Watermelon & Strawberry Smoothie

Cooper loves his smoothies and I feel it is a great way of geting some more fruit into him. This is essentially a summer smoothie, but you can easily make it with frozen fruit and it will still taste superb.

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Watermelon & Strawberry Smoothie

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

November 26, 2011

A fresh pink smoothie, made luxurious with a good dollop of creamy greek yoghurt. When watermelon and strawberries are out of season, use frozen fruit instead.

Ingredients

• 1 x 5cm wide wedge of watermelon
• 12 ripe strawberries
• juice from ½ lime
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp greek yoghurt
• a few leaves of mint to serve

Instructions

1. Cut the watermelon into chunks, removing any seeds.

2. Wash and hull the strawberries.

3. Juice ½ lime.

4. Whizz together all the ingredients bar the mint. Although a little mint would actually be rather nice in this smoothie.

5. Pour into two glasses.

6. Leave the smoothies in the fridge to cool. Add a sprig of mint before serving

7. Enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 10 mins

Yield: 2 glasses

Baby Accessories

I only came across VUPbaby recently and I was very impressed. They followed me on twitter, so I decided to check them out. I spent about an hour browsing the site, thinking, oh I like that and that and that. The whole gamut of toys and accessories for babies and toddlers from nursery, to feeding to toys and gifts. Wowee!

I got in touch with them to see if they would grant us some goodies for a Christmas giveaway on Tinned Tomatoes and I was delighted when they said they would be very pleased to offer us some goodies. Cooper and I were lucky enough to receive a batch to test out ahead of time.

They sent us a green Goodbyn Original Lunchbox.

The Goodbyn Original Lunch Kit utilizes five compartments perfectly sized — and perfectly designed — to keep kids' lunches from spilling, sloshing or mixing. Sandwiches won't taste like your banana and your fresh fruit won't have biscuit crumbs in it!

I was surprised at how big it is. An adult could take their lunch to work in it, but for children the separate compartments are great for lunch and snacks to keep them going over the course of the day. An important factor for me is if a product is dishwasher safe and this box gets the thumbs up for that and it is also 100% recyclable, so it does it's bit for the environment too. The lovely little touch is that the lunchbox comes with hundreds of stickers.

The Goodbyn Original Lunchbox is £19.95.

The next gift, I am stealing for myself. I just love the feel if it and the idea behind it. It's a bowl made out of a coconut. The Bambu Coconut "Coco" Mini Bowls are really something a bit different. I know my foodie friends would love them. They are so tactile.

The Bambu Coconut "Coco" Mini Bowls are £10 each in a choice of 6 colours.

Bambu are well known for their innovative design, and this time their innovation is using their lacquering skills on basic coconut shells - turning them into stylish food-safe bowls. Each bowl is made from half a coconut shell. The coconut flesh is removed and the bowls are then cleaned and polished. The inside is finished with a durable food safe PU lacquer which means the bowls are suitable for hot and cold food.

I have left the best to last. It is a Zoo Lunchie by Skip Hop. We chose the bee, but there are other animals to choose from. Isn't that the cutest lunchbag ever?

The Skip Hop Lunchies has plenty of space for sandwiches, snacks, drinks and more. They have an insulated, wipe-clean interior that keeps food and drinks cold, plus an inside mesh pocket holds lunch money, utensils or an ice pack. They also have write on name tags inside.

The Zoo Lunchie is £14 and worth every penny. A great Christmas Gift. I would probably pop a wee teddy or toy inside before wrapping it. There should always be something in a bag or purse in my opinion, if it is a gift. You can choose from the bee, a dog, a ladybug, a monkey, a mouse, an owl and a zebra.

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Disclosure Statement: I received these products free from the VUPbaby to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Fruity Porridge with Cinnamon and Banana

This is what Cooper has for breakfast most mornings. He gobbles it up and it is a good start to his day. In the summer I add fresh berries to the porridge, but in the winter this is mostly how he has it.

What do your little ones have for breakfast?

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Fruity Porridge with Cinnamon & Banana

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

November 17, 2011

This is a lovely naturally sweet porridge, with a hint of spice and lots of fruit to start of the day right. It doesn't need even a pinch of sugar.

Ingredients

• ½ cup porridge oats
• ½ cup mixed raisins & dried cranberries
• a good pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 cup of water
• 1 banana, mashed until soft
• a splosh of milk

Instructions

1. Add the oats, raisins, cranberries, cinnamon and water to a small pan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally.2. While the oats are cooking, mash the banana in a bowl with a fork.3. Once the oats are thick and creamy add them to the bowl and mix with the banana. This will sweeten the banana and start to cool the porridge down, so your little one can eat in comfortably.4. Add a splosh of milk to cool the porridge down further and to thin it a little.notes: Add more water if you think you need to. You can also make the porridge with milk instead of water, but I would still add a little cold milk at the end to cool the porridge down.

Details

Total time: 5 mins Yield: 1 bowlful

Bite-Sized Vegetable & Cheddar Balls

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I saw something similar to these vegetable balls somewhere, but I don't remember where. So apologies to whoever came up with the idea. I had to wing it with the recipe, but they turned out great and Cooper really enjoyed them.


You can recreate this recipe with whatever you have in the fridge. Pretty much any vegetables would work and you could try another cheese if you like too. They freeze well, so you don't have to worry about making too many. Although, I think you will find that once the rest of the family see them, they will disappear pretty quickly.

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Bite-Sized Vegetable & Cheddar Balls

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

November 11, 2011

Crunchy little balls, filled with vegetables. Children love them, so it is a great way to use some of the vegetables they aren't keen on. They are great served with mash potatoes and baked beans.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oli
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 courgette, grated
• 4 closed cup mushrooms, finely chopped
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 4 tsp vegetarian worcestershire sauce
• 8 large fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• 1 cup / 50g grated cheddar
• a grinding of black pepper
• enough flour to dip the balls in
• 1 eggs, beaten ( add a pinch of salt for over 1's)
• 3 - 4 tbsp sunflower oil

Instructions

1. Saute the onion, spring onion and garlic for a few minutes to give it a head start, then add the grated carrot and courgette and cook gently for about 3 minutes.2. Next add the mushrooms and peas and cook for another 3 minutes.3. Add the worcestershire sauce and the basil and mix well. The mixture should be quite dry. Take of the heat at this point and set aside to cool.4. In a food processor, whizz up the bread. Add the vegetables and cheddar. Season and then whizz up again.5. Time to set up a wee production line. Pop the vegetable mixture in the first bowl. Pour some flour onto a plate. Whisk up the egg and pop into a bowl and whizz up the last slice of bread and spread on a plate6. Roll the vegetable mixture into small balls. Roll in the flour, dip in the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs and line up on a plate.7. Fry the balls in an oiled pan, in batches for approximately 2 minutes. Turning as you go. 8. Dry the vegetable balls on kitchen roll and serve with mashed potatoes and baked beans for the ultimate comfort food.

Details

Total time: 25 mins Yield: make approx 24 balls, depending on the size