Let's do lunch :)

I used to cook all the time. 

I'd lovingly prepare food for me and Hubbie and then when we had Brown Bear I weaned him with fresh fruit and vegetables and meals made from scratch. Of course when he resolutely refused to eat I was left wondering why I'd bothered and in recent years I've noticed how little I actually cook from scratch and it amazes me that I've come to this. 

I take feeding my family seriously and am super lucky that all the boys love fruit and veg as much as they do. We have a constantly topped up supply of apples, grapes and bananas in the house and the boys love seasonal fruit like mangoes and strawberries - which is a blessing. 

Eating outside the home was initially a bit of an issue as I would have to take food with me for Brown Bear as he wouldn't eat sandwiches so that made it a bit of an effort. I'd have to find alternatives that he would eat and would often just keep plenty of snacky type bits - apple fingers, halved grapes,  rice cakes and breadsticks - for him to nibble on. 

Packed lunches have always been part of our meal preparation. It was me who persuaded Hubbie to take a packed lunch to work every day instead of spending upwards of £7 daily on an unhealthy array of food. I started off making the sandwiches for him an assembling the lunch then slowly he did it himself and now it's so established that sometimes he even prefers taking his own lunch to eating out. 

It was because Brown Bear was such a fusspot that I had to try alternative ways to get him to eat lunch. I've tried making wraps, mini bread rolls, flatbreads and ever dairylea dunkers to get him to eat protein and carbs. It was on a long drive one day after school that he finally gave in to sandwiches. I'd made a box of cheese sandwiches for him to eat and as he sat in the car for over 2 hours he chomped his way through them. Since then it's been a much simpler task as when we go out I can make rolls or sandwiches for him and Blue Bear. In fact I bring a small sandwich box with me when I pick up Blue Bear from pre-school and he eats them in the car. He loves flatbreads, mini rolls and breadsticks too. he takes a packed lunch twice a week and I always put in a sandwich or roll, some fruit or raisins and a fruit based drink. He likes to have a snack so I'll pop in a rice cake or two. I also find crunchy foods appeal to the boys so these snack cucumbers are ideal as they are fresh tasting, not too big and cute in the lunchbox too.

I'm always inspired when I see other people's efforts with lunch - from sandwiches cut in the shape of stars to beautiful 'bento' style lunches. It's a good way to get ideas for lunch when the same old same old just isn't cutting it any more. A Flora commissioned University of Leeds study found that only 1.6% of children in England take a packed lunch that meets the nutritional standards for school meals. Shockingly only 17% of lunches even contain any vegetables or salad. I realise that not every child likes vegetables, but surely that's low by anyone's standards ? 

Flora sent us some meal ideas including chicken pittas, pasta with tuna and herbs, couscous salad some lovely ideas for filled wraps. I have to admit that sneaking veg into my kids really does appeal and all of these recipes were tasty and simple to make. I rarely make wraps for my boys, but they do love chappatis so I spread them with something tasty and then roll them up and cut it into smaller bite sized pieces to make it easier to eat. Blue Bear likes a bit of spice in his food so a spread of vegetable korma or dhal would also go down a treat for him. I always include plenty of fruit and veg and Brown Bear loves sweetcorn so pinwheels made of slices or corn on the cob work well for him. Sliced carrots and cucumbers with a small pot of houmous in a coolbox make for a nice summer lunch option. Blue Bear also likes ham so I roll it round a breadstick or a veg stick to make it more interesting.

It's great now my boys are into food on the move as I can experiment with different exciting food combinations. Now I've also got some new ideas to add to the range of options.

This post is an entry for the #FloraLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Flora. Check out their lunch planner and recipe ideas here: http://www.flora.com/article/category/1104207/healthy-kids 

If I was the hungry caterpillar I'd be stocking up on these.

I am a big fan of fruit. We buy lots of it and the boys all eat so many grapes and apples that I often have to restock half way through the week as we run out of them so fast. I prefer soft fruits like strawberries, cherries, apricots and nectarines and the exotic ones like mangoes, pineapple and passion fruit. The problem with this, however, is that my preferred fruits aren't as portable as an apple or even a banana.

If you've ever had a soft fruit related disaster you will be familiar with the search for a purse that results in a sticky - if fragrant - hand emerging from the soggy depths of a handbag where the carnage has occurred. If I want to enjoy fruit I either have to buy it while I'm out or carry plastic boxes to keep it from getting bashed around.

The alternative to this is to have dried fruit and I've tried a few different brands. Nothing But is a genuinely dried fruit snack that contains no chemicals at all. If you check the ingredients of most dried fruits you will notice that they have been processed in some way, but this brand is just the fruit with all the water taken out. It's a bit drier as a result, but full of intense flavour and maintains the bright colours of the fruit. Some dried products have an oily texture and a funny smell, Nothing But snacks smell like fruit and taste like it too. Sounds obvious, but it really does make a difference.

The varieties include savoury options (pea and sweetcorn is one and mange tout and red pepper is another) but the ones I tried were strawberry and banana, pineapple and grape and finally apple and fig. They are handbag sized snack bags and I give them to my kids too when we are on the move as it's lighter to carry a bag of these than half a dozen apples which I usually have to do. The varieties are also more interesting too, so I get the boys to eat fruit like figs which they might not otherwise want to try.

