Sugar-free Nutri-grain Bar or ANY Breakfast Food Alternatives

A couple different ideas come to mind. One is that many people simply have left over dinner foods for breakfast. You could feed him whatever he normally eats for other meals.
Another idea is smoothies. I throw all kinds of veggies and fruits into the blender, add a little water or coconut water and have an incredibly delicious morning drink packed with phytonutrients, fiber, and even proteins, although you can always add some protein powder, such as Now Pea Protein. I even throw in things like organic mixed salad blend, romaine lettuce, mango, berries, 1/2 a banana, apple, sometimes bean sprouts, etc. It can be sweetened with Stevia to add extra sweetness while keeping the glycemic load low.

Breakfast doesn't need to be "breakfast" food. Feed him whatever he likes and will eat: sandwiches, soup, pasta, rice, leftovers, you name it. I eat leftovers for breakfast a LOT, this morning I reheated a small square of my homemade spinach lasagna, yum!!!
If he needs to eat on the go then a sandwich or a wrap is ideal, but he can always eat out of a cup or mug as well.

Wow, talk about snotty remarks. Your PS came off as incredibly rude, especially since you've only received polite, helpful answers to your question. If you don't want to hear about other breakfast food ideas, then maybe your title shouldn't include the words "or ANY breakfast food alternatives".
Google homemade nutragrain bars and cut the sugar from the recipe.

the moms had good responses....I'm a bit surprised by your own uncalled-for remarks.

my solution: my son loved PB & banana stirred together. It was a powerhouse breakfast. Does your son like pancakes or french toast? That's easy to make with little sugar added.

Have you talked with a nutrionist? I'd think they would know about good alternatives to give your son.

I believe that Agave Nectar has a low glycemic index. And I know that it's great to use a natural sweetener.

P.S. I don't think the defensive disclaimer was necessary at all. Unless we know the exact nature of his texture issues, then it's hard to know what/what not to suggest.

Feed him whatever you feed him for dinner-it doesn't have to be breakfast food. Not sure why you would put such a defensive and insecure PS....it does not take a troll to give you innocuous advice like 'bacon and eggs.'

OOOH! Go get some Larabars.

The ingredients are so simple, they will shock you, and there are a ton of flavors.

For example, in the "Peanut Butter Cookie" flavor...sounds yummy, right? The only ingredients are dates, peanuts, and sea salt. They have flavors ranging from Coconut Cream Pie, Banana Bread, etc...and for example, I think the Banana Bread is nothing but dates and bananas.

There is NO added sugar...in fact, you'll never even see sugar listed in the ingredients. All the natural sweetness comes from the dates, which are the first ingredient in each of the flavors.

The can be a bit expensive...&1.00-$1.80 a piece, unless you can find a good place to buy them (my mom buys them at the VA and mails them by the box to me, because she gets them for 80 cents apiece.)

PLEASE PLEASE try these, they sound like they'd be a perfect alternative for you. My toddler girl (2, almost 3) has celiac disease and can't have any of the standard bars, or chocolate, or dairy, or a long list of foods...etc...and she absolutely loves these bars. She calls them her chocolate bars, even though I don't even buy any of the flavors that have chocolate in them.

(And btw, I don't really get your PS either. You did ask for "any" breakfast alternative, but you don't want them. :) I'm not trying to be snarky, I just think you ought to change the title of your question and maybe get rid of the P.S. and hopefully you'll get some more helpful answers. Also, PLEASE try the Larabars...they really were a lifesaver for my daughter. Believe me, I completely understand.)

Why don't you Google how to make your own granola bars? I bet you'll find something there. Also, try Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Mrs. Green's for healthier solutions. You can probably make the bars with applesauce (with no added sugar). Also search for recipes using applesauce as a substitute for sugar.

I'd be very careful about using sugar substitutes. They are so unhealthy for everyone but especially children.

Poor little guy! Good luck.

