Whizz Up Mel's Speedy Recipe For Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese

Hi, I am Mel!

I blog about my love of food, travel, fashion, and much more over at The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover Blog.

Today I'm guest posting on the lovely Linda's blog with my family friendly recipe for broccoli and cauliflower cheese.

What I love about this recipe is that it is virtually foolproof and most kids seem to love it. So often I find recipes for cauliflower cheese do not add enough cheese - well not in this case! The breadcrumbs also add a lovely crunch.

If you use an electric whisk, the white sauce will be lovely and smooth with no lumps. This will also keep for a couple of days in the fridge prior to cooking, so perfect to make in advance and pop in the oven when you come home at night.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients

1 small cauliflower and 1 broccoli head, cut into florets
500 ml milk
4 tbsp flour
50 g butter or low fat spread
200 g mature cheddar, grated
4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
black pepper to taste

Serves 4

Method

Heat oven to 200C / Gas 7.
Boil the cauliflower and broccoli for 5 mins.
Drain in a colander.
Make the cheese sauce by the all in one method - put the milk, flour, and butter or low fat spread in a saucepan.
Use an electric or manual whisk and whisk until it comes to the boil and goes thick but smooth.
Stir in grated cheese.
Add the cheese sauce to the cauliflower and broccoli.
Pour into a large dish or 4 individual dishes
Scatter over breadcrumbs.

Cook for 20/25 mins until bubbling and golden

Serve as an accompaniment to your favourite dishes.

Enjoy!

Mellissa Williams
The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover Blog

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Tempt Your Kids Away From Their Computers With These Awesome Hobbies

So many parents complain about the amount of time their kids spend in front of screens these days! TVs, computers tablet devices all seem to control our kids. But it’s easy to tempt them away. You just need to persuade them to take up one of these awesome hobbies!

Pexels

Horse Riding

Kids love animals, so see about getting them some horse riding lessons. Try and find a school that meets the standards set by the British Horse Riding Society and the Association of British Riding Schools. If a school adheres to these standards, they should award certificates that your child can work towards. Eventually, your son or daughter may even want to perform in local competitions. Many people think horse riding is an expensive activity. But, unless you buy your very own horse and rent stables, you’ll find lessons are very reasonably priced.

Baking

Did your kids love watching the Great British Bake Off? If so, they might enjoy getting creative in the kitchen! Not only can you create a lot of tasty treats, but baking together gives you a chance to bond with your child. If they are new to the kitchen or still very young, start them off with something easy like cookies. Once they become more skilled, you’ll be able to move onto things like a Victoria Sponge!

Learn An Instrument

Not only will your child find learning an instrument fun but some studies show that it can help them improve in school. Most kids will learn the recorder in primary school, but you can also give them the chance to learn something in their spare time. A lot of parents get their children piano lessons as this is a simple instrument to start at a young age. It doesn’t matter if you have your own, you can always consider Piano Hire.

Arts and Crafts

Try and unleash your child’s artistic side by introducing them to arts and crafts. Sewing and model kits are popular with older children. Younger kids will be happier with just colouring in. One great idea is to spend a day creating superhero costumes together. You could help your kids crafting outfits that their favourite heroes wear. Or they can become completely new superheroes with unique superpowers!

Walking

Get your kids used to the outdoors by going for regular walks. Start off small and simply have a wander around your local park. If they seem to have a good time, gradually build it up. You’ll be going on morning walks with the whole family before too long! Make sure to pack some snacks and drinks in case the kids complain of hunger. You can always take a break for a picnic. One great tip is to take a small bag of stale bread with you. Then if you pass a pond, you can stop for a bit to feed the ducks!

Kids may be a bit reluctant to give up their screens to start with, but after a while they’ll completely forget about their laptops and tablets!

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Review: Degustabox Monthly Subscription Food Box - The March Box

It's been a while since I reviewed Degustabox, the monthly subscription food box service but they sent me a lovely Easter surprise of their March box.

Each Degustabox contains between 9 and 14 products from well known and / or up-and-coming brands.

It's a fun way to discover new brands and to try food and drink products you may not otherwise discover or add to your supermarket trolley.

So what was in the March box?

The contents of the March Degustabox

Each box costs £12.99 including delivery and the value of the box contents is promised to be far greater than this, based on what you would expect to pay if you bought the items in the shops.

Once you have received your box, you are encouraged to review the products and let the brands know what you thought - whether you liked the item or not.

The March box contained, as per the previous boxes, a lovely mix of sweet and savoury treats. There is a selected list of products for each month published on the website but not everyone receives the same combination. The element of surprise adds to the fun.

Once again, there was a mixture of brands I already knew but quite a few I'd heard of but not got round to trying - which is really the point of Degustabox.

