• Choosing the Healthiest Foods for Your Family

    Welcome! I am a mom of a busy 7 year old and an adventurous 5 year old. I also happen to work for a great new 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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  • Disclaimer

    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.

Trade-Up Tuesday: Naked Chips and Wild Garden Hummus

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 06:52 AM

Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday, everyone’s favorite day here on A Better Bag of Groceries.  Every Tuesday, I blog about a Trade-Up I’ve made since learning about NuVal scores and I give away free stuff.  Today, I’ve chosen one of my favorite salty snacks and an amazing new hummus that I discovered.

First, Stacy’s Simply Naked Chips.  Oh, how I love these chips.  I have to admit, on most workdays, I indulge in a handful of these after I walk through the door.  I think because I typically eat a pretty low-carb lunch, I am craving something that carb-y and salty as I get started on dinner and homework.  I featured Stacy’s Simply Naked Chips as a Cart Confession  some time back.  I mean, they get the same score as Lay’s Potato Chips, so they are not really a Trade Up.  But I do love them, and hey, they score better than pretzels, which hover in the 9 – 13 range.

But the real reason that I included the Stacy’s chips in today’s giveaway is because they go so nicely with this Wild Garden Hummus Dip that I discovered at Price Chopper.  You might remember that I visited Price Chopper for their Healthy U Open House  back in March.  I love going out to our Retailer Partners, walking the aisles and checking out all the NuVal scores.  I always find something new.  This Wild Garden Hummus Dip gets a great score of 51!  That is right up there with the refrigerated hummus dips:

Cedar’s Red Pepper scores a 61

Tribe Red Pepper scores a 51

Sabra Red Pepper Hummus only scores a 26.  Boo!  Too bad.  I do love their hummus. 

You know what I love most about today’s Giveaway?  It is shelf-stable.  No refrigeration required.  Headed out for a picnic?  You can bring both of these and not even worry about having a cooler.  Invited to a party after the beach?  This is a snack you can bring along and not fret about keeping cool.  Headed to the pool with the kids?  Throw this in your swim bag.  Easy-peasy.

Today’s Giveaway

One lucky commenter will win today’s giveaway.  Just leave a comment below telling me one of your favorite summer snacks.  Leave a second comment with the NuVal score and you will be entered twice.  You can find some scores at NuVal.com, on TradingUpDowntownor (of course) by shopping at one of our Retailer Partners if you are lucky enough to live near one of them.  Right now, we have scores on shelf at Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, Meijer, United Texas and at 26 Kroger stores in Lexington, KY.  More to come really soon, by the way.

I will choose one winner at random at 7 am EDT on Wednesday.  Good Luck!

Posted by: Melissa 49 comments

Posted in: Trade-Up Tuesday

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Cart Confessions: Stacy’s Naked Chips

Friday, March 19, 2010 at 07:21 AM

Happy Friday, Blog Friends!  I thought I would head into this glorious Spring weekend – during which I can envision myself on my deck with a cocktail in one hand and a salty snack in the other – with a blog post about chips.  Not just any chips.  Chips that Mom’s eat to feel all virtuous and all.  What I mean is – something other than a Cheese Doodle.

So, it’s Cart Confession Time!  These Stacy’s Naked Chips find their way into my shopping cart every week.  To be completely honest, we actually used to get TWO bags.  But, you know, they’re not REAL chips.  They’re pita chips!  So they must be “healthy”, right?  Well, they get a 24 on the NuVal scale.  And that is fine.  The median score for salty snacks is a 17, so they’re better than “average”.  But many grown-ups probably snack on them thinking that they’re better than potato chips.  Not true!  Lay’s Original Potato Chips score a 24.  Guess what Baked Lay’s get?  Better right?  Nope, they get a 24 also! 

But Stacy’s Naked Chips MUST be better than Dorito’s, right?  Uh-uh.  Doritos score a 24 also.  Fascinating, isn’t it?  This is why I love my job!

And how about pretzels?  They must be better than potato chips, right?  Nooooooooo.  Rold Gold Tiny Twists score a 13.  Snyder’s of Hanover Thin Pretzels score a 9. 

So what’s a crunch-and-salt-craving Mom to do?  Well, there are a few salty snacks that do even better than Stacy’s, Doritos, and Lay’s:

  • Bearitos Blue Corn Tortilla Chips:  NuVal score of 40
  • Terra Sweet Potato Chips:  NuVal score of 49
  • Garden of Eatin Blue Chips with No Salt Added:  NuVal score of 52

As for Stacy’s Naked Chips – I still love them.  My husband and kids do too.  Nothing goes better with our favorite red pepper hummus.  I’ll just keep our weekly purchase down to ONE bag!

Question of the Day

What do YOU crave that is crunchy and salty?

Posted by: Melissa 12 comments

Posted in: Cart Confessions

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