It's a handy snack to have when I'm on the move all day and don't have time to stop and eat anything. Instead of reaching for a flapjack or a pastry I can have some yummy fruit without guilt. Each pack is one of your five a day and makes a nice alternative to a biscuit or bag of crisps if you like to snack. I think these would make a nice addition to porridge - if you have time - or even to pop onto a cake if you're into the new 'naked cakes' craze. The main thing I have to do is hide them so that none of my boys pinch them - in our house these are officially 'Mummy snacks.'

Disclosure: The lovely folks at Nothing But Snacks sent us some samples to write an honest review. 

My boy's rainbow life

I don't subscribe to the idea of colours for boys or for girls. If my son likes something it doesn't matter what colour it is. As a result he has a pink and purple play kitchen, blue railway tracks, mega bloks in primary colours and a fair amount of red toys as he loves fire engines right now. I like to think my son's life is a riot of colour and here is why:

I cannot explain why my son chose to wear his pink pony dressing up outfit to watch TV with us, but he does look pretty cute doesn't he ?

My little pink pony

For weeks now we've seen strawberries growing on our plants in the garden. The last few years they've been pinched by animals before we've had a chance to eat them. This year we finally got to a homegrown red strawberry before the squirrels or birds got to it and it was thoroughly enjoyed by my boy.

My mini gardener

The boy went to play mini golf with Hubbie on Friday and he was so impressed with the green waterfall that he stopped to take a look during the game. I'm not sure that's what the pros do is it ? 

Mini golf for a mini golfer

It was Biggin Hill Airshow last weekend and the Red Arrows display was visible from our house - just about - the boy was really impressed with the red, white and blue smoke trails they left behind.

The Red Arrows

We made muffins on Friday, but it was a wonder there were any blueberries left to put in them as the boy is a big fan of all fruit and kept munching, 'just one more Mummy.'

Banana & blueberry muffins 

My boy loves public transport and especially buses. His favourite place is the London Transport Museum and being allowed to 'drive' is a dream come true for him - if you look closely you will see him here in the driver's seat.

A big red bus

And last, but by no means least, there is my boy's partner in naughtiness, Neo the cat. Known locally as 'the white cat' he is (in)famous. They are a dynamic duo and make me laugh every day.

Neo the white cat

So, those are the colours in my son's life. I think it's fair to say that red is the most prominent colour right now, but he is only three years old, so I'm sure that will change. For now I will keep bringing as many colours into his life as possible so he continues to enjoy a rainbow of experiences and fun.

This post is our entry to the Hillarys Blinds Children's True Colours Competition.

Review: Nothing But & Fru Snax

As you probably know I'm trying to get back into fitness right now so I'm watching what I eat and exercising every day. In order to not spoil all the good work I also need to keep drinking lots of water and find that while eating balanced meals is all well and good it's nice to have a little something to nibble on when I get hunger pangs between meals.

The problem is snacks like crisps (too much salt) or dried fruit (too much sugar) can be laden with calories and don't really hit the spot that well. I've tried various options, but unless you prepare your own pots of fresh fruit and veg every day it's a bit of a faff to find low fat and healthy snacks that aren't processed.

I was sent some of the dried vegetable snacks from Nothing But to try and I'll admit at first glance these snacks do resemble pot pourri. I've tried vegetable chips before, but they're fried and salted so they aren't exactly a healthy option. The vegetables in Nothing But are dehydrated and packed so they are not only completely free of fat or added salt they're also very low in calories with each pack coming in at well under 50 calories so I can have them as a 'power snack' on my diet.

The varieties I was sent were beetroot and parsnip and pepper and mange tout - they also do a sweetcorn and pea one - and they do taste good. I prefer the beetroot and parsnip personally, but they are both quite nice. These are nothing like vegetable chips as they are a lot drier and the mouth feel is a proper crunch, but without the greasiness.

I was also sent some Fru Snax which are dried fruit and 'yoghurt melts.' These are available in peach and vanilla and fig and sour cherry flavours. These taste delicious and are slightly higher in fat and calories, but still far fewer than a chocolate or cereal bar. It's a small snack and I'd be happy to give this to my toddler as it's easy to handle and tasty too. With a lot less sugar than a packet of raisins it's also a better option for his teeth.  

It's not always easy to find healthy food on the move so having a snack in your bag is often the only option. I carry fruit and water most of the time to ensure I am not tempted to buy something unhealthy to eat when I'm out. These bags are around the same size as a packet of crisps so they'd also be ideal for packed lunches or picnics. When we go on days out I like to have a few things to offer my boy in case he gets bored or hungry while we're out and it's not time for a meal yet. These would do the trick for that as well.

I would suggest having a drink handy as they can be a bit dry, but otherwise the Nothing But and Fru Snax range are a nice addition to the already burgeoning 'healthy food' market and for a change they actually are what they say.

Disclosure: We were sent samples of Nothing But and Fru Snax in order to write an honest review.