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????

Breakfast ceral is not exactly 'healthy' (although maybe I'm biased as I can't tolerate wheat or milk every morning!)

I think a homemade banana loaf (without the sugar) is much better! They are not eating cake, just speciality bread. Especially if it's made with nut flours it's full of protein and much more likely to keep them full for longer!

Oh and as I have said above my DS's diet is not perfect.
In fact yesterday on holiday most meals revolved around processed carbs and chocolate, I'm not going to list it as it's not something I'm proud off, but thankfully not an every day occurrence.

Does this mean I'm not allowed to comment on the thread? OP has asked if her DH is being unreasonable, she did not seem to restrict answers to those whose DCs eat nutritionally balanced meals all the time to answer.

Maybe I should clarify - I don't really see it as 'cake'. The things I make are more like breads really. But sometimes I cook them as muffins or in a cake tin as they cook faster than in a bread loaf and are easier to cut up/serve.

I am a SAHM (and I do live in France!) and can rustle up these 'cakes' mega quickly. Takes barely ten minutes to get everything ready, mix it and clear up the mess. I make it in advance and then it does two or three days of breakfasts. I am most definitely NOT Nigella in the kitchen.

The problem is one child will only eat dry cereal and only drinks milk as a drink. The other child will not drink milk but will have it on weetabix. That's why I often make hot chocolate so the youngest drinks it. It is also made with unsweetened cocoa powder so I have to add a bit of sugar. I can't see what the problem is with that - they only drink water at home and only ever have juices if they are offered at someone else's house.

Re cereals - there is an abysmal choice of cereals here, just awful. But you can get bran flakes, corn flakes and weetabix. I stopped buying cheerios from the UK as I thought my 'cakes' were a healthier and more filling option!

They eat cheese and crackers/baguette for an afternoon snack, and fruit. Sometimes carrot sticks and hummus.

They also have Greek yoghurt and honey as a dessert or a snack. I have stopped buying them sweetened yoghurts. I guess I prefer to judge how much sugar to add (e.g. half a teaspoon of honey to a plain yoghurt) rather than buy something which contains so much more (e.g. a strawberry yoghurt).

Eggs could be an option but they tend to have omelettes or boiled eggs quite often as a lunch or quick dinner.

Anyway, it's interesting to read the different responses and I think on balance I should definitely try and introduce some savoury breakfasts (eggy bread?) for a change.

I think it's also an additive effect. Cakes for breakfast are fine but if your having cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner and using convenience food instead of home cooked dinners and are less active then you will be bigger

In Europe I think they are more active than we are, and pride themselves in freshly prepared meals instead of jarred sauces etc.

Not all peanutbutter iseenodust I buy meridian, which is very well priced and it only contains peanuts

I blame the british weather twitterqueen

I wouldn't have thought milk in cocoa counted as drinking milk tbh. Not all children like drinking milk, it's not the end of the world.

DD doesn't tend to like milk on her cereal, she eats it dry. I don't really care. She will drink it though.

What's wrong with a bowl of cereal and being done with it. Not everything has to be ultra healthy (although what you are making isn't tbh, as pps have said, it's a lot of sugar). DCS eat shreddies, cherrios or rice krispies for breakfast. I can't be bothered to get worked up about it. Tbey eat fruit and veg. I won't buy things like frosties or any chocolate cereal though.

How about savoury muffins OP? BBC Good Food website has some recipes I think. I made some nice ones with ham and cheese that also had grated courgette in them.

You can also cook mini frittata in a muffin tin - they keep for a couple of days and would make a nice breakfast.

I understand what you're saying about cereals in France - I find them very sugary.

After your update, I am with you. I would rather eat your creations than a boxed cereal any day, and would rather feed them to my kids too. Hence never buying them!

I'm with your DH, weetabix or wholemeal toast or porridge is slow-release energy, low in fat and sugar and much healthier.

I'd love you to be my mama...

That really appeals to me!

French toast/eggy bread sounds like a great idea. What do they call that in France?

Lived with a French guy at uni, he had Smartprice chocolate digestive biscuits with hot milk poured over every morning. He said he needed it to warm up.

French PIL's (not the French guy's parents, I didn't marry him) have baguette and condiments every single morning. I have never seen them eat anything else for breakfast.

Pain perdu.

It sounds a bit sugary for every day but it isn't as if Weetabix is particularly healthy or low in sugar either, however it's marketed. I agree with you that making your own means you know what's going into it, so what you've described sounds lovely, but not for breakfast, every day. Personally I think unsweetened porridge and/or eggs and fruit is a better choice.

Or pain doré.

Until we have the OP's recipe for this chia/choc/fruit puree/maple delight, I'm afraid the jury is out.

Also, we could do with the kid's ages. If DS ate this for brekkie every day I would be thrilled.

People are funny about breakfast; what's the difference between having cake or curry or roast beef on the morning or evening?

The fascinating thing about people advocating cereal because OP's breakfasts are too sugary is that they are clearly in denial about how many teaspoons of (white) sugar are in a portion of cereal (do your kids only eat a 30g serving too? Are you sure?)

The ATL magazine for this month contains a huge double page spread from Kellogs, crowing about their reduction in sugar in their cereals - it was still bloody shocking to see the reduced figures!

Give me a dippy egg and a grilled tomato anyday

Weetabix still has 2 or 3 teaspoons of sugar per 2 pieces. Thats less than a lot of cereal but still sugar if honey or sugar is added to it as well. I can see where you are coming from with making your own and it being more nutritious from the ingredients but out of curiosity if you put all your ingredients into a recipe calculator what grammes of sugar and fat would it come out at? I make banana muffins with ground almonds, oats, mashed banana and egg. Nothing else. I still serve it as a treat or a snack not a main meal. I feel its a replacement for a muffin or a biscuit but still a treat all the same. If your children dont drink milk but eat cheese and yoghurt's I wouldn't worry about milk. My children like milk heated up, it tastes better to them than cold. Egg muffins done in a tray are handy for breakfast, or soda bread and scrambled eggs or cheese. Yoghurt with granola nuts and fruit might be an option for the non cereal eater if they dont like eggs.

Weetabix or cake for breakfast everyday is very boring.

Likeasoul yes, definitely could make frittata type things. Actually I remember now a friend making omelette muffins (basically ham and cheese) in a mini muffin tin and they were popular with her kids.

I agree with your DH, I wouldn't be happy with this breakfast at all. I also don't really understand the problem

The problem is one child will only eat dry cereal and only drinks milk as a drink. The other child will not drink milk but will have it on weetabix

Why is that a problem? Give one child dry cereal and a glass of milk. Give other child weetabix with milk. It all end up as cereal and milk in their tummy??

Kids are 4 and 6.

Re calories/nutritional info. One of the basic banana breads I make is from A girl called Jack. It has 2 or 3 bananas, 75 ml oil, 225g flour and 50g sugar. I mix the flours up, add seeds, ground almonds, bit of oatbran etc. No idea what the calorific/fat content.

Bob my problem is that I don't think a bowl of dry processed cereal (even a non-sugary one such as bran flakes) is that much healthier than a homemade cake/bread. Whereas DH does. However, I agree my point re milk and cereal is nonsensical!!