Blog - Munchies and Munchkins

Crushed Fruit Pouch Review

October 4, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

We have recently been sampling some fruit pouches from Crushed.

Crushed UK is the brainchild of two mums:

This is what they have to say:

“As busy working mums, our families are always on the go. Juggling a busy lifestyle with being healthy, is a
challenge many of us face. Loved in Europe for many years, our 100% fruit pouches are designed to make life easier, healthier and happier. Each pouch delivers one of your five a day. No mess, no spoon, just 100% fruity goodness. Perfect fruit ready 24/7.
Don’t slow down when you’re having fun. Simply grab one of our fast fruit snacks, and take it wherever your adventures lead you.”

What did we think?

Well firstly Izzy loved them. She has always enjoyed fruit pouches but a lot of the ones in the shops are geared towards babies and this is clear in the packaging. These are more for older children and adults and she liked that they were for bigger girls.

Her favourite was the apple and strawberry.

Myself and Andrew have enjoyed them as part of daily green smoothies and it definitely adds a bit of sweetness and some extra fruit to an otherwise spinachy concoction. We also put a pouch in with some homemade banana muffins which was very successful!

Ideal for lunch boxes, smoothies or just for snacks we highly recommend them. They have a 12 month shelf life too so if you see them on offer snap them up.

You can find Crushed pouches in Waitrose both online and in store as well as WHSmith travel.

*We were sent a selection of pouches to try for the purpose of the review.

Coca Cola Life – What’s It All About?

October 3, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

I’m a bit of a fan of proper Coca Cola. Always have been. For the last ten months I haven’t been able to drink much as I have been caffeine free since Chloe was born and so I’ve moved onto the caffeine free diet option which is great but it’s not quite the same.

One of the biggest issues for me with the full fat, real deal coke is the amount of calories it contains as I do have to work hard to keep the pounds off my hips so even when I’m not caffeine free I do limit myself to occasional treats .. Particularly useful when hungover I find. Not that I’ve had many of those these last 4 years!

But now look who steps up to the mark…

Coca Cola Life.

So what is it?

Coca‑Cola Life is made with a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract, and contains a third less sugar and a third fewer calories than Coca‑Cola.

How does it compare with the other 3 versions?:

Coca‑Cola = 42 calories per 100ml
Coca‑Cola Life = 27 calories per 100ml
Coca‑Cola Zero = Less than 1 calorie per 100ml
Diet Coke = Less than 1 calorie per 100ml

Most importantly what did we think?

Well. Firstly I broke my no caffeine rule for this so I was happy to not be disappointed – definitely less sweet which I quite like. I shared a can with my OH who normally finds ‘proper’ coke a little too sweet so he enjoyed it too.

Definitely a good way to make small improvements to your current diet if you are looking to cut your calorie intake.

It feels a bit strange to be drinking out of a green can but look at the colours of coke all together – doesn’t it look festive?

Holidays are coming 😉

Slow Cooker Chicken- Part 2 Noodle Soup

October 1, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

You may remember that a few weeks ago I posted a recipe – well less of a recipe and more of a how to on how to cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker. You can find that post here.

As I’ve said before it’s not as golden and gorgeous to look at as a typical roast but the flavour and succulent meat is worth it.

We enjoyed it so much that we have since made it several times and we manage to make about 3 meals out of it.

First of all, you will need:

1 medium chicken and veg cooked via the method in the post above ( with addition of celery and sweet potato)
1 cup of frozen peas
An additional 150ml of hot water
Black pepper
Dried spaghetti – about 100g broken into smallish pieces
*You could add salt if needed but we didn’t due to young baby

Last night I slow cooked a medium whole chicken following pretty much the same guide as in my last blog post but adding sweet potatoes and long strips of celery and I didn’t add any olive oil – purely because I didn’t want an oily stock. I also forgot to add any herbs which hasn’t affected the recipe I’m about to share. So I cooked the chicken for 5 hours on high then removed it and left the veg/juices/stock of which there were a lot to cool. Once cooled I placed in the fridge and this morning I skimmed off the fat.

I then returned the stock/veg to the slow cooker ( minus the celery which I love but my kids find a little stringy) along with 150ml ( approx) water, about 1/3 of the roast chicken which I had stripped and shredded the night before and the frozen peas/black pepper. I turned on low and cooked for about 4 hours. For the last 20 mins or so I turned up to high and added my dried spaghetti pieces. You could use fresh egg noodles which won’t require as much time. Check that the pasta is cooked and serve immediately.

It’s comfort in a bowl. It’s hard to find a broth which tastes that good. It served two hungry adults for lunch, toddler and a weaning baby as well as a big tub for lunch tomorrow.

Enjoy 🙂

I’m allowed to do it. I’m 3.

October 1, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Izzy has been 3 years old for exactly two weeks and I have already heard this more times than I can count. I’m allowed to do that. I’m 3. Ha.

I thought I would share some photos of our biggest girl over the past year.

