Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 06:53 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, I’m giving away some fantastic crackers that I first sampled at – of all places – my hair salon!
OK – full disclosure here – you can take the girl out of Rhode Island, but you can’t take the Rhode Island out of her hair. By that I mean that I did grow up in Rhode Island (a little state sort of known for Big Hair). I now live in Massachusetts. But every six weeks, like clockwork, I make the trek down to North Providence to go see Karen at Avanti Dezigns. I love her! And I love Avanti! One of the things that I love most about Avanti is that it is staffed by a bunch of hairstylists who love food and cooking almost as much as they love good hair. So the conversation is always interesting. And that is how I came to try Mary’s Gone Crackers – on a visit to Avanti. They were delicious!
Fast forward a few weeks, and I find myself in the aisles at the Walpole, MA Big Y, shopping the NuVal scores in the aisles. They have a great Gluten Free section at Big Y and I’m always curious to see what’s new there. That’s were I spied the Mary’s Gone Crackers.
There’s the Original with a NuVal Score of 37…
The Black Pepper with a NuVal Score of 37….
and the Herb with a NuVal score of, you guessed it, a 37!
Now although I had sampled these crackers (in my hair salon, with foil on my head), I was unaware of the scores until I saw them at Big Y, so the 37s were a nice surprise. Cracker scores range from a 1 to a 91 and the average score is a 16. Honestly, the crackers that score a 91 are 100% whole wheat unsalted matzos (not really a cracker that I would serve at my next cocktail party). I usually use my beloved Original Triscuits (which score a 32) as a good benchmark when it comes to high-scoring crackers. So, I was thrilled to see that Mary’s Gone received a 37 – because I loved them and I could eat them every day!
Today’s Giveaway
One very, very lucky winner will win these gluten-free, wheat-free Mary’s Gone crackers – all three boxes! All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what you would like to eat your crackers with. Bonus: You can enter TWICE by leaving a second comment telling me the NuVal score of that item. You can find scores for items on the NuVal website, or by searching this blog or Tina’s blog, Trading Up Downtown. Don’t delay. I’ll select one winner at random at 8 am on Wednesday Eastern time. Good Luck
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Crackers
Tags: Crackers, Gluten Free, Mary's Gone
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 07:08 AM
There’s nothing like a healthy lunch to make me feel good. That is something I’m trying hard to pass along to my kids as well.
Here’s a sneak peak inside two lunches that went out the door at our house today.
First, my son’s lunch for school.
In his Transformers lunch box, you will find:
- Ham and Cheese sandwich on Freihofer’s 100% Hearty Whole Wheat bread (NuVal score of 33 for Freihofers)
- Chobani Champions Strawberry Banana Greek yogurt (not yet scored – I am eagerly awaiting the score on this new Chobani product for kids)
- Del Monte Fresh Cut Green Beans with No Salt Added (NuVal Score: 100)
- Horizon Organic Reduced Fat Milk (NuVal Score: 55)
- One Lunch Box Note reminding my son to pay it forward
More about those Lunch Box Notes later in this post!
He also took some Chocolate Teddy Grahams (NuVal Score of 25) and a Minute Maid Fruit Falls (NuVal Score of 41) for his afternoon snack. It’s always a challenge to pack something that will sit in his warm backpack until the 2 pm snack time!
I took some extra time to pack a nice healthy lunch for myself as well.
This is actually my morning snack and lunch. I eat a lot of food!
Morning Snack
- Strawberries (NuVal Score: 100)
- Chobani Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt (NuVal Score: 94)
Lunch
- Romaine Lettuce (NuVal Score: 100)
- Red Leaf Lettuce (NuVal Score: 100)
- Cucumber (NuVal Score: 93)
- Cocktail Tomatoes (NuVal Score: 96)
- Goya Cannellini Beans (NuVal Score: 57)
- Dressing of Olive Oil (11), Balsamic Vinaigrette, Kosher Salt and Black Pepper)
- Cedar’s Red Pepper Hummus (NuVal Score: 61)
- Central Market Toasted Whole Grain Wheat and Flax Crackers (NuVal Score: 36)
- Orange (NuVal Score: 100)
- Ghiardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (NuVal Score: 8)
I was a little disappointed by the score on the Cannellini beans. I thought they would be higher. I’ve been spoiled by the Beans That Scored 100!
Those Central Market Toasted Whole Grain Wheat and Flax Crackers were a great find!
The average score for crackers is a 16. So a cracker that scores a 36 is great. And they taste great too! I found them on my last visit to Price Chopper.
Packing a healthy lunch is no easy task! And in my case, it takes a lot of containers. My lunch bag was bulging!
