NuVal for the New Year

If you’ve ever visited the healthy lifestyle blog, Carrots n Cake (Check out her new blog as well, Trading Up Downtown), you have probably heard of the company NuVal that Tina recently joined. I thought it was a great program from the get-go, and decided the concepts of their idea of healthy living would be perfect for the healthy New Years resolutions that many people strive for. Now that January is half way done, maybe your already lagging on the healthy eating front—if so NuVal is just one of the many nutritional tools available for your use and benefit in 2010.

NuVal in a nutshell--

• Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts, the System helps you see – at a glance – the nutritional value of the food you buy.
• The NuVal System scores food on a scale of 1-100. The higher the NuVal Score, the better the nutrition.
• Where can you find the NuVal scoring system? It is currently at Price Chopper, Meijer, and HyVee grocery chains—you can also suggest a store on the NuVal website.
• You can even see how your current eats rate on the NuVal scale by clicking here. Find out even more nutrition by the numbers by becoming a member which is free!

So I decided to pick a few of the foods I’ve been eating quite a bit lately to see what my nutritional numbers are based on NuVal’s system. How do you think your foods would be rated on NuVal’s nutritional number scale?

• Egg beaters 100% liquid egg white= 26

I was somewhat shocked by the low count for the Eggbeaters, but regular eggs are only 33, so not a huge difference—I would have thought eggs would have been in the 50-70’s range! Also if you do prefer Eggbeaters over regular eggs, you could choose to go with the ones mixed with yolks which would boost the nutritional number score to 36.

Clif Luna Bars

• CLIF LUNA SUNRISE VANILLA ALMOND: 27

• CLIF LUNA SMORE: 26

• CLIF LUNA LEMON ZEST: 25

• CLIF LUNA TOASTED NTS N CRNBRY: 36

• CLIF LUNA PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE: 27

• CLIF LUNA NUTZ OVER CHOCOLATE: 25

I thought since one of my main snacks on my vacation last week was Luna bars I’d see what they were rated. Unfortunately not too high at all which surprised me since they have so many vitamins and minerals in them.

• 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soymilk=82

• Regular fat-free milk=91

Not a huge difference between soymilk and fat-free dairy milk, which brings me again to this post.

• Butternut Squash=100

Who knew a few sprays of FF cooking spray and 40 short minutes in the oven could produce a healthy squash fry?!

What tools do you use to implement healthy eating choices?

**All information adapted from http://www.nuval.com**

Beach Bum

It doesn’t get any better than the beach!

I started the day in the hotel room by making a microwave omelet:

• 3/4 c Eggbeaters
• 1 egg
• handful of spinach
• handful of mushrooms
• 1/2 c frozen pepper and onion mix, thawed

Microwave in 3 minute intervals stirring in between and microwaving until liquid is gone.

And a bowl of mixed cereal in 8th Continent light vanilla soymilk. The bowl consisted of whole wheat chex, kamut puffs, and cheerios topped with sliced banana, blueberries and cinnamon.

 

I’ve been to Clearwater Beach four times now--the beautiful beaches, fun atmosphere, great shopping, and overall appeal keep me coming back. It’s just a few minutes from Tampa, and is somewhere I will continue visiting throughout my life.

It was about a 2 hour trek from Orlando to the beach, so I made sure to pack food obviously. I actually enjoy long car rides in different states when there is so much to see—especially at night when there is so many fun lights to look at! On the way I made sure to snack a bit. Before I left, I bought several different flavors of Luna bars, so I decided to try the White Chocolate Macadamia.

   

I veered away from Luna bars for quite some time because I didn't like the chemical aftertaste of most of their flavors—now they have a new recipe and I absolutely love them! Did you happen to notice the change in Luna bars lately? The White Chocolate Macadamia has to be number 3 in my favorite  Luna’s so far.

#1 is Nuts Over Chocolate

#2 is Cookies n Cream

#3 is White Chocolate Macadamia

What’s your favorite Luna?

The beach was just as gorgeous as I remembered it last except a lot less busier than when I would come on Spring Break during high school. The breeze was a bit chilly, but that didn’t stop us!

 

I knew a trip to the beach required a feast of real and fresh seafood, so Crabby Bill’s it was! I have always been impressed with their great food, unique decor, and overall fun atmosphere. I decided tonight with the seafood I would either go big, or go home—I chose go big!

After much debate I finally chose the broiled seafood combo minus the garlic butter. I got seasonal veggies and red-smashed potatoes on the side.

 

 

Check out the stuffed I mini crab—so delish! But I don’t think I will be attempting this at home ha!

 

Overall, this meal was great even though the price was a bit high. I really loved the seafood seasoning, and actually debated buying some in the gift shop.

 

And check out the fun decor…

 

Then we figured we better head back after browsing a few more shops and grabbing a cherry parfait from DQ on the way out.

I left the beach with a seafood stuffed belly and a Florida smile!

Super Sweet Secret Surprise!

Try saying that title 3 times fast!

I love secrets[as long as they’re not kept from me for long!]

I love surprises[I mean c’mon who doesn’t?]

And I love blog swaps because they let you meet so many wonderful blogger’s that you might not have otherwise found out about! So I always jump at the chance to join em’! They keep getting better.

This time my secret swapper was Nell from PB & Bananas and lets just say she totally spoiled me and I wish I could give her a giant hug, but a virtual hug will have to do!  Thank you again and again Nell, you are too sweet!

Check out the goodies!

Cutest Weiner Dog Card!

Ahhhhh! PB & Co’s White Chocolate Wonderful! I have this nowhere within 400 miles of my house(no joke!), so this was a major treat! I only have had one jar, the Chocolate kind, so this will be cherished consumed stat!

An assortment of total yummy looking bars! Nell was obviously blog stalking(hey she admitted it!) to know that I am a bar-loving girl! And I have never had a Lara Bar but heard lots about the Cashew Cookie, so can’t wait! And the Kettle Corn Pro Bar looks divine!(Are you sure we weren’t friends one time or another Nell? You nailed my taste preferences perfectly!)

And to top off the awesome package…

A tube of Victoria’s Secret Lip Gloss that smells good enough to eat! And a fun summer mix of Beatles tunes—gotta love the Beatles! It’ll be perfect for summer cruises in my car or some background music in the kitchen.

Again, thank you Nell for the wonderful surprise!

You rock!