Trading Up Downtown

The other day, I stumbled upon a recipe for Stracciatelle with Escarole and Chickpeas on Prevention.com. At first, I wasn’t too excited about it, but once I got a better look at its ingredients, I knew it was a winner because the recipe includes lots of high-scoring ingredients, including broccoli (NuVal score: 100), carrots (NuVal score: 99), escarole (NuVal score: 96), and garlic (NuVal score: 96) among other nutritional all-stars. The recipe is also easy to make and very affordable at less than $2 per serving!

Serves: 4 (Price per serving: $1.71)

Prep: 12 min Cook: 20 min Total: 32 min

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (NuVal score: 11)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (NuVal score: 96)
• 2 large carrots, shredded (NuVal score: 99)
• 1 medium head escarole, shredded (NuVal score: 96)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 3/4 cups water
• 1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets (NuVal score: 100)
• 1 can (14-19 ounces) Eden Organic Chickpeas No Salt Added (NuVal score: 100), rinsed and drained
• 2 Eggland’s Best Eggs (NuVal score: 44)
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) freshly grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and carrots and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, or until tender.
2. Add half of the escarole; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the escarole is wilted. Add the remaining escarole and the pepper; cook, stirring for 2 minutes, or until wilted.
3. Add the broth, 2 1/2 cups of the water, the broccoli, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender.
4. In a small bowl, using a fork, stir together the eggs, cheese, and the remaining 1/4 cup water. Slowly pour into the soup and stir briskly with the fork to create fine threads.

Trading Up Downtwon Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered this week’s Larabar giveaway! Here’s your winner: 91!

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

A lot of people think they are doing themselves a favor by eating a turkey burger instead of a regular hamburger. Turkey burgers are plenty tasty, but are they really more nutritious for you? Well, with the help of NuVal, they’re not all that much more nutritious for you. Check out that NuVal scores below:

• beef, hamburger or ground beef  (70% lean) (NuVal score: 24)
• beef, hamburger or ground beef (95% lean) (NuVal score: 32)
• turkey, ground, lean (93% lean) (NuVal score: 33)

As you can see, the 95% lean ground beef scores nearly as well as the ground turkey. Who knew?

If you’re looking for a more nutritious burger option at your next barbeque, veggie burgers are typically a good bet. Check out some of the brands that score high on the NuVal scale:

• Dr. Praeger’s Italian Veggie Burgers (NuVal score: 55)
• Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers (NuVal score: 51)
• Amy’s Texas Veggie Burgers Barbecue Flavor (NuVal score: 50)
• Gardenburger Veggie Medley Veggie Burgers (NuVal score: 49)
• Dr. Praeger’s Bombay Curry Veggie Burgers (NuVal score: 48)

What’s your favorite kind of burger?

Over the years, I’ve sampled many Larabars. I can’t say that I’ve tried them all, but I’ve tried enough flavors to rank them in a blog post!

When it comes to the NuVal scale, granola bars range from 2-57 and the median score is a 19. The majority of Larabars score better than “average,” so they’re typically a nutritious option for a snack.

Check out how my favorite Larabars score on the NuVal scale. My absolute favorite bar is in position numero uno and the ranking goes down from there.

1. Coconut Cream Pie (NuVal score: 23) THE COCONUT CREAM PIE FLAVOR IS HEAVENLY! It’s like eating a coconut macaroon, but better tasting! It’s easily my favorite Larabar! FYI: This bar has a whopping 7 grams of saturated fat, which brings down its NuVal score.
2. Ginger Snap (NuVal score: 43) Mmm… this bar is basically a soft, moist ginger snap cookie in bar form. It’s flavor is slightly sweet with ginger spiciness. Love it!
3. Lemon Bar (NuVal score: 32) SO delish! This bar has a very strong and tart, but refreshing lemon flavor, which sort of reminds me of the tangy-ness of a lemon square. I’m a big fan of this one!
4. Chocolate Coconut Chew (NuVal score: 28)Holy moly! This bar tastes just like eating a brownie! The chocolate is a bit more subtle than a rich, fudge-y brownie, but the unsweetened cocoa harmonizes well with the coconut and nuts mixed throughout the bar.
5. Cherry Pie (NuVal score: 40) I love the tart cherry flavor of this bar! Each bite is an explosion of soft, chewy cherry in your mouth.
6. Key Lime Pie (NuVal score: 24) The flavor is a mix of tangy lime and sweet coconut, both of which are very strong. The bar has a very light color to it, which is very key lime pie-esque, but different from the usual dark date color of the other Larabar flavors. Bits of white coconut and tiny almond pieces are mixed throughout the bar. Overall, this is a fantastic bar!
7. Apple Pie (NuVal score: 57) This bar is loaded with pieces of almonds and walnuts, and has a sweet apple and cinnamon flavor. It reminds me of homemade apple crisp. This bar is also the highest scoring Larabar we’ve scored to date.
8. Cashew Cookie (NuVal score: 32) The Cashew Cookie bar is slightly sweet and a little buttery. It definitely reminds me of a cashew-flavored cookie, but much more subtle flavor.
9. Pecan Pie (NuVal score: 46) This flavor was a tasty bar (soft and sweet), but the “pecan pie” flavor didn’t stand out.
10. Peanut Butter Cookie (NuVal score: 31) I was really excited to try this flavor, mostly because of my love of peanut butter and cookies, but sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The peanut butter flavor didn’t come through at all.

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Giveaway time! I’m giving away 10 Larabars to one lucky winner!

All you have to do to enter is a leave a comment on this post about your favorite granola bar WITH its NuVal score. You can earn an extra entry by tweeting about this giveaway– just be sure to leave a second comment on this post with your tweet. I’ll randomly pick a winner tomorrow morning.

Good luck!