A Better Bag of Groceries

The Thing About Salty Snacks

Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 07:15 AM

One of the things that I love best about NuVal is that we score everything – even categories that you don’t traditionally think of as “healthy.”  Like salty snacks.  Truth be told, I ♥ salty snacks.  I usually get a craving for something a little salty in around 3 or 4 pm.  Sometimes I satisfy that craving with some Triscuits (Original score a 32) and some hummus (Tribe Roasted Garlic hummus scores a 48).  But technically that’s not a “salty snack”.  Categorically speaking, that’s a “cracker” and a “refrigerated dip” in supermarket-speak. 

Today, I’m talking about salty snacks.  You know – the kind you put out when you’re having a birthday party.

Salty snacks range in score from 1 to 55 on the NuVal scale.  The average score is a 15.  Lay’s Classic Potato Chips score a 15. 

To find out more about what drives the scores in Salty Snacks, I checked in with the NuVal dietitians.  They really know their stuff!

Here’s what I found out:

• Salty Snack Scores can vary depending on the amount of sodium, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and fiber the product contains.  Snacks with the lowest scores have highly varied fat and sodium content—between 0 to 9 grams of saturated fat and 30-540 mg of sodium.  Snacks with the highest scores have the most fiber, least sodium, and primarily use oils with the most unsaturated fatty acids.
• Snack scores at the top end of the scale often have lower sodium and saturated fat.
• Many of the snacks with the highest scores are made with whole grains which contain dietary fiber. Some of the higher scoring products also contain flax seed which is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

• Sugars can be found in snacks like coated pretzels, caramel flavored corn pops, popcorn, nuts, and kettle corns. Many snack foods combine the classic combination of sweet and salty so remember to check the NuVal score which can pick up on the snacks with added sugars.

I got more info from the NuVal dietitians on what to look out for.  The dietitians comments are very professional and in regular text.  My comments are in italics (and they are a little more off-the-cuff!)

Stuff to Watch Out For:

• Snacks made of primarily of whole grains, such as whole kernel corn, sweet potatoes, or soy flour rank in the upper 50 percent of salty snacks on the NuVal scale. Avoid snacks with pork rinds, corn meal, corn starch, sugar and/or corn syrup listed as one of the first ingredients as these foods are more likely to have high saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar levels as well as may contain trans fats. (OK – I will definitely watch out for anything containing pork rinds!  Bleech!)

• Although many of the salty snacks have 0 grams trans fat listed on the nutrition facts label, some products list partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list. Though there may not be enough trans fats to required it listed on the label (manufacturers can round down anything under less than .5 grams to zero), NuVal helps you spot the better choices by assigning products with trans fats with a lower score. (OK – this one always amazes me.  So there can still be up to .49 grams of trans fat in a product, but it might not be listed on the label.  That’s why you have to look at the ingredient list for partially hydrogenated oil!  Really?  See – that’s why we need NuVal everywhere!  NuVal captures both the Nutrition Facts Panel and the ingredient list.)

• While “Vegetable Chips” may seem like the healthier option because of their name, they may not necessarily be your best snacking choice. These products can range from a score of 46 (Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips)  to a score of 25 (Flat Earth Garlic & Herb Field Baked Veggie Chips).  The main differences in vegetable chips lie in the first few ingredients—the highest ranking products have vegetables as the first ingredient while the lowest have rice flour, potato flakes, and corn oil as their first. The NuVal system can help you to read beyond the catch phrases and trendy fad words to truly assess the nutritional value of a product. (I have this argument with my daughter all the time.  She is always trying to get me to buy veggie chips because after all, Mom, they are VEGETABLES!)

• While pretzels are praised for their lack of fat, they provide little-to-no positive nutritional value and therefore score low on the NuVal scale. The primary ingredients in pretzels are wheat flour, sodium, and sometimes partially hydrogenated oils which provide little beneficial nutrition. Instead, look for snacks made with whole grains and not hydrogenated oils.  (Yes, this one, to me is a bummer.  I ♥ pretzels.  But most run-of-the-mill pretzels score below a 10.  You can find some that score higher.  Such as Snyder’s of Hanover Multigrain Pretzel Sticks, which score a 29).

