• Choosing the Healthiest Foods for Your Family

    Welcome! I am a mom of a busy 8 year old and an adventurous 6 year old. I also happen to work for a great company called NuVal. NuVal is a nutritional scoring system that rates foods on a scale of 1-100, based on how nutritious they are. We are implementing NuVal in grocery stores around the country.

    NuVal may not be in your area yet. But I see the scores while they are "hot off the press" and because of that I am able to make better decisions about what to feed my family.

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  • Disclaimer

    I am not a registered dietitian. I am just a mom who happens to work for NuVal. I am also an AFAA-certified Group Exercise Instructor. NuVal is a system designed to lead customers to the most nutritious food choices. It is not a diet or weight-loss plan. Before starting a diet, you should always consult your personal physician. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC.

Trade Up Tuesday: My Summer Breakfast Favs

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 06:55 AM

Summer, Summer, Summer!

My favorite season may not officially be here yet, but in our household we’re already getting an early start on enjoying it. 

We’ve been to our favorite playground…

My son got to attend a clinic with the Pawtucket Red Sox  and sleep overnight at the stadium in a tent.  (So cool!)

And we even made an early trip to the beach in Newport, RI.  (Yes, the water was c-c-c-old).

I mean there are things that I love about all the seasons, but summer is definitely my absolute favorite – hands down!  So, for today’s Trade Up Tuesday giveaway, I thought I would giveaway my favorites when it comes to summer breakfast.  And you know what?  These are definitely brands that I did not know about until I started working at NuVal!

First, there is Alpen Muesli.  This all natural Muesli with no added sugar gets a score of 81  on the NuVal scale!  And I love Muesli!   It’s like granola without guilt.  I like to add blueberries or slices of nectarine.  Yum!

Second, there is Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Heirloom Whole Grains Ancient Grains.  These crunchy flakes score a 32  on the NuVal scale (above the cold cereal average of 27).  I love them with ice cold skim milk and native strawberries.

And in the middle there is my favorite from Dunkin’ Donuts:  Dunkin’ Dark.  I was so happy when Dunks came out with this variety of darker-than-their-regular coffee.  And the nice thing about this coffee is that you can enjoy it hot or cold.  This coffee (or any coffee, for that matter) does not have a NuVal score, because we’re not scoring coffee since it does not have nutrients.  But that does not mean I can’t give it away.  :-)   Because for me to keep up with my kids this summer, I need two things:

  1. Energy (thus the muesli and the whole grain flakes)
  2. Caffeine (not too much, of course.  just enough to get me going)

Today’s Giveaway

One lucky reader will win my Summer Fav Breakfast Giveaway.  All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me either:

  • What you’re doing to kick summer off early

or

  • Your favorite summer breakfast

I’ll choose one winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday June 8th, so don’t delay.  Good Luck!

Posted by: Melissa 49 comments

Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday

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Trade-Up Tuesday: Oatmeal

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 06:50 AM

Oatmeal Giveaway

Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday!  It’s my weekly feature where I share a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal.  I mean “share” in the literal sense, because one lucky commenter will receive a Giveaway. 

The forecast here in New England is for single digit temperatures by the end of the week.  That means it is officially Oatmeal Season!  So, today I share with you my Oatmeal Story.

Back in the day BC (Before Children), I was an instant oatmeal girl.  My mom was (and still is) a nurse.  That meant that when I was growing up, she had to go to work at the crack of dawn.  We went to our neighbor’s house early with our little packets of instant oatmeal in hand and our fabulous neighbor made us our breakfast and got us off to school.  As an adult, when I traveled for Big Consulting company, instant oatmeal was one strategy I had for keeping on track.  When you’re at a conference and you’re faced with a hotel breakfast buffet filled with ginorous bagels and danish, you can always make your oatmeal in a mug with the hot water intended for tea.  Instant Oatmeal, however, while handy at times, pales in comparison nutritionally to cooked varieties.  Quaker Instant Oatmeal with Maple & Brown Sugar scores a 25 and the High Fiber version only brings the score up to a 27.

Fast forward to my life as a Mom and you find me making Quaker Old Fashioned Oats.  They cook in 5 minutes and I’m lucky that my schedule allows me to do this for my daughter.  They score a 57 on the NuVal scale.  Sometimes I make a big batch ahead and reheat during the week.

Quaker’s Steel Cut Oats score even higher. They get a 60.  They do take quite a long time to cook – 30 minutes.  Alas, my daughter does not like them.  Not even the purple container could win her over.  These oats are for Mommy only.  And Daddy too. 

Today’s GiveAway

Leave me a comment telling me about a Trade Up you’ve made since learning about NuVal.  If you haven’t made one yet, check out the NuVal site at www.nuval.com and you will find a trade-up you’d like to make.  I’ll choose one commenter at random to win 1 box of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and 1 box of Quaker Steel Cut Oats.  The contest ends at 11:59 EST tonight.  Good luck!

Posted by: Melissa 48 comments

Posted in: steel cut oats

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