to think DH is over-reacting to the kids' breakfast?

[EmGee]

Kids generally have homemade banana bread (I do add some dark choc pieces...), or other homemade cakey/bread/muffiny thing sweetened with fruit puree, a bit of brown sugar or some maple syrup. I add ground almonds and things like chia seeds or oat bran as much as possible, and try to use alternatives to white flour to vary things. Always cut down the amount of actual sugar that is given in the recipe to the absolute minimum.

I also make flapjacks and have successfully reduced the sugar content dramatically by using mashed banana for example. Kids are less keen on the banana version though.

My reasoning is that these things are homemade and I know exactly what has gone into them. The kids like them. It's quick and easy in the mornings. Is it so wrong?

They normally have water, milk or I make hot chocolate using unsweetened dark cacao powder and add a bit of brown sugar to sweeten.

He thinks weetabix is 'better' and it's ridiculous that they eat 'cake'.

AIBU or is he????

Cake for breakfast is very odd - unless it's brioche in France on holiday for a week or two every year. Not every day.

And I don't get the time thing. How can this be quicker and easier than a bowl of porridge, scrambled eggs on toast, a healthy (ie low sugar) cereal, fruit, yoghurt or go continental with a bread roll, ham and cheese.

Definitely not great IMO

Momamum

Interesting

When we go to French supermarkets (annually) I notice they are chock full of the most sugary varieties of cereal (Crunchynut Cornflakes, Mini Weetabix etc), and those breakfast biscuits. Hard to get healthier cereals there

Yup, eggs grown on an egg tree. Aren't they all?

Reading between the lines... OP likes to spend time and effort on special breakfasts as a way of expressing her love for her kids and making herself feel valuable as a sahm. Her DH thinks that the easier and less effortful option is better - this harms her self-esteem. Hope the replies have not been hurtful to you op. But expressing your love/bolstering your self-esteem by creating extra tasks is bound to cause hurt imo. Boil some eggs of a morning and do something for yourself with the baking time.

I'd say 'you're so much better at this, why don't you take over?'

Monamum - what is chaff? do you mean muesli stuff? I hate it too, but I do like porridge.

Out of interest OP, what do you give them for lunch? and an after-school snack? Do they get cake then too?

I think what you make sounds lovely, I would just save it for afternoon tea.

mellojello I know you said you were reading between the lines, but I can't see where OP said anything to indicate that she's a SAHM? You may be quite right of course, I'm just not sure the assumption is justified at this point.

Yes, sounds delicious but not for everyday.

I think it's a bit of a mistake to allow kids to eat exactly the same thing every morning anyway - no other meals are so predictable. So we usually cycle through Weetabix/other low-sugar cereals/porridge/boiled eggs for first 'course', usually followed by some sort of bread product e.g. toast/muffin/croissant etc with a variety of toppings or fruit & yoghurt. Keeps variety and no one can claim they only eat Rice Krispies for breakfast.

Weekends whatever you fancy, including disgusting novelty 'kids' cereals with chocolate or high-sugar toppings.

Doesn't sound like the healthiest choice of breakfast, but then my DD had pesto pasta for breakfast this morning, so what do I know?

Cant you mix it up? Your breakfasts two mornings, weetabix topped with fresh fruit two days, scrambled egg on toast two days, then porridge one day?

Sounds delicious as a special one off , or for tea. Not for every day. Too much sugar.

Yeah, she didn't say, I'm reading between the lines. Assumption rests on (1) the fact that she has time to bake a cake every day and (2) the fact that she goes to the effort of doing something that seems pointless and counterproductive to most people. It reminds me of a lot of talented 'alpha' women i know who have become SAHMs and feel insecure about it, and then go out of their way to make ordinary things special for their kids, have the perfect home etc. I could be wrong of course.

We have a mix of porridge, boiled or scrambled eggs, peanut butter or marmite toast, grape nuts, fruit, sometimes toasted cheese and ham sandwiches or beans on toast .

Anyone that has enough money to buy enough chia seeds to put in a cake everyday could probably go out for breakfast. I nearly fainted when I saw how much they were.

I feel guilty now for giving my DD cornflakes and milk for breakfast.
I mean i probably could cook her a cake or something for breakfast but i just too busy drinking coffee and waking up.

Hey! I work nearly full time and may I ASSURE you, I still do a vast amount of pointless and unproductive stuff that no one else gives the tiniest crap about!

Not sure re the 'I know exactly what's gone into them' argument. Food labelling is accurate.

What's in an egg is egg.
Supermarket oats won't have much in the way of additives.

For that matter I make wholemeal bread in a machine, so I know exactly what's in that.

It might be home-made cake as opposed to shop cake. But it's still cake.

I don't see why it's okay to have cake after school, but not to have it for breakfast it's the same amount of calories/sugar regardless of when you eat it!

I had leftover pasta for breakfast this morning. Other days this week I've had a sandwich, yoghurt with fruit, a bowl of cereal and a slice of cheesecake.

I think it sounds fine, OP. As part of a healthy diet, there's nothing wrong with cake and flapjacks. Most people would eat them as dessert or as a snack mid-afternoon, so why not have it for breakfast and have something different later on? It all ends up in the same place!

If I start the day with something sweet my taste buds will then be craving sugar for the rest of the day. If I have something sweet I prefer it to be in the evening.

I wouldn't have cake every day no matter what time of day though!

It sounds fine to me. Similar to what they do in Europe as others have said.

COuld mix it up a bit with eggs on toast or something some days I guess.

OR as PP has said take it in turns with H.

I can't image weetabix is healthier though.

It's the same amount of sugar, but kicking the day off with a blood sugar peak doesn't sound ideal.I know that labelling is accurate, but many bought products have all sorts of things on the label that I can identify!

Weetabix is very low in sugar. Just because the chic Europeans eat cake for breakfast doesn't make it any healthier. They probably have one square inch each.