Monday 24 September 2018

Babyled Spreads - baby food review

 
If you've been reading my other blog Mini Moo Life you might have read that I started weaning my little girl at the beginning of this month. I’ve been making my own vegetable purees, and then introduced protein, and am about to start making some proper meals for her.

I’ve also tried out a few ready made packets and jars, as these are often more convenient when out and about – for instance we are about to go to my parents’ for the weekend and I don’t want to take a frozen puree for day two as it will defrost in the car on day one which I don’t think is a good idea. Also, there are times when you don’t have time to cook up a new batch of meals or are not sure about trying out new ingredients and don’t want to buy a whole pack of something you are not going to use (particularly if like me and my husband you are fussy eaters but want your baby to try all sorts of things).
 
I was sent two packs of Babyled Spreads to review, including six jars in total. These are little 34g jars which look pretty small but for my six month old did two meals, and a little does go a long way as you can incorporate them into other recipes or meals.
 
The consistency is a thick paste, thicker than a lot of the jars of baby food I’d tried from other brands. I’ve was using the traditional weaning method rather than baby-led for the first couple of weeks then moving to a combination of the two. So I fed my daughter a couple of mouthfuls of the spread to see what she thought of the flavour, and also mixed them with other things.
 
You can also use them as a sandwich filling, a dip, to mix with pasta or as a pizza topping, and many more besides.
 
It’s a good way for your baby to explore different flavours, as in my relatively limited experience of baby food so far, these have more unusual flavour combinations than other brands.
We tried ricotta and bean; avocado, red pepper and tomato; carrot apple and hummus, and were also sent to try green pea rocket and dill; red lentil and sweet potato, and spicy pumpkin and chickpea, though the latter is only suitable for 12 months and older (the others are all for 6 months+) so we will have to wait a little while for that one.
 
I mixed the ricotta and bean flavour together with some cooked flaked cod, and mixed the avocado, red pepper and tomato with baby rice. The carrot, apple and hummus would go well as a dip with breadsticks and as my daughter starts to get a bit more confident at putting things in her mouth I’m going to try the spreads on toast.
You can buy Babyled Spreads direct from their website; a pack of nine jars costs £6.50 with free postage, making each jar 72p each –  or 18 jars for £12 making them 67p each, so roughly on a par with other ready made baby food and though these jars are smaller than others, they go a long way as they wouldn’t usually be served as a meal in themselves.
The company even donates money from the sale of every pot to Bliss, the charity for babies born premature or sick.


Even though I haven’t been following the baby-led weaning approach I do want my daughter to learn to feed herself and experiment with pieces of food and I think having these spreads would help liven up things like breadsticks and toast. In the meantime I’ll continue using them mixed in with pasta or protein to create a tasty sauce to introduce my daughter to new flavours and textures.
Thanks to Babyled Spreads for the product to review.

Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 39

The chicken fajita puff I made last week was amazing - look out for it on the blog soon. I changed a few of last week's meals - on Saturday I was going to do chicken with leeks in the slow cooker but forgot and used all the leek already in my leek and potato soup!

Monday
Baby S breakfast - porridge with peach
Lunch - me- mackerel in korma sauce on toast
Baby S- butternut squash chips from yesterday plus pouch of Heinz food I was sent to review
Dinner- gammon grillsteak for him I didn't do last week with homemade lasagne for me

Tuesday
Baby S breakfast - porridge with apple
Lunch - me- jacket potato with tuna
Baby S- rest of Heinz pouch with pieces of fruit to follow
Dinner- macaroni cheese with sausages I didn't do last week

Wednesday
Baby S breakfast - porridge with apple
Lunch - me- leftover macaroni cheese
Baby S- Cow and Gate pumpkin and chicken puree mixed with pieces of butternut squash and chicken
Dinner- chicken kebabs with potato wedges

Thursday
Baby S breakfast - yogurt with banana
Lunch - me- pizza
Baby S- Cow and Gate pumpkin and chicken puree mixed with pieces of butternut squash and chicken
Dinner- burger and chips

Friday
Baby S breakfast - yogurt with banana
Lunch - me- ready made pasta salad
Baby S-  Cow and Gate beef casserole with added beef
Dinner- chicken traybake with packet sauce with mashed potato

Saturday
Baby S breakfast - porridge with apple
Lunch - us- bacon/ sausage sandwich
Baby S- Cow and Gate beef casserole with added beef
Dinner- with my parents

Sunday
Baby S breakfast -  porridge with apple
Lunch - with my parents
Baby S- Cow and Gate cottage pie
Dinner- something easy like frozen pizza

Monday 17 September 2018

Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 38

I forgot to use the pomegranate seeds I bought for my lamb and quinoa dish last week so have to think of some other way to use them this week! Lamb does seem to be what they go with best

Monday
Lunch - quiche
For baby S - Heinz pumpkin with chicken puree
Dinner - lamb with pomegranate cous cous for me,

Tuesday
Lunch- rest of quiche with pomegranate cous cous
For baby S - homemade carrot puree with cod
Dinner - Fajita chicken puff from this recipe I was going to make last week but didn't

Wednesday
Lunch- leek and potato soup
For baby S - Babyled spread I was sent to try out
Dinner - gammon grillsteak and chips for him, cauliflower cheese grills with butternut squash chips for me

Thursday
Lunch- leek and potato soup
For baby S - carrot puree with cod
Dinner - chicken parmigiana with croquette potatoes

Friday
Lunch- mini pizzas
For baby S - Green pea Babyled spread I was sent to try out mixed with baby rice
Dinner - macaroni cheese with sausages

Saturday
Lunch- prawn pancake for me as my husband is at work
For baby S- breakfast: yogurt. Lunch - Babyled puree I was sent to try
Dinner - steak and chips

Sunday
Lunch - scrambled eggs on toast for him, poached egg and smoked salmon for me
For baby S -breakfast: baby porridge with banana. Lunch: scrambled egg
Dinner - sticky BBQ chicken from packet sauce mix with butternut squash chips for me and croquettes for him. Will save a couple of butternut squash pieces for baby S tomorrow.

