As the regular readers of my blog will know (hi Mum and Mum-in-law!), I am not much of a fan of breakfast. Well, that is not quite correct! I am a big breakfast fan but not of the products that are thrust upon us as ‘healthy’ in the supermarket.
I am sure I have ranted before about the amount of sugar and salt in ‘breakfast’ products, and many other people have written about the fact that there is more sugar in some ‘breakfast’ products than in biscuits. Add to that the fact that those who have to avoid gluten have a much smaller range of products available to them (they cannot eat ‘normal’ oats and many cannot tolerate gluten-free ones either, making plain porridge a no go zone, along with Shredded Wheat which contains no sugar or salt), and breakfast becomes a fairly sugar and salt-laden affair!
Unfortunately my ‘big fuss pot’ will not touch eggs since being allergic to them as a baby so they are out of the equation for breakfast too! So, most days I resort to my good old breakfast pancakes…with varying amounts of ground almonds (usually these days made almost entirely with these). They deliver on the taste, no sugar, no salt, high protein and high calcium front and the kids love them. Since the two kids can polish off a batch and still need a bowl of cereal (yes…they are very hungry at breakfast time!!), I still keep my eye on the free-from cereal selection with interest.
Lately I have noticed that Tesco has started to stock a much greater range of its own cereals, and interestingly, ones that are obviously directed at kids. I wrote about that 
here. Competition it would seem for Nature’s Path, who up until very recently, were the only brand that I was aware of that was doing any more than one breakfast cereal aimed at kids.
We have been big fans of Nature’s Path products for a while…both kids loving the O’s (called little o’s here) and for a treat, the Maple Sunrise. The O’s are lovely and crisp and maintain their crunch when in milk. The Maple Sunrise is a gorgeous mix of flakes made from different grains and, although sweet, is great for a treat at weekends!
Recently we were sent some Choco Munch to try along with some of their Berry Bobbly Rice Bites and Choco Knobbly Rice Bites.
The rice bites are handy little individually wrapped bars that are great to have in your going out bag! I have to admit to not really liking either of them. They are quite sweet but without much taste or crunch. I would rather make my own! Needless to say, being sweet the little ones loved them…and so, in fact, did the biggest taste tester in the house!
The Choco Munch went down rather well too! Again, not really to my taste (not chocolatey enough for me to bother with!!)…but the kids devoured them very happily.
I couldn’t resist trying them out in a recipe so I decided to make some ‘choco-coconut crunch bars’. Catchy name eh?! They came out pretty well fulfilling the sticky, sweet criteria very well! If you would like to make them then this is what I did…
Choco-Coconut Crunch Bars!
Ingredients
- 100 g marshmallows
- 15 g coconut oil
- 1 tbsp syrup
- 150 g Nature's Path Choco Munch
Method
- Line or grease a dish measuring approx. 20cm x 10cm.
- Place the marshmallows, coconut oil and syrup in a medium-sized pan and heat over a low heat until melted.
- Stir in the Choco Munch and quickly place in the prepared dish, pushing the mixture down well.
- Chill, then cut when cold.
Next week we have booked a night away in a hotel for the first time as a family since our daughter was diagnosed with coeliac disease. Playing it safe, we decided to opt for a Travelodge and have our own breakfast in bed…consisting of Tesco’s new addition of a selection pack of gluten-free cereals aimed at kids. My daughter was far more excited at the prospect of trying them whilst sitting in bed and watching TV…than going to a cafe (and finding that there wasn’t really anything that she could eat that she fancied!).
I have to say, I am rather excited at the prospect of eating breakfast in bed whilst watching TV too!!!!
Mel says
These look delicious and I am sure my three would love them! Do you know whether I could find egg-free marshmallows? Otherwise, I could try making them myself (I do like a challenge!). x Mel
Admin says
Hi Mel, I didn’t know that marshmallows had eggs in! The Tesco ones I used didn’t have any in. I also made some a while ago but I can’t remember whether they had eggs in!
Mel says
Brilliant, I have never made them without egg whites so if you have a recipe, I would love it. I will try to get my hands on the Tesco ones (easier than making them!). x Mel
Daniel says
Thanks for sharing, Vicki.
These look delicious! 🙂
Ali White says
Great idea! Look really lovely. Sainsbury’s marshmallows are egg free so we use those.
Vicki Montague says
That is good to know! Thanks!