• Home
  • About
  • Travel
  • Fitness
  • Photography
    • Birth
    • The Story of You
  • Disclosure and Privacy
facebook twitter instagram pinterest bloglovin Email

This day I love.......

The girls love a picnic and with the nice weather the past week we have had a picnic everyday for lunch. I find the girls eat better when it is a picnic. I think they like the choice and variety, and that they can pick and choose items. Everything is kept finger sized and easy to eat, and I think they love eating outdoors on their very own picnic table.

The girls have certain requests for their picnic, they like olives, cucumbers, bite size cheese, crisps, pepper, pickled onions and pieces of sausage. Each cut into bite size chunks and severed in either divider plates or individual bowls. I also like to add different items, dependant on what I have in, or experiment with flavours to see what the girls like.


One of our recent experiments for our picnic has been using primula cheese. Primula cheese comes in a variety of flavours. Perfect therefore for squeezing into bowls and dipping bread sticks, olives, celery or other nibbles into. If you had a little more time to prepare food in advance the girls also really like cheese and corn muffins.

They are really simple to make, and if you think a little like small omelettes. I break 6 eggs into a bowl, add a tin of sweet corn and a squeeze of primula cheese. Mix it all well and place mixture into muffin tray. Bake in oven at 200c for 30 minutes, or until centre is cooked. The girls call these cheese and egg muffins, but they are really bite sized omelettes perfect for snacking and for picnics. You could even change the ingredients to what you have in.

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
The Easter holidays have arrived and I am very much looking forward to getting out and about with the girls and baby.  We have lots of activities planned and my Mum has even offered to have the girls for a day out.


The girls have been trying some new products to help with our trips out over Easter. The Sneck is a travel pillow which attaches to the headrest using Velcro.  It is incredibly soft as it is filled with microbeads and it provides a great place for a child to rest their head without getting in the way of the seat belt or harness.  The girls also love the pocket so they can stash treats inside.  It is really easy and simple to use and gives the girls that extra comfort if they need it.  I can also see it to be useful on the plane when we go on holiday next year.



The Junkie has been a life saver and absolutely amazing. It has two cup holders, retractable trays, a 'tech mount' and a place to organise everything you need in the car. 


The tech mount has been fantastic as it means we only need to take one tablet with us and the girls can share and watch the same film.  We fill the removable tote bag with things the girls need before a journey and then fasten the Junkie into the middle seat using the seat belt.  The Junkie really becomes useful after a journey as well as all the items the girls have used or their rubbish can be taken straight out the car.  We simply love how everything is easy to reach and kept tidy and that it contains everything the girls need for a journey.

The girls have also been trying the award winning BubbleBum.  BubbleBum is an inflatable car seat.  It takes less than 20 seconds to inflate by mouth and conforms to all EU and US regulations.  The BubbleBum has proved really useful recently as my Mum had to pick my eldest from school when I was in labour with baby.  My eldest had the BubbleBum in her school bag just in case.  It meant that should I not be able to get her from school she would be able to get in the car with my Mum or her friend and be safe.  It is designed for ages 4-11 so is ideal for my eldest.  It is perfect for those emergency situations or even for travel in taxis or abroad.  


For more info visit www.bubblebum.co


All items have been sent for review.  Words are my own opinion. 


Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
Both of my girls take part in lots of after school clubs, which can often mean rushing from one place to another after school.  Some days we often do not get time for dinner before the club starts and so the girls have a snack on the way there.  Snackeez is a great solution that provides drink and snack in one handy container.


The Snackeez cup holds around 450ml of cold drink, it is not suitable for hot liquids.  When filling it is important to leave enough room to screw the snack bowl on top.  We have found this is to around the same level as the plastic grip.  The snack cup can then be screwed securely on top and filled with a snack of your choice.  


The cup so far has not spilt even when knocked over, provided the snack pot is screwed in tightly.  Although I would not want to test this by tipping completely upside down.  The cup is light weight, and although on the large side is great for my 5 year old.  There is a rubber grip running around Snackeez making it easy to hold.


We have used the snack pot on its own without the cup and is a great storage container to take out if you wanted to use without the cup.  However for us it is fantastic.  My eldest absolutely loves it and it accompanies her to all her after school clubs.  Even better for me it is dishwasher safe [top rack only], meaning it is easy to clean ready for the next day. 

There is plenty of room for her snacks and she has plenty to drink at after school club too!  I am actually slightly jealous of the snackeez and would love one for myself.  I may wait until Autumn when licensed Snackeez will arrive with Frozen, Shopkins and Star Wars available for kids (and big kids) to collect [I want a Star Wars one!].


I think the Snackeez will also be great in the summer for picnics and day trips.

What would you put in your Snackeez?  My daughters favourite is chocolate buttons in the snack pot and Mango juice in the cup.  Why not tell Snackeez_UK on both Twitter and Facebook What's in Yours?

