Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 08:14 AM
One of the best things about my job with NuVal is that I have had the chance to meet with and to work with many of the women who have been awarded the coveted title of Women of Influence in the Food Industry. As I was searching through the past winners from 2006, 2008, and 2009, I discovered that my boss was awarded this honor in 2007. Wow!
Last week, we had the honor of meeting with a very accomplished woman who is also a past winner of the Women of Influence title to discuss the possibility of NuVal within her organization. During our meeting, she stopped the discussion to ask about the scores for Kashi frozen dinners. Turns out – she had recently purchased some – she is a busy Mom, after all – and she was very curious about their scores.
Now, before I reveal these Kashi frozen dinner scores, it is important that you know a little bit about frozen dinners and how they score on the NuVal scale. The scores for frozen dinners really range – from a 2 to an 81. The average score of a frozen dinner is a 20. That being said, there are some Kashi frozen dinners that score well and some that score kind-of-average.
Here are the highest scoring Kashi frozen dinners I could find:
Kashi Black Bean Mango, NuVal Score of 34
Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake, NuVal Score of 36
Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake, NuVal Score of 40
And the highest-scoring Kashi frozen dinner of all (drum roll, please) is Kashi Pesto Pasta Primavera, with a NuVal Score of 44.
So, those are the highest scoring Kashi frozen dinners. As I mentioned above, there are also some Kashi frozen dinners that score sort of ho-hum. Among them are:
Kashi Lemongrass Coconut Chicken with Broccoli, NuVal Score of 27
Kashi Sweet and Sour Chicken, NuVal Score of 27
and Kashi Chicken Florentine, NuVal Score of 26
Those scores hover awfully close to the average frozen dinner score of 20.
Remember I said that frozen dinner scores range all the way from a 2 to an 81? Well, I can imagine that this potential client, who was curious about Kashi frozen dinner scores, would also be curious about the low and high scores in the range. So here’s a sample of the highest and lowest scoring frozen dinners in the category:
High Scoring
- Earth’s Best Elmo’s Pasta and Sauce With Carrots and Broccoli: NuVal Score of 81
- Helen’s Kitchen Meat-Free Chicken Tofu Steaks: NuVal Score of 66
- Tai Pei Frozen Shrimp and Vegetable in Garlic Sauce: NuVal score of 66
- Amy’s Brown Rice and Vegetable Bowl: NuVal Score of 50
A lot of times we think that the brand we associate with “Healthy” (like Kashi) will be the Highest Scoring, but sometimes there are lesser-known brands that take the prize!
Low Scoring
- Midwest Country Fare Chow Mein Noodles: NuVal Score of 2
- Budget Gourmet Classics Rigatoni in Sauce with Broccoli and White Chicken: NuVal Score of 3
- Boston Market Salisbury Steak Two Patties: NuVal Score of 4
- Bertolli Four Cheese Ravioli in Tomato Basil Sauce: NuVal Score of 4
Oooooof! Those low scores were no surprise, although the last one sounds kind of yummy.
Question of the Day
Do you buy frozen dinners? If so, what kind?
Yesterday’s Winner
Congratulations to Commenter #69 Stacie, author of the blog Imperfectly Healthy. You’ve won the Nutrition Bar Giveaway! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can send your prize out to you. Thank you to everyone who entered!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: frozen dinners, Kashi
Tags: frozen dinners, Kashi
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 06:56 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday! I make the second work day of each week a bit more bearable by hosting a fun giveaway and one lucky commenter gets to try a new product with great NuVal scores. This week, in honor of it being the first full week of Autumn, I thought it was only appropriate that we kick things off with Kashi Autumn Wheat.
Yes, Fall really is here! There are leaves all over my backyard already. My neighbors have pumpkins on their doorsteps. My kids have narrowed down their Halloween costume choices (I think we have one SuperGirl and one Obi-Wan Kenobi). Autumn is indeed in the air, so this week, the giveaway is Kashi Autumn Wheat which scores a 40 on the NuVal scale. That is a great cereal score when you consider that the average score for cereals is a 27. So, Autumn Wheat fans (and I know there are many out there) should feel good about their choice!
However, I could not host a Kashi giveaway without throwing in the Rock Star of Kashi products, Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs. They score a 91 on the NuVal scale. Whoa!!!!! That’s like Post Shredded Wheat. Maybe the winner of this giveaway could alternate: eat Autumn Wheat one day, eat 7 Whole Grain Puffs the next. Or eat Autumn Wheat on the days when the temperatures are feeling like Fall, eat 7 Whole Grain Puffs on those days when it still feels like summer. Oh, the possibilities are endless!
In any event, it’s a great giveaway. So, here’s how to enter…
To Enter
Just leave a comment below telling me your favorite Kashi cereal. You can leave an extra comment (and be entered twice) if you know the NuVal score for that cereal. I will randomly choose the winner at 8 am Eastern Time on Wednesday, so don’t delay! Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Kashi, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Kashi
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 06:59 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. Today’s Topic: Granola!
I’ve never been a huge granola eater because I’ve always been wary of the amount of fat and calories that some granolas can contain. As a long-time Weight-Watcher, granola just was never Point-worthy to me. However, a small amount of granola mixed in to one of my favorite Greek yogurts makes a great snack, so I’ve been sampling some these days.