There were 10 products from January's selection and 1 from a selection which Degustabox call their "Db's Discoveries".

This time, instead of Degustabox's products of the month we have two products just right for the breakfast table.

Brioche Pasquier, Weetabix On The Go & Good Hemp Original

The Breakfast Table Products

We are already big fans of Brioche Pasquier and these are new to the range - Pains au Chocolat (£1.40) filled with creme patissiere.  They are individually wrapped and the Husband often grabs a couple to pop in his briefcase on his way out of the door to the station.  You can spend a small fortune on a coffee and a pastry at those station shops, can't you?

Weetabix On The Go (2 x £1.50) is a breakfast drink with extra protein which contains all the energy and fibre of a Weetabix cereal with milk in a smooth, tasty drink.  The Husband has also claimed these for his next trip to London.

Good Hemp Original - a dairy free alternative to milk

Good Hemp Original (£1.49) is a dairy free alternative to milk made from hemp seeds.  Hemp seeds are a natural source of Omega 3 and are completely allergen free.

Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn - Cinema Sweet (£1.50) and Pipers Crisps - Cheddar & Onion (£2.00)

Ideal movie watching fare!

Cinema Sweet is the newest addition to the Metcalfe's Skinny Popcorn family and it is sweetened with natural stevia leaf extract.  The popcorn has 67% less sugar than all the other sweet varieties on the market and has 97 calories per serving.

Pipers Crisps have won 23 Gold Great Taste Awards and are made from locally sourced potatos cooked in sunflower oil.  I wish I could tell you what these tasted like but the Husband and Ieuan got there first.

Karyatis Meze To Go & Kent's Kitchen Stuffing in Apricot, Apple & Ginger

Two quirky new finds

Karyatis Meze To Go (£1.99) is a Mediterranean inspired snack containing a sweet and smokey roasted red pepper and feta dip with crunchy rosemary crackers in an easy to carry box.

Kent's Kitchen Apricot, Apple & Ginger Stuffing (£1.85) is designed to spice up your roast dinner. It's made from all natural ingredients with chunky pieces of fruit, herbs and spices. All you have to do is add water, stir and bake.  Each pot serves four.

Parle Hide & Seek and Monaco Biscuits

Sweet & Savoury Biscuits

Parle Hide & Seek biscuits (£0.59) are India's best moulded chocolate chip biscuits.  The jury's out on whether they are, as they claim, the World's best moulded chocolate biscuits.  I have quite a bit of research ahead of me.

Parle Monaco biscuits (£0.39p) are tasty, crispy biscuits sprinkled with salt.

Kallo Quinoa and Seeds Multigrain Cakes & Kallo Milk Chocolate Rice Cake Rounds

Kallo  Multigrain and Chocolate Rice Cakes

Kallo Quinoa and Seeds Multigrain Cakes (£1.89) contain sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds whilst Kallo Milk Chocolate Rice Cake Rounds (£1.00) are a combination of  Belgian Chocolate and puffed wholegrain rice with only 78 calories per cake.

Lindt White Chocolate Gold Bunny & Chewits Sweets

My favourite combo!

Two more products from this month's box which have strangely vanished before I could sample them.

Lindt White Chocolate Gold Bunny (£2.99) - you know Easter's arrived when these little fellas start to appear.  They certainly make a regular appearance in our house.

Chewits chewy sweets (4 x £0.35) were a part of my childhood and are an iconic British confectionery brand now loved by my kids as well.

The total retail value of the box is £21.59, good value given the cost of the box was £12.99.

If you like the excitement of a monthly present and enjoy trying out new brands, I think Degustabox is a great scheme. I'd place it firmly in the 'treat' category but the price is low enough to make it attractive. A Degustabox subscription would also make a great gift. You can cancel at any time, as long as you give them sufficient notice to stop next month's box.

Please note, though that Degustabox can only deliver to Mainland UK and not to Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands and Islands and you must be over 18 to order.

I also have a discount code for £6 off your first box.  Simply enter BLDEG15 at the checkout.

Further information is available at the Degustabox UK website, or you can talk to them on Facebook or on Twitter. 

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HayMax Balm - A Natural Way To Help Relieve The Misery of Hayfever & Giveaway

It's that time of year when the hay fever symptoms start to strike.  The Husband suffers quite badly and has to take Beconase nasal spray to relieve his symptoms.  The problem with this is that it tends to give him nosebleeds and, if he doesn't start taking it quickly enough, he gets all the symptoms anyway.

HayMax Organic Drug-Free Allergen Barrier Balm Varieties

We are of course familiar with all the traditional 'home cures'.  We tried this year to find locally sourced honey as the country wisdom is that taking a spoon of local (i.e. within a few miles) honey every day before the hay fever season starts can prevent its onset.

