Trading Up Downtown

After last week’s huge shopping, we didn’t need to buy a lot of food this week. Plus, I took a look at what we already had in our kitchen and cabinets, and created a meal plan for the week based on what I found, so our shopping list ended up being pretty short.

Here’s this week’s cart:

• Store brand whole wheat pasta
• All-purpose flour (NuVal score: 77)
• Indian Head Cornmeal
• Bananas (NuVal score: 91)
• Avocado (NuVal score: 89)
• Onions (NuVal score: 93)
• Store brand soy milk

• Cooking spray
• Thomas Whole Wheat Bagel Thins (NuVal score: 32)
• Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Bread Soft Honey Whole Wheat (NuVal score: 33)
• Wilson Pepperoni Slices
• Kraft Italian Three Cheese Shredded (NuVal score: 23)

Save

This week’s Save was all about assessing what was in our kitchen before I went grocery shopping. When assessing my kitchen, I take the time to move things around and really see what I have on-hand. Most of the time, I am surprised by what I find– a jar of marinara sauce, a can of chick peas, a half-used box of pasta. So, instead of buying these items again or letting them go to waste, I incorporate them into the coming week’s menu. Taking these few extra minutes to examine my refrigerator really helps me focus my shopping list, which, ultimately, saves me more money at the grocery store.

Trade

This is a small trade-up, but it’s still a trade up! Higher the score = better the nutrition!

Thomas Plain Bagel Thins (NuVal score: 28) for Thomas Whole Wheat Bagel Thins (NuVal score: 32).

Exciting news! NuVal is now available at Lowes Food Stores, a provider of great products and customer service in 108 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

“We are proud to introduce the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System. Most shoppers find nutrition information confusing and difficult to interpret, but NuVal makes it faster and easier to compare nutrition and make better food choices,” shared Steve Hall, President of Lowes Foods. “NuVal LLC’s mission to guide consumers to the most nutritious foods on the shelf is a perfect fit with Lowes Foods’ commitment to help customers save time and live healthier lifestyles. It is one more way that Lowes Foods is “Good For You.”

This is the latest move from Lowes Foods to support customers in their efforts to improve the health and wellness of their families and fight childhood obesity. Lowes Foods has been committed to helping customers make better nutrition choices for over 15 years. Lowes Foods was among the first supermarket chain in the country to employ a nutritionist to answer customers’ questions and educate the community. In 1997, Lowes Foods launched Be A Smart Shopper, a nutrition-oriented field trip program for elementary school aged children. Over 25,000 students each year tour Lowes Foods stores and learn how to make smart food choices.

Using NuVal, Lowes Foods’ customers will:

• Easily discover the more nutritious products in a store. Consumers wanting to know what cereals (or other product categories) have more nutrition only need to take a look at the NuVal Scores and choose the higher number.
• Be able to “act like an expert,” using the knowledge and research of more than a dozen of the country’s best nutrition experts, who spent two years creating the ONQI (Overall Nutritional Quality Index), the scientific engine used to determine NuVal Scores.
• Get more nutrition for their budget, as they can now compare items side-to-side and determine which product offers the better value, not just in price, but in nutrition as well. For instance, consumers may find that some varieties of frozen or canned vegetables score the same as fresh produce on the NuVal Scale.
• Be able to better compare name brand to store brand products. In many instances, consumers will learn that a store’s private label item is just as nutritious as the more expensive national one.

Lowes’ customers can look for scores with the NuVal System’s trademark blue hexagons on shelf tags throughout the store. NuVal Scores are calculated for a wide variety of categories, including meat, seafood, poultry, salty snacks, milk, yogurt, vegetables (fresh, frozen and canned), cereal, bread, cookies, soft drinks, and crackers, among others. Ultimately, the NuVal System will guide U.S. consumers in all food categories with no influence from food manufacturers.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a great article in Family Circle magazine called 42 Ways to Cut Everyday Costs. I love saving money, so I read through the article and took note of a bunch of smart strategies to budget and save money on shopping, health care, travel, and more.

Two of the tips that immediately jumped out at me were related to cell phones and cell phone bills. My husband and I spend a fortune on our cell phone bill each month. We also have a bunch of old cell phone laying around the house collecting dust, so these two tips were super useful to me, and I just wanted to share them with you!

• Recycle old cell phones on yournew.com and get cash back– recycling two cell phones earns you an average of $65. List your model, answer a few quick questions, and enter your email address, mailing address, and choice of payment. The website even provides a shipping label.
• Slash cell phone bills in minutes on cellbills.com, which examines phone usage and then recommends the most cost-effective plan.

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered this week’s peanut butter giveaway! Here’s your winner: 48!