You may have noticed an uproar on Facebook last week about these new Coco Pops chocolate drinks.

These drinks have made the ‘green light’ category for Australian school canteens. That means it’s classified as a healthy food. Ummmm…. right.

Here is what Kellogs have to say: “With over 400,000 Australian kids and one in four adolescents skipping breakfast, Kellogg’s breakfast drinks are the latest in a series of innovations by the company aimed at helping parents find a way to give their families breakfast. We know it’s hard for many Australian parents in the morning when you’ve got bags to pack, lunchboxes to fill and school buses that won’t wait,” said Kellogg marketing director John Broome. “We believe Kellogg’s breakfast drinks offer a quick and easy, mess-free solution that can be enjoyed at home or on-the-go. Both Kellogg’ breakfast drinks are low GI, high protein and high fibre and contain around 10% sugar with the majority of that coming from low-fat milk in which sugar is found naturally.”

Here are the ingredients of the Coco Pops drink: Reduced fat milk (90%), sugar, skim milk powder, vegetable fibre (inulin), cocoa, flavours, stabilisers (460, 466, 407), minerals (calcium carbonate, iron), acidity regulators (339, 332), vitamins (niacin, vitamin D, folate, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin).

And here is the nutrition information:

	Per Serve 250 ml	Per 100 g
KilojoulesCalories	740176	30071
Protein, g	9.8	3.9
Total fat, gSaturated fat, g	3.22.2	1.30.9
Carbohydrate, gSugars, gLactose, g	24.524.513.8	9.89.85.5
Dietary fibre, g	4.5	1.8
Sodium, mg	150	60

There is so much wrong here I don’t really know where to start.

Okay, let’s do some quick dot points of what I take offence to as a natural, new age mum.

Get up earlier and eat breakfast. It’s that simple! You don’t need to drink your breakfast in the car.
At best this is a treat food for kids, not a breakfast food.
A mess-free solution? Really? We can’t wash up a few bowls and spoons now? We need a disposable solution?
This product is heat-treated milk (UHT – ultra high treated). I try to avoid UHT milk for these reasons.
Reduced-fat milk is not healthy! Kids should be having full fat milk.
Sugar is the second ingredient and comes in at a whopping 24.5g per serve. That is a lot of sugar for a little body to process.
Inulin is a questionable substance and one I am not too keen on.
Flavours! Right there – that could be anything and everything!
Lots of numbers! They may be listed as safe but I don’t like my kids eating lots of numbers.
Probably synthetic vitamins. Processed food usually contains synthetic vitamins added back in after all the goodness is stripped out of a food.
Cashing in on the ‘Coco Pops’ brand – there are no actual Coco Pops in this drink. Confusing for kids.
Expensive! Fruit, oats, eggs are all cheaper than this.

Okay, I had my rant. Whew! I feel better now! But, I won’t just leave it there, I have eight better options for you. Real food options. I mean, who doesn’t love a chocolately drink right? Just make a real food one.

NNAM Home-made Healthy Milo

Quirky Cooking’s Creamy Dairy Free Hot Chocolate

Quirky Cooking’s Green Chocolate Smoothie

Superfood for Kidz Choc Berry Chunk Powder in milk or milk substitute

Alexx Stuart’s Super Speedy Chocolate Breakfast Shake

Alexx Stuart’s I Can’t Believe It’s Not Milo

Crio Bru – brewed organic cacao (hot or cold)

I would love to know what you think about the Coco Pops drinks and if you have any other links or ideas for a healthy chocolate drink.

Talk to me.

Let’s face it, no matter how much slick marketing they like to spin, the chocolate drink mixes on the market are anything but healthy!

Refined white sugar form the base of these drinks….. and don’t even start me on the artificial additives! While that’s okay in moderation, some kids find it hard to be moderate with chocolate milk. Making your own version at home is not only cheaper, but it’s chockful of nutrients that growing young bodies need. This has a healthier sugar, is high in fibre, gluten free and all natural.

I found this great recipe some time ago on the Thermomix forums, posted by Cathy. The kids love it and I am happy they are drinking something that is good for them.

Healthy, Homemade Milo

So, this is what you need:

3 tablespoons flaxseeds

2 tablespoons organic sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons organic sesame seeds

2 tablespoons organic pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/3 cup organic almonds

1/4 cup organic brazil nuts

1/4 cup organic cashews

1/4 cup organic pecan nuts

1 cup raw organic cacao powder

1 cup organic rapadura sugar

So, this is how you do it:

Grind all the nuts and seeds together first – use the thermomix on speed 9 for about 10 seconds or use a strong food processor or coffee grinder. The aim is a fine powder, not a paste!

Add cacao powder and rapadura and mix thoroughly. Test a little bit in some milk first – your kids might like it with a little more sugar as rapadura is not as sweet as normal sugar.

To use, just put about 4 teaspoons in a glass of milk and stir briskly. It won’t dissolve completely because of the nuts and seeds. Store it in the fridge for up to two months. If you don’t use a lot, keep it in the freezer.

You can use it in baking, on top of icecream – the possibilities are endless! I have even used it to make yummy truffles – roll teapsoonfuls of homemade nut butter in it!! Ohhhhh, so good!

I love to chat, so if you make it, come back and let me know how you went and if you liked it!

Real Food Chocolate Drinks for Kids

Make your own healthy chocolate drink mix!

Healthy, Homemade Milo