Shrove Tuesday - Num Noms Inspired Pancakes! #NumNomsPancakeDay

Happy Shrove Tuesday!

At three years old, this is the first year that E has been excited about making pancakes on "Pancake Day". The only thing the girl loves more than food are collectible toys with Num Noms being top of her list!

Num Noms set us a really exciting challenge - to make some Num Noms inspired pancakes. We received some goodies to help us get started, as well as some Num Noms series 4 sets for us to take flavour inspiration from.

We were familiar with the Starter Packs (RRP £9.99) and we were so excited to smell the Ice Cream Sandwich scents - Wintergreen Crème is definitely my favourite. I'm a sucker for mint! 

We also already own some Glitter Gloss-Up and Polish-It Noms (£3.99) as E received a couple for Christmas. E is such a girly girl and loves applying lipgloss and having her nails painted.

The Num Noms Lights boxes (£3.99) were completely new to us and Erin totally fell in love with them - who doesn't love a light up toy?

After the excitement of seeing which Num Noms we got - it was time to make pancakes! I'm a lover of anything that makes my life easier so pancake mix in a bottle is a game changer and you just can't go wrong.

E put on her trusty Num Noms chef hat and helped me pour the mixture into the super cute heart pan. The fun part was deciding how to decorate them when they were ready. She decided to base her pancake on Candy Karma with her candy floss scent, but first she made sure to spread her beloved Nutella on first, followed by lots of hundreds and thousands.

Now the best part - eating! E had so much fun creating her Num Noms pancakes and receiving her Pancake Champion certificate! I get the feeling that she'll be wanting to make these a lot - yum!

You can purchase Num Noms from Smyths, The Entertainer and all good toy retailers.

(We received the items mentioned for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Healthy Snacking with Ape Snacks

I love food but I mostly love food that isn't the healthiest. I'm a bit of a grazer but again, I don't graze on the healthy stuff! We received some Ape Snacks to try in the hope of helping us reach for something a bit better for us.

Ape Snacks are snacking range which are simply bite-sized pieces of coconut that are full of flavour and texture, bringing excitement to snacking. They are the UK's leading coconut snack and are suitable for

We received some of the range to try; The Crispy Coconut Curls in Pepper & Spice, Lightly Salted and Salted Chocolate and Crunchy Coconut Bites in Natural, Sesame Seed and Chia Seed.

 
Firstly, how lovely is the packaging? I love that the Ape logo looks like a monkey - super cute! If you aren't a fan of coconut, these aren't for you. The coconutty taste is very strong in them, even though they are flavoured. Luckily, I'm the type of person who would always choose a Bounty first out of a box of Celebrations - I love coconut! The texture of both were like nothing I'd ever tried before but not in a bad way. They are quite enjoyable to eat. The Salted Chocolate curls had to be my favourite though, anything with a hint of chocolate and I am there!

All snacks are gluten free, sugar free, high in fibre and have the added health benefits of coconut's anti-microbial and anti-viral properties making them the perfect guilt free snack.

Ape Snacks are available in over 4,000 stores nationwide such as Boots, Ocado, Whole Foods, Planet Organic, Amazon and Holland & Barrett. The Crispy Curls retail around £0.89-1.19 per 20g bag and the Crunchy Bites are between £1.49-1.68 per 30g standing pouch. 

(We received these snacks for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

 

 

Dolmio #ThankGoodness Family Bolognese Challenge

As a busy mum of two, I like to save time where I can. I won't lie, sometimes during the week, my kids can be partial to an "oven dinner" to make life easier. These are great for one off's but they aren't what I want my children eating every day. In a bid to get my family eating healthy midweek meals that are also quick to prepare, we joined up to take part in the Dolmio #ThankGoodness challenge.

We received a delivery of ingredients to get us started. I have always been a fan of the taste of Dolmio Bolognese jars as my mum used them when I lived at home. Since I moved out, I don't make bolognese as much as I'd like to. If I am making a sauce, especially for my children, I'd prefer to make them from scratch so I know exactly what ingredients are inside. Before I made a start on my family meal, I took a closer look at the Dolmio jar label. Did you know that in each jar there are at least 10 juicy diced tomatoes, a dollop of tomato purée, half an onion, a tablespoon of sunflower, a couple of cloves of garlic, a handful of herbs such as basil, a teaspoon of cornflour, a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, two teaspoons of added beet sugar for taste, a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of water and nothing else? Absolutely no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives or sweeteners, just 100% natural ingredients.