We were sent a Snackeez for review, all words are my own opinion 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
1 comments
The girls are getting very excited for Halloween and are having a mini Halloween party.  No party is complete however without some party food, and the girls want to celebrate in style.  This was a perfect opportunity for us to get creative with the new Discoveries popcorn range from Butterkist.


The new Discoveries range from Butterkist has three flavours, Salted Caramel [our favourite], Chili and Lime, and finally Hickory Pork.  We decided to create a savour dish and a sweet dish and began creating.  Well I say we began, the girls started eating the Chili and Lime popcorn and I got to work!

First was the savoury dish

Ingredients

50g butter
150g grated cheese
Food colouring [optional]
Spring onions
1 Bag Hickory Pork Butterkist Popcorn



Method

1. Melt the butter and cheese in a pan.
2. Add food colouring if desired and to the required colour
3. Chop the spring onions and add to the pain
4. Finally add the popcorn and mix well
5. Serve

I added green food colouring as I wanted to create a spooky slime feel, as it is a Halloween party.  The food colouring adds no flavour so it is completely optional.  


For the sweet dish I decided to create a Rocky Road using the Salted Carmel Butterkist.

Ingredients

100g butter
400g chocolate
2 spoons syrup
150g Mini Marshmallows
200g Glacé cherries
160g [a bag] Salted Caramel popcorn


Method
1. Melt the chocolate and butter together and add in the syrup.
2. Place about 1/3 of the chocolate mixture into a separate container.
3. Add half marshmallows, the cherries and the popcorn to the remaining mixture in the pan and stir well.
4. Pour the pan mixture into a brownie tray.
5. Sprinkle over the remaining marshmallows
6. Pour over the rest of the chocolate
7. leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.



The sweet dish was preferred over the savoury dish, but then I guess it always would be.  Both dishes really complimented the new discoveries popcorn range from Butterkist and I have to admit to currently wanting another bag of the Salted Caramel flavour!

What would you create?

Thanks to Butterkist for sending the 3 bags of popcorn.  All words are my own opinion. 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
Not sure if it is just me but after a run I get really hungry.  The urge is there for something sugary, I think because it is quick and convenient.  A healthier alternative would be much better and one that could provide protein to aid recovery would be even better still.

I could not quite believe my luck when upon returning from a run I had a package waiting from me, new Graze good to go snacks. 

Graze good to go

Like many people I had heard of Graze, the good for you snack delivered to your door.  Graze has now expanded with its Good to go range.  There are 12 new flavours available in the good to go range:

● Lemon Drizzle Flapjack 

Handmade with whole oats

Rustic rolled oat flapjack with lemon curd and a yoghurt drizzle

● Original Fruity Flapjack

Handmade with whole oats 

Rustic rolled oats flapjack with fruits and seeds

● Mini Strawberry & Banana

1 of your 5-a-day

Mini dried strawberries, blueberries, banana and cranberries

● Juicy Peach and Raspberry

1 of your 5-a-day

Dried peach drops, pear and raspberry strings

● Thai Sweet Chilli Dipper

Only 83 calories

backed soy bites with sweet chilli sauce

● Punchy Protein Nuts

8g of natural protein 

Chilli and lime cashews, almonds and pecans

● Veggie Protein Power

7g of natural protein

Black pepper cashews, edamame beans and spicy chickpeas 

● Herby Bread Basket

Only 90 calories

Mini pesto breadsticks with oregano rice crackers and baked garlic croutons

● Smokehouse BBQ Crunch

Only 137 calories

BBQ peas, corn chips and jumbo chilli corn

● Chocolate Pretzel Dippers

Only 141 calories

Milk chocolate hazelnut dip with baked salted pretzel sticks

● Dark Chocolate Cherry Tart

1 of your 5-a-day

Dark chocolate buttons, dried whole cherries and cranberries

● Salted Fudge and Peanut Cookie

7g of natural protein

St. Ives Cornish Vanilla fudge with mini chocolate cookies, redskin and salted peanuts

I have two favourites from the range.  The first is the Salted Fudge and peanut cookie, I loved the combinations in this and with 7g of protein it is perfect for after run snack.  My second favourite is the Chocolate Pretzel dippers.  These were a great treat whilst the girls had swimming lessons and whilst there was enough chocolate per pretzel I still wanted more.

The Graze good to go range has an RRP of 99p to £1.49 and is something I now look forward to after my runs!

I was provided with some samples for the purpose of this review, all words are my own opinion 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
Earlier this year we reviewed fruit heroes, and you can read our review as well as watch a tasting video here.  Fruit heroes are a fruit bar that is perfect for snacking or after school treats and it counts as one of your five a day.  I often have one in a morning with my breakfast.  They have a high level of fibre as well as a low level of sugar and salt, making them a healthy alternative for snacks.

