Science You Can Eat August Book of the Month

If there is one thing I can rely on, it is the fact that my kids love food and I mean LOVE. It isn't often they'll refuse to eat something, always willing to at least try things once but what do they really know about what the foods which they are consuming?

Not a lot (well neither do I) so when I was asked if they'd like to read and review one of DK books latest releases, Science You Can Eat, I immediately said yes.

Join Stefan Gates on an edible adventure and discover what's really happening with our food and why.

Find out what the world's smelliest fruit tastes like, and which incredible food can be used to send secret messages. Then use the power of science to create colour changing potions and make delicious ice cream in an instant.

Celebrating #NationalSandwichWeek with Num Noms

Sandwiches, I love them. They are sort of my guilty pleasure, if I'm honest I spend quite a lot of time creating them and making them look just as nice as they taste. A few of my favourites are chicken, bacon and avocado and the best cheese toastie with strong cheese, avocado, bacon and my secret ingredient, brussels, that's right brussel sprouts! Now you may be thinking why am I chatting away about sandwiches and I'll tell you it's because it's National Sandwich Week!

For #NationalSandwichWeek (get spreading the hashtag), I've joined up Num Noms to bring you a pretty scrummy sandwich creation, courtesy of my children.

Time to Ditch the Scales and Lose the Weight Obsession

It is no big secret that I have a love hate relationship when it comes to food. More specifically I love it but it is apparent that it really doesn't like my body sometimes. I've struggled over the years to find the right balance between being healthy and turning obsessive, looking at the calories on a packet and deciding I couldn't possibly eat that. This comes down to what I think about my appearance and the numbers that look back at me when I'm standing on the weighing scales. 

There have been times when I have become close to being very ill when I chose to not eat, I lost a lot of weight and I had an obsession with seeing the numbers on the scale go down but we all know that's not a good thing to do and to be honest looking back I also know that it didn't make me look good at all. And if I'm honest since having my daughters I have struggled more because I know that I need to set the example, to show body confidence and to not pass my insecurities onto my children.

Making Smarter Choices With the Food Scanner App from Change4Life

When I was younger I never really thought about what I ate. I remember my mum always telling me that I needed to eat my fruit and veg but you know how it is when you're a child, you always seem to take what your parents say with a pinch of salt. Since becoming a mother myself, now I can see just what my own mum was trying to do, it wasn't that she wanted me to miss out on treats, it was more about having a balanced diet.

These days there is more of a focus on the foods our children eat, and this is because of all those hidden nasties, the sugars, the salts and the saturated fats. I've always thought that my own kids ate reasonably well. Yes, they have certain junk foods like chocolate, crisps, biscuits and chips but I have always tried to balance this out by making sure that they have fruit or vegetables with every meal and getting them to alternate their snacks so they'll get one healthier one if not fruit then something like cereal bars and then they get to have sweets or chocolate for the other.

Prestige Hampers Helping to Celebrate Christmas

For me Christmas is all about eating, drinking and being merry so what better gift to receive than a hamper filled with luxurious food and beverages. Now if you have the time you could of course put together a personalised hamper but if you are like me and always feel like there aren't enough hours in the day then you'll want to check out Prestige Hampers. 

Stocking an amazing range of hampers even including ones for your pets, Prestige Hampers aim to provide you with only the finest products, this is something I can indeed confirm as they kindly sent me one of their Christmas hampers so that I could personally show you just what you can expect when ordering from them.

Banning School Bake Sales is NOT the Solution

When I was sat watching the news yesterday morning when I happened to see the latest food related news, Jamie Oliver thinks that school bakes sales should be banned because it sends out a mixed message about healthy eating.

Now I like Jamie Oliver, I eat at his restaurants and watch many of his TV programmes but seriously, when did he become the head of the food police. To me this claim is absolutely ridiculous, eating a cake isn't suddenly going to make a child fat. 

It goes alongside teachers telling kids what they can and can't have in their packed lunch. This has always annoyed me because they tell kids no chocolate in a packed lunch but then offer chocolate cake and custard as dessert to accompany a school dinner.

Dinner Time Treats at Frankie & Benny's

As a family we love eating out but being a family of six it can be quite an expense, especially when the children decide they want desserts as well as a main meal. Although I can't blame them because well I can't resist a good pudding either. So when you find somewhere that not only delivers delicious food but is good value for money, you end up becoming a frequent visitor and this is definitely the case for Frankie & Benny's.

We were recently invited to our local Frankie & Benny's restaurant to see what their new kids menu had to offer and I was more than happy to oblige because we've always enjoyed what they have to offer. Our nearest branch is one at Westwood Cross in Thanet and the staff there are wonderfully friendly and always brilliant with my girls, offering them colouring to keep them them entertained while they waited for their meals and balloons to take away when they finish eating. But what about the food I hear you cry.

Gin, Lime and White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

There are two things in life that I really quite like, food and alcohol so what could be better than combining the two? The guys over at 31Dover.com recently sent a rather delicious bottle of gin and I thought rather than just doing a quickie review to let you all know just how refreshing a G&T it can make, I'd go the extra mile and get a little creative and that's when I came up with the idea for the gin, lime and white chocolate cheesecake.

Now I'm no master baker so the good news with this recipe is that it is there aren't a lot of ingredients, it is super easy to prepare and it requires no baking whatsoever, the only downside is that you need to wait for it to set bbboooooo. Now considering the alcohol content this isn't a dessert for the kiddies, oh no, this one is just for us adults and guess what it's jolly nice when enjoyed with a refreshing glass of gin and tonic accompanying it....

