Trading Up Downtown

I love oatmeal. For me, there’s nothing better than a warm, creamy bowl of old-fashioned oats with a scoop of Teddie peanut butter on top. But, I didn’t always eat my oatmeal this way.

Before discovering old-fashioned oats, I only ate the instant variety. I didn’t think that I had time to make oatmeal from “scratch.” Plus, taking the time to clean up? Forget about it. A packet of instant oatmeal that I just added hot water to made much more sense for my busy lifestyle… or so I thought.

After reading food blogs for many months and seeing bloggers with full-time jobs, children, and other responsibilities swear by old-fashioned oats, I knew that I needed to give them a try.

Turns out that the old school oat-lovers were right. Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats cook in just 5 minutes, require little clean-up, and, best of all, they score a lot higher than my usual instant oatmeal. Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats score a 57 on the NuVal scale.

Check out how little time it takes to make a yummy batch of banana (NuVal score: 91) and pomegranate (NuVal score: 91) old-fashioned oats on the stove top:

Now that I have worked at NuVal for a few months, I’m so glad that I made the switch to old-fashioned oats. They’re much more nutritious for you. Even though instant oatmeal is really handy, it pales in comparison to old-fashioned oats. Check out the NuVal scores for a number of instant oatmeal varieties.

• Quaker Instant Oatmeal – Original: 39
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal – High Fiber Cinnamon Swirl: 28
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal – Low Sugar Maple Brown Sugar: 27

As you can see, they don’t even come close to the Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats!

If you’re curious about steel cut oats, Quaker’s score even higher– they get a 60.  While they do take quite a bit longer to cook (~30 minutes), it’s worth the wait if you want trade-up the nutritional value of your oatmeal.

After last week’s big grocery shopping, this week’s trip was much more manageable. Basically, my husband and I picked up the “necessities” for the upcoming week.

This week’s cart:

• Van’s Gluten-Free Waffles (NuVal score: 25)
• Triscuit Thin Crisps (NuVal score: 27)
• Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat Bread (NuVal score: 33)
• Barilla Plus Angel Hair Pasta (NuVal score: 91)
• Mushrooms (NuVal score: 96)
• Broccoli (NuVal score: 100)
• Bananas (NuVal score: 91)
• Grape tomatoes (NuVal score: 96)

• All Whites Liquid Egg Whites (NuVal score: 26)
• Vanilla Soy Milk
• Non-Fat Milk
• Cucumber (NuVal score: 93)
• Chunky Teddie Peanut Butter (NuVal score: 38)
• Onion (NuVal score: 93)
• Cannellini Beans
• Old-Fashioned Oats

Trade

Barilla Angel Hair Pasta (NuVal score: 61) for Barilla Plus Angel Hair Pasta (NuVal score: 91)

Pepperidge Farm Honey Whole Wheat (NuVal score: 28 ) for Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat (NuVal score: 33)

Save

Stock up on your favorites when they go on sale: Triscuits were on sale for 2 for $5, which is a pretty decent price. Usually, they’re $3 a box, but being on sale,  we purchased two boxes– one for now and one for later. Might as well stock up at that price!

What do you consider your grocery “necessities” for the week?

NuVal Survey

Over the next couple of months we will be working hard to make improvements on NuVal.com. Please think about your last visit, or visit NuVal.com today, and tell us what you think. If you take the survey by February 15th, you will be entered to win a $100 gift card for a grocery store of your choice.

Quality, Nutrition Gain Importance

Interesting article about how shoppers are pressured into seeking bargains in the grocery store, but their quest for high quality, nutritious foods has not lessened: Quality, Nutrition Gain Importance.

Last weekend, my husband and I went grocery shopping together like we normally do. As we were wandering the store isles, checking off items from our list, my husband noticed a new type of pasta that neither of us had ever tried. I remember reading on A Better Bag of Groceries that Barilla Plus pasta scored higher than most, but I just figured store-bought pastas basically scored the same on the NuVal scale.  Even still, I tossed a box into our shopping cart.

When it was time to cook our pasta dinner, we went all out! The meal included Barilla Plus Angel Hair Pasta, marinara sauce, grated Parmesan cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and homemade garlic bread. Besides the mushrooms, dinner wasn’t the most nutritional meal, but I was  surprised to learn just how high the Barilla Plus Angel Hair Pasta scored on the NuVal scale.

It turns out that Barilla Plus Angel Hair Pasta scores a 91! Who knew? This is a much better score than the regular Barilla Angel Hair Pasta, which scores a 61. I’m so glad that I decided to trade up!

So, why does the Barilla Plus score so high? Basically, it comes down to better nutrition.

Here’s the nutrition fact panel for Barilla Plus Pasta:

Not too shabby, right?

Moral of the story: Not all pastas are created equally!

Introducing Nutrition Outlook

NuVal is thrilled to announce their newest blog: Nutrition Outlook, written by NuVal Registered Dietitian, Annette Maggi. Annette’s goal with her blog “is to get you to think about nutrition as it stands today, and to think about the subject of what you eat more broadly, more comprehensively.  My goal is to connect the dots for you, and make healthy food more of a reality and a joy in your life.” Be sure to check it out!

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered! I loved reading all of your money-saving tips– I’m definitely going to “steal” some of them!

Here’s your winner: 116

• 116. Amy, on January 26th, 2010 at 4:20 pm Said: I have my grocery store’s weekly circular e-mailed to me, so every week when I get it, I plan my weekly meals based on the produce that’s on sale. It saves a lot of money, particularly during the winter months when produce is at it’s most expensive.

Congrats, Amy! Please email me at thaupert@nuval.com with your full name and mailing address.