Can he do fruit bars, such as Larabars? You can make them at home too, super easy. They are just dates or other dried fruit and nuts. Or you can make your own granola bars? I'm just not sure of the type of texture, ie: crunchier, chewier, softer....
Not sure if the natural sugars in fruit would be okay or not.

Go to Whole Foods.
Or any natural food store.
They have lots of cereal brands, that are just, grains. With NOTHING else in it.
Or make your own... buying and using... various grains or puffed rice, and make up your own mix.

You might also get to know the "glycemic index" of foods.
Even homemade orange juice, has sugar in it. Even if you just squeeze it yourself. Many things, has natural inherent sugars in it.
Or the foods, in the body, breaks down, into sugars.

I have seen that Cheerios makes breakfast bars...how about those? Toast or waffles are crunchy.
Does he eat fruits, cottage cheese, or yogurt?
L.

Do you have a Whole Foods or similar where you live? You might try looking there for an alternative.

Agreed you need to balance carbs with protein to balance the blood sugar. Hopefully he is open to the texture of some proteins. Have you tried like a Z bar for kids or even just balance bars/zone bars. My sons love teh Z bars. The latter are balanced with carbs/fats/proteins so would regulate blood suger and similar to what he is eating now. Or even try a brand I think called Glucerna which is for diabetics. They have bars and same concept, the diet is completely balanced so no sugar spikes.

I approach breakfast in the same way I approach lunch and dinner.. you needn't eat "breakfast food" for breakfast.. or lunch food for lunch.. Often, my son will eat leftovers from dinner.. While he doesn't have texture issues, he does like to mix his meals up a bit.. What about a sandwich or a lean piece of chicken meat and some apple slices (not sure if he will do crunchy) As for a sugar alternative. (PURE) Stevia is natural and you don't need to use as much .. you can also use raw agave/honey.

Oh , have you tried making your own cereal bars? you could make your own natural granola (this way you control all ingredients) and then mold them into bars...

good luck

I would receomend going to a nutrionist. They will help you match foods up.

What I know is this to help keep the Blood Sugar leveled you want to match a protein with the carb..
IE. Peanutbutter & Toast ( Ilike to put Bananna on there as well :) )
Peanutbutter and apple.

Carb is anything that is not a protein, cheese or green veggie.. for a short story. Milk, Fruit, and bread/grains are all carbs. Even corn is conisdered a carb.

Fruit is the better sugars to keep in your system, but oranges are very high in natural sugar, and will hold that "sugar High" longer than candy.

We make Peanutbutter oatmeal bars, I am not sure if you son will eat them. But that have a great mix of Protein and Carbs and the good carbs at that.

From what I know about the Nutri gran bars, They are mostly carbs.. Try giving him a spoonfull of Peanut butter, then let him eat the bar and see what happens. The peanutbutter could help stablize his Blood sugar, and keep if from spiking.

Good Luck.

Its always been hard for me to suggest alternative food for kids who have texture issues. Where one kid could hate smooth foods, another could hate squishy food, and even another could hate anything cold.

Good luck getting responses you find agreeable.

SuzyMac,
Here's a homemade O. ( would imagine O. batch would last a few weeks)
http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/oat-fruit-breakfast-b...
Not sure if this would be "too crunchy" - probably crunchier than a Nutrigrain bar, but thought I'd share.
Oh--any chance he'd eat rice cakes with peanut butter?
Good luck!

Is there a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's near you. Both stores sell bars similar to Nutrigrain that aren't full of the junk. There's still sugar in them (they are grain and fruit so sugar is part of the deal, but there's a lot less of the refined sugar).
The ones at Trader Joe's are called "This blueberry/strawberry/fig/apple walks into a bar." and my son prefers them to Nutrigrain (which he says are "way too sweet" although he'll eat them if they're around).

Good luck.
T.

