The grocery store was insane on Sunday afternoon! Holy moly! I guess that I shouldn’t be so surprised, considering it was Sunday afternoon and all, but I didn’t expect it to be that crazy.

To deal with the grocery store insanity, my husband and I divided our shopping list and hit the aisles on our own. Dividing and conquering the list made our trip to the grocery store so much faster than if we had shopped together.

Shop

Here’s this week’s cart:

• Arugula (NuVal score: 82)
• Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins (NuVal score: 37)
• Canned tomatoes
• Heinz Ketchup (NuVal score: 3)
• Non-fat milk
• Granny Smith apples (NuVal score: 96)
• Eggland’s Best Eggs (NuVal score: 33)
• Whole Wheat Penne
• Tomatoes (NuVal score: 96)
• Cucumbers (NuVal score: 93)
• Bananas (NuVal score: 91)
• Celery (NuVal score: 96)
• Onion (NuVal score: 93)
• Carrots (NuVal score: 99)
• Deli ham
• Finlandia Swiss cheese slices (NuVal score: 24)
• Shrimp (NuVal score: 75)
• Romaine lettuce (NuVal score: 100)

Trade

Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey (NuVal score: 33) for Shrimp (NuVal score: 75)

Nature’s Pride Double Fiber 100% Whole Wheat Bread (NuVal score: 31) for Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins (NuVal score: 37)

Save

Instead of buying apples individually, I purchased a whole bag, which cost me about half the price per apple! You can also save money by buying oranges and potatoes this same way. Just make sure that you will eat them all– otherwise, you are just throwing away money!

Recipe Contest

Don’t forget to enter the Trading Up Downtown Recipe Contest!:)

Hello everyone!  I am Ashley from Food, Fotos, and Fun!

Tina has graciously given me the opportunity to do a guest post about NuVal at my local Hy-Vee in Ames, IA.  I decided to focus on cereal since it is one of the few things I buy as a college student living in the dorms and eating in the cafeteria for 14 meals a week! I decided to start my little adventure in the Health Foods section of the store (called the Hy-Vee Health Market).

For the most part, the NuVal scores in this area were higher than in the regular cereal section, BUT not as high as I thought when looking at the boxes.  Also, when you’re a college student, the price is pretty important, so I’m going to do a little comparison of that too!  First, just so you know, the score range for cereal is 4-100, with the median being 25.  Cereals with higher NuVal scores tend to have more whole grains and fiber and less sodium and sugar.

• Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs: $3.09, NuVal score 90
• Kashi U: $4.99, NuVal score 41
• Kashi Island Vanilla: $4.39, NuVal score 36
• Kashi Honey Sunshine: $4.39, NuVal score 31
• Kashi Good Friends Cinna-Raisin Crunch: $4.29, NuVal score 24
• Kashi Strawberry Fields: $4.29, NuVal score 11
• Alpen: $4.49, NuVal score 87
• Shredded Wheat Original (18oz): $3.99, NuVal score 91
• Shredded Wheat Wheat’n Bran (15oz): $3.99, NuVal score 91
• Hy-Vee Shredded Wheat (17.2oz): $2.49, NuVal score 89
• Mom’s Best Naturals Toasted Wheat-fuls (24oz): $2.79, NuVal score 91
• Mom’s Best Naturals Mallow-Oats: $2.79, NuVal score 15
• Peanut Butter Bumpers: $4.69, NuVal score 14

Some key things I’d like to point out from this list.  First is the surprise that Kashi Strawberry Fields has a LOWEST score of the cereals I looked at – even lower than the Mallow-Oats!

Second is the fact that just because something is natural or organic and located in the Health Foods section does not mean it’s all that healthy, such as with the Peanut Butter Bumpers that advertise that they’re made with “real natural peanut butter.”  Also, the Peanut Butter Bumpers were quite pricy considering their nutritional value!

Third, I’d like to look at costs comparisons, specifically with the shredded wheat cereals, all of which had great scores from 89 to 91.  The Post brand was the most expensive, and therefore taken off my list. BUT, the next best buy would actually be Mom’s Best Naturals Toasted Wheat-fuls, NOT Hy-Vee Shredded Wheat because Mom’s Best gives you more ounces for the price! It pays to comparison shop!  And here are just a few of the pictures I took (while shoppers eyed me as though I was some crazy out-of-towner) for you to peruse:

Thanks for reading!  Feel free to check out my personal food blog Food, Fotos, and Fun!

Everyone loves a good deal, right? I know that I do! So, I’ve decided to start a new feature on Trading Up Downtown called Deal of the Week. My Deal of the Week posts will feature creative and budget-friendly ways to shop, but not just at the grocery store. I’ll include shopping tricks and tips that span other areas of shopping– from home decor to dining out to travel.  Hopefully, it’ll become a fun and useful part of the blog!

Kicking off this new feature is votive candles!

Three votive candles cost me just $1 at my local dollar store. Not too shabby, right? I really love white votive candles– they’re simple yet sophisticated– but blue ones seemed to jive better with the decor in my bathroom.

Adding just a few votives to your decor can make a big impact, especially when grouped together. I used a small glass candle holder and an old jam jar to display my blue votives on the shelf in my bathroom.

Looks nice, right?

Another idea is to scatter votive candles about a table to help set the mood (as seen in the image below from Real Simple). Votive candles can definitely add a significant impact to a table top.

As you can see, inexpensive votive candles can enhance any room decor or occasion without spending a lot of money.

In honor of National Nutrition Month, I have decided to hold a recipe contest on Trading Up Downtown. But, not just any ol’ recipe contest– one that requires you to “trade-up” at least two ingredients in it.

The recipe can be anything that you want– from baked goods to casseroles to microwave meals– anything goes. Just make sure to “trade-up” at least two ingredients. To give you an idea, my recent Pizza Dip post is a good example of “trading-up” a few ingredients to make a recipe more nutritious.

Rules:

• All recipes must include at least two (2) ingredients that have been “traded-up”
• Recipes must include the NuVal score for all of the “traded-up” ingredients. (If you don’t have access to NuVal scores, just drop me an email with the items for which you need scores, and I will get them to you ASAP.)
• All recipes must be received by Wednesday, March 31, 2010
• Email your recipe submission to thaupert@nuval.com
• Recipes will be judged on creativity and overall nutrition

Prize:

The winner will receive a NuVal prize pack, which will include:

• NuVal t-shirt
• Real Simple’s Best Recipes: Easy, Delicious Meals
• A couple of high-scoring food products, including a jar of Teddie Unsalted Old Fashioned Natural Peanut Butter (NuVal score: 49) and a product of the winner’s choice.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! Happy cooking!