Nutella vs Chocolate Frosting

So which is healthier?
Now that I’€™ve burdened you with the bad news about peanut butter prices on the rise, I’€™ll let you in on another bit of interesting, yet hardly shocking, information: despite their healthy advertising campaigns, Nutella just isn’€™t that good for you.

If your kids are anything like my son Ben, Nutella is a favourite spread on bread, and often a requested breakfast food. Ads reassure kids and moms that Nutella is a healthy choice for them because it’€™s made with skim milk, chocolate and hazelnuts. While I never considered it the best choice for morning meals, I didn’€™t think it would be worse than serving up chocolate frosting for breakfast.

My good friend Julie recently wrote about the nutritional comparisons of both Nutella and No-Name Chocolate Frosting. I was shocked to learn that Nutella has 25% more sugar than the frosting. It also has more calories, fat and saturated fat than the brand it was compared to. I would never dream of slathering a thick slice of bread with a smear of frosting, but as it turns out, that may in fact be the healthier option.

The first two ingredients listed on the Nutella label are sugar and palm oil. That means there is more sugar than skim milk, chocolate or hazelnuts. More palm oil, too. In case you didn’€™t know, palm oil is a saturated fat known for its use in processed products.

What about those hazelnuts, they must be good for something? According to the Nutella website, 56 hazelnuts can be found in every 400g jar, making each serving worth 1g each of fibre and protein. The same can be found in two tablespoons of frosting. And the skim milk that makes it so nutritious? It only makes up 2% of the daily-recommended value.

At SavvyMom we don’€™t like to bash brands or products because we believe that if you don’€™t have anything good to say, you shouldn’€™t bother saying anything. Sometimes we feel the responsibility to share news we consider good to know, however. This is that kind of news.

I did a bit of digging and found a well-known recipe for homemade chocolate and hazelnut spread. The recipe ingredients are exactly what you might hope them to be’€”almonds, hazelnuts, milk, honey, and chocolate. I think I’€™ll be making a batch of this over the weekend.

Do your kids eat Nutella? If so, did you think you were serving them a healthy option?