Special K Cracker Crisps & Biscuit Moments (Review)

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When I did the Jenny Craig diet over the Summer, the snacks were some of my favourite things in the food parcel. I like a cheeky snack mid afternoon when my energy levels are flagging, and this is the time I'm likely to turn to chocolate, crisps and coffee to keep me going.

The Jenny Craig cereal bars and crisps were great because they provided the required feeling of naughtiness in a measured dose. In addition, after a few days I didn't feel as hungry following the programme of a few snacks a day as it maintained my metabolic rate. Having a snack mid-morning or mid-afternoon keeps your system topped up and prevents the hungry feeling which means no gorging at meal time. Obviously though, it's a bit difficult to continue a pricey diet programme just so that I can continue to have the yummy snacks.

I don't like conventional diet snacks: rice cakes make me feel like I'm eating polysterene and seeds are quite frankly for hamsters not humans. This is why I was more than happy to receive some Special K snacks through from Kellogg's to try.

diet snacks

Special K Cracker Crisps (similar to the Jenny Craig crisps) are a savoury snack made from potato and wheat, and are available in three tasty flavours; sea salt and balsamic vinegar, sweet chilli, and sour cream and chive. They are available in both individual 23g bags akin to conventional crisps (60p a bag), or a 100g box of crisps for in the house (£1.99). We were sent a box of sea salt and balsamic vinegar, and sour cream and chive to try out. At around 95 calories for a 23g bag, they're not a bad little treat, with only 0.5g of saturated fat, 1.5g of sugar and 0.6g of salt (often a hidden issue in snack food). They are also very tasty!

Special K Biscuit Moments come in two different flavours: blueberry and strawberry, and in 25g packs. Each pack contains 98 calories with 0.8g of saturated fat and 8g of sugars/carbohydrates. A light biscuit, similar in taste to a rich tea biscuit, with a jammy filling, they are incredibly more-ish and my favourite snack of late.

I was sent these products for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

I've Always Wanted To Be A 'Trolley Dolly' (Review)

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For the past year in Wales, we've had to pay for carrier bags. It's only 5p a bag, but if you're doing a monthly shop in a supermarket and are anything like me, then that could soon mount up and you could be paying £1 just for bags while shopping. Therefore, everyone now uses bags for life or jute shopping bags, which are excellent and sturdy.

To be honest, I'd been using reusable shopping bags since I came across the rather cool designs on Super-U bags in France seven years ago. Sometimes I'd forget to grab some from the boot, or become a little enthusiastic when picking things from the shelf but by and large, I am an Eco warrior and reuse!

Over the years our jute bags have become quite worn and battered, they also take a lot of space up in the boot and trolley. I've been asked to review a Trolley Dolly Primo bag, which I'm a little excited about. I don't think it's normal to be this excited about it but it is what it is and I squealed a little too loudly when I opened the packaging!

reusable shopping bag

The Trolley Dolly bag is a revolutionary shopping bag which is sure to make any shopping experience far easier and less stressful, keeping everything together in one place. Resembling a normal handbag; inside the main section are coloured, strong, nylon shopping bags (in the Primo bag there are nine: seven vest, one box and one bottle) and four mesh bags for loose fruit and vegetables. There is a front pocket with a pen loop, a coupon or loyalty card pocket, and space for purse and keys. On the back there is a clear, plastic pocket to put shopping lists which can be easily seen at all times while shopping. The niftiest bit is that the Velcro holding the handles together is incredibly strong which means that it can suspend from the trolley's handle to access bits and pieces, the shopping list and keep an eye on valuables.

I'm really excited by the Trolley Dolly bag, not only because I think that Mr. TBaM will make more of an effort to actually return the bags to the correct place with this (he's always leaving them in the porch!), but because it's so practical, compact and convenient. The Boy is going to love helping me shop with it too!

reusable shopping bag

Using the Trolley Dolly was incredibly easy and genuinely helpful: The Boy loved helping me pick the fruit and vegetables out and bag them, they weighed virtually nothing so didn't add to the cost at the till; the shopping list was easily visible at all times, which made it so much easier to stick to what I should have been buying; and the handles on the shopping bags are long enough to tied together to stop the food falling out and rolling around the boot.