From 2 – 3 has been such a massive change. We started the year with a girl who was very much still our baby. In a cot, still having bedtime milk, in nappies and still loving her dummy at bedtime. You are now in a big girls bed. You said goodbye to the dummy, the milk and the nappies in the blink of an eye. You became a big sister and it seems as though that has always been your role.

We have filled your days with love and fun and you in return fill ours with smiles and laughter.

The prettiest flower girl you ever did see..

Your sister arrived two months after you turned two and turned your life around:

You love a good chocolate pudding:

By about halfway through year of being 2 we started to finally see some hair!

You moved to a big girl bed and gave your cot to your little sister:

We have had so many adventures together this year:

Dressed like a princess playing in the fake snow on your birthday:

You are independent, clever.. A little bit naughty but an absolute ball to be around. I look forward to another year of your smiles and chatter.

Eating Organically With Waitrose

September 30, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Over the last week we have made some small changes to our shopping and our diet by using organic ingredients in at least one meal a day as part of Organic September. We did a big organic shop at Waitrose and I planned out some meals. Of course things rarely go to plan and I was feeling rather unwell for a few days of the week and so I changed things up a little with our meals taking full advantage of my slow cooker, sous vide machine and my Tefal cook4me because did I mention my oven broke? Nightmare.

We made incredible garlic mushrooms – luckily my hob still works:

A super tasty sweet potato and sausage casserole:

And the most tender gammon cooked sous vide style in organic Wyldwood cider:

We also made several dishes out of a slow cooker whole organic chicken, which was plump and provided lots of meat for roast chicken sandwiches, a curry and a mini roast.

I have to say we have really enjoyed going organic, maybe we won’t be making a full change of everything BUT I am going to go organic where I can and where my budget allows.

And ahem did you know that all Green & Blacks chocolate is organic? Definitely worth making that change don’t you think?

Take a look at the Waitrose Organic Shop and have a look at the massive selection of organic products they have to offer.

Slow Cooker Pea & Ham Soup

September 30, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 4 Comments

It’s 6am and I’ve just woken up to a house which smells incredible. It may not be breakfast food but I’m looking forward to lunch let me tell you.

I cooked two gammon joints last week in my Sous Vide Supreme.. One in We

I put my ingredients into the slow cooker at about 9.30pm last night and just set on low and walked away – how easy is that?

This morning I woke to perfectly cooked veggies, ham and a gorgeous broth. When I’m ready to serve it will probably blend it up as I love pea and ham soup this way..maybe even with a swirl of cream on top, some cracked black pepper and freshly baked soda bread.

Also apologies for the ingredients being in cups.. I was being rather lazy last night and used a cup for measurements so that I could share the recipe afterwards without the faff of weighing.

Slow Cooker Pea & Ham Soup

You will need:

2 cups ( packed) of cooked shredded ham/gammon
1 cup of frozen peas
3.5 cups of hot chicken stock
9-10 small new potatoes halved
1 carrot diced
Dried parsley
Pepper
Salt ( if required – I didn’t use any as gammon is salty enough)

Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and give a little stir.

Turn onto low for 10 hours or high for 5. Blend before serve for ultimate flavour and creaminess. Extra good with a little cream on top and served with still warm bread.

Yum.

Perfect for a chilly autumnal day.

I’m linking up to Tasty Tuesdays with Honest Mum

The C Word

September 25, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

The C word. I hate it.

I hate to hear it in sentences from people I love or to overhear it in coffee shops or pubs.

I hate to see it online affecting people. Changing lives.

Six letters which can change your world.

Cancer.

Three summers ago I heard that word from my mum when she stood in front of us and said “it’s cancer” we knew it before she said it. From the moment she called on the way home from her appointment and said she would talk to us when she got home – not the overjoyed voice of relief we had hoped for but a small voice which tried to remain strong for her (almost all grown up) children.

I heard that word so often that year. A hard year for my family but a weirdly wonderful one too as Izzy was born and then my mum went on to beat breast cancer after two operations and radiotherapy. She’s a fighter.

We have lost grandparents to cancer. Friends have lost parents and siblings. It’s such a scary word.

I worry for my mum every day. Everytime she has an ache or pain my mind flits back to that time. I worry for my dad. I worry for myself.. For Andrew and for our children and my siblings.

This rotten, selfish disease who tiptoes up and threatens your family. Who doesn’t care how wonderful or generous the person is who it affects. Who doesn’t stop think no, not them. Not now.

This autumn marks three years cancer free for my mum. Something which wouldn’t be possible without research, medicine and science.

On Friday I will be supporting my mum and Macmillan cancer research by baking cakes, attending my mums coffee morning and donating.

Can you support it too? Find your nearest coffee morning here

I’m writing this late at night ( actually very early in the morning) and my mind is all a muddle but I’d like to do more. Raise money. Use this blog for good. If I thought of something, some way to do something which would raise money – would you help? So many of you read my blog these days I’m overwhelmed ( thanks by the way) and with your help I could maybe, possibly do something good. Who is with me?

Holiday Memories

September 24, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

When I was growing up we didn’t do exotic holidays abroad. In fact my parents have only just this year been abroad for the first time. My dad didn’t like the idea of flying and also there was just no way we could afford that type of holiday.

