Doing our #FrubesMoves with Angry Birds

When it comes to fun family films, The Angry Birds Movie was such an absolute unexpected gem. We saw it at the cinema, knowing that 7 year old Angry Birds fan Freddy was going to love it, but were totally delighted when we were just as enthralled! We all agreed that they did a great job of creating some hilarious characters and an exciting storyline from the iconic game.

Frubes, the squeezy tubes of yummy yogurt, have partnered up with Angry Birds, with each tube featuring a favourite character from the movie. Red, Chuck, Bomb, Terrence, Mighty Eagle, Matilda and the Pigs add some extra fun to each tube. In strawberry, red berry, peach and banana flavours, they contain added calcium and vitamin D, both essential for strong, healthy bone growth in children and are suitable for vegetarians. Frubes are offering families the chance to win a holiday in the Bahamas to celebrate their partnership with The Angry Birds Movie. Hurry though, the promotion ends on October 31st. Just buy a promotional pack and enter the unique code online for your chance to win a holiday in the sun for your brood.

As well as entering the competition, you can take part in a crazy online dance off game. You can pick the characters, the stage, the moves and the music, and then egg on the birds or the pigs in the ultimate dance battle. Only one side can win. Can you pick the winner? Will it be a case of Strictly Ham Dancing or Dancing in the Tweets? I particularly enjoy the pigs' dancing, they really know how to hog the dance floor! Some funky and funny moves certainly go down on both sides of the dance off, inspiring kids to get up and boogie along, busting their own Frubes Moves.

Britmums have challenged bloggers to share their own family's Frubes Moves, seeing whether our style is more Angry Bird or naughty Pig. My Freddy has always loved dancing. Ever since he was a baby, the sound of music just gets into his soul and he can't resist the urge to move to the beat. From snake hip wiggles to street dance jiggles, I love watching him strut his stuff. However, as he gets older, the insecurity of performing in front of other people means he is a little less free with his spontaneous public dance routines. But you can still catch him re-enacting the dance scenes from Teen Beach Movie or grooving along to the latest YouTube sensation (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen is his current favourite!) Dancing is such great exercise for kids and it gives them the freedom to express themselves through movement.

As a family, we often put on a record from our vinyl collection, switch on our mini disco ball (yes we do actually have one!) and have an old school family disco. I think it's important that we can all get together, throw out our inhibitions and do some crazy dance moves to some 80's compilation LPs, old Disney collections or to my own personal favourite, Bat Out of Hell. It is stress relieving, it boosts confidence and gets us all up and moving.

I asked Freddy to create his own Frubes Moves dance. He used some Frubes as props, put on his Angry Birds T-shirt and rocked out some super funky moves!

There were some shimmies, dabs, whips, nae naes and some old skool moving and grooving - but most impressive of all was the Tail Feather Shaking! Very appropriate for The Angry Birds Movie! I think that Freddy would definitely win a dance off against both the pigs and the birds using these moves!

Frubes are available to purchase in leading supermarkets for £2 RRP. Find details of the competition and play the Dance Off game at https://angrybirds.frubes.co.uk.

This post is an entry for BritMums’ #FrubesMoves Linky Challenge, sponsored by Frubes.

My Milk Memories #MilkDrinkersMilk

There are so many drinks marketed to children that are made using artificial sweeteners, colourings and flavourings, or which are packed with high amounts of sugars. None of which are good for your little ones to consume in excess. Experts are constantly telling us about the dangers of high sugar consumption and we all know the horror stories associated with chemical sweeteners. Thankfully there are alternatives to these highly coloured, sweetened and flavoured drinks that kids will still enjoy drinking. One such drink is milk.

When I was a little girl, milk was still delivered in pint bottles from the milkman - two a day, but three at the weekend when mum would make a big rice pudding to eat after our Sunday roast. It was one of my jobs to go and fetch the milk from the front doorstep. You had to do it early or the neighbourhood blue-tits would come and peck through the silver tops to pinch the cream on top. The tell-tale little holes would let you know if you were too late. After the milk was finished and the bottles were empty, they would be rinsed and returned to the doorstep for collection - recycling at its best. Silver foil lids would also be washed and put into the arts and crafts box ready to be stuck onto a cardboard box to make a robot's eyes or the buttons on the control panel of a rocket ship.