As my delivery contained wholemeal spaghetti, of course spaghetti bolognese was going to be the first thing on my list. We also received a whole range of vegetables. My children, especially four year old C, aren't huge fans of vegetables so I thought spaghetti bolognese would be a great way to hide them and make sure they are getting all of the goodness without knowing.

Firstly, I chopped up courgette, carrots, mushrooms, aubergine, onion and peppers as finely as possible. This probably took the majority of my time and that wasn't even very long at all. Whilst chopping, I browned the mince then added the 500g jar of Dolmio Bolognese sauce followed by my chopped vegetables. I took some garlic granules and extra mixed herbs from my cupboard and added a dash of those too, alongside a pinch of salt and pepper. I then made up my spaghetti as per the packet instructions. By this point, the bolognese scent was filling up the house and I could not wait to tuck in.

My four year old a is a very fussy eater and did take a little bit of bribing. He totally surprised me and actually tried it which is a massive feat for him considering we have to fight with him almost every dinner time anyway! Two year old E, on the other hand, could not get hers into her mouth fast enough and asked for more. Chris and I agreed that it was a delicious meal and completely cleared our plates. Neither child queried the vegetables in the sauce and Chris even had to ask if I'd actually used the mushrooms because he couldn't taste them (he isn't a mushroom fan).

As we only had two adults and two little ones to feed, we had a lot of bolognese left over. I decided to pop it in lunchbox and keep it in the fridge for the following day where we used it in jacket potatoes. This means that we got two full, nutritious family meals in under a hours prep! 

In the days to follow, Chris and I both mentioned that we'd love to make it again as it tasted so great and was really filling so I have definitely added Dolmio to my shopping list and will be making bolognese more often. 

Do you use Dolmio sauces? Are you surprised by the ingredients inside the jars?

This post is an entry for the #Dolmio #ThankGoodness Challenge, sponsored by Dolmio. www.dolmio.co.uk/thankgoodness

 

Christmas Gift Ideas: Food

I love food (my increasing weight since having E is proof enough of that!) and Christmas is the perfect time to indulge, in my opinion. Diets start in January, right?! I've put together a little gift guide, or maybe bits to include in your own Christmas parties, of food items that would be great for this time of year.

Opies

Opies are a family owned company that has been around since 1880. This Christmas you can pick up their Pickled Walnuts which are a must have with cold meats and cheese. I love a cheeseboard at Christmastime but I'm not a fan of walnuts at all. Instead, I opt for gherkins. Opies do mini pickled gherkins which are just amazing! 

If you are making some festive cocktails, the cocktail cherries and sliced lemon are perfect accompaniments to these. 

Christmas baker? Add some Opies Stem Ginger to mince pies, chutneys or even apple based stuffing to give them some extra oomph.

When you think of Christmas, you think alcohol and Opies have preserved some fruits in alcohol for the occasion; Stem Ginger in Famous Grouse and Christmas Fruits in Courvoisier - yum!

 

Peter's Yard

Peter's Yard are authentic, traditional style Swedish crispbread that are made here in the UK. They are perfect for cheeseboards! Aside from the original flavour that suits any cheese, you can try Charcoal (recommended for Brie and soft goat's milk cheese) or Spelt & Poppyseed (to go with Single Gloucester, Camembert, Wensleydale or Caerphilly). None of the flavours mask or overpower the flavours of the cheese and they are light and crisp in texture - perfect!

In addition to these, Caraway and Pink Peppercorn have been added to the range for this year. Caraway is recommended with a strong, hard cheese whereas Pink Peppercorn is great with a wide selection of cheeses but also a rich pâté too.

 

Stag Bakeries

Stag Bakeries is one of the most remote bakeries in the UK, being based in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis on the Outer Scottish Hebrides.

I've been writing a lot about cheeseboards but if you want something different, why not try Stag Bakeries 'Something Different for Cheese' Fruit Cake? It is made with raisins, sultanas, currants, dates, cherries and cranberries which are generously soaked for 4 weeks in ruby port and whisky. It is also flavoured with pecan nuts, almonds, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to create a rich, delicious eat.

