Food

Diet – and my journey to improve what we eat

Valentine’s Day finest* a la carte Meal Deal £20

Valentine's Day finest* a la carte Meal Deal £20

This Valentine’s Day why not try the finest* a la carte Meal Deal for Two only £20. This is a saving of between £10.99-£16.00 if you bought the items separately. Best of all you don’t even have to both like the same things! Order 2 main courses, 2 side dishes and 2 desserts – then add … Read more

Brewers Fayre & Festive Menu Review

Brewers Fayre & Festive Menu Review

We were invited to review a Brewers Fayre and I jumped at the chance as we really do like them. First of all we like the fair pricing (we love the all you can eat buffet and refill drinks), free parking, loyalty card and on our visit we also received discount vouchers for January. Our … Read more

McCain – helping with meals when time is short

There really is not enough hours in the day. I have been trying really hard to get enough sleep otherwise I feel really rubbish. I have long since given up on listening to all the advice about what I should and shouldn’t be doing with my kids long ago. After all, everyone disagrees with someone somewhere so whatever I chose to do there’s going to be someone else telling me I’m doing it wrong. I have 4 children who are currently at 3 different schools. Luckily the youngest two are at the local school, but the older two are much further away. Yes my choice, but it often means something has to give. Lunchtime I often seem to miss out on lunch. It is something I really need to work on. I often reach out for a packet of crisps. So it was great to be offered some McCain’s as part of food fortnight. They sent me some vouchers and off I went. The obvious choice me was their fries ready in 5 minutes. This meant that I had no excuse that lunch time not to grab a quick bite to eat. I simply coupled them with some mayonnaise. After School The older boys and my husband do not arrive home until 5pm, so when we needed to be back at the school (16 miles away) for 6pm it did not leave much time for food. I feel it is really important to eat as a family. To be honest if I had not made something quickly before we went then who knows when we would have eaten, and it would have probably resulted in eating out. Again this was a perfect time to cook the Fries ready in 5 minutes. This time I put some fishfingers under the grill and added some baked beans to add a bit of a healthy option to the dinner. This meal was also one that all the boys ate without complaint, as I really did not have time for fussy eating. Chips Appeal Sometimes it is a struggle with a fussy eater. I want to encourage him to eat a balanced diet without going hungry. With us all being so busy we often struggle with meal planning, or food going off. I like how I can have a meal just tucked away in the freezer. I believe that frozen vegetables are healthier too, as they lock in the goodness. Couple with a chicken and vegetable pie and some chips - again a meal which is appealing to the children. That way I can concentrate on getting them to eat their vegetables. Then there’s the ultimate comfort food dinner - we had sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, baked beans and chips - what’s not to love. McCains have such a huge variety of potato based products - in all sorts of shapes, sizes - and they even have chips they cook in the microwave. How often do you have chips? What do you eat them with? What do you cook when you are short on time?

There really is not enough hours in the day. I have been trying really hard to get enough sleep otherwise I feel really rubbish. I have long since given up on listening to all the advice about what I should and shouldn’t be doing with my kids long ago. After all, everyone disagrees with someone … Read more

Pancake Pick N Mix – Healthy Breakfast Challenge

Pancake Pick N Mix - Healthy Breakfast Challenge

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so I was delighted to be asked to take part in the Regis Stone Non-Stick Breakfast Challenge. I was interested in the pans ability to be used with no additional oils or butter as I am a Zero Waste Ambassador. I was asked to create my … Read more

Chocolate Almond Truffles – Father’s Day Gift

fathers day chocolate almond truffles

I am sure that I am not alone in finding men difficult to buy for. This week sees my husband’s birthday, our wedding anniversary and Father’s day! I like to get something personal in there and previously we made Father’s Day biscuits. This year I was lucky enough to go on a chocolate course, so … Read more

Minecraft Cakes

Minecraft cakes @pinkoddy

We really did have a busy summer, so much so that I’d promised my 5 year old that we would make cakes. He asked and asked and asked, because our days were so full and they were already going to bed quiet late. But one evening he got his wish (and ended up in bed … Read more

Step by Step Photos Dinosaur Cake

I really like dinosaurs and so does my youngest son. When he said that for my birthday I should have a dinosaur party I agreed! My husband went to great lengths to give me a great dinosaur party including making his own dinosaur cake. He knows how much I LOVE photos so he took these … Read more

Dinosaur Birthday Party

My youngest son, who has Special Needs, gets really hung up about birthdays. He was meant to be born on my birthday, but instead decided to come 5 weeks earlier. So when it came to planning my birthday he had really not got over his. He thought that every birthday should be his birthday. When … Read more

Dining with Dinosaurs #Hungry2Happy Challenge

This post is an entry for Britmums’ Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs Trying to keep up with all the demands of family life is no mean feet I tell you – and I’m a full time stay at home mom – so hats off to those of you who work as … Read more