A glass of cold milk is something that is just so quintessentially reminiscent of childhood. An after school drink of cold milk and a homemade jam bun would quench your thirst and fill you up until teatime, giving you the energy to play outside until mum called you in to wash your hands. 

On a cold winter's evening a mug of warm frothy milk for supper was just the thing to tide you over until morning, aiding a peaceful night's sleep. I still remember my mum's frother - a long handled, metal disc with holes in that was plunged up and down into a tall pyrex beaker. The milk would froth up a treat under my mum's hand, making a foamy drink. A sprinkle of cinnamon on top made it seem very sophisticated.

As a child of the seventies, I remember the days when everyday at playtime we were given a small, foil topped, glass bottle of milk with a straw. Unfortunately for us, the crates were often left outside all morning, which on a cold day was not a problem. But in the summer, the heat would cause the milk to get warm and start to spoil. It really was the worst thing. Thankfully, the girl sat next to me seemed to quite like milk on the turn and she would happily drink it for me, meaning I could show my teacher my empty bottle and be allowed out to play. My eternal thanks goes to my pal Sonia! It wasn't long before the free school milk stopped, giving the nickname 'Thatcher Thatcher Milk Snatcher' to our infamous PM. To be honest, given the food safety standards in play during the seventies, she may have done us all a great favour (but I doubt my mate Sonia would have agreed with that).

Nowadays, much has changed, but one thing that remains the same is our national love of milk. The glass bottles that the milkmen delivered daily have been replaced by convenient family sized plastic bottles from the supermarket, which we pick up with our weekly grocery shop. Cravendale is the brand that I trust most, to provide my children with the freshest, purest milk available. Each glassful tastes as fresh and clean as the first.

Freddy had a fantastic few days last month when his cousins Addy and Dylan came to stay at our house. Keeping three little ones fed and watered is made considerably easier by having a couple of 2 litre bottles of Cravendale chilling  in the fridge. When playing hard, little ones sometimes need refuelling. When they got hungry, a cold glass of milk and some cut up fruit or some quartered peanut butter sandwiches filled them up perfectly, providing them with a satisfying and nutritious snack. Seeing the three of them sat together, in the midst of a dressing up game, glugging down their milk made a lovely picture of childhood.

My nephew, 5 year old Dylan, is the biggest milk drinker ever. He can't get enough of the stuff and will happily gulp it down by the glassful, giving himself an impressive white milk moustache in the process. I was glad I had stocked up on Cravendale! A love of milk definitely runs in his family because his big sister's first word, and the word she repeated incessantly as a toddler, was 'Moo' - her word for milk. She was permanently attached to her black and white cow print sippy cup, shouting for her much loved moo and supping cup after cupful of the white stuff. It certainly must have given her a good start in life - as she is now at Oxford University training to be a doctor!

Cravendale is dubbed the 'Milk Drinker's Milk' because of its pure, fresh taste which is great for drinking. It is by far our favourite milk on the market, which I put down to the fact that it has been filtered giving it that all important long lasting freshness. It stays fresh for seven days in the fridge so thankfully there is no fear of Freddy;s milk ever tasting prematurely cheesy (unlike the school milk of my childhood!) 

“This post is an entry for BritMums #MilkDrinkersMilk Linky Challenge, sponsored by Cravendale” 

12 Ideas for making playdates magical

#MagicSquaresPlaydates with Petits Filous

Playing with friends is such a magical part of growing up. A child's imagination can transport them into a whole world of possibilities where nothing is impossible. Watching 5 year old Freddy acting out different roles in a variety of imaginative scenarios, never fails to bring a smile to my face. I can still remember playing with friends myself, way back when I was free from the constraints of self-consciousness or embarrassment. Such carefree childhood days.

Nowadays, in addition to the fun and freedom of role play and imaginative games, many parents like to offer some structure to playtime, giving children the chance to learn new skills in the process. The trick is to make these educational activities seem like a game, so the children don't even realise that they are learning through play.

For older children, providing them with ideas of what to do gives them the confidence to try new things and have fun that might bring the quieter ones out of their shells. Sometimes shy kids just need an excuse to let go and join in with something. Offering an activity for the group to do can be a great ice breaker and gives them a chance to be entertained without relying on an iPad or a games console.

