If you give your kids Nutella for breakfast, you’d be better off giving them Cake Frosting instead!

  • From a nutrition perspective, Nutella is a disaster.
  • From a habits perspective, Nutella could be a disaster. It depends on how you use it.

Check this out:

I know…you know that Nutella is anything but healthy.

And yet, I see people acting as if it’s healthy.

I was at an event with kids recently and Nutella was provided, presumably instead of peanut butter (due to potential allergies). Everyone acted as if eating Nutellas was equivalent to eating peanut butter. It’s not.

(There were also yogurt tubes, as another “healthy” option…don’t get me started on the difference between healthy foods and treats.)

For me, the issue is about HABITS.

The folks at Nutella want you to think that Nutella is great for breakfast. Have you seen their ad?

“It’s a quick and easy way to give my family a breakfast they’ll want to eat,” the actress says.
“And Nutella is made with simple quality ingredients like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa.”

Here are the REAL Ingredients:

SUGAR, PALM OIL, HAZELNUTS, COCOA, SKIM MILK, REDUCED MINERALS WHEY (MILK)…

No wonder “Breakfast never tasted this good.”

Read about the mom who won the class action suit againt Nutella for false advertising.

I can hear the objections now. At least Nutella has…

  • Hazelnuts—Over 50 per 13 ounce jar! That amounts to about 4 hazelnuts per serving. Throw a couple of hazelnuts on your kids’ chocolate frosting.
  • Protein: 2 grams per serving!

However…

  • Two tablespoons of peanut butter has 7 grams of protein. And…
  • Your kids can pick up 2 grams of protein by eating 1/4 cup of green peas.

I’m not seriously suggesting that you give your kids cake frosting for breakfast.

But if you did, it would be more honest.

  • Use Nutella as a substitute for chocolate sauce if you like the flavor of hazelnuts.
  • Don’t use Nutella to “get” your kids to eat breakfast, as the ad suggests. It’s a compromise that could ruin your kids’ habits.

~Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits.~