Monday, November 15, 2010 at 07:12 AM
Kaitlyn Hebert, the newest member of the NuVal team, has already earned her own little recipe corner here on A Better Bag of Groceries!
Kaitlyn (3rd from left) with Dad, Mom and Sis at Cashel Castle in Ireland
That is pretty impressive, considering that she is in the company of Catherine Katz and Rachel Rodek, both gurus when it comes to nutritious cuisine. Kaitlyn is just out of college and she is working hard in her first job, but on the weekends, she unwinds in her kitchen by working up new, creative recipes. Kaitlyn and I talk food in the office and believe me, this girl has a passion for all things culinary.
So, without further ado, I bring you Kaitlyn!
My recent trip to Ireland inspired my next recipe for all you Nuval lovers! I was a bit weary trying some of the foods in Ireland since the reviews from my sister who is currently studying there has been sub par. I quickly put all those reviews behind me and realized I enjoyed all Ireland had to offer, well besides the blood sausage that is! One dish I constantly ordered was the soup, not only because it was made from local and fresh produce, but it was a quick was to take the chill off from the wet and dreary weather there.
Once I came back to reality and back to the US I knew that I was in need for a satisfying and fresh soup recipe. I decided to make a roasted root vegetable soup with my own twist on things! Many of the soups I had over there were quite heavy from the butter and cream they had incorporated into the vegetables. However, with my newfound knowledge of NuVal, I came up with a hearty soup without the naughty thickening agents. Here is a list of items you will need…
4 large carrots (NuVal Score 99)
4 large parsnips (NuVal Score 94)
1 medium yellow onion (NuVal Score 93)
½ peeled and cleaned butternut squash (NuVal Score 100)
1 large fennel (TIP: Save the tops of the fennel to garnish your soup with!) (NuVal Score 91)
3 large cloves of garlic (NuVal Score 91)
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme (NuVal Score 91)
2lb container of Low Sodium Vegetable or Chicken Stock (TIP: By using low sodium broths you can control that amount of salt that is in your foods!)
¼ cup of Parmesan cheese (Look for a part skim Parmesan at your local grocery store)
½ tablespoon crushed red pepper
4 tablespoons of Olive Oil (NuVal score 11)
Preheat your oven to 425 while you prep your vegetables. I cut all the vegetables into similar sized chunks. Place on a large baking sheet and cover vegetables with four to five tablespoons of olive oil. This will help caramelized the vegetables and enhance the flavors. Next, sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. Be aware of how much salt you add, even though I recommend sodium free stock there is still a salty bite from the cheese that will be incorporated later in the recipe. This is the time to add the thyme to your veggie before they enter the oven for 25-30 minutes. Halfway between the roasting time I like to toss the vegetables so all corners get nice and crispy.
Once the vegetables have come out of the oven and cooled it is time for them to head to the blender. I added about a cup of vegetables at a time and added enough stock to get the puree going. The blender was on high level on a pulse mode.
After you have pureed the vegetables add the mixture to a large pot that is on simmer. Continue the process until you have gone through all your vegetables. The outcome will be a beautiful orange color soup that is thick and creamy. No need for all that cream and butter! I have a few more ingredients that will enhance the flavors of the yummy veggies. Add a half a tablespoon of crushed red pepper that will give your mouth a little kick while eating a big bowl of this soup. Also, add ¼ a cup of parmesan cheese to the mixture which adds a nutty and salty flavor to the soup. Give the pot a few stirs and let it simmer for a half hour.
I like a bit of texture to my foods which is why I made some delicious homemade whole grain croutons to top off my soup. Here is how I did it…
I kept the oven on 425 after taking my veggies out from roasting. I took a small cookie sheet and cut up four or five slices of five grain whole grain bread. I sprayed the cubes with Pam cooking spray, a dash of salt, pepper, and Parmesan if I have some handy. Bake for about 5 minutes then give the croutons a good toss. Turn the oven onto broil and put the croutons back in the oven for another 2 minutes or so. Be sure to keep your eye on the croutons so they do not burn!
