Spooky Sandwich Ideas for Halloween

This Halloween, I've been making some fun spooky sandwiches using Warburtons bread.  From a Wholemeal Jack O'Lantern to a Thins Monster to a Bread Roll Ghoul, adding a bit of scary flair will make teatime extra fun for little ones.

The Sandwich Thins Monster is filled with cheese spread and decorated with cheese slice fangs and a red pepper tongue.  Raisins pressed into two cut out circles make his eyeballs. 

The Jack O' Lantern has cut out eyes and nose with the cheese filling showing through.  

Using Halloween shaped cookie cutters, I made some simple, little Marmite bats and cheese spread ghosts, but my favourite sandwich that I made is the Bread Roll Ghoul filled with jam, and with grape eyes and sliced almond teeth.  A spot of chocolate sauce made his eyeballs.  A sweet treat to enjoy at Halloween!

As they are all made using Wholemeal or Half and Half bread, they are a healthier, higher fibre option for children to enjoy.  Even fussy kids will enjoy eating something that captures their imagination.

It's fun to get creative with food at Halloween and kids love helping out with the making as well as the eating.  With some cutters or a knife and a bit of imagination you can turn the humble sandwich into something with a Halloween theme.  They will look great as a part of a Halloween spread or will make a tasty teatime treat for your little monsters.

However you celebrate Halloween, I hope you have some real spooky fun for your family this year!

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Is Breakfast More of a Breaktask?

Breakfast here Inside the Wendy House during term time is not a pretty affair.  Ella, who catches a ridiculously early bus for college, grabs a cereal bar and is out the door by 7.15am while I am still in bed.  Freddy will undoubtedly be lying on my head at this time, as he still ends up bed-sharing and has never slept through the night to date.  At 8am I have to wake him up and coax him into getting out of our comfy kingsize and downstairs for breakfast.  Thankfully, Kizzy is a very independent 10 year old who gets up and ready for school without any need for nagging, but the occasional hunt for discarded school sweatshirts, tights without holes, swimming kits and a matching pair of shoes can pose an unexpected early morning problem.

Eventually we make it downstairs to the kitchen where the standard item on the breakfast menu is toast and apple juice for the kids, black coffee for me.  Thankfully my husband is in charge of packed lunches which he makes before dropping Ella at the bus stop on his way to work. That means one less task for me (I love that man!!)  Getting Freddy to eat is quite a task as he is too busy playing some imaginative, make-believe game involving zapping power and shrinking spells.  I try to put on his shoes and coat if he stops moving long enough for me to do so.  If we are too pushed for time, the toast comes with us in the car to school and nursery.  I often find fossilised crusts down the back of Fred's car seat!

Warburton's have commissioned some research that has proved that mums juggle twice as many challenges in the morning than senior businessmen and women do in the first 73 minutes of the day.  There are an average of 9.8 chores during the average breakfast hour which can prove very taxing.  In fact 27% of mums say they find the breakfast rush hour and school run more stressful than a visit from the in-laws!  Breakfast time is all about multi-tasking in an effort to get all the jobs done and the kids off to school on time.

Warburtons are in the process of compiling a book of  useful tips, ideas and recipes to help families across the nation make the breakfast rush-hour less stressful and more enjoyable. Check out the Warburton's Facebook page where you can give your own advice and have a chance of winning prizes!!

Warburtons sent us a hamper of their baked goods to inspire us at breakfast time.  Having different loaves such as the half and half, the seeded batch or the farmhouse white, makes breakfast time more interesting. Just to have a change from toast in the mornings now and again is nice, so switching to crumpets or brioche makes a great alternative and takes no more time to prepare.

My top tip for breakfast times is definitely to delegate.  With Ian preparing the lunchboxes, the kids getting their school stuff ready the night before and Kizzy popping the bread in the toaster for Freddy and herself while I get Fred dressed, the stress levels are greatly diminished!

At weekends when time is not an issue, we have a later breakfast and enjoy egg or beans on toast....lovingly made by daddy!