So, that’s the thing about Salty Snacks. 

Question of the Day

What’s your favorite Salty Snack?

Posted by: Melissa 11 comments

Posted in: Salty Snacks

Tags: chips, Pretzels, Salty Snacks

Cooking With Kids: Re-enacting A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 07:07 AM

What were your Thanksgiving traditions?  I vividly remember spending time at my Grandmother’s 1940′s ranch-style house, spending the morning watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on her big color cabinet style television set (no remote back then) while we colored paper placemats with Crayola crayons.  Every now and then we’d sneak into the kitchen to steal a black olive or a stick of celery filled with cream cheese, while the delicious aroma of roasted turkey began to fill her little house.  These days, so many parents I know (the kind who are blowing out 40 or so candles on our birthday cakes) are enjoying watching all the Peanuts holiday specials with our kids.  I think it’s because they take us back to that time gone by.  It was a big night when A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was on TV.  You only had one chance per year to watch it back then! 

Now, we own the DVD and my kids love all the Peanuts specials, but there is something about the Thanksgiving episode that is so calming, so peaceful.  I even have music from the Thanksgiving special  (not just the Christmas music – which is also awesome) on my Ipod.  I think it is the calm before the storm that the Christmas frenzy has become.  I just love that moment when all the kids climb into the back of the station wagon (without seatbelts!) and sing “Over the River and Through the Woods” on the way to Charlie Brown’s Grandmother’s condominium.  What an awesome grandma, he had, by the way!  Sure, Charlie Brown – bring all your friends over to my tiny condo on a major holiday with no advance notice!

So, for all you Peanuts fans out there, I have a fun activity to do with your kids:  re-enact A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!  We did this last year – on Thanksgiving Day, for lunch, actually, because we were having a late dinner.  And this year, we will do it on the Weekend Before The Big Feast.  Or, my friend Jodie Fitz, suggests, hosting another family for Movie Night, watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and serving this for dinner.  Fun!

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner (with NuVal  scores, of course!)

Wheat Toast (choose a 100% Whole Wheat bread, such as Sara Lee Heart Healthy Plus 100% Whole Wheat Bakery which scores a 44on the NuVal scale.  Most butters and spreads score a 10 and below, so add sparingly).

Popcorn (you want to make it the old-fashioned way, just like Snoopy did.  See my blog post comparing regular popcorn to microwave versions.  The score differences are amazing.  Orville Redenbacher’s Original scores a 91.  Microwave popcorns all score a 28 and below).

Pretzel Sticks (Ok, pretzel lovers, you are not going to like this.  Most typical pretzel sticks score under a 10.  However, I researched the scores and I found that there are some multi-grain and whole grain pretzel sticks that score better.  Try Utz Organic 7 Whole Grain Pretzel Sticks with a NuVal Score of 29or Snyder’s Of Hanover Multi Grain Pretzel Sticks Lightly Salted with a NuVal Score of 31)

JellyBeans (Those you see pictured are Mike and Ike’s which get a whopping NuVal Score of 1.  So do Jelly Belly’s, Brach’s and pretty much all the jelly beans I researched.  Pure sugar.)

Yes, this year, we’ll be having our 2nd Annual Re-enactment of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner.  I guess it’s become a tradition.  So, someday, maybe my kids will be blogging about how they remember making toast and popcorn and eating jelly beans every year on Thanksgiving!  

Question of the Day:

What is it (food, smells, television) about Thanksgiving that brings you back to a time gone by?

Posted by: Melissa 10 comments

Posted in: Cooking with Kids, Popcorn, Pretzels, thanksgiving

Tags: Charlie Brown, Peanuts, Popcorn, Pretzels, thanksgiving, Toast