West Coast Dipping Crackers are available in three different flavours; Chickpea & Garlic (great with Middle Eastern dishes and dips), Green Bean & Ras el Hanout (perfect for tagines and couscous) and Lentil & Biryani (which works well with curry as an alternative to poppadums).

New to the range are Sweet Straws. They are a great alternative to tradtional sweet biscuits and are a cool twist on savoury straws. The flavours available are: Apple & Cinnamon, Blackberry & Basil, Raspberry & Chocolate and Sour Cherry & Vanilla.

 

Baru 

Baru are quirky, contemporary Belgian confectionery and even their packaging is cool! This year they have added luxury marshmallows to their collection, all "non-chocolate" flavours; Vanilla Bean, Toasted Coconut, Sea Salt Caramel, Blueberry & Basil, Strawberry & Cacao and Raspberry & Mint.

They use natural ingredients and are made in small batches to ensure high quality. Referred to as clouds due to their soft texture and light eat, they are hand crafted in Belgium to a carefully developed recipe.

Tyrrell's 

Tyrrell's are probably my favourite type of crisp so I was really excited to hear that they were adding a festive flavour to their range. Three Bird Roast is (as you've probably guessed) a trio of roast chicken, turkey and duck. I have to say, Chris and I devoured the entire bag between us in one night and the flavours and crispness are just spot on. At £2.19 per bag, I will definitely be picking more of these up over the Christmas period.

They have also added a very fun flavour to their Poshcorn range - Bellini! This is perfectly popped in small batches at Tyrrell's Court Farm using gold standard kernels. It is perfect for a cosy night watching Christmas movies!

 

EasiYo

Easiyo's bright red yogurt maker is the perfect way to make delicious, fresh yogurt at home. The brand new design is sleek and stylish yet simple. It has no moving parts or electronics so it's easy to clean and is so compact, it'll fit on your kitchen shelf. 

All you have to do is mix a EasiYo with water, put it in the maker for 8-12 hours and you will have made 1kg of fresh yogurt. There are 30 different sachet flavours to choose from and because it is made in the comfort of your own home, there are no artificial colours or flavourings. Both my children absolutely love yogurt so this would be a great hit in my house!

(This post contains PR samples.)

Little Dish Pots & Pies - Review

As a busy mum of two I can be partial to feeding my children a child-tailored ready meal, especially when we've had a busy day out. We loved Little Dish's previous range so I was so excited to hear that they were launching a Pots & Pies range too.

I was so excited to try these new flavours out with the kids. E, at 2, is the perfect age especially as these are aimed at children aged 1+. The range comprises of some truly traditional meals:

• Mild Beef Chilli
• Shepherd's Pie
• Mild Chicken Curry
• Chicken Pie
• Fish Pie
• Veg Ravioli
• Pasta Bolognese
• Cottage Pie
• Chicken & Veg Risotto
• Beef Lasagne
• Spaghetti & Meatballs

Firstly, the portion sizes are the recommended ones for toddlers. I sometimes worry I'm giving too much at dinner time but these completely eliminate the stress. Each meal is low in salt, contains no added sugar and has at least 1 of your 5 a day.

They can be cooked in either the microwave or oven. I don't have a microwave so, oven it was! They only take 25 minutes to cook that way. When I pierced the film before placing them in, the scent of the meals were absolutely beautiful so I had high hopes for them. When plating them I obviously had to have a little taste and to be honest, they really do taste just like a homecooked meal. The Spaghetti & Meatballs was probably my favourite! I'm usually wary of the meat in ready meals but I enjoyed it and the children did too.

E took a real liking to the Mild Beef Curry - probably because she loves rice! I find rice can be hard to get right but this was cooked perfectly. I couldn't fault it! She enjoyed the inside of the little sleeves too - how cute!

There are a few dishes in the range that we haven't had a chance to try yet but I am so pleased with how delicious, nutricious, quick and easy they are so we will definitely continue buying them in the future.

The Little Dish Pots & Pies range can be found at Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Co-op and Booths and they retail at £2.30 per meal.

(I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.)

