A Strawberry Picking Adventure with Barny

One of summer's greatest yet simplest of pleasures is to enjoy delicious, sun-ripened soft fruits picked straight from the plants.  I remember strawberry picking as a child and now I get to relive the fun with my own children. Nothing beats the taste of a sun warmed strawberry picked and popped straight into the mouth.

Mumnet sent us some strawberry flavoured Barny snacks, which are individually wrapped teddy bear shaped sponges with a tasty hidden centre!  They challenged us to have a little adventure with our family so a strawberry picking adventure with Barny seemed very apt!

It was really interesting for Freddy to learn all about how strawberries grow. We chatted about the things that plants need and he was very interested in how the berries turned from green to red.  Children love nature and it's a lovely way for some hands-on learning.

Our strawberry picking adventure wasn't just for Freddy's enjoyment. The older children loved being in the beautiful countryside enjoying the sunshine.  Picking berries is a very therapeutic pastime and we all made plans for recipe ideas using our fruity haul...Summer Berry Crumble anyone??

Freddy remembered one of his favourite stories, "The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry and the Big, Hungry Bear."  We had fun thinking of all the ways in which the mouse could keep the bear from eating his strawberry. We hoped that Barny wouldn't try and eat all of our strawberries!

We picked some lovely fresh fruit which everyone enjoyed!  Fruit that has been freshly picked is just so superior to supermarket fruit that has been picked before it is fully ripened.  It's lovely for little ones to taste fruit how it should be enjoyed - sun-warmed and sweet.

Freddy enjoyed a delicious snack of a strawberry Barny and some lovely red, ripe strawberries to accompany it!  Barny sponges are free from artificial preservatives and colours and are made from real ingredients such as wheatflour, eggs, milk and sugar.  In addition to the strawberry flavour, there are apple, chocolate and milk varieties.  They make great little snacks for children, and as they are individually packaged they are perfect for lunchboxes or when out and about on adventures.

Freddy - My Little Adventurer

Freddy is now my little schoolboy and takes a packed lunch everyday.  As part of his lunchbox, he has a Barny bear shaped sponge snack that has a hidden, chocolatey centre.  He loves them.  So much so that I stocked up with loads of multi-packs when they were on offer at our local supermarket.

When I saw Britmums were running a linky in conjunction with Barny about the adventures that our little ones enjoy, I just had to join in.  I wasn't quick enough to get a free sample, but as I had my stockpile, I wasn't too upset - after all we'd aready discovered the exciting world of Barny!

Freddy is my Little Adventurer, a 4 year old on a mission to discover, explore and enjoy the environment around him.  He loves to climb on things, run through things, jump over things, swing on things, look at things and pick up things!

We are so lucky to have a local community farm just a few minutes away from our house.  There are some wonderful walks and discovery trails where he can explore the flora and fauna of the countryside.  He loves being with his family and going on an adventure.  He finds sticks that he pretends are wands and casts Harry Potter style spells on us all, turning us into frogs.  Then the stick becomes a pirate's sword for some swashbuckling action, while fallen logs become planks to walk.  He builds dens, goes on a 'bear hunt' or searches for Grufalo.  The trees are a magical woodland full of mystery and with his imagination anything is possible.

He fills his pockets with leaves, twigs, stones and flowers.  Sometimes I think he's starting his own mini-compost heap!  If I remember, pockets are emptied out and the bountiful contents are examined.  If I forget, the washing machine gets a few extra bits in the laundry.

I love to watch my Little Adventurer at play.  Packing an individually wrapped Barny and a drink in my bag for an emergency snack gives him the energy he needs to keep going on his exciting, outdoor adventures.

This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Little AdventuresChallenge’ in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here” 

We All Love Our Dairylea!

Two exciting new flavours of Dairylea are now on sale in Tesco supermarkets:  Mighty Mature and Springy Onion.  The all natural recipe sees the addition of tangy mature cheddar or spring onion to liven up a family favourite.  We've been sent one of each to test, so today as an after school snack, I challenged the kids to dip and spread the cheesy goodness onto various accompaniments to see what they liked best!

Using carrot sticks, bread sticks, oatcakes and sliced bread, the two varieties of New Dairylea were thoroughly enjoyed.  It was nice providing a healthy after school snack for the children and seeing them enjoy it so enthusiastically.

17 year old Ella loved the Mighty Mature, which is really flavoursome and tangy, as a dip for carrot sticks.  Kizzy, 10, loved the Spring Onion on oatcakes best of all.  3 year old Freddy favoured the Mighty Mature spread on sliced, white bread.  Both flavours were a big hit with the children.

The new Dairylea flavours are versatile additions to the range.  As well as spreading on bread or crackers or dipping with veggie sticks, crisps or breadsticks, they can be dolloped on jacket potatoes, salad or on pasta.  or mixed into mash potato.  They are really yummy and will definitely be on my shopping list!

I think the Mighty Mature is exceptionally good.  It may be targeted as a children's spread, but it is definitely something adults will enjoy.  It is deliciously mature, with a lovely texture.  It would make a lovely cheesy topping on a Quorn Fillet or over new potatoes.  

They come in 160g tubs, are suitable for vegetarians, contain all natural ingredients including milk and cheese and bring an exciting new twist to the Dairylea Brand.  The new flavours will be coming to Asda and Morrison's at the end of the month.

Follow Dairylea's news by liking their Facebook page and keep up to date on the latest products, fun, competitions and cheesy chatter!!

Love Custard? You'll Love Ambrosia Snacks!

Ambrosia, the makers of the finest custard (in my humble opinion) have launched a new range of children's snacks.  These pocket sized packets of treats are perfect for days out or lunch boxes. Individual bags of custard covered fruit pieces are available in apple and banana varieties. We were sent two boxes to try out.

The coated, chewy fruit pieces come in portion sized bags.  Each box contains 5 packs.  The packaging is really fun and a perfect size for little hands.

My Tiny Testers Kizzy and Freddy tried them out.  Freddy really loved them and when I sampled them I realised why!  The banana flavour transformed me back to my childhood when I used to eat foam banana sweets.  The taste was intensely banana-y!!  They were chewy and so moreish.  They are completely vegetarian and a healthier alternative to sweets.  For a treat, they are a good option.

 Kizzy liked the apple flavour best as she is not a big fan of banana flavoured things.  She enjoyed them very much.  She takes dried fruit to school in her lunch box and these would make a nice change.  The apple and custard flavours transported my taste buds to memories of apple pie and custard at my mum's house.

The Ambrosia Custard Coated Fruit Flakes are very interesting and unlike anything we had tried before. They are intensely flavoured and are more of a fruity chew than a flake (which they are called on the packets). They are definitely a better alternative to sweets which are just empty calories, and will make a nice treat for my children to enjoy!

They are available in Tesco and Morrison's stores nationwide priced at £1.89 for a box of 5 x 20g packs.