This day I love.......: pizza

I have had several friends talk about the benefits of Lo-Dough and I have always been keen to try for myself. Lo-Dough got in touch and challenged us to get creative with our Back to School lunch boxes. They sent us a selection of their products including Lo-Dough bases, Lo-Dough brownie mix and their crumb coating. All I had to do now was get creative and come up with ideas for their lunch boxes.

Since school returned all three of my children have had packed lunches. Our school could not provide a hot lunch option due to COVID restrictions and rather than paying for for school lunches it worked out more cost effective to make lunches at home for all of my children. I try to be as creative as possible but sometimes at 6am whilst making lunches my creativity can sometimes be a little lacking. Lo-Dough gave me the opportunity to try something new with the kids and a chance for us to get creative together.

The girls decided the bases looked like pizza bases and so immediately wanted to make pizza. I decided this would be a good opportunity to create something in the kitchen and any left over pizza could be used for lunches. I would recommend heating up the bases before hand to make them crispy. We made our own sauce for the pizza and then covered them in cheese. Lo-Dough has 90% less calories than a regular pizza base.

The pizza took around 10 minutes to cook, we watched for the cheese to melt. The girls had a base each and so did Little Man.

So much for hoping there would be some left over for lunches the next day, the girls demolished them. The bases are very light and fluffy, but worked really well as pizza bases.

Lo-Dough also works well as a pastry. I was very tempted to make a pie or a quiche but I didn't think the kids would eat them in their packed lunches. Instead I decided to make something I know they love almost as much as pizza, sausage rolls!

The sausage rolls are made by taking the skin off a sausage before wrapping them in a Lo-Dough base. The base is then given an egg wash before putting in the oven for 20 minutes.

Whilst the sausage rolls were baking I began to make the brownies. The mix is very easy to use as you simply add water. Once cooked they have 65% less calories than usual brownies. You can add other ingredients if you wish such as peanut butter to the mix, however I decided to cook them as they are in case of nut allergies at school. Once cooked they were lovely and gooey and perfect to eat warm. I kept three to one side for lunch the next day, along with the sausage rolls.

The kids really enjoyed their Lo-Dough packed lunches. Whilst I might not win any prizes for taking photos of a lunch box, the kids were really impressed with their sausage rolls and brownies and asked for more. I think it made a nice change from sandwiches

Made entirely from protein and fibre, Lo-Dough can be eaten uncooked, heated or baked as a soft, light and versatile alternative to bread and pastry. As well as being low-carb, Lo-Dough is gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, sugar-free and fat-free. It’s rich in fibre, containing an impressive 9 grams. We will certainly be using Lo-Dough again. I am keen to try and use the bases to make a pie!

Thank you to Lo-Dough for sending some samples for us to try. We have not received any other compensation and all words are my own personal opinion.

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It dawned on me this week that I had not wrote about our half term. I noticed I had drafted the post and got all the images together but not finished writing the post.

Our February half term was one filled with a very poorly Little Man. A combination of teething and cold left him feeling very under the weather.

I completed my first race of the year and then spent the rest of the week with the virus Little Man had caught. I was completely under the weather with a sore throat and cough.

After a few days staying at home, listening to audio books, playing games and generally trying to get over the illness that had set in, we decided to venture out for a day trip to York.

I wasn't aware until recently that you could download audio books for children from Audible. I have downloaded some of the classics from my childhood, including several Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton books for the girls to listen to. They love listening to them both in the car and when we travel on the train and for the train journey to York they kept the girls entertained.

Our first stop in York was the railway museum.

The girls began by exploring the trains in the great hall and my youngest desperate to help tried to move the suitcases. Unfortunately I didn't have the heart to tell her they were stuck to the platform as part of the display. She did put in all her effort!

There was an old fashioned fairground outside. I bought the girls some tokens and let them pick which they wanted to go on. They wanted the helter skelter but were denied entry as my eldest was too short and my youngest too young, the second choice was the swings.

My eldest daughter then had a fall in the playground and we had to go inside to seek medical help. Luckily she was Ok and we decided to take it easier and look at some more of the trains. The railway museum is very hands on and the girls loved exploring the inside of the trains

We could have easily spent a lot longer at the Railway museum. There were plenty of talks, and activities to keep us busy but we decided to go and explore and see what else York had to offer.

We made sure we adjusted our dress before leaving......

I love exploring the streets of York. I always seem to find something new. The streets are all different, unique and all have such a charm about them. The feel was very different from the last time we visited as it had been over the Christmas period

We walked passed a wide variety of shops, stopping to look in the windows as we passed. The girls eyes getting wider as they saw chocolate and sweets shops, before dashing to a giant bear outside the teddy bear shop.