Now it is time to grab yourself a big bowl and a spoon! I like to garnish my soup with a handful of the croutons, a dollop of non-fat plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Chobani Non-Fat Plain NuVal Score 94), crack pepper, and a few sprigs of fennel tops. Your bowl will look gourmet but it will be hard for you not to dig in right away! The smell and taste of that bowl will bring you back to fall in New England, but for me, it will remind me of my wonderful travels in Ireland.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Kaitlyn's Kitchen, NuVal Staff, Soup
Tags: Guest Posts, Kaitlyn's Kitchen, NuVal Staff, Roasted Vegetables
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 07:17 AM
Happy Friday Blog Friends! Meet Kaitlyn, the newest member of the NuVal Team.
Kaitlyn recently graduated from Merrimack College in North Andover, MA and joined the NuVal staff where she works on the Scoring Team. When she is not hard at work for NuVal, Kaitlyn loves to cook and to bake – and she loves to read A Better Bag of Groceries, so I quickly recruited her to write a guest post for the blog. Lucky for me, Kaitlyn was happy to oblige. So, without further ado, I bring you Kaitlyn!
Like everyone else I know, I have a sweet tooth. Since my start on the NuVal team I have been trying to incorporate healthy additions to my diet. I just can’t seem to cut out some of my delectable treats, especially brownies. I decided to do some research on the Internet to see if there are any healthy versions of brownies that I might enjoy. I stumbled across a very unique recipe. When I tell you the recipe though, I am not sure if ‘unique’ would be the first word that comes to mind.
The recipe starts out pretty standard, using a typical brownie mix you can find at any grocery store. The next step called for…black beans! Now, I was very skeptical when I first saw this. The black beans add protein and fiber to the chocolaty treat. Since the recipe was low maintenance and nutritious I figured I would give it a shot.
I opted for Ghiradellis Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix (NuVal Score of 15). I prefer dark chocolate and I thought that a brownie mix with strong flavors may be a stronger candidate for the black bean addition. Next, I added Goya black beans (NuVal score of 82) to the mix. The black beans will replace the butter and egg ingredients in a standard brownie mix. I drained the black beans to rinse of all the “junk” coated on the beans. Once rinsed, I added the beans to a blender while just covering the beans with water. I blended the beans until the mixture was smooth. Another step I chose to take was to strain the mix in case of any lumps. Sieve the mix through the strainer then whisk into the brownie dry mix. One thing I did notice is that the brownies were a bit quicker to cook than normal brownies so be sure to keep your eye on them.
Once the brownies came out of the oven I jumped right in! I have to say, they were delicious! The beans gave the brownies a great fudgy taste. They were very moist and still quite chocolaty! Even my dog, Charlie, wanted to try them! 
This could be a great way to make brownies for children, just do not tell them your secret! It is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Question of the Day
Have you tried adding black beans or chick peas when baking? What were the results?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Guest Bloggers, NuVal Staff
Tags: black beans, brownies, NuVal Staff
Friday, June 4, 2010 at 06:55 AM
I love catching my colleagues in the act. The act of trading up for better nutrition, that is. There is no way you can work for NuVal and NOT trade up. We get to see all the scores as they are hot off the press (or really, out of the lab) and well, we all find new things to try all the time.
Take Leslie
Leslie, who is my boss, by the way, has always been a healthy eater. She is one of those people who eats like a bird – always snacking on seeds and nuts. She is also a huge fan of fruit and salmon. Her typical lunch is a mix of these things: a few almonds, some fruit, some Greek yogurt and something leftover from last night’s dinner (like some salmon or chicken) thanks to her husband, Chef David. So, I was very surprised to meet up with her in her office for a lunch-time meeting to find her with a big bowl of a mystery grain.
Yes, Leslie has discovered Quinoa! By the way, until recently, I had no idea how to say this funny word. It’s pronounced Keen-Wah with the emphasis on the “Keen”. Quinoa scores an incredible 91on the NuVal scale.
I was very proud of Leslie for moving beyond seeds for lunch. But then, I did a little research on Quinoa. Thanks to my other colleague Rachel, who posted a great Quinoa recipe here on A Better Bag of Groceries a while back, I discovered that Quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain. Who knew? Well, I guess Leslie is eating even more seeds for lunch. But I admire her sense of adventure!
Question of the Day
How do you make your quinoa?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: NuVal Staff
Tags: NuVal Staff, quinoa
Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 07:45 AM
One of the best parts about my job at NuVal is that I get to work with some amazing dietitians. As someone who likes to cook, eat, and plan healthy meals, I am so lucky to have dietitians as colleagues. They are a wealth of knowledge.