If you can find them, Barbara's brand makes snack bars that are very similar to nutrigrain bars. The whole wheat flavor has 8 grams of sugar vs 12 in a nutrigrain bar.
http://www.barbarasbakery.com/snacks-fig/

You might want to subscribe to this blog:
http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/08/11/glutenfree-cere...

and this blog: http://realsustenance.com/

Maybe already mentioned, but have you tried making cereal bars from gluten-free cereal? I've had great luck doing that.

I have two auto immune diseases and find great stuff on their sites all the time. Good luck!

This morning I tried a new recipe for baked oatmeal. You could omit the sugar since it was a tad sweet but its between the consistency of oatmeal and a nutrigrain bar. My kids loved it and its cooking light. Other alternatives might be muffins specifically ones with oatmeal since he likes the bars. Would granola pancakes work? It's basically pancake batter with granola thrown in. Here's the oatmeal recipe http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/baked-oatmeal-100000005...

Best of luck

My kids both have tons of eating issues, my daughter will only hard, crunchy, salty foods totally separate and nothing on anything, and my son will only eat soft, mushy, casserole type, or dipped in things or covered with cheese or sauce. So having two kids with totally opposite eating issues is a challenge and I have had to become creative. I also hate to cook, now even more so due to all this. My daughter also has medical conditions including ketotic hypoglycemia. So blood sugar is a big issue for us as well. My best suggestions are to get something into into him with no sugar, and more carbs, but also with a bit of protein thrown in. It is hard to make suggestions as there are not really a lot of granola/cereal type bars made without sugar. I personally hate them for that reason, both my kids get extreme reactions to sugar. If you are a cooking/baking type you can make your own, I have tried it with good results, but only once I am not a cooking/baking type person. Also muffins can be a good alternative and my daughter loves them, she sounds like similar texture issues to your son, however again I don't spend the time to make them very often. I will often give my kids cheese and toast in the morning. Carbs and a bit of protein. It is easy, quick and they eat it. My daughter will only eat certain types of cheese but my son loves string cheese though he doesn't peel it just takes bites. So sometimes she only gets the toast which is fine as she is on a low protein diet as well. I would honestly try the cheese and toast route if there are no other dietary restrictions and if he tolerates those types of foods. You also didn't mention what type of foods he tolerates. Both my kids like butter on their toast, but not too much on my daughter's, can't make it get soggy, lol. But my son will also eat it with cream cheese, or a nut butter, we can't use peanut butter, due to my daughter's extreme allergy but he likes that too and toast with a nut butter is also a good healthy breakfast. Now my daughter would never eat that as she can't tolerate the texture of nut butters. She also enjoys bagels in the morning, again with just a little butter. Toast and bagels are quick and easy, just pop in the toaster and butter and serve, can even be eaten in the car, on the way out the door, lol! If have some time in the morning, you can also cut up some fruit with the toast or bagel. Or give a mid morning snack of fruit, when blood sugar begins to drop. My daughter eats things like grapes and blueberries or apples, and my son likes strawberries and raspberries. But again if you are handy in the kitchen and have the time, I would look into making your own granola cereal bars. You can make them any texture you want, hard or soft, with or without fruit, etc. Good luck!!!

In Parent's magazine last/this month there was a recipe to make your own fig newtons. It looked pretty easy, and not having it in front of me I'm not exactly sure of the ingredients but I think it had lower sugar than the store stuff. It basically looked like a small nutri grain bar in the picture, so maybe look up their website and see if you can find it. I'm sure you could bake a lot at a time and freeze some so you aren't doing it every week! ;)

Also, there are these things called breakfast buns, I can't remember the brand that makes them but they are currently sold at Costco and Whole Foods. They are really good! They aren't exactly the same texture as a cereal bar, they honestly are more like a pita, but they are fruity and good! They seem to be on the moderately healthy side. Also, Quaker makes an oatmeal bar that is similar texture, but the sugar content might not be any better.

You may have to resort to making your own stuff! I'm sure there are tons of recipes out there at least! Good luck!