Setting kids an appropriate challenge and then letting them free to work out the details for themselves is a great way to give them something to do and it helps build teamwork, communication and leadership skills. Such challenges can be in the form of something arty, performance related, social or physical. They can turn playdates into something more memorable!

Here are 12 ideas for things to do to make playdates magical, that don't cost a lot and utilise things you are likely to have at home already.

• Challenge them to put on a circus, collecting things such as hula hoops and balls to showcase their skills. It gives big sister Kizzy a chance to show off her plate spinning and hula hooping act!

• Treasure hunts are always a fun way of entertaining little ones. Virtual treasure hunts using cameras are great fun as children can snap pics of various items outdoors such as a bird in flight or a flower in bloom. Give a list of things to find or use pictures for little ones and let them be mini explorers on a mission.

• Get out the dressing up clothes and accessories and challenge them to put on a fashion show with music and a makeshift catwalk. Let them perform their show and applaud the mini models as they strut their stuff!

• Put on a puppet show using toys or home made puppets made from old socks. A big box with a window cut out makes a good puppet theatre.

• Provide a big sheet of paper out along with a variety of arts and crafts bits and bobs and challenge them to design a scary monster. Or provide some boxes, paper plates and loo roll tubes to make a junk model. Older kids can design band logos or make artwork based on favourite books or films.

• Host a tea party or a picnic - allow the children to pick a variety of goodies such as Petits Filous Magic Squares, fruit, crisps, cheese and drinks and lay on their own spread to eat. It makes a perfect after school treat.

• Make a band by getting together instruments or even saucepan lids and shakers made from bottles half filled with rice. Maybe the children could write their own song or rap and perform it on camera. Or maybe mime or perform to their favourite band's latest song.

• Cook up a storm in the kitchen with no-bake rice crispie cakes or let imaginations run wild by providing fairy cakes, icing and decorations for creating incredible cupcakes.

• Let them be the directors and actors in their own movie. Give them a kid friendly camera and let them unleash their inner Spielberg. Or just get them vlogging in front of a camcorder on a tripod. Kids can be hilarious - it could go viral!

• Let them upcycle some old T-shirts or plain white shirts using fabric pens or fabric paints. The empty Petits Filous pots are great for using as paint pots, perfect for little artists.

• Get green fingered with sunflower seeds, soil and yogurt pots (the Petits Filous Magic Squares pots will do the trick!) Nurturing a seedling is a lovely way to connect with nature.

• Become mini scientists by exploring if household objects sink or float. Provide a bucket of water and some objects. Or get some magnets and let the children find what materials are attracted to them.

We always enjoy having some creative fun when Freddy has a playdate or has his cousins over and the children always respond to the challenges and have a great time. If they take away a new skill or feel more confident because of the activities, then that makes it worth all the effort!

***

New Magic Squares from Petits Filous are yummy pots of fromage frais that come in strawberry & vanilla and raspberry & vanilla flavours. The contents of each individual pot is divided into a quadrant of squares of the two individual flavours ready to be stirred together, eaten in alternate mouthfuls or enjoyed separately. It lets kids mix up the magic!  Freddy favoured the 'dive in and scoff the lot' approach! He loved the mix of fruitiness and creamy vanilla flavours.

This post is an entry for BritMums #MagicSquaresPlaydates Linky Challenge, sponsored by Petits Filous.

Family Get Togethers are #BetterwithCake

Cake is a food that is synonymous with celebration. Any event is instantly elevated to party status with the addition of a good cake or two. 

I remember going for Sunday tea at my grandparents' house every weekend as a child and waiting eagerly for my Nan's cake tray to be brought to the table - as soon as we had finished our boiled ham sandwiches, our cucumber in vinegar and our boiled eggs. As the cakes arrived, I would eye up the array of tasty treats, picking out which of the offerings I would choose. If there were Fondant Fancies on offer I would be over the moon! The sweet morsels just seemed so fancy - totally living up to their name! I loved the colourful fondant icing, that little creamy bit on top and the soft sponge. They really are one of the iconic, nostalgia inducing foods from my childhood in the 70's.

