• 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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    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.

Mom, does ravioli come from cows?

Friday, August 27, 2010 at 07:02 AM

This is the question my seven-year-old son asked this morning as we were rushing around to get the kids to summer camp, my husband to his train on time and me to the office.  It definitely made my husband and I stop and have a good laugh for a minute.

I can see why my son would think that ravioli comes from cows.  My kids love ravioli and by Thursday – when I am dead tired from a long week – it’s a meal solution that sounds great to me.  Boil some water, open bag, plunk it in, stir.  Also, our milk delivery service comes on Thursday – in a truck that is painted like a cow. 

In addition to glass-bottled milk and Rhode Island farm fresh eggs, we often buy ravioli from our milk man because they get it from the famous Venda Ravioli  on Federal Hill in Providence.  So, it makes sense that my son would think that ravioli comes from cows, since we get ours from our milk man!

We have not scored Venda ravioli at NuVal.  It is a local product that is not stocked at any of our Retailer partners (yet!).  However, as you might guess, most run-of-the-mill ravioli does not do so well on the NuVal scale:

  • Mama Rosie’s Round Cheese Ravioli:  NuVal score of 4
  • Louise Frozen Cheese Ravioli:  NuVal score of 9

However, if your kids are huge ravioli fans and you would like to trade up for better nutrition, you could consider the following:

  • Mama Rosie’s Low Fat Cheese Ravioli:  NuVal score of 27

And sometimes I buy that kind at the supermarket too. 

My son’s question this morning did make me think, though, while driving to work.  Do our children really know where their food comes from?  Should we have spent more time visiting some farms this summer instead of swimming at the pool?  I always get so frustrated with teenage cashiers who don’t know their asparagus from their Belgian endive, but my son just asked me if ravioli comes from cows!?!  I think that we all have a lot of educating to do.

Interestingly, my son has also started to read nutrition facts panels on products this summer.  He likes to read calories and vitamins, but he is most focused on calcium and he believes that the more he can get in his diet, the sooner we will become a true Jedi fighter.  Yesterday, he was sipping a juice box and he said, “Hey Mom.  This box says that is is a good source of calcium on the front.  But it only says 10% on the side.”   Hmmmmmm.  He may think that ravioli comes from cows, but he is one smart cookie.

Posted by: Melissa 6 comments

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