Sometimes when a school friend would talk about going to Spain or Eurodisney I may have been a little jealous but looking back I’m so glad we had the kind of holidays we did as they were so much fun.

The first holidays I can remember were in caravan parks near the seaside in South Wales. Lots of us crammed into one small caravan – they weren’t quite as posh back then ..hours spent in the swimming pool and making best friends with all the other holiday makers.

My mum would also make her famous corned beef pie to take with us and doesn’t food always taste a million times better in the sea air. Hot chocolate before bed and cereal variety packs for breakfast.

Caravans have improved just a little since when I was a little girl. Some are more like sprawling holiday villas than caravans with two bathrooms and three bedrooms as well as fully equipped kitchens.

We have since taken Izzy to holiday parks in Wales and Cornwall as well as to France and Portugal and we have enjoyed the caravan breaks as much if not more sometimes than our trips abroad because it’s easier and so much less stressful than having to go to an airport and book car hire etc etc.

With school holiday time bookings abroad getting so pricey it’s definitely worth looking at UK holidays when thinking of things to do during half term. Spend time exploring castles and beaches or just chilling out playing board games in a beautiful caravan.

Now sing together…

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside…

* Collaborated post.

Sleep Deprivation

September 23, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

It goes with the newborn territory doesn’t it? You need to expect to be tired for at least the first year of having a child but there’s tired and then there is TIRED.

Remember that almost haze you lived in for the first few weeks after your child was born? The hourly feeds/ numerous nappy changes .. at a time when your baby was just getting used to life on the outside and found it hard to settle. It’s to be expected in that fourth trimester.

We are still in that haze. 10 months on. We aren’t tired anymore, we are barely functioning. I look like a zombie or as a homeless man in my local city centre told me .. I look absolutely knackered – and this was from someone who sleeps on the actual street.

With Izzy we were tired a lot of the time but that was normal waking up to 2-3 times a night and having early mornings type of tired. This is on another level. These are actual sleepless nights and it’s a different kind of exhaustion I can tell you. It seeps into your bones ( bone tired) it can make you incredibly grumpy and hard to live with ( sorry friends and family) and it makes every day seem so very long and difficult. It makes things like anxiety harder, depression is more depressing and minor ailments such as a simple cold feel like the full blown flu.

I’m still breastfeeding but I think those days are certainly numbered now. It’s not the feeding that is the problem but being awake so much of the time means that those 3 night feeds completely drain me. I wake feeling hungover. Feeling angry. Feeling tired. Why won’t she just sleep?

Today we are trying some final adjustments to her bedroom – a new mattress ..a new sleeping bag maybe. Tomorrow she is booked in for Cranial Osteopathy – I will keep you posted on how that goes.

For now I just needed to vent. Sorry for the ramble. Send all the chocolate please.

Celebrating Organic September With Waitrose

September 22, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 4 Comments

Did you know September is organic month? No.. Neither did I. I buy organic products occasionally but I don’t specifically look for them. Waitrose have invited me to replace one meal a day for 7 days with organic foods and write about how we feel about it afterwards.

Never one to shy away from a food challenge I set off to my nearest Waitrose in hunt of some organic goodies. Now I expected my shop to be a lot more expensive than normal and not to get too much for my money BUT I may have been slightly wrong. I’m going to share what we managed to make with the shopping items we purchased along with some store cupboard staples.

Since today is day 1 I will just give you a little overview of what we bought and what I plan to make this week.

Our shopping trolley which came to approximately £60 included:

Eggs
Bread
Milk
Butter
Buttery spread
Cheese
Chocolate pudding pots
Greek Yoghurt
Mushrooms
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes
Carrots
Rocket
Tomatoes
Butternut squash
A large chicken
Meatballs
Sausages
Apples
Bananas
Ham
Fruit pouches – for Chloe
Pear juice cartons for Izzy
Baby porridge
Shortbread
Fruit compote
Chocolate
Cider

All organic – yes even the cider ( Wyldwood organic cider) and the chocolate ( Green&Blacks ).

Even Peter Rabbit loves Organic juice:

Day 1:

A light supper of a ham, brie and rocket sandwich. Using all organic products. It was delicious. The brie and bread were particularly good.. We may also have eaten a Rachel’s Organic chocolate pot which was divine.

Tomorrow morning ( Day 2 ) I plan to make fluffy pancakes using the eggs, milk and buttery spread served with the fruit compote. Yum.

Later in the week I am planning:

Evening meals:

Roast Chicken served with butternut squash and garlic mushrooms.
Sweet potato wedges with glazed sausages
Meatballs in a tomato sauce with homemade pasta

Light lunch:

Omelette served with a rocket and tomato salad

Indulgent supper treat:

Nigellas French Doughnut toast using the milk, bread and eggs and served with caramelised bananas. Yum.

And more…

Look out for an update next week with what we thought of the switch to organic.

Take a look at the Waitrose Organic Shop and have a look at the massive selection of organic products they have to offer.

You can find out more about Organic September on The Soil Association website

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