Trading Up Downtown

When I was in New York City earlier this week for the New York City Marathon, I had a breakfast meeting at Le Pain Quotidien. Not surprisingly, the morning after the marathon, I woke up starving for breakfast. When I looked at the menu at Le Pain Quotidien, my eyes were immediately drawn to the oatmeal. I wanted something hearty and satisfying for breakfast, so I ordered the steel cut oats with fresh berries on top. Of course, it was delicious (I love oatmeal), but I was surprised how filling it was. I left my breakfast meeting with a really full stomach, and I didn’t get hungry again for a solid five hours.

Have you ever wondered the difference between steel-cut oats versus rolled oats? According to EatingCleanWorks.com, there are several differences between it and the typical rolled oat variety. These include:

• Much longer cooking time (30 minutes)
• More cholesterol lowering soluble fiber than other oatmeal
• Takes longer to digest so you stay fuller longer
• Chopped with steel blades resulting in a “chewier” oatmeal

Steel-cut oats are basically a less processed version of the rolled oats, which often means more of the nutrients are retained and often leads to a higher NuVal score.

I was so impressed with the steel cut oats that I ate in New York City, I decided to look up the NuVal score of a few common brands at the grocery store:

• McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal: 91
• Country Choice Irish Style Steel Cut Oats: 91
• Arrowhead Mills All Natural Steel Cut Oats: 75

Pretty high scores, right? Well, surprisingly, not all of the steel cut oats on the market score that high, which is why the NuVal system is so helpful:

• Quaker Steel Cut Oats 100% Whole Grain Hearty Oats: 59
• Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Steel Cut Oats: 58
• Hodgson Mill Steel Cut Oats Hot Cereal: 56

As you can see, some brands of steel cut oats score around the same as regular rolled oats and hot cereal:

• Lowes Foods Whole Grain Quick Oats: 62
• PriceChopper100% Natural Rolled Oats: 59
• Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Whole Grain Rolled Oats: 57
• McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal Hot Cereal: 55

I’m glad that I checked out these NuVal scores before I went to the grocery store and just bought any ol’ canister of steel cut oats. Since I was already at the grocery store, I bought some oats (Old Wessex LTD Irsh-Style Oatmeal: NuVal score 55 + McCann’s Irish Oatmeal: NuVal score 55) and a fun oatmeal bowl to giveaway on Trading Up Downtown.

Trading Up Downtown Giveaway

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post with your favorite way to eat oatmeal. I’ll randomly pick a winner on Monday morning.

Good luck!

I have worked at NuVal for a little over two years now. But, in those two years, I have barely (if ever) looked up scores for store-bought hummus. Crazy, right? I’m a huge fan of hummus and I eat it quite often, so I’m surprised that I don’t know the top scoring hummus varieties at the grocery store.

Thankfully, I have access to the NuVal database of scores, so I did a little research the other day to see how my favorite kinds of hummus scored. I also searched for more nutritious varieties to pick up at the grocery store the next time I am there. Check them out!

My favorite hummus varities and their scores:

• ATHENOS HUMMUS ROASTED RED PEPPER MADE WITH 100% OLIVE OIL: 46
• CEDARS GARLIC LOVERS HUMMUS: 45
• TRIBE ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS: 44
• TRIBE ALL NATURAL CLASSIC HUMMUS: 44

Top scoring hummus:

• NASOYA ORIGINAL SUPER HUMMUS: 64
• MARZETTI BLACK BEAN HUMMUS: 57
• MARZETTI SOUTHWEST CHIPOTLE HUMMUS: 55
• WILD GARDEN HUMMUS SUN-DRIED TOMATO: 52
• GIANT EAGLE LEMON PEPPER HUMMUS: 49

Lower scoring hummus:

• SABRA GREEK OLIVE HUMMUS: 23
• SABRA ROASTED PINE NUT HUMMUS: 25
• SABRA CHIPOTLE HUMMUS: 26
• SABRA SUPREMELY SPICY HUMMUS: 26

What’s your favorite kind of hummus? If it’s not listed here in this post, leave a comment, and I’ll give you its NuVal score!

One of my favorite, go-to breakfasts (and sometimes snacks) is a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and banana slices on top. It’s nutritious, delicious, and so satisfying.

My brands of choice:

• Banana (NuVal score: 91)
• Teddie Smooth Unsalted Peanut Butter (NuVal score: 49)
• Thomas Hearty Grains Multi-grain English Muffin (NuVal score: 33)

The banana and peanut butter score at the top of their respective categories (produce and peanut butter), but my English muffin could definitely score higher. English muffins range from 6-81 on the NuVal scale.

At the bottom of the category:

• THOMAS CRANBERRY FORK SPLIT ENGLISH MUFFIN: 6
• BAYS ORIGINAL ENGLISH MUFFINS: 7
• THOMAS MIXED BERRY FORK SPLIT ENGLISH MUFFIN: 9
• SOUTHERN BAKERIES ENGLISH MUFFINS: 11
• DUTCH FARMS ORIGINAL ENGLISH MUFFINS DOUBLE-FORK SPLIT MUFFINS: 12

At the top of the category:

• FOOD FOR LIFE SPROUTD WHOLE GRAIN FORK SPLIT ENGLISH MUFFINS: 81
• NATURE’S OWN ENGLISH MUFFINS 100 CALORIE MULTI GRAIN ENGLISH MUFFIN: 45
• THOMAS BETTER START LIGHT MULTI-GRAIN MUFFINS: 42
• FOOD FOR LIFE 100% FLOURLESS SPROUTED WHOLE GRAIN ENGLISH MUFFINS: 42
• NATURE’S OWN 6 ENGLISH MUFFINS 100% WHOLE WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFINS: 39
• HEALTHY LIFE LIGHT ENGLISH MUFFINS: 38

My Thomas Hearty Grains Multi-grain English Muffin (NuVal score: 33) isn’t a bad choice when it comes to nutrition, but I could easily trade-up my morning English muffin with one of the choices above. I actually think my local grocery store carries the Food for Life brand, so I want to try these English muffins the next time I visit.

What’s your favorite kind of English muffins?