nutella makes everything sweeter...

this was how things looked the night before.  i knew i would forget to take pictures once we got started...

 for a long time now, i had been planning to ask some of the moms from tate's class over for coffee.  i kept putting it off, feeling a little nervous about letting people see my less-than-perfect housekeeping, as well as some old-fashioned insecurity circa the junior high period of my life.

when nutella offered me a party package to sweeten our get-together, i knew it was time to find some courage and plan the party.

we had such a fun time cooing over babies, swapping parenting horror stories and commiserating over tantrum troubles.  what made our time extra sweet was the big jar of nutella that sat at the center of the spread, surrounded by fruit, whole grain breads and bagels.

did you know that nutella was invented by pietro ferroro?  during world war 2, rationing meant there was a short supply of chocolate.  he used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the northern region of italy, to extend the chocolate supply.  and, of course, we are all so happy that he did!

the nutella website explains that by adding nutella to whole grain waffles, bagels and breads (and even tortillas!) in the morning, moms can get their kids to eat the whole grains that kids might normally refuse.  by eating a complete breakfast (whole grains and fruit), kids are able to concentrate better and are more likely to meet their nutritional intake recommendation throughout the day.  for our family, nutella has more sugar than i like to have my kids to have first thing in the morning, but it makes a fun snack when spread on some of the whole grain choices we keep on hand.

my kids were very skeptical about the nutella spread at first.  this made me laugh because, if it looks like chocolate, smells like chocolate, it has to taste like chocolate, right?  i let them dip their fingers in the jar to taste it so they could discover the chocolatey goodness for themselves.  it only took one taste, and they were completely hooked!  nutella is an alternative for children with peanut allergies, since nutella contains no peanuts or peanut ingredients and does not come into contact with peanuts during manufacturing.

my friends brought their samples home and had a similar experience with their own kids.  i think we are going to be starting a whole new generation of nutella lovers after this party!

if you want to try it for yourself, there is a coupon for $1 off here.  let me know what you think.  maybe next time, we can have a nutella party together!

i received information, nutella samples and coffee tumblers for 10 guests, as well as a 13.5 oz jar of nutella to serve at my party.  regardless, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.