Latest research by fruit heroes has found that 84% of British parents are concerned about their children's diet and want their kids to make healthier choices.  With this concern and general confusion around guidelines, it is good to know that fruit heroes are healthy choice for parents and their kids.

fruit heroes

Fruit Heroes are available in the following flavours, Strawberry, Banana,  blackcurrant and apple and raspberry.  I am pleased to be giving away a hamper containing one box of each of the flavours to one lucky winner.  Full T&C are on the widget Good luck!


Fruit heroes Hamper
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
I have a very fussy eater at home. My eldest has always been the same, she goes through phases of eating very little and then will eat everything. Her latest phase is to say everything is yuk and then the next day it be her favourite thing. We were asked to try fruit heroes,which are a natural healthy on the go snack.

Fruit heroes are a range of healthy lunchbox snacks which contain only naturally grown ingredients. They have no added sugar, preservatives, colourings, salt, sulphur dioxide and see gluten and dairy free. They are not cooked or baked and are high in fibre, they are also suitable for coeliacs and vegans. They even count towards 1 of your 5 a day.


fruit heroes

Fruit heroes sound like the perfect snack solution. They don't get bruised or squashed like fruit does and they are still healthier and lower in sugar than other quick snack alternatives like crisps and biscuits. Of course i would love to give my children fresh fruit for a snack but it isn't always possible and fruit heroes seem a very good healthy alternative.

I tried the fruit heroes and was impressed that I could taste the fruit from each bar. I found them quite sweet so was surprised that there was no added sugar and I have actually started having these as a snack instead of the usually biscuits. I thought it would be interesting to video my daughters reaction to trying them for the first time.


Her favourite is Apple and raspberry and she ate the rest of the bowl after filming, typical kids!

We were sent some samples of Fruit heroes to try.  All words are my own opinion 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
When my girls were younger they used to love nothing more than slurping on a food pouch. As they grew bigger they moved more away from them, preferring the texture of regular food. The issue I would often have with the pouches, was the girls squeezing them. I forget the number of times the girls squeezed the pouches deliberately at each other, just to make some mess and have some fun.


The Sucup is kind of like these pouches, only you can't squeeze them. The refillable tube is made from a hard plastic meaning no squeezing. There are different options too dependant on the age of your child. We were trying the toddler from 10 months.

When I first saw all the pieces of the Sucup, I was a little worried I might need a degree to out it all together. I need not have worried the instructions were simple and easy to follow and any subsequent uses of Sucup I have not needed any instructions. I loved that a little brush was provided for cleaning.


We were going on rather a long car journey and I knew that the girls would want some snack whilst in the car. I usually give them fruit for a snack so thought I would create a smoothie for them and use the Sucup, it would be a great opportunity to try it.
I filled the Sucup® up with the fruit smoothie and gave it to both the girls. They found it incredibly easy to use, drink through the straw. We tried the optional mouth piece too, but they preferred without it.
I found the Sucup really easy to re seal, thanks to the tight fitting lid. This also prevented any leaks and mess. The size of the Sucup also means it is easy to fit in your bag, making transportation easy.


Overall the girls liked the Sucup, and found it easy to use. I liked that it gave me an option to provide the girls a healthy snack on the go, with minimal mess. I am thinking for the summer I might place the Sucup in the freezer and create some frozen treats for the girls too.

We were sent this product to review.  All words and opinions are my own. 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
With the recent beautiful weather my eldest daughter has been asking me for a picnic.  I could see no reason why not and so for lunch we had a picnic in our garden, a beautiful Spring picnic.

Having a picnic gave us the perfect excuse to try out our new OXO tot divided plate, spoons and forks and twist top water bottles.

OXO tot products

The divided plate shows the portion size for each food category, meat, dairy, fruit/veg, which is great for meal planning, however as this was a picnic I wanted to use it more for adding healthy snacks and bite sized nibbles for the girls.  The plate worked really well and showed some beautiful Spring colours

Divided plate

The girls had no problems picking what they wanted to eat and thoroughly enjoyed the selection.  Whilst they could use the fork and spoon set with its comfy grip handles, they soon abandoned them as they found it easier to use their fingers for the picnic.  [They have used them since for dinner with no problems].

The picnic was going really well, the girls enjoyed themselves and ate lots of lunch.  They even spotted lots of animals in the garden, I think the Squirrel eyed up some of our lunch.

Spring picnic

We thought at one point we may have had to abandon the picnic when one of the OXO twist top water bottles got knocked over.  However when the twist top is closed it is spill proof, which was rather lucky as it meant we could continue with our picnic, accident free!

