Are peanut butter sandwiches a Bad Breakfast?

[SmugColditz]

I have fallen into the habit of letting my 2 and 5 year old have sandwiches ffor breakfast every morning - I told my friend this and she exclaimed "But they need cereal! I wouldn't let mine have sandwiches every day...." - with the implication that I shouldn't either.

So - do they need cereal? or can I continue to throw bread at them, in the manner of feeding ducks?

See, I have Food Ishoos, and when people criticize the way I feed the children either overtly or covertly, I panic and think I'm Doing It Wrong.

Colditz, I'm happy when my dds eat anything. There is no Doing It Wrong. Unless you leave them with a box of Milk Tray.

Mine have cereals when they come home from school. What would she say to that?

Tell her your Friend who is a Health Writer actively recommends peanut butter

(Well, I write about health sometimes, dammit. And food sometimes. She doesn't have to know the full truth.)

MI's right. And she's a jolly good health writer. And I used to edit a fairly serious health journal and agree with her.

If she ever feeds them cornflakes, worry her about the salt content in them. Frightfully high.

Any breakfast is better than no breakfast IMO

I Love Peanut butter as do the kids.
although we eat cereal in this house they often have peanut butter sandwich or on toast as breakfast or sometimes tea
We have the SUMA peanut butter that contains only peanuts no extras I have managed to convince myself it is a "healthfood" which is probably why I am the size of a bus

My youngest son is a milk and butter refuser which makes breakfast somewhat challenging as I am far too lazy busy at 7am to think of interesting and worthy food combinations.

I shall introduce the idea of peanut butter again tomorrow.

Things that are on his acceptable breakfast list are:

Beans on toast.(No butter)
Scrambled egg.
Kedgeree. The stinkier the better.
Any rice.
Any pasta although red pesto prefered.
Homemade fruit salad with yog.
Cake of any sort.
Apple pie.

He is brill at all other meals, just finnickety at breakfast so I would be delighted if something as simple as a peanut butter sandwich would do. I've taken to leaving him a portion of the previous nights dinner in the fridge which he reheats whilst I laze busy myself reading mumsnet.

belgo - I also feel like vomitting at the thought of marmite and peanut butter

Peanut butter sandwiches (on brown bread) is fine. Carb and protein! some fruit or fruit juice as well? Peanut butter (especially if one with not too much added sugar/salt) is very nutritious and a good enerhgy releasing food.

White bread is not bad for you and it amazes me when people think it is! It has as much calcium as brown bread and because it contains no fibre the calcium is better absorbed. It is also fortified with various (I forget which) minerals, unlike brown bread. Sure, brown bread is better for other reasons, but white bread is absolutely not a bad food as far as I'm concerned.

And to answer OP, yes it's a brilliant breakfast. I wish my DD would eat peanut butter. I waited 5 years (allergy risk) before giving her nuts and it turns out she hates them Mind you, peanut butter on toast is one of my downfalls so if we kept it in the house I'd be obese within about a fortnight

Agree, tinkjon - I think the kneejerk 'white bread has no nutritional value' mistake is about food fetishism. Certainly not to do with a dispassionate analysis of nutritional value! It may not be 'as good for you' as brown bread (although depends how old you are, too much fibre is NOT good for toddlers) but it is not devoid of nutritional content.

My 2 have p/nut butter and/ or marmite on (usually brown prefer the taste) toast as well as cereal and a yogurt for breakfast every morning and still proclaim to be 'huuuungry' what seems like minutes later... anything with nutritional value for breakfast is good as far as I am concerned.

I have given sandwich's and muffins in the past as well if they are being very fussy. Do not let her worry you smug.

mine dont have peanut butter sandwichs, but dd1 often has tasted ham sandwich for breakfast.

i have also given them muffins, crumpets, pancakes or other non cereal breakfasts.

dd's are looking forward to cooked breafastys on holiday. means i have to cook a lot! lol.