Trading Up Downtown

You know how it goes…

Beans, beans, the musical fruit

The more you eat, the more you toot

The more you toot, the better you feel

Now you’re ready for another meal!

Sorry, I had to!

Canned beans are a great way to save money and boost the nutritional profile of your meals. My local grocery store, for instance, often offers a 2 for $1 sale on canned beans, which I always snap up. Canned beans are great to have on hand because they’re easy to toss into salads, pasta dishes, or even mashed and spread on a sandwich. Plus, they add lots of filling fiber and protein as well as a plethora of vitamins and minerals to meals. Beans sound like the perfect food, huh?

But, the thing about canned beans is that they’re not all created equal. Their scores vary depending on what (besides the beans) has been added to the can. For instance, my seemly nutritious Goya Black Beans only scored a 54 on the NuVal scale. (I’m not going to lie, I was pretty surprised.) It turns out the sodium content (460 mg) brought down the score. Bummer.

So, I scoured the NuVal database to trade-up my canned beans. Here’s what I found at the top of scale:

• Eden Organic Black Beans (NuVal score: 100)
• Eden Organic Navy Beans (NuVal score: 100)
• Eden Organic Pinto Beans (NuVal score: 100)
• Eden Organic Aduki Beans (NuVal score: 100)
• Eden Organic Black Eyed Peas (NuVal score: 100)
• Goya Black Beans Low Sodium (NuVal score: 91)
• Goya Chick Peas (NuVal score: 88)
• Hanover Chick Peas (NuVal score: 72)

As you can see, the Eden Organic Beans totally rock! I’m definitely going to trade up my black beans the next time I am at the grocery score. A 100 is a lot better than a 54!

Somehow, I finagled my way out of grocery shopping again this week! I’m glad that my husband doesn’t mind doing it! Like usual, we created a shopping list together and off he went to buy the groceries. All I had to do was put them away. Sounds like a good deal to me!

This week’s menu:

• Sunday: Dinner out
• Monday: Annie’s Cheeseburger
• Tuesday: Cool Chinese Vermicelli
• Wednesday: Tuna melts + roasted broccoli
• Thursday: Dinner out
• Friday: Mal’s pasta salad

This week’s cart:

• Annie’s Homegrown Cheeseburger Macaroni (NuVal score: 7)
• Whole wheat penne
• Bananas (NuVal score: 91)
• Onion (NuVal score: 93)
• Green bell pepper (NuVal score: 94)
• Wheat Thins Vermont White Cheddar (NuVal score: 23)
• Extra firm tofu
• Shredded cheddar cheese

• Scallions (NuVal score: 100)
• Vans Organic Flax Frozen Waffles (NuVal score: 34)
• Goya Black Beans (NuVal score: 54)
• House of Tsang Pure Sesame Oil (NuVal score: 8)
• Broccoli (NuVal score: 100)
• Teddie Super Chunky Peanut Butter (NuVal score: 38)
• Wish-Bone Italian Dressing (NuVal score: 3)
• Mt. Olive Petite Kosher Dill Pickles (NuVal score: 4)

Hello and happy Monday!

This week’s Trade Up Recipe is from Sami at the Freckled Foodie, where she has been blogging for about nine months now. She discovered her passion for wholesome, nutritious foods after being diagnosed with a thyroid condition that caused some huge changes for her body.  Ever since, she’s been fervent about proper nourishment for optimal health. Enjoy her Trade Up recipe!

Original Recipe

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4C.  Swanson chicken broth (Nuval score: 1)
• 1Tbsp. butter
• 1/2C.  onion  (finely chopped)
• 1 ½ tsp.  minced garlic
• 1C.  uncooked white rice (Nuval score: 20)
• 1/2C.  dry white wine
• 1tbsp.  olive oil (Nuval Score: 11)
• 4C. shiitake mushroom caps (sliced thin)
• 2tsp.  fresh thyme (chopped)
• 3/4C. frozen peas
• 6tbsp. Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan style grated topping (Nuval score: 11)
• 1/4tsp.  pepper

Trade Up Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4C.  Swanson Natural Goodness (33% less sodium)chicken broth (Nuval score: 3)
• 1Tbsp. butter
• 1/2C.  onion  (finely chopped)
• 1 ½ tsp.  minced garlic
• 1C.  uncooked brown rice (Nuval score: 82)
• 1/2C.  dry white wine
• 1tbsp. canola oil (NuVal score: 24)
• 4C. shiitake mushroom caps (sliced thin)
• 2tsp.  fresh thyme (chopped)
• 3/4C. frozen peas
• 6tbsp. Kraft Shredded Parmesan cheese (Nuval Score: 20)
• 1/4tsp.  pepper

Directions:

1. Simmer broth in a med. saucepan; keep warm over low heat.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add rice; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 C. broth; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1/2 C. at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes).

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add mushrooms to pan; cook until tender. Add remaining 1/2 tsp. garlic and 1 tsp thyme; cook 1 minute. Set aside.

4. Stir mushrooms, remaining 1 tsp. thyme, peas, 1/4 C. cheese, and pepper into rice; cook 3 minutes. Spoon about 1 1/4C rice mix into each of 4 bowls; sprinkle each with 1 1/2 tsp. cheese.