The girls asked if we could find Vikings as we walked around York and sure enough we happened to stubble upon some. My youngest took it upon herself to do battle and I admit to feeling very nervous as she was handed a REAL viking sword.

She seemed to really get into character and enjoyed becoming a viking!

After a day walking round and exploring York it was time for dinner. With both girls loving Pizza there could only be one choice and that was the PizzaExpress restaurant on the banks of York’s River Ouse. The view from here looks straight over the River Ouse and it is stunning. I want to return for lunch in the summer as I can bet it is the best place to sit out in the sun in York. As it was I had two poorly children, it was dark, cold and raining and so we opted to sit inside.

The interior of PizzaExpress York River House has just gone through a major refurbishment and you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a luxury hotel, rather than a PizzaExpress restaurant. The interior really surprised us, especially with the beautiful fire place [I couldn't get a picture as it was too close to another family who were eating!].

Little Man began to get really poorly and very upset. He just wanted to be cuddled and held tight.

We decided to finish our dinner and head home. We will however be returning to PizzaExpress York River House as the whole setting is beautiful.

We spent another day at home relaxing and giving Little Man time to recover before heading out on a very exciting adventure, that however is another post!

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V8 V-fusion is a blend of fruit and veg juices and is a good way to get two of your five a day. I have always wondered if a juice of blended fruit and veg would taste nice, as the concept sounds strange to me. Our V8 v-fusion arrived and we had the Passion fruit, Mango and carrot juice. I will admit to being sceptical.

I poured us all a glass and watched as the girls drank. They drank it all in one sitting and proceeded to ask for more. Followed by more

They loved it. The blended juices really worked well together, and it is an excellent source of vitamin C. I was really surprised by the taste, it was really nice I am actually looking forward to trying Raspberry and Beetroot.

Lurpak have recently launched their new cook's range. It features clarified butter, cooking liquid, cooking mist and baking.

I love the idea of the Lurpak baking, it is a soft texture blend of butter and rapeseed oil which is ready to mix straight from the fridge. We were sent the Lurpak cooking mist to try.

Lurpak cooking mist is a spray-able blend of Lurpak butter and rapeseed oil and whilst it is great for ensuring roasts are evenly glazed and crisp, it is also a quick way to efficiently grease pans. We decided to put this to the test.

One of the things the girls love to eat is pizza. We make our own pizza dough and used the cooking mist to grease the trays.

I know from past experience that the dough can get very sticky and often sticks to the baking trays, I thought this would be a good way to see how well the Lurpak cooking mist performs. After making the dough my eldest put her pizza on the tray and I put it in the oven to cook. The pizza did not stick! My eldest enjoyed her pizza. I was pleased because the cooking mist did not add any taste to the pizza. It was easy to use and spray and provides a quick and efficient method to grease trays.

We were sent a carton of V8 and a can of Lurpak cooking mist to try. All words are my own opinion

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My eldest daughter is now 3. I can't believe it. 3. Time really has flown by, I look at her and she is so grown up. 3. We started our celebrations bright and early this morning, she awoke at 5.30am. She opened her present and that was it I could not get her away from it

Whilst I was making breakfast I could hear her singing. She sang, incy wincy, did her abc and even sang happy birthday to herself. I loved listening to her sing and play.

We had to do some shopping in preparation for her party, but shopping is one of my daughters favourite things to do. After shopping she had her hair done and it looks ever so nice.

My eldest is a huge Monsters Inc and Toy story fan. I thought for her birthday I would take her to see Monsters Uni and it would also be the first time she had gone to the cinema. She was excited all day at the thought of seeing monsters.

She was really good inside the cinema, especially as she has never been before. She understood the film and asked a few questions, which you would expect. I think I am going to have to take her to another film now! We both loved the new Monsters film, it is very funny. She asked in the car if she could come to the big TV again. I am going to take that as she enjoyed it.

We stopped in at the toy shop before heading to dinner. We have a few birthdays coming up so I thought we would quickly pick up some presents. The girls had their own ideas and soon started taking toys from the shelves that they liked.

I am thinking I might have found what the girls want for Christmas.

The girls, my Mum and I then headed for a birthday meal. My youngest became fascinated with the ice in my drink and kept taking it out to play and have a look.

My eldest got to choose one of her favourite meals, Pizza. We opened her cards and some of her presents whilst we waited.

The waitress noticed her opening presents and asked me if it was her birthday. My daughter asked for some ice cream for desert. The waitress then brought out her ice cream with a candle in and we all sang happy birthday. She could not stop smiling and my youngest started to clap.

I had a lovely day with my girls and I hope my eldest loved her third birthday.

Happy Birthday sweetheart

This day I love turning 3.

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