutely right. You don’t need those ingredients.
Ingredients
3 cups Almond Meal/Flour (NuVal score of 77)
6 Tablespoons canola oil (NuVal score of 24)
6 Tablespoons agave nectar (NuVal score of 1)
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (NuVal score of 8).
This was my first time buying almond meal/flour. To keep the product fresher longer, it is suggested that you store it in the refrigerator.
I’ve had this agave nectar for a while. I was glad to put it to some use!
Directions
Measure the 4 ingredients into a bowl and mix them together.
So easy!
Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes.
I found that 9 minutes was the magic number for my oven.
These were ooey, goeey and perfect! And they keep fresh for days. We made these on a Sunday and they still tasted just as good by Thursday. (It was kind of amazing that we still had some left!) They are soooooo good. You have to try this recipe!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cookies, Cooking with Catherine Katz
Tags: Almond Flour, Bob's Red Mill, Cookies
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 07:09 AM
Welcome to Trade Up Tuesday! Every Tuesday, I blog about a trade-up I’ve made since learning about NuVal and I give away something for free. This week, I was looking through my kitchen pantry and perusing what I store in there these days. I was thinking that I wanted to host a giveaway that consisted of products that are completely new to me since I learned about NuVal. I’m talking about products that I had never purchased (or even heard of) before.
- Quinoa: OK, full disclosure here. When I first came to work for NuVal in the fall of 2008, I thought that you pronounced it like it is spelled: “quin-oh-ah”. Wrong! It’s “keen-wah.” The NuVal dietitians taught me all these incredible things about quinoa. This seed is one of the few plant foods that contain all the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Quinoa is technically a seed not a grain! As a complete protein it is equivalent to the quality of animal protein – providing the amino acid building blocks needed to support your immune system, wound healing, tissue repair, hair growth, and building hormones. In addition to protein, Quinoa is also a good source of B vitamins and other minerals. The seed is gluten free, making it a great food for those who have celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Most quinoa is grown in South America and the Inca Indians have been eating the seed, which they call “Mother Grain”, for over 5,000 years. This Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa scores an 82 on the NuVal scale.
- Flaxseed: I had heard of flaxseed, but what I didn’t know is that you need to eat it ground in order to reap the benefits. Yup. That’s another nutrition wonder that the dietitians here at NuVal taught me. Yes, flax is very nutritious. Two tablespoons of ground flax has about 3 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of health-benefiting unsaturated fats – most of which are omega-3’s. Your body can only get these fantastic fats from the ground form of flax. So when you see the seeds floating around on your bread or in your cereal – know you’re getting a great fiber kick, but the body simply can’t break them down to extract the omega-3 fatty acids. Also, try to avoid purchasing already-ground seeds as the fats are highly sensitive to oxygen and will go rancid quickly. The dietitians I work with suggest grinding them with a blender or coffee grinder as you go. This Bob’s Red Mill Natural Raw Whole Flaxseed scores a 91.
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: If you haven’t checked out my Catherine Katz recipe collection yet, you must do so. They are right up there under the recipe tab. Catherine has her own section and all of her recipes are winners. Her recipes for baked goods often call for “soft wheat flour” or “pastry flour”. This was something I could not find at my run-of-the-mill grocery store (not a NuVal-retailer, mind you). But once I found a retailer with a huge line of Bob’s Red Mill products, I found it! And now it is what I bake with all the time. I’ve replaced white flour with this whole wheat pastry flour in classic recipes, like toll house chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. And I’ve used it in new recipes, such as The Cleaner Plate Club’s Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies, Runner’s World’s Sweet Potato Muffins, and Harry Potter’s Pumpkin Bread. This Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour scores a 91 on the NuVal scale.
- Steel Cut Oats: I had made a lot of oatmeal before the Fall of 2008. And I made the real kind (in a pan, not instant). But I had no idea what Steel Cut Oatmeal was. Not a clue. Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into only two or three pieces by steel rather than being rolled. They take longer to cook and they have a different texture. I actually have made them overnight in the slow cooker. There is nothing like waking to the smell of steel cut oats wafting through your house on a cold winter’s morning. For a moment, you feel like you’ve woken up in a cozy English cottage. These Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats get a NuVal score of 58.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader is going to have a great chance to stock their pantry with some fabulous high-scoring foods. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me something that’s been new to your palate over the last year or two (or three). How did you learn about it? How do you cook it? How do you enjoy it? I’d love to hear. I’ll choose one winner at random at 8 am Eastern time on Wednesday January 25th, so don’t delay. Good Luck everyone!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Bob's Red Mill, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 07:03 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday! Tuesdays are the most popular day on my blog, because at the end of this post, there is always a giveaway! Today, I’m thinking about the word Alternative. You know, Alternative Fuel, Alternative Music, Alternative Spring Break.
