Surprising Stars

Surprised by a Star Rating? That’s when you can trust us the most.

When you’re shopping, you may find Guiding Stars in surprising places, like the salty snack aisle. And you may not find them on something you would expect to find them on, like bread. We are confident in our evaluation and we would like you to be as well.

Guiding Stars evaluates foods according to how much nutrition they provide. We assign one, two, or three Guiding Stars to indicate which foods earn good, better, and best nutrition.

Our nutritionist writes our Surprising Stars blog series to explain in-depth some of the foods and star ratings that we get asked about.

Explore all Surprising Stars posts »

Our Most-Asked Questions

More questions on Guiding Stars? Explore our FAQs.

Ask Our Nutritionist a Question

"*" indicates required fields

Garrick Brown, MS, RD, LD

Product Manager, Guiding Stars Licensing Company

Garrick is a Registered Dietitian and joined the Guiding Stars team as a nutritionist in 2018. In his current role, Garrick works with Guiding Stars clients to ensure the program meets customer needs and contributes to strategic health goals of the company. He enjoys staying up to date on the latest nutrition trends, research, and food policy. Garrick earned his bachelor’s in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine and his master’s in Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Rhode Island. He lives in South Portland, Maine with his wife and two children. Favorite Guiding Stars Recipe: Blackened Salmon Sandwich

Dietitian’s Hub

Explore our collection of resources for nutrition professionals. We’ve collected educational materials about Guiding Stars and information about our free professional development opportunities in one convenient spot.

Explore the Dietitian’s Hub!