Burgers, Shakes and Baconnaise - Gourmet Burger Kitchen Review

Who doesn't like a good burger and fries? They are one of the best comfort foods in my opinion. One of my favourite burger restaurants to visit is GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen), so when I was asked if my family and I would like to enjoy a meal on them at their newly opened restaurant located at the Lockmeadow complex in Maidstone, it was just a case of sorting out when we could there, preferably ASAP.

For those who haven't visited one of their restaurants before let me tell you a little a bit about them. They are a burger joint that offer perfectly cooked burgers (beef, chicken, lamb and veggies versions) in a number of flavour combinations, some of these combos may sound strange but I'm telling you they are well worth trying. The inside of the restaurants have an American diner sort of vibe going on with a nice chilled out atmosphere.

Chicago Town Pizzas, the Little Superhero in Your Freezer

I'm very lucky that my children aren't fussy eaters, they will generally eat anything that is given to them but what they don't like is having to wait when they are hungry. As a mum what I struggle with sometimes is making food that doesn't take a long time to cook and with a large family I like to have leftovers that can be used in meals on other days too. Now there is a little superhero in the freezer that fits the bill and that's Chicago Town Deep Dish Pizzas.

Available in a range of flavours including cheese, pepperoni and club chicken, a flavour for everyone whether you are a meat lover or if you enjoy the plainer things in life. Coming in packs of two, these individual pizzas can be a real lifesaver when you are in a rush to prepare something and you should know that they are definitely not just for dinner.

Pancake Fun With Num Noms #NumNomsFoodie

Pancake day has arrived. I have to admit this totally beats Valentine's day! The kids tend to opt for something sweet, normally Nutella pancake rolls where as I like to go something more traditional with a bit of lemon and sugar. This year we were challenged to get creative with our pancakes and incorporate some of the yummy series 3 Num Noms characters. Challenge accepted.

We were kindly sent one of the brand new Num Noms Lunch Box packs for some inspiration and after much deliberation we came up with the ultimate pancake topping, a strawberry and blueberry sauce with lots of marshmallows sprinkled over. This was thanks to Softy Mallow, Sugar Stripes (who smells like strawberries) and Blueberry Stamp-It.

I used a quick and simple recipe for making the actual pancakes although I must admit I didn't manage to actually 'flip' them, I was a tad worried about them getting stuck to the ceiling. The recipe for the pancakes is as follows :

My December Favourites

The final month of the year, I honestly can't believe it. I know we all say the same thing every year but hasn't it flown by! Any way I do digress I'm back with my December favourites for you all, prepare for a bit of a festive theme.

Festive Jumpers

I love a good Christmas jumper and I have two favourites this year and they both come from boohoo.com. My lovely mum bought me both of them, a gorgeous jumper dress and and an adorable jumper. Both super comfy and warm and really perfect to where all Winter long, a jumper isn't just for Christmas right?

Taste Testing the Festive Menu at the Beefeater

I am a huge fan of Christmas so it is no surprise that I'm quite partial to a Christmas dinner too. I always remember my mum making the best festive dinners, you know the ones where the plates are over flowing with food and you'd always be left completely stuffed. I try and replicate these meals myself every year but I'll admit it is so much better having someone cook for you. So when I was invited to have a bit of a taste test of the festive menu at one of my local Beefeater restaurants I was quick to jump at the chance.

You can see from the menu above that there is quite the selection of food and as well as all of that, there is also a child's Christmas dinner too. Our meals were pre-ordered and when we arrived at the Eureka Park Beefeater we were greeted by staff and taken to a table fully kitted out with crackers, Santa hats and little games to play, festive spirit was most definitely in the air and this made for a brilliant start to a family meal out.

My November Favourites

December is nearly here, are you ready for the Christmas countdown. Well before all of the festive excitement why not take a looking at my list of favourites for November. As always there is a nice mix of food and drink amongst other items for you to have a nosey at.

Popworks Popcorn

Popcorn is one of my favourite snacks at is a low calories alternative to the crisps I always find myself munching on and these are my new favourites. My girls are a big fan of the apple pie flavour but as a peanut butter addict I could not resist these!

My October Favourites

Autumn has well and truly arrived, the mornings and evenings are darker and the temperature has dropped a lot of late but all of this hasn't stopped me from enjoying some brilliant products this month so here are my October favourites.

Crunchie Spread

So the kids are loving spreading this on their toast and I have to admit that I've been stirring this into my greek yogurt.

Creating Healthy Lunches With the #FloraLunchboxChallenge

I'm a mum who likes to know what my child is eating so all of my children take a packed lunch to school but with the government always trying to encourage healthy eating and more and more schools policing just what us parents our giving our kids to eat, knowing how to meet those standards is beginning to prove quite tricky.

My September Favourites

Oh dear god, how are we already at the end of September, thoughts of back to school seem like a life time a go and now I'm ready to talk to you about my favourite products from this month, as always there is a goo mixture from food to beauty products....

Num Noms are Creating Wacky Bakers in the Kitchen

Num  Noms are fun and quirky collectable toys that all have wonderful scents, this allows your child/ren to mix and match the smells to create some delicious combinations. Now with the Great British Bake Off back on our televisions these cute treats are back with their aptly named campaign Wacky Bakers.

My August Favourites

How is it almost the end of Summer already? Hope everyone has been enjoying some sunshine. But for now here are my August favourites, all those products that I have been loving this month and I'd like to recommend to you.

Baked from BKD Book Review

If you've read my blog before it will be no secret from the recipes shared that both myself and my children love getting creative in the kitchen and of course our favourite thing to do is baking, I mean who can resist cake? I think getting our kids cooking is an important thing, not only are they learning an important life skill ; they are also getting the opportunity to have fun with you, something Adelle Smith from  award winning children's baking company BKD completely agrees with. And this is where her recipe book BAKED: Amazing Bakes to Create With Your Child aims to please.