Trading Up Downtown

I love a good granola bar. Sometimes, they’re just the perfect snack– small, convenient, travel-friendly, and, of course, delicious. What more could you ask for!?

Working for NuVal, however, I’ve learned that not all snack bars are created equal in the nutrition department. While some might seem “healthy,” they actually don’t score too well on the NuVal scale, so sometimes it’s difficult to pick a nutritious option. Here’s how the PriceChopper website explains it:

Snack and granola bar scores vary with the content of sugar, fiber, and sodium. They also vary by the type of fat they contain; products with mono- and polyunsaturated fats tend to score higher, while those with saturated and trans fats receive lower NuVal Scores. Finding nutritious choices in this category can be more difficult, given the complexity of flavors and added ingredients commonly found. Using NuVal scores can reassure consumers that they will have the information to make an educated buying decision when it comes to nutrition.

With this in mind, let’s uncover some seemly healthy bars. (NuVal scores for snack/granola bars range from 1 to 42, with a median Score of 14.) I think some of these might surprise you. A bunch of them surprised me!

• Cascadian Farm Harvest Berry Chewy Granola Bars: 8
• Cascadian Farm Chocolate Chip Chewy Bars: 7
• Eat Natural Yogurt Coated Almond & Apricot Bar: 6
• Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars: 4
• PowerBar Peanut Butter Caramel Crisp Bar: 4
• Kellogg’s Special K Vanilla Crisp Bars: 3

Now that you know some of the snack bars at the bottom of the barrel, let’s giveaway some higher scoring bars!

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

Here’s your chance to win 8 different bars!

• Larabar Apple Pie (NuVal score: 57)
• Larbar Cherry Pie (NuVal score: 40)
• Larabar Cashew Cookie (NuVal score: 32)
• Clif Bar Carrot Cake (NuVal score: 26)
• CLIF Mojo Mountain Mix Bar (NuVal score: 24)
• KIND Fruit &  Nut Almond & Apricot Bar (NuVal score: 23)
• KIND Fruit &  Nut Almond & Coconut Bar (NuVal score: 23)
• Larabar Tropical Fruit Tart (NuVal score: 23)

To enter: Just leave a comment on this post telling me what’s your favorite kind of granola/snack bar. I’ll randomly pick a winner on Friday morning.

Good luck!

Last October, I wrote a similar blog post comparing my favorite Halloween candy and their nutritiousness, so I thought it would be fun to write a similar post this year. This time, however, I decided to highlight some of the top-scoring Halloween treats out there on the market. I could pass out really healthy stuff, like apple or raisins, but I’m pretty sure the kids in my neighborhood would hate me!

Instead of picking Halloween candy made of little more than sugar and artificial coloring (i.e. Smarties score a 1 on the NuVal scale), I’ve picked candies with much higher nutritional stats. Check out this top 10 list– a lot of them include chocolate!

1. Boston Baked Beans Candy Coated Peanuts (NuVal score: 29)
2. Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolates (NuVal score: 25)
3. Attune Dark Chocolate Probiotic Bar (NuVal score: 25)
4. South Beach Living Dark Chocolate Covered Soynuts (NuVal score: 25)
5. Endangered Special Chocolate Extreme Dark Chocolate 88% Cocoa (NuVal score: 24)
6. PayDay King Size Peanut Caramel Bar (NuVal score: 23)
7. Hershey’s Sugar Free Caramel Filled Chocolates (NuVal score: 23)
8. Hershey’s Pure Dark Chocolate With Macadamia Nuts & Cranberries (NuVal score: 15)
9. Lindt Dark Pieces Of Orange With Almond Slivers Chocolate (NuVal score: 15)
10. Goobers (NuVal score: 12)  

What’s your favorite type of Halloween Candy?

Thanks to everyone who entered last week’s giveaway to win two jars of delicious Biscoff Spread. I loved seeing all of your guesses about its score. A bunch of you got it right! Biscoff Spread scores a 15 on the NuVal scale. The NuVal score for Biscoff Spread isn’t terrible for the category. I mean, it’s a cookie-flavored spread. What were you expecting for a score?!

The average for the nut butter category is 22, so Biscoff Spread is on the low end, but for a special treat every once and awhile, it’s not too shabby of a score. (FYI: Biscoff Spread doesn’t contain nuts, but NuVal includes it in the nut butter category.) Reduced-Fat Jif, for example, scores just a 7 on the NuVal scale! 

What brings down the score for the Biscoff Spread is the usual suspects: sugar, vegetable oils, sugar, and more sugar. Biscoff cookies make up 57% of the spread, so, not surprisingly, the score isn’t super high on the NuVal scale. Even still, it’s one of my favorite treats!

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

I’m guessing it scores a 15…because it has cinnamon!

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