 

 

Kiddyum Frozen Kids Meals - Review

A little while ago we were given the opportunity to try out a new range of frozen kids meals by a brand called Kiddyum. The meals were created by mum of two Jayne Hynes who wanted to develop healthy and tasty meals straight from the freezer. Occasionally Chris and I will do a dinner that isn't really suitable for E at 1 year old to eat - especially if it has a lot of spices so we end up having to do an extra different meal specifically for her.

We popped out to Sainsburys to pick up one of each of the meals; Fish & Vegetable Pie, Chicken Curry, Cottage Pie, Cheesy Peasy Pasta and Macaroni Bolognese.

The meals are suitable for children aged 1-4 years and although both of my children are in this age range, I tried them only with 18 month old E as C (3.5 years) is probably the fussiest eater on the history of the planet and I knew he wouldn't touch them and throw a tantrum.

Kiddyum frozen ready meals are packed with hidden veg which is a huge plus. Luckily, E does eat vegetables and does enjoy them but I imagine this would be a great reassurance for mums whose kids won't touch them. 

They can be cooked in the microwave for 5 minutes or 30 minutes in the oven. I actually don't own a microwave so we had to use the oven option. They all smelled delicious whilst cooking and I tried a little of each before giving them to E at dinner and they tasted just like a homecooked meal and just like they should be. Fresh, too!

 

All of the meals are free from preservatives, artificial colourings/flavours and there is no added sugar and very low salt content.

E thoroughly enjoyed every meal and quite a few times she told me that they were "nummy". The portion sizes are perfect for her age and she cleared every plate. I've honestly been so impressed with these meals that I have started buying them with my regular shopping as they are great to have in the freezer on occasions where she can't eat the same as us. I like that I can guarantee a quick, healthy meal where I don't have to spend hours cooking two different meals simultaneously. I usually don't like frozen ready meals as I can't be sure what is in them but these have changed my opinion.

They Kiddyum range is available at Sainsburys for only £1.90 per meal which is an incredibly affordable price for the quality and size of these meals. You can find out more at the Kiddyum website and you can also keep up to date on Twitter and Facebook. 

(We received a Sainsburys gift card to purchase these meals for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

 

Cheese Posties - Review

A few weeks ago I received the oddest yet most brilliant review item in the post - a cheese toastie!

I know that sounds a bit odd but bear with me! I am a cheese fiend so when I discovered Cheese Posties I thought it was the best idea ever. Cheese Posties is a subscription service for cheese toasties. These aren't plain cheese toasties though. You have a choice of sweet or savoury and there are tons of "recipes" for each. You can also tailor it to your tastes so if you're allergic to nuts or vegetarian, they'll guarantee that you won't receive any of these toastie ingredients. They even cater for gluten intolerances with gluten free bread.

I was open to trying anything and received the Jaffa Cake cheese toastie. Inside my box was all of the ingredients to make the toastie myself plus the recipe card.

• Two slices of bread
• Toaster bag
• Mascarpone cheese
• Two squares of dark chocolate
• Orange marmalade
• Butter

The toastie is pretty simple to make. Assemble the filling inside the sandwich, butter the outside, pop the sandwich inside the toaster bag then place it in the toaster. Once you've received your box, you do need to eat it right away or refrigerate and consume within 24 hours.

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about trying it as I'd never had a sweet toastie before - never mind one with chocolate and cheese but after gingerly biting one corner, oh my goodness, it was amazing. It was called Jaffa Cake because that's exactly what it tasted like.

I know some people will be reading this thinking "I could just buy the ingredients myself and make it" but where's the fun in that!? I will definitely make future purchases - I'm dying to try a savoury one next. The Pepperoni Pizza one sounds amazing! I love the fact that they deliver to Northern Ireland too, food places always tend to leave us out.

A standard weekly subscription to Cheese Posties costs £3.99 plus free delivery but if you want to save yourself a bit of money, you can choose the 4 week and 8 week options for £3.90 per week and £3.75 per week, respectively.

You can find out more at the Cheese Posties website or you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received a Cheese Postie for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Quinola Mothergrain Baby Food

I love trying E with different types of food. She will try anything that I put in front of her and very rarely will she turn her nose up at anything (I think cucumber is the only thing she won't eat!).

