Today's Mini Moment - Laughing Cow Cheese Triangles

We have been sent some Laughing Cow cheese triangles for the boys to try out. We received the light blue cheese ones and also light emmental. Both boys loved these! BoyG's favourite was the emmental but I preferred the blue cheese and BabyG loved them both.

The boys' favourite way of eating these cheese triangles is on a cracker as a healthy snack or in a sandwich but they are so tasty that both boys also like to eat them on their own straight from the fridge!

These are available to buy in most supermarkets.

Today's Mini Moment - Knorr stock pots

I have been sent some Knorr stock pots and gravy pots. They are something I have thought about using but never thought to try them. Now I wonder how I lived without them - I have been using these in almost everything!

I have used them to enhance the flavours in more detailed dishes and used them as the main ingredient in quick, easy and filling lunches. I have even used the vegetable stock pot to season my rice, and the beef stock pot to add extra flavour to a home made curry.

My sweet and sour chicken is a hit at dinner time in this house. I added the herb infusion to it and it made it even tastier. You could really taste the herbs!

I also used the herb infusion in a lunch time dish which has become a favourite with DaddyG, BoyG and even BabyG!! I simply mixed some cooked pasta with a herb infusion pot and some chopped up cooked sausages. Seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. That's it! Simple!

I was sent these products by Knorr, but they are available in most supermarkets.

Out with the family in Southwold

DaddyG has had some time off work so we have been spending some time together having fun and just enjoying some family time. We went to visit the family in Southwold for a few days and enjoyed some sun sea sand and family.

We went crabbing at the harbour. I'm not sure if the adults or children enjoyed it more but it was lots of fun! We all had a paddle in the (very cold) sea, even BabyG had a quick dip of his toes!


BoyG on the boating lake

 

BoyG and his cousing on the boats




BoyG took this picture of his cousin

 

Three sister-in-laws enjoying the sun



DaddyG and his Brother

 

The excitement was all too much for BabyG!!



Let's go fly a kite...



All the family together



Crabbing at Southwold harbour



Counting the crabs and letting them go



Tommee Tippee Steri-Bottles - Fuss free, mess free travelling!

I have been sent some steri-bottles from Tommee Tippee to try out. The bottles come sterile and ready to use. You unwrap one bottle, fill it with milk and it is ready to use. Then you just dispose of the bottle afterwards. No washing up, no sterilising, no mess and no fuss.

These seemed such a good idea as having our family spread out, I travel regularly with the boys. And with this gorgeous summer sunshine I am doing a lot of park visits and days out.

It was BoyG's Birthday on Sunday and after his party, his Nanny took him home with her and Grandad to have a mini holiday at her house for a couple of days. DaddyG and I took BabyG and went to collect BoyG on Tuesday. We decided to make a day of it so we arrived at lunch time to surprise the boy and have lunch out in the local garden centre. Once back at Nanny's house it was time for BabyG to have his milk, and this gave us the perfect opportunity to test the sterile bottles.

We got two bottles in the box but you can get larger packs. The teats are wrapped seperatly to the containers, and both are wrapped in a way that means the other bottle stays sterile until you need to use it. I was impressed to find the bottles even had the little cap to keep the teats clean once you have used the bottles.

The only thing that would have been better for us would have been a different teat size. The bottles come with 3+ months size teat but BoyG is 11 months old so he had to work for his milk. This wouldn't stop me buying them in the future though as they are handy to have for a spare for those 'just in case' moments.

A prince is born...

So our future prince is here!! And what a cute little boy he is too!!

I can't wait to find out what Kate and William call him. I think Arthur would be a good middle name. Comment below with your ideas!

Pyrex Flexi Twist For Kids - Product Review

Ive been agonising for weeks over what to do for BoyG's Birthday cake for his 4th Birthday, and then I get a parcel through the door from Pyrex with some Flexi Twist For Kids products. Included in the package was a silicone loaf tin with 'Happy Birthday' embossed in it!

So the decision was made! I would be making a banana and choc chip loaf cake using my Nanny's secret recipe!

This was a learning experience for me as I usually do this in a loaf tin with a liner, and I have never decorated one before so I had to think about the best way to do it. I didn't know if icing the top would ruin the lovely message in the cake so I opted for a chocolate cake covering that can be melted and poured over the top. Again this is a first for me as when icing a cake I usually make my own butter cream frosting.

So.... How did I get on....?

The first attempt at the cake was great... So good that someone small got a teeny bit too excited and ate some cake while it was cooling!!

Take 2.....

The second cake also came out good. Its so easy to get the cake out of the mold and the lettering on the top was near perfect.

For the icing, I decided to use a block of chocolate flavour cake covering. I just melted it in the microwave and as I didn't want it too heavy in case it ruined it, I used a pastry brush to carefully brush the melted chocolate on and then sprinkled some sprinkles over the top. The message didn't stand out very well after the chocolate covering so DaddyG used an icing set and outlined the letters with green icing. This worked but in the future when using this mold I would pick a recipe that doesn't need an icing so you can see the message more clearly.

I will definitely use this again, and the packaging does have a recipe printed inside so I will give that a go next time.

Chobani strained yoghurt - Review

Ive just tried a Chobani strained yoghurt in raspberry. Its so creamy I had trouble believing that it is 0% fat!

The taste definitely didn't suffer from it being low fat, and it was the perfect size for a filling snack.

Full of naturally sourced ingredients, thick and really creamy, 0% fat, and if that's not enough, Chobani give 10% of their profits to charities worldwide!!

I was sent this yoghurt from Chobani but you can buy them in supermarkets in the yoghurt aisle.