Trading Up Downtown

When the opportunity arose to write about shopping with NuVal, I was so excited!  I was introduced to NuVal this past fall, in one of my classes, and took an immediate interest in the system.  My professor described an innovative nutrition labeling system that one of her dietitian friends was working with.  I stayed after to ask the professor if I could get in contact with her friend and graciously she passed along my request.  The RD I was introduced to works for a company called Topco and Associates, LLC that works with NuVal.  I spent the remainder of the semester getting to know this RD (who so kindly introduced me to food blogs) and researching NuVal.

Being a dietetic intern and graduate student I realize more everyday the need for a more simplistic nutrition labeling system.  The more clients and patients I speak with, the more I feel that there are so many problems with the standard nutrition label.  In a country with an obesity epidemic consumers need a quick and easy way to know what kinds of foods they are eating.  I really feel that NuVal is a step in the right direction!

When I was doing my NuVal research and learned that Meijer was going to be one of the first stores to implement NuVal, I was ecstatic!  I’ve been a loyal Meijer customer from the time I was being pushed around in the cart.  I often made the weekly trip there once a week with my mom and helped her do the grocery shopping.  Now that I live in Chicago where there aren’t too many Meijer stores around, I realize how much I miss shopping there, especially with them now having NuVal!

Over spring break, I went back to Michigan and headed to Meijer for some groceries.  I paid special attention to all the NuVal labels and was SO shocked at the scores for some of the products.  For example, eggs only received a score of 33 while fat free sour cream received a score of 91, WOW!

NuVal also made my trip super easy to compare products.  For yogurt, Brown Cow scored a 23 while Chobani scored a 94.  Not all brands have labels, but it sure does make narrowing down your choices so much easier!

I’m so excited for the potential that NuVal holds and hope other grocery stores follow suit and sign up!  It makes grocery shopping easier and healthier!

Even though my refrigerator was totally empty, this week’s trip to the grocery store ended up being relatively small. I made it a point to meal plan and check the food situation in my kitchen before leaving the house.

Shop

• Non-fat milk
• Tomatoes (NuVal score: 96)
• Cucumbers (NuVal score: 93)
• Bananas (NuVal score: 91)
• Celery (NuVal score: 96)
• Brussels sprouts (NuVal score: 94)
• Sun Maid pitted dates (NuVal score: 91)
• Pink grapefruit (NuVal score: 99)
• Hodgson Mill Bulgur Wheat Hot Cereal with Soy (NuVal score: 93)
• Vanilla soy milk
• Nature’s Pride Double Fiber Bread (NuVal score: 31)
• Sweet potato (NuVal score: 96)
• Broccoli (NuVal score: 100)
• Red pepper (NuVal score: 96)
• Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers (NuVal score: 51)
• Siggi’s yogurt

Trade

Now don’t get me wrong, I love to eat old-fashioned oats for breakfast, but every once in awhile, I like to switch things up. This week, I traded up my Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats (NuVal score: 57) for Hodgson Mills Bulgur Wheat Hot Cereal with Soy (NuVal score: 93).

Save

I really wanted to buy my favorite variety of apple, which are Jazz, but they were $1.99 per pound. The Gala apples were on sale for $1.69 per pound, so I opted for the cheaper option. Gala apples are a great alternative to my beloved Jazz apples and they are just as nutritious. Both varieties scores a 96 on the NuVal scale.

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered the tea and cookies giveaway!

Here’s your winner: 36

Fresh fruit is my favorite healthy snack. It’s quick, easy, and highly portable. Recently I’ve been on a HUGE pear kick. I think I’ve eaten more pears in the past two months than I have in the past two years!

I also love bananas (score 91!), but I’m so picky about their ripeness level I generally eat them in things (oatmeal and green monsters) rather than on their own.

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

When I work at NuVal, I drink a lot of tea. I probably drink 2 or 3 mugs per day– Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride, peppermint, Sleepytime Vanilla…  I love them all!

Drinking all of this tea got me wondering about how it scores on the NuVal scale. It turns out that bagged tea is actually not scored by NuVal. There are some categories of foods that NuVal does not score, including tea, coffee, cooking sprays, vinegar, salt, baking soda, water, tonic water, seltzer, club soda, lemon juice, lime juice, yeast, and spices that have less than fifteen calories.

The reason, you ask? Annette Maggi, MS, RD, LD, FADA, Sr. Director of Nutrition for NuVal LLC explained that if a product has no calories or nutrients, the product is not scored. However, this doesn’t mean that these foods don’t have a place in your eating habits. Water, for instance, does not receive a NuVal score, but is very important to overall health.

So, are my multiple mugs of tea each day a nutritious choice? I think so! Hot tea keeps me warm, hydrated, and usually satisfies my snack cravings. Although, sometimes, I just need a delicious cookie with my tea to really satisfy my cravings!

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Here’s your chance to win some tea and other goodies! Check out this prize pack:

• Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Gardens tea
• Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookies (NuVal score: 24) 
• Flower-shaped cookie cutters
• NuVal t-shirt

To Enter: Leave a comment about your favorite healthy snack. You’ll get an extra entry if you include a NuVal score with your comment!

I’ll randomly pick a winner tomorrow morning. Good luck!

Recipe Contest

Don’t forget to enter the Trading Up Downtown Recipe Contest! The last day to enter is next Wednesday, March 31!