Unfortunately our local bee keepers in Dinas Powys had a very bad year.  We had high hopes for some honey from the hives at National Trust Dyffryn but nothing has materialised for sale.

Caitlin and Ieuan suffer some mild symptoms of hay fever so we were curious to try HayMax Organic Drug-Free Allergen Barrier Balm which can be used to ease and even prevent the miserable symptoms of hay fever and dust or pet allergies.

HayMax Pure Balm

HayMax comes in a number of varieties but we tested HayMax Pure which is made from organic sunflower oil and beeswax.  There is no added fragrance or essential oils making this the best variant for those with sensitive skin.

The Balm itself

How does it work?

The theory is that when the amount of allergens in the body rises above a certain trigger level, your symptoms kick in.

HayMax Allergen Barrier Balm works by trapping the allergens so that the trigger level is not reached.

The products have been featured by doctors on TV and in the press and in one survey 80% of those who tested it said it worked for them.

It is suitable for adults and kids (although a new version, HayMax Kids is now available) and both pregnant and breast-feeding women can use it too.

How do you use it?

Simply apply around the nostils and /or the bones of the eyes when you start sneezing or your allergy symptoms start.

My crack testing team at work

Use it morning and evening and you will have to reapply when you blow your nose.

Add caption

Did it work?

The Husband and kids applied the balm liberally before a trip to Cosmeston Nature Reserve, guaranteed to make them all sneeze even though we love the place.

And whilst it did help the kids a little, it had little effect on the Husband.  This may be because his symptoms were already in full force before he tried it.

Ieuan, in particular, usually sneezes quite a bit but he was fine, even after a good hour and a half.

I think for HayMax to work you really need to be on the ball with your application and make sure you religiously reapply each time you blow your nose.

On the plus side, this is a very gentle way to help relieve some of the symptoms and, because it is non-drowsy and drug free I would certainly consider it as a supplementary aid to ease hayfever.

As I said, I am not sure we were applying enough or frequently enough.

There are other versions you can try - aloe vera, lavender, pure or frankincense, and the new HayMax Kids.

Haymax retails at £6.99 a pot and can be purchased from Holland & Barrett, selected Boots; independent chemists, pharmacists and health stores.

You can also buy direct from the company at haymax.biz.

If you would like to try HayMax for yourself, I have a pot of the Lavender and a pot of the Aloe Vera varieties to giveaway. (one pot each for two winners).

Simply enter via the Rafflecopter below.

The giveaway ends at 23.59pm on the 18th of April 2016.

UK entrants only and terms and conditions apply (on my Competitions Page).

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*collaborative post

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Work Off That Chocolate Overload With Some Footie Fun

I read, last year, that over Easter each child in the UK will consume around 8 Easter eggs each which is a staggering amount. And I have to confess that our two have had their fair share - which we are rationing and 'helping them out with' to lessen the load a little.

So, despite the ravages of Storm Katie and the infrequent bouts of sunshine, we have taken every excuse to get out of doors this Easter school holiday for some exercise and, having watched Wales draw 1-1 with Northern Ireland last weekend, we are all cautiously optimistic for the approaching UEFA Euro 2016 ™ matches.

We are blessed, in Dinas Powys, with a large expanse of open green known locally as "The Common" and it is the site of many a football and rugby match along with the lovely sight of horses cantering around the perimeter.

It is a great place to take the kids so they can run about and let off some steam.

What could be easier than taking a ball and having a kick about for an hour? 

It makes such a welcome change from the usual activities of iPad, TV and DVD and gives everyone the chance to clear their head. 

Football is great exercise because:-

- it increases cardiovascular health and increases aerobic capacity
- lowers body fat and improves muscle tone
- builds strength, flexibility and endurance
- increases muscle and bone strength

and

- improves overall health because of the shifting between walking, running and sprinting.

Five very good reasons why adults should get out of their chairs and join their kids on the pitch!

"As a kid, you obviously dream of being a professional footballer. I would watch players like Ronaldo of Brazil and pretend to be him in the playground. But I don't think about trying to become one of the best in the world or anything like that. I just play football."

Gareth Bale

Then there are other benefits such as:-

- you learn teamwork
- you learn to literally "think on the run"
- it teaches you persistence and self-discipline
- it helps to increase your confidence and self esteem

and, as we all know, exercise of any kind is a brilliant way to deal with our anxieties and the stresses of daily life.

I think children also benefit from admiring their football heroes because they can teach children to model positive behaviours like co-operation and looking out for one another.  Everyone needs something positive to aspire to.