I got the idea for today’s giveaway this past weekend, during my sister’s baby shower. Yes, our baby sister is having a baby!
During the shower, we were talking about how to eat more nutritiously (of course!) – and my sister, Pilates Julie, was all excited about an Alternative she had planned.
She was having friends over for dinner. “Usually, I make risotto. But I was thinking about pearled barley as an alternative. How would that score on the NuVal scale?” she asked.
“Very high,” I told her. “I will check it out for you.” I don’t bring my laptop to baby showers, so once at home, I did check it out. Sure enough, pearled barley scores a 91. The risotto only scores a 48.
I checked back in with Pilates Julie to see how her dinner with friends went. Did her friends mind that she was serving them this nutritious pearled barley instead of the usual risotto? “Oh!” she exclaimed. “It was wonderful! I served the pearled barley as the main course. I added shrimp for protein. Everyone actually preferred it over the risotto. It was so creamy – no butter or cheese needed. We accompanied it with a crisp green salad. The perfect meal.”
What a great Alternative! I thought of some other alternatives to add to this giveaway.
My friend Heather, an amazing cook, only uses Dreamfield’s pasta now. I know many people who are hesitant to trade on up to whole wheat pastas – and I get that. The texture is almost always different. However, if you haven’t tried Dreamfield’s, you absolutely must. It scores an 87 on the NuVal scale. And it is so creamy. Try it as an alternative to regular pasta (most score about a 57). Your guests or your family will never know the difference.
Brown rice (NuVal score of 82) is an aquired taste for most people – especially children! However, did you know that parboiled rice (which looks and tastes almost like white rice) also scores an 82 on the NuVal scale. It’s a great Alternative to white rice (which scores a 57). Parboiled rice is what my kids eat. They have no idea they are being so healthy.
In my daily life as a mom, sister, daughter, neighbor, citizen, shopper, businessperson, I listen to a lot of different conversations. And right now, the buzz that I hear is “I’d like to lose a few pounds” or ”I’d like to fit into those jeans again” or ”I’d like to eat more nutritiously.” But the only way to do that is to change something that you are doing. Insanity is defined as as repeating the same behavior and expecting a different result. So, these are just three small ideas of alternative foods – or at NuVal, what we call Trade-Ups.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win the Alternative Giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me one of the following:
- An alternative (or Trade-Up) you’ve made
- About a time when you did something different and it helped you achieve a goal
- Whether you are most likely to like Alternative Music, drive a car that takes Alternative Fuel, or go on an Alternative Spring Break
I’ll choose one winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday January 11th. Good luck everybody!
BREAKING NEWS
NuVal is in today’s USA Today! You can read the article here!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Bob's Red Mill, Dreamfield's, parboiled rice, pearl barley
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 07:04 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! It’s a great day! Lots of people stop by and visit to see what’s new.
This week, I was thinking about cereal. In my job, I talk about cereal – a lot. People eat a lot of cereal. So, when I explain how NuVal works, I will usually give a cereal example and talk about cereal scores. And I always, always default to Post Shredded Wheat cereal. It scores a 91 on the NuVal scale. It was one of the first scores that I learned and it sticks in my brain. I love Post Shredded Wheat, but it’s not the only cereal that scores a 91 on the NuVal scale. So, I did some research and looked to see what else scores a 91 on the NuVal scale.
Here are three other cereals that get an amazing NuVal score of 91:
- Bear Naked Fit Triple Berry Crunch
- Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs
- Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli
So, I have to remember, when I’m giving my NuVal speech at the next trade show or conference or just to another Mom waiting at the bus stop. Really, not a day goes by when I don’t tell someone about NuVal. I should spread the wealth and talk up not only Post Shredded Wheat, but some of these other Cereal SuperStars as well.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win all 3 of these Cereal SuperStars. Just leave a comment below and tell me which of these three cereals you would choose if you could only have one and how you would eat it (hot, cold, with milk, mixed in with something, on top of something). I’ll choose one winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday October 19th. Good Luck to all!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Bear Naked, Bob's Red Mill, Kashi
