Nutella for a “Nutritious Breakfast” — REALLY??!!

Dear Ferrero (makers of Nutella),

STOP MARKETING JUNK FOOD TO KIDS (and their parents) by misrepresenting your product as nutritious!

Sure, Nutella is a delicious and I’m sure kids would be happy to have it for breakfast.  They would also love to be handed a Hershey’s chocolate bar on a piece of “whole grain” toast.   Here are the facts about Nutella.

NUTELLA INGREDIENT LIST:  Sugar, palm oil, hazelnut, cocoa, skim milk,… vanillin.

SUGAR is the 1st ingredient, which means it is the largest by weight of all the ingredients.  The commercial doesn’t mention that ingredient. Hmmm.

COCOA is listed before SKIM MILK, but the commercial says Nutella contains “simple, quality ingredients… and a hint of cocoa”.  Sounds more like Nutella is candy with hint of something “quality”.

The commercial says, “No artificial colorings. No artificial preservatives.“  Makes Nutella sound natural and healthy, right?  But wait, VANILLIN is an artificial flavoring.  They didn’t mention that ingredient either.

Nutella Nutrition Facts (per serving size of 2 Tbps):

• 200 calories
• 11 g fat (100 calories from fat):  That’s 50%!
• 21 g sugar:  40% of the calories from sugar!
• 3 g protein:  Yawn.

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Nutrition Facts (per 43 g bar):

• 210 calories
• 13 g fat (110 calories from fat)
• 24 g sugar
• 3 g protein

So… You can choose to serve your kids Nutella (on whole wheat toast) or a Hershey’s chocolate bar (on whole wheat toast.)  Both would be delicious.  Both are NOT nutritious or have any place in a “balanced, nutritious breakfast.”

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In keeping with my goal of posting my dinners during Vegetarian Awareness Month, here are my dinners for the past 3 days.

Friday: Same as Thursday.  Leftover Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze with a side of broccoli.

Saturday:  Burrito Bowl.  This was actually my lunch/dinner, game-watching meal.

• Raw Spinach
• Cooked Brown Rice
• Carmelized Onion and Black Bean Sauce (from DailyGarnish).*
• Roasted Veggies (red bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots tossed in olive oil and oven-roasted)
• Guacamole
• Salsa

But I forgot to take a photo!!! Sorry.  It was fantastic. (I also made Chile Con Queso and had sour cream as a side for the non-vegans.)

*  My Black Bean Sauce (using Emily’s recipe) didn’t turn out as thick and creamy as Emily’s photo.  Too much water, I guess.  It was still tasty so next time I will just use about half the water in the recipe.

Sunday: Split Pea Soup and Whole Grain Pita. I pulled this leftover soup out of the freezer.  I love having leftovers handy when I’m too tired lazy to cook.