Quinola Mothergrain have a range which is quinoa based baby food which are completely vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Like most baby food ranges, they come in three stages based on baby's age: Stage 1 from 6 months, Stage 2 from 8 months and Stage 3 from 10 months. E received two Stage 2 pouches (Pinto Bean, Sweetcorn & Quinoa and Swede, Parsnip, Carrot & Quinoa) and two Stage 3 pouches (Peas, Spinach, Parsnip, Mint & Quinoa and Butternut Squash, Carrot & Quinoa). 

As I mentioned before, the range is quinoa based and they are alway packed full of vegetables. The ingredients are very basic (literally just what the flavour says on the pouch) with no hidden extras so you can be confident that you are feeding your child only the best. 

Given E's age, I tried her with the Stage 2 pouches when she turned 8 months old. They are easy to heat either by popping the pouch into the microwave for 30 seconds or warming the pouch in boiling water for 1 minute. E absolutely loved them. You get a lot in the pouch so she wasn't able to finish them - they filled her up that much! They have a fork mash texture which is great for introducing lumps. 

I umm-ed and ahh-ed about trying E with the Stage 3 10 month + pouches when she turned 9 months but decided to go for it and see how she got on. I am so glad I did. Again, these were enjoyed and she especially loved the Peas, Spinach, Parsnip, Mint & Quinoa. The smell of the mint and spinach together is quite strong but that didn't put her off. The Stage 3 range introduces soft vegetable chunks but she didn't struggle or choke at all. 

You can take a better look at all of the flavours available here and you can find out where to buy them near you here.

You can find out more at the Quinola Baby website and you can follow them on Facebook.

(Disclaimer: We received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Ella's Kitchen's New 6 month+ Range

Since we started weaning E, we've been lucky enough to work with Ella's Kitchen and try all their gorgeous flavour combinations. 

They recently brought out a brand new range of 6 months+ tastes and of course we wanted to try them out! 

We received Cauliflower Cheese, Tomato & Red Lentil Bake, Bubble & Squeak and Macaroni Cheese (chickpea & sweet potato mash is available to buy too).

The 6 month+ range are perfect for little ones who are inbetween weaning stages. They make the transition from Stage 1 to Stage 2 easier. They introduce your baby to proteins and they are a little thicker than the 4 month+ range. They are still a purée but now your baby has tiny lumps to try too.

E seemed to enjoy all of the flavours - I thought they smelled beautiful too - and although she pulled a bit of a face at the first try of most of them, she couldn't get to the spoon quick enough. Since trying these pouches, I have actually bought more in the supermarket because E liked them so much. Ella's Kitchen are definitely my favourite brand because there are no hidden nasties - I know that everything my child is getting is 100% organic. I love that you can also feed them at room temperature or heated meaning that they are perfect if you are out and about.

You can find the Ella's Kitchen 6 month+ range at all major supermarkets retailing at only £1.29 per pouch. You can also find out more about Ella's Kitchen at their website, Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: I received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Weaning with Ella's Kitchen Pouches

I've made no secret about the fact that I love Ella's Kitchen. They are my favourite baby food brand on the market. I love everything about them. The packaging is adorable, bright and kid-friendly and their flavour combinations are perfect for weaning babies and toddlers. 

E is now seven months old and she recently received some yummy new pouches to try out - Peas peas peas and The Orange One. 

Firstly, I tried her with the pea purée. As expected, she wasn't really a fan at all. She much prefers sweeter flavours. I didn't give up hope though. I left it a couple of weeks and tried her with it again. This time, she couldn't get enough of it! She had me squeeze every last drop out and still wanted more. The purée itself is very smooth so it's perfect for first tastes (4 months +). 

The 120g Peas, peas, peas pouch contains only peas and water - no other nasties! 

The Orange One is a brand new pouch to the Ella's Kitchen range! It boasts a tropical taste with the flavours being apples, mangoes, bananas, coconuts and a dash of lemon juice. All organic and in true Ella's fashion, no hidden nasties! 

This one, I don't think E came up for air. The sweet flavours were a huge hit with her and it is a pouch that I have bought again since trying it out. 

You can find Ella's Kitchen at all major supermarkets. You can also find out more at the Ella's Kitchen website, Facebook or Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)