Fast forward forty years and cake still has that ability to make any family get together a celebration. Receiving a cake delivery from Mr Kipling this Easter was perfectly timed as my three eldest kids were all coming home for a bank holiday weekend visit. Having all five of my children together is quite honestly my favourite thing in the world.  The noise, the laughter, the chaos, the fun...add some yummy cakes to that equation and this get together was guaranteed to be exceedingly good!

At those times when you are pushed for time or don't want to be stuck in the kitchen baking, shop bought cakes can be a bit of a godsend. Some days I just want convenience over feeling like I'm in an episode of the Great British Bake Off. Don;t get me wrong, I love baking and the feeling of pride that comes with creating something gorgeous and tasty is pretty powerful. But I can't always harness my inner Mary Berry, so I'm glad to have an alternative for when my domestic goddess persona goes AWOL.

Classics like Viennese Whirls, French Fancies and Bakewell Tarts go down well with the family. Cakes look so pretty with their fancy shapes and colourful hues. Whipping them out of the store cupboard and popping them on a pretty plate creates an instant party in seconds.  Soon, everyone is happily tucking in to tea and cake, chatting and laughing (and picking the cherry off of their Bakewell Tarts! Does everyone do this - or just us?) 

Freddy loves cake and I love watching him select which one he wants with wide eyes and licked lips. The anticipation and the look of concentration as he chooses between them is precious. He has been known to flutter his eyelashes and cheekily ask "Can I have two, please?" when he struggles to pinpoint his decision down to just one cake. Watching him reminds me of six year old me, eyeing up my Nan's cake tray forty years ago.

Family get togethers are always #betterwithcake!

This post is an entry for #betterwithcake Linky Challenge (http://www.britmums.com/2015/03/the-easter-school-holidays-are-betterwithcake/), sponsored by Mr Kipling. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/mrkiplingcakes

Using Frozen Food - Convenient, versatile, healthy and cost effective #coolcookery

When it comes to convenience in the kitchen, frozen food is one of my favourite go to ingredients.  It comes ready to use straight from the freezer and you can use as much or as little as you need.  The variety of frozen food available goes way beyond ready meals, pizzas and frozen chips, you can also buy a huge amount of vegetables, herbs, fruits and Quorn products (plus of course meat and fish) to use in recipes to feed the family, and the freezing process retains more nutrition in fruit and veg than when bought fresh.

Frozen food - versatile, convenient and cost effective

Using frozen fruits and vegetables takes away a lot of the hard work with produce peeled and chopped and ready to use straight from the bag.  Peppers, mushrooms, spinach and onions are so easy to incorporate into meals.  Just use what you need and save the rest for another day meaning there is no waste. This makes it really cost effective and research shows that families could save up to £250 a year by making the switch to frozen!

No More Chopping or Peeling!!

Frozen mashed potato is so convenient.  Frozen into small chunks, you microwave the amount needed...no peeling, boiling or mashing required.  As it only contains potato, butter and milk, it is exactly like the mash you'd make from scratch.  Frozen mixed vegetables provide a selection of different veg to add colour, bulk and nutrients to favourite family meals.  Frozen chopped onion is brilliant to use, as no peeling or chopping means no tears!

The British Frozen Food Federation and Britmums have challenged me to come up with a Cool Cookery recipe for a family meal made using frozen foods.  I made a Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie using frozen sliced mushrooms, chopped onions, mixed vegetables, chopped garlic, mashed potato and Quorn Mince.  Using frozen food cuts down the preparation time, creates no waste and makes it quick and easy to make a nutritious and delicious family meal.  Great for when you are in a hurry.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup of frozen chopped onions

1 cup of frozen sliced mushrooms

1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables

1 teaspoon frozen chopped garlic

1 bag of Quorn Mince

1 teaspoon Marmite

1 teaspoon chopped Basil

ground black pepper

1 vegetable stock pot

150 ml boiling water

1 bag of frozen mashed potato

grated cheese (optional)

Method

Gently fry the onions and garlic, add the mushrooms until softened.

Add the Quorn mince and continue to cook until it is cooked through.

Add the frozen vegetables, the stock pot, seasoning and boiling water.

Simmer for about 10 - 12 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.

Meanwhile, cook the mash according to instructions.

Put the cooked Quorn base into an ovenproof dish and top with mash.

Grate over some cheese for a tasty topping.