So, as the opening game of the UEFA Euro 2016™ championship approaches, we are all honing our football skills.

Wales face England in the second game of the group stage on 16 June in Lens. They play Slovakia in the opening game on 11 June and Russia the final match of Group B on 20 June.

Sporting legend Ian Rush has told BBC Wales Sport that 'I've got a strong feeling that we won't lose to England, even though they've had a good result against Germany,"  Fingers crossed!

And of course there is still the fabulous opportunity for kids to win the opportunity to be a Player Ambassador at one of three UEFA EURO 2016™ matches taking place in June or July 2016 and the chance to win one of a hundred footballs in McDonald's fabulous competition.

How to enter

To take part all you have to do is to upload a photo of your child here by 10th April 2016 showing their passion for football: cheering on their country, celebrating a goal, or supporting their favourite team via the entry form.

Here's that link again. www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Sport/Football/LetsPlay/EURO-2016.html

The Prizes 

McDonald's are offering some amazing prizes. Not only does your child get to walk out on the pitch but McDonald's are throwing in (see what I did there?), travel and accommodation for the three day trip to attend each respective match. This is for one parent / guardian (who must be over 18) and the winning child.

These are the matches the Player Ambassadors will be attending.

England vs Wales (England Player Escort) Match 16, Lens, 16th June 2016 (4 prizes)
England vs Wales (Wales Player Escort) Match 16, Lens, 16th June 2016 (3 prizes)
Northern Ireland vs Germany (Northern Ireland Player Escort) Match 30, Paris, 21st June 2016 (1 prize)
The Final, (Player Escort may walk out with either team) Match 51, Saint-Denis, Paris, 11th July 2016 (1 prize)
1 of 100 footballs

Conditions

Your child must be between 6 and 10 years old (inclusive) on 10th June 2016. Entries are limited to one per eligible child. No purchase is necessary to enter.

You'll have to hurry though, the competition closes on 10th April 2016, so there are only a few days left to get photographing.

In the meantime, let's hope the weather holds so we can all get out for a bit of footie fun.

And don't forget to submit your entry to this amazing competition!

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My Sunday Photo - 08/04/2016

Mat& Ieuan exploring Cosmeston

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Stay At Home Mum? Oh no! It's the curse of the 'going out' headache

Why is it that I don't go out for months on end but, having found a babysitter, and finding myself actually free to leave the building, I find I have got myself so worked up I have a headache.

If you're used to staying at home, going out can become quite a big ordeal

I seem to sink in a Bermuda Triangle of anxiety symptoms - namely worry, excitement and stress.

And the less I go out, the worse it gets.

Social anxiety is a huge problem I think for stay at home parents who, although they once worked, socialised and mingled with the best of them, eventually find that all and any social interaction can be a source of untold stress.

And you can't really talk about it, can you?

You can't say "off out tonight for a lovely dinner with the husband and I'm stressed to bits about it"?

You're supposed to feel appreciated, lucky, excited.

You are not supposed to be frantically tidying the house so the babysitter doesn't have a fit of the vapours at the sight of your undercrackers on the radiator and the dust mite party happening behind the TV.

What's to be done?

No - not pre-loading with a glass or two of wine so that the rest of the evening passes in a haze.

One solution may be to ask the babysitter to arrive a little earlier so that you can take a few extra minutes to compose yourself and actually enjoy the process of getting ready.

Or you could negotiate with your partner so that they are ready before you are and can take care of the kids while you try to recall the make-up routine that was kicked to the kerb as soon as you arrived home from the hospital.

I admire those women who have not let parenthood get in the way of keeping themselves groomed and glossy but I suspect for many of us that's no longer the case.

How many of us find ourselves reaching for a make-up bag at the bottom of a handbag full of Fruit Shoot lids, Werthers Original wrappers and broken crayons, only to find our mascara has dried up, our blusher has caked and cracked and the kids have been drawing with the (one) expensive lipstick that still remains?

And then I can never find a hairbrush (even though we have quite a few) because they have all been left in various locations in the house due to school / ballet/ general going out panics.

Much the same way that you can never find a hairband when you want one either.

Having got myself dressed up I then have to teeter down the drive in the same height of heel I used to regularly run in when I was still working.

This is usually accomplished by holding on to the Husband like an octagenarian whilst he tries not to laugh.

I've never got a matching coat and bag.

I keep meaning to take all the junk out of my usual bag and actually use the beautiful Louis Vuitton bag which was my 50th birthday present from the Husband but I haven't quite managed it yet!

By the time we return I feel a whole lot better - a large glass of wine tends to do that I find - but just the one or I'm useless the next day.

I wish I could say that my accessory of choice for a night out wasn't a box of ibruprofen!

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