My local grocery store, Hy-Vee, has a tagline: “Where there’s a helpful smile in every aisle.” This is true. But, what’s also true is there’s now a helpful number in every aisle.

Hy-Vee recently rolled out a nutrition scoring system called NuVal, a program that scores food from 1 to 100; the higher the number the more nutritious the food.

I’ll be honest, at first I was skeptical. I rolled my eyes and thought, “Just what we need, another scoring system to confuse the already confused.” Plus, I assumed I was already making very sound and healthy food choices. Little did I know I could be doing better.

Now that Hy-Vee has the NuVal system, it has completely changed the way I do my grocery shopping.

Old School: How I used to shop

For years I have been eating a diet high in protein, loaded with vegetables, and with as little processing as possible. I still do.  When I would shop, I trained myself to pick up food, quickly scan the nutrition facts for calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein, then make my buying decision based on this information.

School: The Lesson

A few months ago we had a lesson in my Precision Nutrition class titled, Nutrition Labels: The Big 4.  The Big 4?! Easy. I had this lesson aced! Cals, fat, carbs, protein, right? WRONG! The lesson was all about sodium, saturated fat, fiber, and added sugar.

In this lesson Precision Nutrition suggested using these guidelines when looking at the nutrition facts on a label:

• Sodium should be no more than calories
• No more than 15 grams of saturated fats per day; 0 trans fat
• At least 2 grams of fiber per 100 calories of food
• No sugar in the first four ingredients

Great. Now I have 4 more things to think about when making food choices. It was like learning a foreign language with a little math tossed into the mix.

New School: NuVal

After my lesson, it was time to rethink the food I normally put into my body and my grocery basket. When I learned the NuVal system considers more than 30 nutrients into their scoring criteria and assigns one easy to understand number to each food, I took notice.

After doing a little more homework about NuVal, I discovered:

• It’s credible. The scoring formula was created by an independent team of nutrition and medical experts from leading universities and health organizations
• It’s trustworthy. NuVal has no vested interest in the production, manufacturing, or selling of food so their scores are unbiased
• It’s well designed. The NuVal score is positioned right next to the price tag on the shelf so it’s easy to spot and compare scores of foods in the same category
• It’s simple. The system is easy to follow and helps me make faster more well-informed nutritional choices

NuVal is now my GPS nutrition navigational system when traveling aisle by aisle through the grocery store. NuVal scores help me make better decisions and help me explore foods I normally would not try in some cases. Not including this one…

Home School

If your grocery store does not have the NuVal system yet, you could:

• Move to my neighborhood and shop at Hy-Vee
• Tell your grocery store manager about NuVal
• Check out some of the NuVal scores posted here before you hit the grocery store

Now that I am done with NuVal 101, I’m off to pick up a few smiles in the aisles of Hy-Vee and maybe some more pumpkin, just for the halibut.

Remember this Seinfeld Episode?

I couldn’t help but think about this clip when I was making Pumpkin & Spice Soup just for you.

I found this recipe Elaine, I mean,  Mellissa posted when I was checking out Zesty’s site.  Mellissa calls this recipe Curried Pumpkin & Apple Soup which is entirely appropriate, but when I made it, I forgot the curry because I was in too big of a hurry.

Nevertheless, if you like a healthy, hearty, hot soup (and by hot I mean both temperature and spice)  you just might fall for a medium Pumpkin & Spice Soup:

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 3 apples, cored and chopped
• 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp cane sugar (I used stevia)

Directions

1. Pour oil into large saucepan and place over medium heat.
2. Add onion, garlic, curry, cumin and cayenne.
3. Saute, stirring often until onion is soft.
4. Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, water and sugar.

1. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to low.
2. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Puree soup in a food processor or with a hand blender, to achieve desired consistency. I used my Magic Bullet.
4. Just before serving, return to pot on low heat.

This soup is full of flavor and will keep you full, so there’s really no need to serve it with anything else. Therefore, please don’t bother asking for bread or no soup for you.

Congratulations to Erin and Suzanne for winning the Eboobst, I mean, Eboost Drink Pink challenge. You both won a box of pink lemonade Eboost. Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and made us laugh out loud.

If you didn’t win this contest and need some more energy to fuel your creative spirit, Eboost is giving Fitness & Spice readers 20% off Eboost purchases when you enter VIP20 at checkout.

My brother suggested I download the song I Run For Life by Melissa Etheridge prior to today’s Race for the Cure. I am so grateful for this suggestion. Thank you, Joe!

I will be praying for all those who have battled, who are battling, and who will battle breast cancer during the race today. I will also be applauding all of you who give your time and talent to support breast cancer awareness and research. You are all heroes in my book.

If you haven’t heard the song I Run For Life, or haven’t heard it recently, I invite you to spend a few minutes now. And with that, I give you Melissa Etheridge:

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother your sister your wife
I run for you and me my friend I run for life.

Now, I am off to race and pray for a cure.

Eboost, one of my favorite energy drinks, not only gives me a boost, but the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) as well.

Josh Taekman, the founder of Eboost, told me his company gives 10% of Pink Lemonade Eboost sales to NBCF. Every time you drink pink, Eboost makes a donation to help NBCF fulfill their mission to increase awareness of breast cancer through education and by providing mammograms for those in need.

If you are looking for a great tasting energy drink to get you through your race for the cure (or any day for that matter), you are in luck! Eboost is giving Fitness & Spice readers 20% off Eboost purchases when you enter VIP20 at checkout.

You can also enter a drawing right here to WIN one of two boxes of Pink Lemonade Eboost. To enter the drawing simply come up with a better headline for this article. Not that “Drink Pink” wasn’t pretty clever, let’s be honest. Just type your headline in the comments section below to enter. Our two winners will be announced Monday, October 5th.

Have fun and don’t forget to THINK PINK!

Today kicks off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For Heather Ray and her two girls it means 31 days of raising awareness and money for the cause while wearing pink every single day.

We all know someone impacted by breast cancer. I know Heather Ray. Heather is my sister’s friend who lived in our neighborhood when we were kids. Heather’s family and mine went separate ways when the military gave my Dad a new assignment. We recently reconnected when my brother sent us an email with a video bringing us up to speed on Heather’s story.

We’ve been back in touch with Heather for a few months now and our hearts have grown two-sizes learning that Heather is now a mother of two beautiful girls, an athlete, and a fund-raising superstar.

Meet Heather:

Heather has survived cancer 4 times. As of September 28, 2009 Heather learned she is cancer free. Cancer research has saved her life and she plans to keep fighting until there’s a cure.

On Saturday, October 10th, Heather will be participating in the 4th annual Spin for the Cure in Cincinnati, Ohio.  All proceeds from the four hour ride will benefit the Greater Cincinnati affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

“I know it is important to stand strong and to fight. My girls are growing up with the understanding that it is possible to accomplish anything you want to,” Heather said. “If I can spin for four hours on one leg, anyone can complete this event. It is truly an empowering feeling to spin for four hours in a room with so many people who are fighting and riding for my cause.”

If there is a Race for the Cure in your community, I encourage you to participate, cheer on, or sponsor a participant to support the cause. Raising money for breast cancer research saves lives.

You can also join Heather Ray and her girls by wearing pink this month in honor of breast cancer awareness.

We can all do our part to join the Ray’s for a cure.