Cook at GM6 for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with frozen green beans, cooked according to the pack instructions.

Another meal I made using the frozen produce was a One Pot Mexican Dish incorporating frozen Quorn fillets, chopped onion, sliced mushroom, garlic, chilli, sweetcorn and mixed peppers.  As all the preparation was already done I just had to throw in a can of Pinto beans and a pack of Mexican rice (cooked according to instructions) and we had a super quick and easy meal, that can be eaten as is or served in a wrap with grated cheese.

I am definitely an advocate for the use of frozen food as you can tell from my freezer (pictured below).  Frozen vegetables are often more nutritious, come ready prepared, are very convenient, last for ages in the freezer (which can result in a lot less waste than when using fresh produce) and are extremely versatile. It is a great idea to keep your freezer stocked up ready to make quick and easy family dinners. With big bags of vegetables costing just 89p in Iceland, they are a really cost effective way to get your family their five a day.  You can easily throw a handful of frozen vegetables into curries, stews, bolognese sauce or pasta dishes.  With a well stocked freezer, quality ingredients are always at hand and ready to use!

A well stocked Freezer!

I’m working with BritMums and Coolcookery.co.uk highlighting the versatility, economy and nutritional benefits of cooking with frozen food. All opinions are my own. For recipes and ideas visit http://bit.ly/coolcookery 

My Dream Family Holiday Destination

Travel for me has mainly consisted of European destinations over recent years.  Holidaying in rural France, city breaks in Amsterdam and even a Concorde flight to Paris  have been enjoyed, as we have created many wonderful memories.  That is the beauty of family holidays, knowing you are filling everyone's memory banks with lots of fabulous deposits to be drawn on throughout your future life. But with five children and finances being tighter, we've chosen UK breaks to save cash for the last couple of years, but that has never stopped me dreaming!

This summer, as I scrolled through my Facebook feed I was often struck by the amazing images of holiday destinations that flooded my newsfeed.  Photos of far flung beaches with sun-bleached sands and the azure ocean lapping at the shore, gave me pangs of wanderlust.  Seeing baby turtles swimming in the shallow, crystal waters made we so want to jump into the photos to experience the sight firsthand.  Bora-Bora has always been a place I have dreamed of visiting.  The stilted huts standing off shore hold a promise of the exotic, injecting some tropical magic into your life, even if it's just for one glorious week.

However, my dream destination isn't Bora-Bora, nor is it any other exotic, sun-kissed paradise. Although I would adore lying on a hammock, sipping a cocktail from a coconut shell and feeling the soft, warm, salty breeze on my skin, my dream destination is completely removed from this.  And this is the reason why.

I have a wonderful godson and nephew, Thomas.  He was the first baby I ever held and I adored him from the first moment I saw him. Over the years I have watched him grow into a man who stands a good four inches taller than me.  A man who harboured an ambition to move to America and make a life for himself on the other side of the pond.

This year, my godson and nephew made his dreams come true by marrying his lovely wife Ashley in a beautiful ceremony in Georgia.  We couldn't be there, but had our own celebration, when he sent me all the photographs taken on the day, pouring over each and every one of the images.  I shed many tears of pride and joy as I thought of everything Tom had been through and how hard he has worked to achieve his dreams. To say that I am a proud auntie is an understatement and I am utterly honoured to be involved in his life.

Now he is a resident of the USA, we stay in touch over Skype and I love our chats where I get to see him looking so at home in his new life.

There is nowhere in the world that holds more holiday appeal to me at this time than Atlanta, Georgia, in the state where my godson now resides.

Home to a rich culture, plenty of outdoor attractions, a zoo, botanical gardens, an aquarium (that is the biggest in the world), national parks, amazing architecture and the intriguing sounding World of Coca-Cola, there would be plenty to see and do.  And if we wanted to combine another dream destination, Florida is a neighbouring state.  I long to take my youngest children to Disneyland Resort Florida.

I visited Los Angeles back in 1993 and did the full touristy thing and have to admit to absolutely loving it all!  To do able to revisit the magic of Disney in the sunshine state would be a perfect way to spend a few days.  A holiday destination combining my godson and Mickey Mouse is truly the ultimate vacation!