When I posted a photograph on Instagram, I was asked about how strong the bags were in relation to bottles. They take about 13kg in each bag, but how does that translate to normal shopping?

reusable shopping bag

(Please note that I'm not an alcoholic! I had to sift through various cupboards to find these!)

The Trolley Dolly Primo bag retails for £34.99 from ZPM.

If you enter the discount code THEBOYANDME at checkout, you can receive 15% off a Primo or Eco bag.

I was sent this product to review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Orchard Toys: Jungle Express Puzzle (Review)

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We've got quite a few Orchard Toys jigsaw puzzles, especially the big ones, and I'm a big fan of their brightly coloured and attractively drawn illustrations. They are very attractive for pre-schoolers and The Boy is always drawn to Orchard Toys' games and puzzles above any others.

The Jungle Express puzzle is a slightly different puzzle to normal, as it has been designed as a 'talkabout number puzzle' ideal for pre-schoolers and children in the Foundation Phase as it promotes discussion about numbers in a natural way giving context to the concept.

As you can see, the picture shows a train with an engine and ten carriages following behind. In each carriage is a different quantity of an animal, dependent upon the number carriage they are in. It's a 30 piece jigsaw; three rows and ten pieces in each row.

Normally The Boy is capable of doing jigsaw puzzles between 30 and 50 pieces, and so I was initially apprehensive of the challenge of this jigsaw, but was happy to review it for the mathematical development available through it. However, it is actually quite a challenging jigsaw because of the way that the carriages have been drawn going up and down hills; they don't join together in a straight forward manner. This in itself is mathematical development because it relies upon The Boy drawing upon problem solving skills; using a picture to solve a problem, trial and error, and logical thinking. (And if you think I've just made up those areas of problem-solving, then I shall happily show you the hand-outs from a Maths course I went on a few years ago).

We've developed our own way of doing the puzzle, in opposition to the normal 'do the edges first' approach; we do the middle row first. This way he can link the carriages together in the correct order, then we do the 'sky' row and then the 'ground' row.

This puzzle of course can be left at just joining the pieces, but it would be a travesty not to take advantage of the opportunities for discussion. There are times when I look desperately for a question to ask about something, and my brain fails me. Orchard Toys recognises that sometimes there are days when there's not enough coffee or chocolate to help, and so on the back of the box they have printed a brilliant guide which gives over fifteen questions to start you off; Can you find the ___? What is the colour of the ____ carriage? Are there more ___ or ___ on the train? and my favourite question: Where do you think the train is going?


One of my favourite parts of any Orchard Toys product is the 'Educational Guide':

  • Develop counting and number skills.
  • Develop hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills.
  • Help compare, discuss and investigate.
  • Links with Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum Key Stage 1.

But of course, our most favourite part is how much fun they are!

'Jungle Express' is available from Orchard Toys for £9.75

We were sent this product for the purpose of this review, our opinions is honest and unbiased.

Little Puggle Craft Boxes (Review)

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The Boy and I love doing art and craft together, and the dining room table is always covered with a plethora of tissue paper, sellotape, various glues, sequins, scissors, odd bits of paper, feathers and googly eyes.

Especially googly eyes.

However, it's not always easy to come up with fresh activities to do with my little Mister Maker, despite being crafty myself. Even us teachers need a hand sometimes. And if I'm struggling, then parents who aren't naturally in tune with their creative streak must have even greater palpatations at the thought of glue, feathers and googly eyes.

That's where a company like Little Puggle can come in very useful to satisfy a child's arty moments.

I was invited to test out the whole exerience and ordering the box was easy and allowed for quite a great deal of personalisation for your child; including selecting if he was left or right handed (left), a choice of three themes (gender dependent) or a surprise, indicate the preferences when doing craft. Then there is the easily filled in delivery and payment information.

activity box

Inside the Transport Box are a variety of activities for children of differeing abilities: assembling pre-printed, foam transport models; colouring and constructing a cardboard campervan; mould and paint plaster fridge magnets; transport stickers; and a Kids' Fun Book along with a Top Tips For Grown Ups Book which provides talking points, areas developed and suggested days out.

activity box

The Boy really enjoyed creating his campervan and has played with it alongside his normal toy cars on his car mat. We've even had some of the Happyland figures having a little holiday with it. We didn't make the Mould & Paint Truck Magnets, as they are for five year olds and older. I am not afraid to shy away from doing activities aimed at older children, but I felt that he was too young to use plaster of Paris.

