Chocolate for Breakfast?!

Whole wheat wrap, banana, berries, yogurt and cocoa-hazelnut spread  - breakfast of champions?

One of the side effects of Jonas's ADHD medication is that it all but eliminates his appetite. He barely eats through the day, unless we take him off his meds, which isn't an option during the school year. Figuring out school lunches and snacks is a serious challenge for me. (I don't mean prepping them, but getting him to actually eat them.) He usually wakes up hungry though, which makes breakfast a prime opportunity to pack in the nutrition.

One of the successes I think I've had as a mom has been I've been pretty unwavering about Jonas having a healthy breakfast every day. At least 3 food groups are a must. Cereal with milk and banana slices or berries, granola with a yogurt smoothie, eggs on toast with tomatoes and a glass of milk. I even sneak in protein powder, wheat germ or extra greens sometimes. There are lots of options, and he's getting pretty good at making good food choices for himself when he gets up in the morning.

That's why I feel a little guilty about caving-in and buying cocoa-hazelnut spread this week. (We even have a strict rule around here that chocolate isn't for breakfast, except on Christmas, if Santa leaves you some in your stocking, that is.)

"I think I'd like to have strawberry and Nutella wraps for breakfast, Mom." Jonas said as we cruised through the farmer's market this weekend. He's underweight, has been putting up a fight about eating fruit, and it was his suggestion, so I jumped at it. That he'll eat brussels sprouts is great, but what kind of mom can't get her kid to eat an apple or grapes? My guilt about the chocolate was quickly beat out by my guilt about the fruit, so I bought it.

We're trying to cultivate healthy habits in him, so if I have to be a little sneaky to get him to eat better, I'll often go for it. We made a deal that if he has the spread, he has to have fruit with it - as well as a glass of milk or yogurt. I'll be home in the mornings now to supervise breakfast, so I'm not worried about him chowing down on the chocolatey goodness and forgetting the healthy part. In fact, since we'll be eating together, I might just indulge with him one of these mornings.

Cheers!