Visiting Atlanta is definitely on the agenda and we are planning on making it a reality as soon as we possibly can.  I'd love to see the place that Thomas calls home, let him show us around and meet his new family.  The kids would adore the opportunity of visiting America and the idea of flying fills them with excitement.  Spending quality time with their cousin would be the icing on the cake!  A holiday in Atlanta would allow us to create lots of wonderful memories together as a family.  It really would be the most magical, memorable and emotional journey of a lifetime!


This post is an entry for the #Flying100 Family Holiday Challenge, celebrating how flying allows us to make memories and ‘be there’, in association with #Flying100. Find out more at http://bit.ly/flying100 

After School Chefs Challenge with Birds Eye #AfterSchoolChefs

We've been slowly getting ourselves back into some sort of routine after the long, carefree summer holidays. This means I am having to be much more organised when it comes to the kids' teatime routine.  Gone are the leisurely alfresco meals or the lazy trips to our local pub for an impromptu evening meal, instead I am having to sate hungry tummies after a full day at school.  It is important to me that they get something that they really enjoy after a hard day's learning and go to bed with a full belly!

Sometimes, the teatime routine proves slightly more taxing. Delivering a nutritious meal to the children in between the school run and their after school classes means on certain days I need to be super organised and have the ingredients ready for a quick dinner. Knowing that I can rely on the frozen food in my freezer really takes the pressure off, making it so much easier to feed my hungry brood. Frozen food is just so convenient.  You don't have to peel and chop vegetables, there's nothing fiddly to contend with - it's all prepared and ready to cook.  This can be an absolute godsend to a busy parent!

Making cooking and baking accessible to little ones is a great way to teach an important life skill that they will need in the future, plus it's a lovely way to enjoy some quality time with the kids. Involving them in the kitchen teaches them about the different foods, where ingredients come from and how to prepare them.  It helps with maths skills and problem solving, and also introduces them to the nutritional value of what they are eating.

I am lucky that I have an 11 year old daughter Kezia who is willing to give me a hand when I need one, plus I have a 5 year old son Freddy who loves cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  Together, we make an unstoppable team of After School Chefs who can, not only whip up a tasty teatime meal, but also have some fun in the process.  Plus it's a great opportunity to chat and catch up with the goings on of their day at school.  So I love to include them in the teatime routine when I can.  Even if it's just getting them to find something in the cupboard or freezer, arrange food on a baking tray or stir the contents of a saucepan, it is lovely to get them helping out and makes them feel useful.

My 18 year old daughter Ella has just started university and it's a great relief to me that she knows her way around a kitchen!  I don't have to worry about her going hungry or living off junk food, and I know she is a canny shopper trained to look for special offers in the supermarket.  Her cupboards and freezer at uni are well stocked! All the time spent baking and cooking with my little helpers (even when it sometimes takes twice as long to complete a task) has proven to be invaluable!

We are a family of vegetarians so for us the Birds Eye Vegetable Fingers, Potato Waffles, Mashtags, Rice Fusions and frozen vegetables are our favourite products from the brand.  It's so easy to throw the veggie fingers and waffles in the oven and boil up some peas and sweetcorn for a quick, tasty, vegetarian meal. The products are fun and child friendly so you know that the kids will be clearing their plates and leaving the table happy and full.  Or you can use the products as ingredients for recipes.  Adding a handful of frozen vegetables to stews, curries or pasta sauces is a great way to add some veg to the kids' diets.  Substitute waffles for toast and top with beans, or use instead of buns when serving burgers.  Use chopped up chunks of veggie finger to fill a pitta or wrap, just add salad.

The kids have a favourite meal made using Birds Eye Potato Waffles, which is a wholesome and filling teatime dish.  Eggy Waffles, can be served with mixed vegetables or beans and are something the kids can really help with.

Eggy Waffles Recipe

Firstly shallow fry the waffles gently in a pan until cooked through.

While they are cooking, beat two eggs and season with black pepper.  Pour the beaten egg slowly into the holes in the waffles (don't worry if the egg runs over!)

Gently heat until the egg starts to set, then flip the Eggy Waffle to cook the other side.  

Freddy added grated cheese to his and decorated it with a tomato ketchup smile!

The Eggy Waffle can be enjoyed on it's own or served with vegetables or beans for a delicious meal.  Freddy absolutely loved his eggy waffle, with the added cheese, which melted onto it.