It was lovely to sit outside in the sunshine and have our lunch as a picnic together.  I think the girls eat more when food is presented this way to them, as they can choose what they want.  As all the OXO tot products are dishwasher safe, that we used, it meant I could clean and tidy up quickly so I could spend more time enjoying the sunshine with the girls.

enjoying outdoors

This day I love a Spring picnic. 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
I was recently invited to an event held by Asda to launch their new chosen by kids range.  Unfortunately I was unable to attend and after watching this video it looks like I missed a really good day


I was very surprised by how much choice there is in the chosen by kids range.  There is everything from juice to fresh fruit and even Jelly.  My girls were spoilt for choice.  

pastafruitsnacks

 After trying the majority of items in the range I have not yet found one the girls will not eat.  They really enjoy them all.  Definitely living up to chosen by kids!  I love that there is something for everyone, from quick snacks, to full meals and lunch box fillers. 

I am now so much more aware of the range in Asda and can spot something on almost every aisle.  Of course we always come home with the girls favourite

kids drink

Next time you are in Asda why not try the Chosen by Kids range, I cant recommend it enough.  


I was provided with a £10 gift card to shop in Asda to try the chosen by kids range.  All thoughts are my own. 



Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
Barny was very excited about his adventure, he could not wait to get out of the cardboard transportation unit he had been travelling in.

Barny sponge snack

He looked at the adventure ahead of him, swimming.  Perfect.

Barny waiting to swim

Barny was ready for action.  The girls needed energy before their lesson but didn't want something too filling, a sponge snack with a hidden centre seemed just right.

youngest watching

Barny and the girls got ready for swimming and set off on their little adventure together.

Ready for swimming

They had lots of fun together in the swimming pool.  Afterwards the girls were a little hungry after having so much fun.  Not wanting to ruin their appetite for dinner they needed a small light snack.  A bear shaped sponge with a hidden filling and no artificial colours or preservatives seemed to do the trick.

After swim snack

In case you are wondering how good Barny, the bear shaped sponge cake with the hidden centre really is, watch this video of my youngest.


And yes she does walk into the window but she was absolutely fine and continued dancing.

This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Little Adventures Challenge’ in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
3 comments
The Vital Baby Trap a Snack makes it easy to carry snacks whilst out and about.  The lid is made of slatted plastic which is incredibly soft and makes it easy for little hands to get snacks out without the snacks spilling all over your handbag.  

I use the Trap a snack when I take the girls swimming.  I can fill with the girls favourite snacks, be it dried fruit, cheese or rice crisps and I know that the snack will stay in the tub.  This removes those half opened packets in my bag that spill everywhere and generally means less mess.

The girls were a little reluctant to use the trap snap at first, I think unsure what they were putting their hand into.  Once I should them what to do and that food comes out they were more than happy to use.  My youngest loves the easy to carry soft handle on the side.  She can carry her snack around and I am not worried about her tipping it up and making a mess.

vital baby trap a snack

The Vital Baby Trap a snack is perfect for on the go feeding.  For taking snacks with you and not having to worry about the mess or half opened packets.

We were provided with a Vital Baby Trap a snack for review.  All words are my honest opinion of the product. 
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
1 comments
The girls love to have a snack and watch their favourite films.  I often worry though that the things they snack on are very unhealthy for them.  Whilst I try to give them fruit, they often want crisps and chocolate.  Walkers new Hoops and Crosses are made from Whole grain and contain no artificial colours and no preservatives.  They also have only 85 calories per bag, fantastic! 

hoops and crosses

We were sent Roast beef flavour for review but they also come in Salt and vinegar and prawn cocktail  all flavours are suitable for vegetarians.  Not normally a roast beef flavoured crisp fan I was a bit worried but I really enjoyed the taste, as did the girls

another oneeating them up


helping themselveschecking out the shape

munch munch

The size of the crisp packet appears smaller than normal packets, but this makes it a great size to fit in lunch boxes.  I will be having a packet in my glove box in the car ready for when the girls or myself are hungry after a long day.  They are also a great size to fit into handbags too!  The size of the crisps are great for little hands to pick up.  My youngest at 1 year old had no problems and kept helping herself.

hoops and crosses


I think these maybe on our shopping list as both girls thoroughly enjoyed them as did I.  These are a perfect treat for all little monkeys

monkey

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
No comments
Older Posts

About me

About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

Follow Us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • Google+
  • pinterest
  • youtube

Popular

  • Lamaze toy bundle
    Lamaze toy bundle
  • Win a Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag
    Win a Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag
  • Win the ultimate potty training kit with HUGGIES® Pull- Ups®
  • Deep Heat Muscle soak range
    Deep Heat Muscle soak range
  • Win a family ticket to Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment
    Win a family ticket to Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment
(c) thisdayilove . Powered by Blogger.

Brands



Ambassador Badge Tonka Orchard toys Hotter shoes Forests Nuby BritMums - Blogging with Integrity

Created with by ThemeXpose