• 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.

  • Sign up for email updates here!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

  • Contact Me

    I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email me.

    You can also follow me on Twitter @MelisaNutrition and my RSS feed.

  • 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.

Guest Post: Tina’s Favorite Things

Friday, March 4, 2011 at 07:23 AM

So, my sister-in-law is due to have her baby tomorrow. Remember her?  She comments here a ton and we threw her a very special baby shower.  At the shower, we gave her all sorts of motherly advice.  The advice I should have given her?  Your child will get sick.  It’s not a bad omen – it’s a fact of life.  And when it happens, you will have to scramble to figure out alternate plans.  Thankfully, Tina Haupert, who also blogs for NuVal, graciously jumped in for me today and took one thing off my plate.  Love Tina!  I am very excited for her book coming out in May!

Tina

Hi, everyone! Melissa is home taking care of her sick daughter, so I am helping her out with a guest post on her blog. I love it when Melissa writes about her Two Favorite Things on ABBG, so I am taking her lead and blogging about some of my favorite things.
Smoothies

I’ve been on a serious smoothie kick lately. Of course, I love how they taste– they’re smooth, cool, and creamy– but I also love that smoothies are a really nutritious meal or snack if you use ingredents that score high on the NuVal scale. Some of my favorites are frozen bananas (NuVal score: 91), blueberries (NuVal score: 100), ground flaxseed meal (NuVal score: 100), Chobani Non-Fat Plain Greek yogurt (NuVal score: 94), and Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin (NuVal score: 94). The possibilities are endless! Recently, my favorites smoothie recipes are Gingerbread, Banana Bread, and Pumpkin Pie.

iRun Like a Girl Beanie

I run year-round, so I’ve learned a thing or two about how to stay warm while hitting the pavement. On my runs, I layer up my clothing and make sure to cover my hands and head. It might sound weird, but my hat is my favorite part about getting dressed. I’m in love with my performance beanie from iRun Like a Girl. It’s lightweight and sweat-wicking so it doesn’t get itchy and sweaty while I am running. And the best part: it has a hole in the back for my ponytail, so it isn’t mashed again my head while I run. It is a MUST on my winter runs!

Stainless Steal Drinking Straws

If you read my blog, Carrots ‘N’ Cake, you’ve probably seen these Stainless Steal Drinking Strawsjust about every morning in my iced coffee. I LOVE them!! I used to use a plastic straw every morning in my iced coffee and just throw it away. These straws are environmentally-friendly and budget-friendly. You’ll never have to buy a straw again and you’ll help keep all of those plastic straws out of our landfills.

Yoga

Earlier this week, I challenged myself to a month long of regular yoga practice. My goal is to practice yoga for at least 20 minutes three days a week for the rest of the month. I have an intense racing schedule starting this coming weekend and not ending until the second weekend of April, so I want to regularly practice yoga to help keep my body healthy. Yoga is good for the mind, body, and soul.

Question of the Day

If you had written for me today, what would you have put on your list of favorite things?

Posted by: Melissa 4 comments

Posted in: Guest Bloggers

Tags: , , , , ,

Guest Post: Tina’s Granola

Monday, May 10, 2010 at 06:53 AM

Hello Blog Friends!  After a weekend of celebrating my 40th birthday and Mother’s Day, Tina Haupert so kindly offered to write a post for today.  For those who have not yet met Tina, you are in for a treat.  She is the author of  Carrots N Cake and a superstar in the world of healthy living blogs.  She also works for NuVal, helping with social media strategy and writing the blog Trading Up Downtown.  So, without further ado, I hand things over to Tina (who is not turning 40 and who is not a Mom – yet)!

Granola is one of my favorite foods ever. In fact, I love it so much, I usually eat multipleservings in one sitting. (It’s actually sort of impressive!) But, as many of us know, store-bought brands of granola can be deceptively high in fat and calories and low in nutritional value. Check out the NuVal scores of these seemly nutritious granolas: 

  • Cascadian Farm Maple Brown Sugar Granola: 16
  • Cascadian Farm Granola Oats and Honey: 18
  • Quaker 100% Natural Oats & Honey Granola: 22

Not all granola scores this low, however. Bear Naked Fit Granola, for instance, gets a 91 on the NuVal scale. But, making my own granola at home allows me to chose the most nutritious ingredients possible. Plus, it’s so easy to me and saves me quite a bit of money!

Tropical Blend GranolaRecipe adapted from Real Simple’s Easy Granola Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 cups Quaker old-fashioned rolled oats (NuVal score: 57)
  • 1 cup Diamond Sliced Almonds (NuVal score: 81)
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil (NuVal score: 24)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 bag Emerald Tropical Blend dried fruit (NuVal score: 24)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the oats, almonds, coconut, and pepitas with the maple syrup, oil, and salt.
  2. Bake, tossing once, until golden and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
  3. Add the dried fruit and toss to combine. Let cool.

Posted by: Melissa 5 comments

Posted in: Granola, Guest Bloggers

Tags: ,