Here is a video of Kizzy and Freddy making their Eggy Waffles.

                           


My top tips for coping with the term time teatime routine would be:

• Keep the freezer well stocked with frozen food for quick, easy, nutritious and convenient meals.
• Involve the kids with the cooking.  It's educational, it's fun and it makes them excited to eat the end product.
• Let the kids get creative...a tomato sauce smile goes a long way towards making food kid-friendly!
• Plan ahead!  Be prepared and plan what you'll be making in advance, especially when time is tight.
• Throw a handful of frozen veg into stews, shepherd's pies, pasta sauces or curries to add some hidden vegetable goodness.  The kids will happily eat it and you'll get no unpleasant teatime vegetable eating stand-offs.
• Use teatime as quality family time.  Sit down together and enjoy a chat as you eat.
• Enjoy the time spent cooking and eating with your little ones, because before you know it they will be off to university and fending for themselves just like my Ella!

This post is an entry for #Afterschoolchefs Linky Challenge, sponsored by Birds Eye. Learn more on the Birds Eye Facebook page.

My Kitchen Story - what my kitchen means to me

The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home.  Others see it as the room that you are always found in at parties. For some it is the place to sit and natter with friends over a cup of tea.  But for me, my kitchen is the place where I do my best to keep my family healthy through the meals I cook. It's practical rather than cosy, and functional rather than being somewhere to socialise.  I may not enjoy too many evenings spent sipping G&T's at the breakfast bar and putting the world to rights, but I've done a whole lot of cooking in my kitchen!

We have been vegetarian as a family since the year 2000.  My eyes were opened to the old idiom 'you are what you eat' after researching the food industry for health reasons.  I discovered lots of things that I disagreed with from a compassionate, a spiritual and a biological point of view.  I was inspired to make changes, not just to myself, but to my whole family.  So we embarked on a new eating adventure together with open eyes, where our new mantra became 'if it's got a face we ain't eating it!'

With meat, poultry and fish off the menu, I started to find recipes using lentils, pulses, tofu, Quorn, soya and vegetables. I discovered a whole world of delicious ingredients and enjoyed experimenting with them to come up with my own family meals.

As the years went by, my interest in food and healthy eating increased.  We cut back on dairy products, increased the amount of wholefoods in our diet and reduced the amount of refined sugar we consumed. Don't get me wrong, we still enjoy a cheeky Indian takeaway or a big, veggie topped pizza and we love a good home made cake, but on a balance we do the best we can to eat as well as we can. It's not restricting to eat this way. In fact it's been liberating to discover new foods and experiment with wholesome ingredients and bold flavours.

My slow cooker, food processor and spiralizer have become essential kitchen appliances that I use all the time to make food. I love a good gadget and kitchen gadgets are my absolute favourite things. I even have a fondness for my squeezy egg separator that sucks the yolk clean out of the white. I could spend all day browsing the internet for the latest time saving device or humorously shaped silicone cake pan!

These days my cupboards are stocked with red and green lentils, coconut oil, Chia seeds, nuts, dried pulses, buckwheat flour and nutritional yeast flakes.  They are unrecognisable from my shelves of yesteryear,  filled with HobNobs, Pringles and KitKat Chunkies.

There are still some days when I just feel utterly unmotivated to do anything and these are the days when I am grateful for my American style fridge-freezer which I keep stocked with Quorn nuggets, veggie sausages and bean burgers. A bit of convenience food comes in handy from time to time!  Throw in some potato waffles and a can of beans and the kids are fed for the night.

If I ever won the lottery (I can dream!!) I would love a house with a huge, modern kitchen with an island in the middle where the family could sit and chat and where I could spread myself out while preparing food.  I'd have cupboards filled with fancy kitchen gadgets, novelty bakeware and gorgeous crockery. I'd spend many an hour cooking and baking and would serve up plenty of good meals and yummy treats for my family. Of course I would also love the convenience of having a huge and super efficient new dishwasher to clean up all the pots and pans, with Fairy Platinum dishwasher tablets effortlessly keeping everything sparkling clean.  (Failing that, my Ian is an excellent and very accommodating pot wash!)

In the meantime, until my six numbers come up on a Saturday night, I will continue to enjoy my kitchen exactly as it is, and continue to do my best when it comes to feeding my veggie family!