Annette Maggi, MS, RD, LD, FADA, is our Senior Director of Nutrition. She lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband and their 11-year-old son.
I asked all of my fellow NuValians to share their Trade-Up stories with A Better Bag of Groceries readers. Annette answered the call and told me about a salad that her husband makes and that her son likes. I love husbands cooking and kids happily eating so I was all ears on this one!
Annette’s husband recently discovered this recipe for Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing on Rachel Ray’s Top 30 30-minute Meals. Since Annette’s husband is married to, well, Annette and since Annette is, well, a dietitian, of course they made some changes to the recipe to make a little more nutritious.
Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing
1 sack baby spinach
1/3 lb. blue cheese, crumbled (Annette’s family cuts this down to 1/4 lb.)
6 ounces walnut halves, toasted
1/4 cup maple syrup, warmed (Annette’s family uses a “no sugar added” syrup)
1 1/2 TBSP cider vinegar
1/4 cup EVOO (Annette’s family used Canola Oil instead of Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Place spinach on a large platter. Top with blue cheese and walnuts. Pour vinegar into a small bowl. Whisk oil into vinegar in a low stream, then whisk in warmed maple syrup, slowly. Pour dressing over the salad and serve.
That looks yummy! I have to try this out and see if my 6-year-old and 4-year-old like it as much as Annette’s son does. And I have to get my husband to make it!
I checked out the NuVal scores on this recipe.
The baby spinach is an Incredible Vegetable with a score of 100. Athenos Blue Cheese Crumbles score a 20. Walnuts are another Rock Star, with a score of 82. The maple syrup, as you can imagine, does not do so well. Vermont Maid Maple Syrup scores a 1. Annette warmed me that even using a “no sugar added” syrup or a “lite” syrup doesn’t change the score all that much. I found that Vermond Maid Lite syrup with no artificial sweeteners gets an 11. NuVal is not scoring vinegars because they contain no calories nor nutrients, so no score on that.
And here’s the part that I expect to get some comments and/or emails on. Extra Virgin Olive Oil scores an 11. Canola Oil scores a 24. That’s a hard fact to digest, isn’t it? I asked Annette why that is and she explained, “The real differentiator in liquid oils in omega-3 fatty acid content. Canola oil has more than 9 grams omega-3 per 100 grams of oil, followed by soybean oil with 6.8 grams omega-3, corn oil with 1.6 grams and olive oil with less than 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids.” I had no idea! I will have to look for more opportunities to trade up to Canola oil.
You can read more of Annette’s Expert Insights on the NuVal website. Additionally, Annette is starting her own NuVal blog soon, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I’m off to buy me some Canola Oil!
Enjoy!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Spinach
Tags: blue cheese, Incredible Vegetables, NuVal Staff, oils, Spinach
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 07:22 AM
I work with many amazing individuals at NuVal and I love introducing you to the great people with whom I get to work. Meet my fellow NuValian, Alison and her beautiful family!
Alison joined NuVal shortly after I did in the Fall of 2008. She began as a Customer Manager, working with Hy-Vee, one of our Pioneer Retailers who first put NuVal scores on their grocery shelves. 2009 was a year of huge change for Alison: she changed jobs within NuVal (she now works in Consumer Marketing), she packed up her family and moved from Minneapolis to Denver, and she had her second baby. Phew! I get tired just thinking about it. Alison is just back from maternity leave and she is working hard on our Consumer Marketing efforts, educating everyday people about the benefits of NuVal.
Alison, Jared and their two girls are enjoying their new home in Colorado. One interesting fact that Alison has told me about her new home is that there are many excellent Southwestern and Hispanic restaurants there. Over 20% of the population of Colorado is Hispanic and the percentage continues to grow. With more Latin and Hispanic choices abound, Alison is enjoying exploring new food products. In fact, Alison has made a huge Trade Up: from a NuVal score of 2 to a 91! How did she make such a jump? Easy – she switched from flour tortillas to corn tortillas. Who knew?
Mission Flour Tortillas score a 2
Mission White Corn Tortillas score a 91
To the untrained eye, these products look very similar. Without NuVal scores on the shelf, you many never know that there is such a huge nutritional difference between the two.
Thanks to Alison for sharing her Trade-Up story with me and Welcome Back!
Question of the Day
What’s a huge change that you’ve made in your life?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: NuVal Staff
Tags: NuVal Staff, tortillas