Each Little Puggle box costs £19.95 and is available to buy individually rather than on a longer term subscription. This is an average price for craft and activity boxes, and this box contained the normal four activities inside of varying degrees of difficulty. I'd say that The Boy is actually a little too young for this box at three years old, and it would be better suited to four or five year olds.

In addition to the normal boxes, Little Puggle have launched the mini box which costs £12.95 and contain a smaller selection of activities ideal for a lower budget or staying with grandparents for the weekend.

The Little Puggle boxes require less crafty ability than some other activity boxes, and for the parent who is fearful of PVA glue and tissue paper, these are ideal.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Slow-Cooker Sunday: Paxos Fish Stew

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I may be a vegetarian but I’m the only one in the house who is, and because I’m a good wife/mother and like to give a balanced diet, the ‘boys’ regularly have fish (it’s also easier for me to prepare and cook than meat).

We were invited to try out the September recipe for the Sunvil Supper Club, which was Paxos Fish Stew. I saw this as an easy recipe to prepare, and have adapted it slightly for use in our family and with a slow cooker.

Ingredients:

  • 30ml olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
  • 4 lengths of celery (we left these out as none of us like them)
  • 4 large tomatoes, skin removed (I have to use tinned because The Boy has an intolerance to raw tomatoes, I believe it’s something in the heating process which destroys the enzymes which cause the reaction)
  • 1tbsp paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 300g potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 100ml red wine (left out as a child was eating it)
  • 200ml vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Small bunch of chopped parsley
  • 2 fillets of white fish (traditionally grey mullet or sea bream)
  • Prawns, clams or other sea-food may also be added (not added)

  1. In a heavy saucepan heat the olive oil gently before adding the onion, garlic and chopped celery. Saute these until they have softened.
  2. Once soft, add the chopped skinless tomatoes, paprika, bay leaves and the chopped potatoes. Combine with the onion mixture and pour the vegetable stock and wine into the pan. Ensure that all the potatoes are covered by the liquid, adding a little extra water if necessary. Allow to cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove the bay leaves, taste the stew and season. (I did this step in the slow cooker, using half the amount of liquid and cooking it on high for an hour).
  3. Chop the fish fillets into 2 inch sections and add to the stew. Turn the heat down to low (or medium on the slow cooker) and allow the fish to cook until it is opaque all the way through beginning to flake for around eight minutes (approximately three-quarters of an hour in the slow cooker. If adding other seafood, add it at the same time as the fish to ensure it is cooked thoroughly).
  4. Serve with crusty bread and a fresh salad.

Paxos is part of the Greek coastline and is home to a number of different fish and seaafoods.

Both The Boy and Mr. TBaM really like this stew. It's not something that I'd normally cook for them, but both are big fans of fish and really enjoyed it. We enjoy trying out recipes from different countries and cultures, but tend to get stuck in a rut. The Sunvil Supper Club features a recipe each month on its website to celebrate a dish that is linked to a particular destination. I look forward to seeing the recipe for October

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I was sent a voucher to purchase the items to make this recipe.

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Sunday 7th October 2012 – 'Mummy' (281/366)

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This is the first time The Boy's drawn a full picture of anyone, not just a face. He's also had a go at writing my name underneath. In the past he's drawn a face, but I've never suggested he draw a whole person before and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Mary Sheridan (the guru for stages of child development) identifies that a 3yr old child will draw a person with a head and usually indicate one or two other features or body parts. A 4yr old child will draw a person with head, legs and trunk, and usually some arms and fingers.

Most nursery or reception aged children will draw a head with arms and legs coming off it, as to them they are the most important body parts. A body is surplus to requirements at this age and usually is missing. However, The Boy has drawn one on this picture of me. Interestingly though, my arms are coming from my head showing that he's not quite realised how everything connects or that the body has a part to play.

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