“This post is an entry for the “My Kitchen Story” Linky Challenge, sponsored by Fairy Platinum.”

Saving Money as a Morrisons Mum

I was recently invited by Britmums to be a #MorrisonsMum. I was gifted with £80 of vouchers so I could do my Bank Holiday grocery shopping.  Morrisons is my regular place to shop, as we are lucky enough to have a reasonable sized store in our little town, but with their new permanent price cuts on over a thousand of their most popular products, I was interested to see if I would be able to cut the cost of my weekly bill.

Armed with my vouchers, my trolley and my trusty shopping sidekick Ian, we hit the store on Saturday morning, our usual shopping day.

You enter the store and walk straight into the Fruit and Vegetable aisles.  Being on a bit of a health kick, I went a bit mad stocking up on the 3 for £1.50 and 2 for £3.00 fruit and veg offers.  With carrots, melons, sweet potatoes, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, apples, mushrooms, peppers, grapes, cauliflowers, avocado, spinach, pears, salad, dates, cucumber and a coconut in our trolley we had made sure we'll be getting our five a day for days to come.

I am always impressed with the quality of the fresh produce in Morrisons.  I also really like the 'Stores Seconds' section, selling the odd loose bits and bobs for cheap.  I found a huge punnet of raspberries and one of strawberries for just 85p each.  They obviously needed eating on the same day, but that was fine for me and my berry loving brood.

Looking out for the new yellow stickered 'I'm Cheaper' products, which are clearly identified in store, meant I was able to save on a few everyday essentials.

I was really pleased to find Shredded Wheat permanently reduced by 40p and wholemeal bread down to 59p a loaf. Both things we buy regularly, so this will represent a genuine saving week to week.  Frozen Quorn mince, sausages and pieces have also had their prices cut, along with Heinz tomato ketchup, own brand ready meals, fresh soups, washing up liquid, Marmite, baby products, cereals, fresh produce, frozen goods, pasta, rice and toiletry products.  On average, prices have been slashed by 17%.

In addition to these permanently lowered prices across the store, there are also a host of special offers including half price Quorn sausages and burgers.  I love it when vegetarian food is on special and I tend to stock up. The BOGOF and half price offers are always a  big attraction, and I work my weekly menus around what is on offer each week.  My multisave offers saved me £4.26 off my bill on this shop. 

We had a trolley filled up with lots of healthy fruit and vegetables, vegetarian staples (such as Quorn and Tofu), wholefoods (such as Quinoa), tinned foods and frozen items.  We also bought Cushelle loo rolls and some toiletries.

I was delighted with all the shopping we bought, which is enough for a whole week of healthy eating, with some extras for the store cupboard and freezer.

The first meal that we enjoyed over the Bank Holiday weekend was an indoor barbecue (Ian had unknowingly used up all last year's coals)!  For the kids, we did Quorn burgers in a bun with salad and fried potatoes. The price was:

Quorn Burgers £1.12 for 2
Large Bread Rolls £1.00 for 6
Salad 99p for 2 bags
Potatoes 50p (part of the 3 for £1.50 deal)
Heinz Tomato Ketcup 700g £1.99

So each plate would cost just over £1.  Much cheaper than a fast food restaurant - and much better too!

For me, I had a grilled Portabello Mushroom (£1.69 for 4) topped with Halloumi (£2.35 a pack) served with sweet potatoes (£1.39 for a bag of six) and salad.

I also made some fabulous smoothies using half of both of the punnets of berries (85p) I bought in the seconds section of the fruit aisle, along with an organic banana (30p) and a cup of almond milk (£1.49 a litre) plus a handful of frozen fruit I had in the freezer.

The cost per glass of delicious Banana Berry Smoothie was just 40 p and it was delicious!

Morrisons money saving offers and own brand and big brand price cuts are definitely competing with the discount supermarkets when it comes to lowering the cost of grocery shopping.  And for me, the shopping experience, the cafe, the helpful staff (the lady who overheard me talking about not being able to find Tofu, then leaped in to assist us without having to be asked, was an absolute gem) and the other promotions (we got a voucher for 6p off a litre of fuel for spending over £40) means that I intend to remain a loyal Morrisons Mum!