Are You Getting Enough Fibre In Your Diet?

I recently took part in a campaign with Warburtons.  Kizzy and I kept a three day food diary to see if we were getting enough fibre in our diet.  With 90% of women not reaching their GDA of fibre and only 1% of adults being aware of the GDA for a child aged between 5 to 10 years old, fibre intake is a bit of a mystery to most of the population.

Warburtons hope to encourage mums to increase their fibre intake especially as many women are cutting down on the amount of carbs, such as bread, pasta and potatoes, they are eating for weightloss reasons.  By doing so, they are missing out on the important nutrients from this food group including fibre.

Fibre is found in wholegrain products such as wholemeal bread, cereals, fruit, pulses and vegetables.  As a vegetarian, we consume a lot of these foods so my fibre analysis showed that I was one of the 10% of women reaching their GDA of 24g a day! (Go me!!)  Kizzy's intake was also spot on achieving an intake of 15g of fibre a day.  I was very pleased to see these results and feel confident that I am providing a good diet for my family.

Dr Hilary Jones has some tips to help us increase our fibre intake:

Increase your fibre slowly
Your body needs to adjust to a change of fibre intake.  Add no more than 5g a day until you reach your GDA of 24g for an adult.

Drink more water
When you increase your fibre intake, increase the amount of water you drink too.

Eat the whole fruit and vegetable
The skin of fruit and vegetables contains fibre so make sure to eat your jacket potato skins!  Aim to eat whole fruits rather than just smoothies or juices.

Aim for 3 portions a day
Spread your fibre intake throughout the day across three meals.

Kids should eat fibre too
Fibre should be introduced to under 5s gradually through fresh fruit, veg and whole grains.  Children aged 5 - 10 should consume about 15g a day.

Taking simple steps such as switching to wholemeal bread and pasta, brown rice and wholegrain cereals helps increase your fibre intake.  Eating a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables is also good.  Including pulses such as beans and lentils is a good source of soluble fibre in the diet (and are really versatile and delicious too).

Warburtons have a great range of fibre rich bread products that will help you get your 24g of fibre to help keep you healthy!  The kids love the 50/50 bread for their toast.

Warburtons also have created the Fibre Provider hub on its Facebook page featuring tips, recipes and product information to help families reach their GDA's of fibre.

Warbutons Pour Le Petit Dejeuner!

We're off to France for Easter!  To get us in the mood, Warburton's have sent us a box of breakfast goodies including their fabulously French Brioche in three new exciting flavours.  Perfect timing!

Warburton's are giving a real continental flavour to breakfast time with their Chocolate Chip Brioche Loaf.  The soft, doughy Brioche loaf comes ready sliced and is studded with real choc chips.  It is delicious lightly toasted and if topped with chocolate spread makes a real indulgent breakfast with a European twist!  Perfect for special occasions, after all, who doesn't dream of eating chocolate for breakfast!!  I liked it straight from the packet on its own...it is very cakey and light.

The Butter Brioche Rolls come individually packed so can be enjoyed on the go.  They taste delicious eaten as they are with their rich, sweet flavour and the kids really love them.  Perfect for breakfast, lunch boxes or as a snack, they are convenient, filling and tasty.  Each pack contains eight rolls.

Raisin Brioche Swirls really are a taste of France.  Individually wrapped swirls of soft Brioche Dough are filled with luscious Creme Patisserie and studded with juicy raisins adding flavour and texture that my husband absolutely loved!  Perfect for taking on car journeys to provide a substantial snack for the kids that they will love.

I was very impressed by the Warburton's Brioche which is baked with the same love and attention as the other bakery products which are already a huge hit here Inside the Wendy House.  The brioche is just so soft and delicious.  The use-by-dates are quite long and they can be frozen too, so they will stay fresh which is always a consideration when buying baked goods.

These French breakfast goodies are really authentic and make a welcome change to our normal morning offerings...what's more to say but "Vive Le France!"