It is easy for parents to be good nutrition role models during family meals but at school, food choices may be entirely up to the child. Parents can help children make smart choices by fueling kids with a nutritious breakfast, packing healthy lunches and snacks, and teaching kids to make smart, healthy choices.
The solution can be simple; parents do not have to act alone in encouraging kids to make healthy choices. A new tool to help busy parents make healthy choices in a snap is the NuVal scoring system. It’s simple; the higher the NuVal score, the more nutritious the food. The goal is to make it easy for parents to quickly choose convenient, good-for-you options.
Use the NuVal scores to “trade-up” for health, one choice at a time. Here’s an example of how it works - choose a favorite sugar-sweetened cereal with a typical NuVal score of 2-10, then find a cereal with a higher score, such as Life cereal with a NuVal score of 25. It’s that simple and a great way to involve kids in finding their favorite foods with the higher NuVal score and nutrition value.
Following are examples of using the NuVal score to “trade-up” for health:
- Life Cereal (25) vs. Captain Crunch Cereal (10)
- Orange (100) vs. fruit snacks (1)
- Fiber One granola bars (26-32) vs. Chewy granola bars (5-14)
- Plain animal crackers (20) vs. frosted animal crackers (2)
- Goldfish cheddar crackers (20 – 26) vs. Cheetos (5)
- Teddy Grahams (25) vs. Chocolate chip cookies (2)
Proper nutrition is the most important element to mental and physical health in children. Good nutrition from a young age may help prevent many medical problems later in life and reinforce lifelong eating habits, which can contribute to your children's overall well-being and help them to grow up to their full physical and mental potential. So help your kids start off right this school year with NuVal!
The information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
