Trade Up for Better Nutrition

You’ll find thousands of products at Meijer that are tagged with NuVal scores.  The NuVal nutrition scoring system considers 30-plus nutrients and boils it all down into one simple number you can trust to help you choose healthier food.  Scores range from 1 – 100, higher numbers are more nutritious foods.

The NuVal scores can be found on Meijer shelf price tags and can be used to compare foods within similar food groups. For example, the average score for cereals is 25; a cereal score over 25 has above average nutrition!

“Trade up” foods to get a higher score at your meal.  For example:

*Flavored Instant Oatmeal Score 16; Quaker Old Fashioned Oats Score 57

*Regular Canned Peas Score 33; Delmonte No Added Salt Canned Peas Score 96

*Sweet & Salty Granola Bars Score 10; Quaker 25% Less Sugar Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Score 26

Want to see more scores?  Click on the link to NuVal Scores here at our webstie. 

Q&A: Making Meals with NuVal

“Do I need to buy foods that all score close to 100?”  The answer is “no”.  Score ranges vary greatly by food category so choosing foods within food groups that have higher scores will boost your nutrition. 

“Does it cost more to buy foods with higher scores?” Again, the answer is “no, not necessarily”.   It’s simple to compare the NuVal scores and the prices of products at the same time, at a glance, while shopping making it easier to get the best nutrition value for your money.  For example:  Fresh green beans score 100 and cost about 30 cents per serving, DelMonte canned green beans, No added salt, score 100 and cost about 18 cents per serving. 

“Should I eat more higher scoring foods?”  Yes and no.  Keep in mind that scores are based on specific portions (how much nutrition a food delivers per 100 calories).  So, choosing foods with higher scores is wonderful, but over-consuming any food, including healthy foods, can lead to weight gain. Portion control remains an important factor for health.

“Does this mean I can never eat sausage again?”  No—think about counter-acting that low scoring sausage with high scoring foods, such as whole wheat toast and orange slices. 

“What is a good score for a food category?”  Compare food scores with the average for the food category – as a general rule, scores above average will be more nutritious.

NuVal Median Scores (see www.meijerhealthyliving.com)

Ditch the Drive-Thru Recipes

When time is tight, avoid the urge to pick up fast food for dinner.  Instead, cook up one of our quick and easy meals designed by balancing taste, convenience and NuVal scores for health and nutrition.

Fabulous Turkey Chili (Estimated Recipe NS (NuVal Score) =  68)

Serves: 6, Prep. Time: 15 Minutes

1 Green bell Pepper, diced (NS = 96)

1/2 Cup diced white onion (NS = 93)

1 lb. Lean ground turkey (NS = 31)

1 pkg. McCormick chili seasoning mix

1 1/2 cups Meijer frozen whole kernel corn (NS = 91)

1 (28 oz.) Can Delmonte Italian seasoned diced tomatoes (NS = 37)

1 (15 oz.) Can Meijer black beans (NS = 57)