Today’s Bonus Giveaway
As you know, I usually reserve giveaways for Trade Up Tuesday, but the nice people at www.sayplease.com were kind enough to send me some Lunch Box Notes to give away after I wrote about them in Two of My Favorite Things. They sent me Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Lunch Box Love for Kids:
I love these notes! There are even some blank ones inside so that you can personalize your message. And if you are not a Mom, you could win these and give them away to a Mom that you love for Mother’s Day. Also check out their site for:
- Lunch Box Love for Girlfriends
- Lunch Box Love for People You Work With
- Lunch Box Love for Those You Appreciate
To enter, leave a comment below telling me what’s in your lunch bag today. You can enter twice by leaving a second comment with the NuVal score for something in your lunch bag. Check out the NuVal site for some sample scores. I’ll pick one winner at random by 7 am EDT Friday. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: bread, Chobani, Crackers, Lunch, Salad, tomatoes
Tags: bread, Chobani, Crackers, Lunch Box Love, Salad, tomatoes
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
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 06:24 AM
It’s Trade-Up Tuesday and today I’m giving away some of the NuVal Rock Stars in the Cracker Category. I have to admit, I’m a little worried that y’all might not be too excited about crackers. I mean if Ernie (from Sesame Street) like cookies, his best friend Bert is the cracker guy. But you Bloggies prove me wrong all the time, so maybe this will be a big GiveAway after all.
Personally, I am a Cracker girl. I always crave something a little crunchy and a little salty, especially in those late-afternoon hours, when dinner is still a while away. Also, as a mom, I have the difficult challenge of packing shelf-stable snacks in my son’s backpack that he will eat at about 2 pm in his first grade classroom. Crackers are lightweight, portable, and they don’t get all brown & mushy (like sliced apples).
Crackers score between 1 and 91 on the NuVal scale. That is a wide range! But the median score for Crackers (1/2 score above it, 1/2 score below it) is only a 14. My kids like Cheez Its, which score a 13 on the NuVal scale. So, I set that as my low bar. When looking for a “better than average” cracker, I’ll often ask myself, “Is it better than a Cheez It?”
My kids will eat Wheat Thins and Triscuits, so those are great choices. Wheat Thins score a 24 on the NuVal scale. Surprisingly, 100% Whole Grain Wheat Thins only get a 1 point improvement – to a 25. Who knew? Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits score a 32.
For a real cracker Powerhouse, I turn to Ryvita Rye and Oat Bran crackers. They get a NuVal score of 87! I spread a little hummus on them and enjoy them with a salad for lunch. Interestingly, when I’m snacking on some Ryvita & hummus, my kids will ask for some too. And they will eat them! So much better than a Cheez It.
Today’s GiveAway
As I said, I’m worried that you all might be yawning over the idea of winning some crackers, so I’m also throwing in a NuVal t-shirt. They are awesome! Just leave me a comment below, telling me one Cracker score you find interesting or suprising. Cracker scores are right here.
I’ll select one lucky winner at random. The contest closes at 11:59 PM Eastern time tonight. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Crackers, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Crackers, wheat thins
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 02:05 PM
This weekend, my friend (a NuVal newbie) and I were discussing my next blog post while we supervised our kids swimming in the pool. It went like this:
Me: I think I’ll write about Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. They get a pretty good score, you know. They get a 24.
My Friend: A 24? That’s not a good score! That’s low!
Me: No, no! A 24 is really good when you’re talking about crackers.
Anyway, this exchange reminded me that I need to inform my readers that you can’t get 100 in every category. See, here’s the deal: many fruits and vegetables score in the 90 – 100 range. Skim milk does too. But you also need to eat protein and grains, etc. And then there are treats. You’re not going to find a cookie that scores a 100 (nor would you want to eat one if you did). So, when you’re talking about crackers, the scores range from 2 – 87. The median score (half score above it, half score below it) for crackers is a 14.
With all that said, let’s get back to Goldfish – a staple in ever toddler’s diet. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Cheddar score a 24. Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies get a 6. That is not a typo – that is a 6! Not everything in the organic/healthy section of your grocery store is nutritious.
Now that my kids are getting bigger and they are eating A LOT of crackers with all the swimming they’ve been doing, I’ve been tempted to move on to something a little more mature than Goldfish. Like Cheez Its. My kids love Sponge Bob Cheez Its (so much for maturity). They get a 15, slightly better than Original Cheez-Its which get a 13. I could try to get them to eat Keebler Townhouse Bistro Multigrain Crackers. Don’t they just sound so up-scale and healthy? They score a 2!
So I guess we’ll be eating Goldfish for a while!
Here are some other cracker scores:
Nabisco Triscuit 29
Kashi TLC 7 Grain Crackers 27
Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies Whole Wheat 27
Sunshine Reduced Fat Cheez Its 23
Nabisco Wheat Thins 23
Nabisco Cheese Nips Reduced Fat Cheddar 9
You can see more cracker scores here.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Crackers
Tags: Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, Crackers, Goldfish
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, I’m giving away some fantastic crackers that I first sampled at – of all places – my hair salon! 
