During my dietetic internship I gave a general nutrition presentation to three different high school classes. When discussing how to eat a nutritious breakfast, at least one student in every class raised his hand and announced that he eats Nutella for breakfast, and followed with, “That’s good for you, right?”
Oh, the incredible power of marketing!
In 2012, two moms filed a class action lawsuit against the maker of Nutella (Ferrero USA) for the false health claims in its commercials. You may remember the commercial, in which a mom gives Nutella on toast to her kids for breakfast and says, “Nutella is made with simple quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa.” Ferrero lost the case, $3.05 million, and was ordered to change the language in its commercials.
In reality, Nutella is no more nutritious than a bag of M&M’s. Let’s compare the nutrition facts (and keep in mind we’re comparing an entire regular bag of M&M’s to 2 Tablespoons of Nutella).
Click to enlarge
[To see more product information, visit the M&M website or the Nutella website.]
When looking at an ingredient list, remember that the ingredients are listed in order of volume (highest to lowest), so there is more sugar than any other ingredient in both products!
Nut butter is easy to make, so why not make a chocolate hazelnut spread that you’re actually happy to feed to your family — one made of hazelnuts, cocoa, pure maple syrup, and a pinch of sea salt?
My husband walked into the kitchen when I was making this and raised one eyebrow. He was skeptical of my assertion that putting hazelnuts in a blender (and scraping down the sides several times) would eventually produce nut butter. But just a few minutes later he was spreading my “Nutella” on Ezekiel bread and saying, “This is really good!”
[Insert photo of David eating my “Nutella” with a spoon.]
Shown on a sprouted Ezekiel Bread English muffin
Homemade Nutella
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole hazelnuts (filberts)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 T. + 1 t. cocoa
- Pinch sea salt
Directions:
Blend hazelnuts in a high-speed blender until the contents resemble an oily powder. You will have to stop to scrape down the sides several times. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue blending and scraping until a spreadable consistency is reached. Taste and add more cocoa or maple syrup, if desired.
Makes slightly more than 1/2 cup.
Store in a jar at room temperature up to four days, or in the fridge up to two weeks.
Here’s the basic nutrition label for my version of Nutella:
Feel good about what you put into your body! 🙂
This is great!