You're a Treasure Pirate Card for Kids

I have a confession to make about this card - I made it for a friend’s little boy who was turning three, and forgot to send it!

My husband and I were ill for nearly a whole week, luckily the days when we were most sick didn’t overlap so we were able to take it in turns to look after our baby with a bit of help from my mother-in-law as well (who then got sick after she had been to see us!). Luckily baby S didn’t get ill at all which was a huge relief!
That whole week passed in a blur and it was only some time later I realised I had missed the birthday and not sent the card. Sorry Alex!

I’ve decided to share it now as I think this is a really cute theme for children that works for both girls and boys. I bought a set of clear stamps from eBay (which didn’t have a brand - look up ‘pirate clear stamps’ on eBay and you will find them).

I had some sea themed backing paper that I hadn’t really used before as it was a tricky design - not a patterned paper as such but most of it was plain blue or similar with a detailed design in one corner. I found it hard to know what I could add to the card to complement it without covering up the design but also without the backing paper stealing the show - but these pirate stamps were perfect.

I stamped the boy pirate onto white card and coloured him in with Promarkers and did the same with the treasure chest and boat, and stamped the words ‘you’re a treasure’ directly onto the card, which I then went over with a black Promarker.

I'm sharing this with:
Outlawz Challenge Songs and Rhymes - Row, row, row your boat
Sheepski Designs - For the kidz
Cardz 4 Guyz - All at sea

Monday 10 September 2018

Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 37

Our first week of weaning has gone really well so far, though it has been quite messy! At the time of writing baby S has enjoyed carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash, broccoli and avocado. She's moving on to banana tomorrow which neither my husband nor I like, but apparently most babies love it!

My husband took a few days off last week which was a bit last minute so I ended up changing the menu slightly, so some of the things I meant to make last week but didn't will be repeated this week.

Monday - my husband is off too
Lunch- out
For baby S - avocado
Dinner - spiced lamb and herby quinoa crumble from this recipe for me, chicken chargrills for him 

Tuesday - my husband is off again
Lunch- bacon sandwich or pancakes I was going to do last week but didn't (though may not have time as we have to go out at 2)
For baby S - sweet potato with broccoli puree
Dinner - pasta with prawns and chorizo for me, meatballs for him

Wednesday
Lunch- jacket potato
For baby S - baby rice with strawberry puree
Dinner- beef pot roast I was going to do last week but didn't

Thursday
Lunch- sandwich
For baby S - baby rice with strawberry puree
Dinner - beef curry with leftover beef

Friday
Lunch- sandwich or pasta
For baby S - sweet potato and broccoli puree
Dinner -  gammon grill steaks and chips for him, homemade lasagne from the freezer for me

Saturday
Lunch- mini pizzas with mozzarella sticks
For baby S - baby rice and banana puree
Dinner - My husband wants to use the barbecue one last time before we put it away so hopefully the weather will be ok

Sunday
Lunch-cauliflower cheese crispy grills for me, cheese omelette for him
For baby S  - cauliflower cheese puree from Heinz - want to see what she thinks of one from a jar in case we need to take one when out and about
Dinner - Fajita chicken puff from this recipe



Monday 3 September 2018

Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 36

This week's meal plan is partly using up stuff in the freezer so I can make room for purees and partly inspired by Annabel Karmel ! Baby S had her first taste of solids - pureed carrot - yesterday and seemed quite intrigued though not a huge fan! Going to repeat the same thing today and try some other purees this week.

Monday
Lunch for me - leftover pasta from Sunday
Lunch for baby S - carrot purée
Dinner - cheese and ham chicken Kievs for him, lamb kebabs for me (using up barbecue food from the freezer as I don’t think we are going to barbecue again this year!)


Tuesday
Lunch for me
- mackerel in mustard sauce on toast
Lunch for baby S - sweet potato and butternut squash purée
Dinner - chicken in orange and balsamic vinegar sauce based on this recipe 


Wednesday
Lunch for me - won’t have much time so will have a sandwich
Lunch for baby S - will do her a brunch or mid afternoon snack as we have to leave at 12.15 for a baby sign class - sweet potato and broccoli purée
Dinner - vet appointment so need a quick and easy dinner so will do something ready made from the freezer


Thursday - my husband has a day off
Lunch  - bacon sandwich
Lunch for baby S - sweet potato and butternut squash purée
Dinner - mini toad in the holes

Friday -my husband has a day off
Lunch for me - either fresh rolls from the bakery or ham and cheese toasties
Lunch for baby S - carrot purée
Dinner -chicken chargrills for him, for me spiced lamb and herby quinoa crumble from this recipe 


Saturday
Lunch for us
- sausage rolls
Lunch for baby S - mashed banana
Dinner - steak and chips

Sunday
Lunch for us
- pancakes - cheese for him, prawn for me
Lunch for baby S - sweet potato and broccoli purée
Dinner - beef pot roast from this recipe