Granola scores really run the gamut. In Today’s Giveaway, I’ve included the Rock Star of all Granolas (Bear Naked Fit) and a Kashi Granola also (because soooooo many A Better Bag of Groceries readers love Kashi). Check out how their NuVal scores compare:
- Bear Naked Fit: NuVal score of 91
- Kashi Mountain Medley: NuVal score of 31
Wow! Big difference! Whoever wins this Giveaway will have to taste-test both of them and let me know how they compare.
To Enter
One lucky winner will win both the Bear Naked and the Kashi granola. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me how you like to eat your granola. You can enter twice by telling me the NuVal score for anything in your second message. For example, if you like to mix your granola into your non-fat plain Chobani Greek yogurt, the NuVal score is 94. You can find lots of examples of NuVal scores on this blog, on www.tradingupdowntown.com and on www.nuval.com. I will choose one winner at 7 am EST tomorrow. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Granola
Tags: Bear Naked, Granola, Kashi
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 06:57 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday! Every Tuesday, I tell you about a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal and I give away something for free. Today, it’s all about Kashi TLC.
Kashi, a company that is associated with health and nutritional foods, has some very high-scoring products and some very low-scoring products. I’ve blogged about Kashi before, most notably in my Adult Rated Cereal post, where I point out that there are Kashi cereals that score a 91 and then there is one that scores an 11. My point is that just because the name Kashi is on the label does not mean that it is a nutritional juggernaut. However, the three products that you see in this photo all have great scores in their categories.
Let’s look at them one by one.
Kashi Organic 7 Grain Tasty Little Crackers score a 27 on the NuVal scale. When you consider that the average score for crackers is a 16, that is a great score. Compare it to Keebler Wheatables with a score of 5, and it is a fantastic score.
Kashi Oatmeal Rasin Flax Tasty Little Cookies score a 40 on the NuVal scale. Compare that to the average score for cookies (a 7), and it is super. Compare it to Archway Classic Oatmeal cookies with a NuVal score of 3, and it is Super-Duper.
Kashi Tasty Little Chewies All Natural Granola Bars, Trail Mix score a 33 on the NuVal scale. The average score for Snack Bars and Granola Bars is a 20, so the Kashi TLC do pretty good, right? You might think that the Cascadian Farm Fruit and Nut Chewy Bars would score better than average too. Well, they don’t. They only get a 14.
So, all three of these Kashi TLC products are superstars in their respective categories. This summer, I am challenging Moms out there to see if you can get your kids to trade up. Instead of packing Wheatables for the beach, try some of the TLC crackers. Send your child to camp with a TLC granola bar instead of one of the “kid” brands. And serve some Kashi TLC cookies along with a cool beverage at your child’s lemonade stand. You will feel good knowing your kids are getting better nutrition.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will win all three Kashi TLC products. Just leave a comment below telling me your favorite Kashi product. Leave a second comment with the score of that product and you will be entered twice. You can search this blog, tradingupdowntown or the NuVal website for some sample scores. I will choose one winner at random at 7 am Eastern Time on Wednesday. Good Luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Kashi, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Kashi, Kashi TLC
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 06:50 AM
Welcome to Trade Up Tuesday, a super day to visit A Better Bag of Groceries, because I talk about Trade-Ups I’ve made since learning about NuVal and I give away something for free. Today, in the spirit of Mother’s Day (which I personally think should last a week!) I put together a lovely little gift that I know I would like to receive: Cookies and Chocolate!
When it comes to dessert, cookies and chocolate are the things that I crave the most. I’m really not a cake person. My lack of desire for cake makes me feel like I’ve been given some sort of gift in the Craving Department. I easily say no to cake. Especially yellow or white cake with sickeningly sweet frosting. Bleeech! I don’t love it and I turn it down just about every time. Good thing because I feel like at least once a week there is an occasion where I’m offered a piece of cake. No thanks! Same thing holds true for sugary candy (Twizzlers, jelly beans, Swedish Fish). It’s just not my Go To treat.
That being said, I do love a treat once in a while, but for me they usually are in the form of a cookie or dark chocolate. The cookies and dark chocolate that I’m giving away today are the highest scoring of the bunch.
Cookies, as you can guess, do not get the same high NuVal scores as do something like Fruit. The scores for cookies range from 1 – 40, and the average score for a cookie is a 7. These Kashi TLC Oatmeal Raisin Flax cookies are the highest cookie we’ve scored so far at NuVal. They get a 40. Kashi does make a version of this cookie where they throw in some dark chocolate, but those cookies only get a 24. Bummer!
Dark chocolate is something that I absolutely cannot resist. Even if it’s just a few dark chocolate chips, I have a little bit every day. I remember the moment when I was reviewing the scores on the shelf at a Price Chopper supermarket (how cool that I get to do that as part of my job!) and I found out that this chocolate bar got a score of 21! Most of the other dark chocolates I’ve seen get scores below 10, so when I saw that, I was in heaven!
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky commenter will receive these High Scoring Treats and a NuVal t-shirt. All you need to do is leave a comment below, telling me about a Trade-Up you’ve made since learning about NuVal. If you haven’t made one yet, check out this blog or Trading Up Downtown for ideas. You can also check out sample scores on the NuVal site. I will choose one winner at random at 7 am EDT time Wednesday. Good luck!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cookies, Kashi, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: Cookies, dark chocolate, Kashi
