A Better Bag of Groceries

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: Carrots N Cake, Favorite Things, Guest Post, Tina Haupert, Tina Trades Up, Two Favorite Things

Tina Trades Up!

Monday, April 26, 2010 at 06:56 AM

Hello Blog Friends!  My husband surprised me with a long weekend on Cape Cod to celebrate my 40th birthday.  The kids are at Grandma and Papa’s for three whole nights!  So, I thought it would be good timing for you to hear from someone else who works for NuVal - Tina Haupert!

Tina is an award-winning healthy living blogger with a humongous following on her own famous blog, Carrots N Cake.  She and I connected last fall and she came to work for NuVal in October.  She also writes a NuVal blog called Trading Up Downtown.  It’s pretty amazing to work with Tina and to hear all her stories.  She’s always doing cool blogger things, like making cakes with Kelly Ripa!  So, without further ado, I bring you Tina!

In general, I incorporate a number of healthy foods into my diet, but there’s always room for improvement, right? Even when it comes to the milk in  my morning cup coffee, I know it’s possible to trade up its nutrition.

As a kid, I drank tons of low-fat milk. My sister and I could easily go through a gallon of 1% milk in just a few days. It was nuts how much milk we drank. When I moved out and went off to college, however, I stopped drinking milk as often. Sure, my college had it in the dining halls, but it wasn’t something I’d keep in my dorm room.

Once I graduated from college and moved into my own apartment, I started to buy milk again. But, since I was watching my calories, I opted for the non-fat version. Non-fat milk is a very nutritious option, but when it came to my morning cup of coffee, it was like adding water! It didn’t lighten my coffee at all. I love creamy coffee, so I switched from non-fat milk to soy milk and never looked back.

Ever since I started working at NuVal, I’ve paid much more attention to the nutritional value of the foods that eat. When I realized that soy milk scores an 82(Silk Soymilk LightMilk) on the NuVal scale and non-fat milk scores a 91, I knew it would be an easy trade up, so I decided to give the non-fat version another try.

Adding non-fat milk to my coffee still makes it watery, but now I just leave more room for it. I still love soy milk in my morning cup of coffee, but every few days, I make sure to trade up my milk selection for the more nutritious option.

Thanks Tina!  Lots of our NuVal employees have made trade-ups for better nutrition.  Read about Tyler, Alison, Annette, Leslie and Laura here!

Question of the Day:

How do you take your coffee?

Posted by: Melissa 8 comments

Posted in: Milk, Uncategorized

Tags: Milk, Tina Trades Up, Uncategorized