Miniscoff - Great Organic Ready Meals For Kids aged 1-8+ & Giveway

When I weaned my kids it involved endless hours wrestling with a food processor, fruit and an selection of implausibly small freezer pots. I was a devotee of Annabel Karmel and would blend combinations of fish and spinach or mix up fruit purees to get as much goodness into the kids as possible.

Nowadays, as readers of this blog know, my cooking is a little more, er hit and miss and there are times, particularly when the Husband is away on business, that I'd love to give the kids a proper hot meal with real family favourites.

The reality is that we dash home from school, dash straight out again and then come home to reheat a pizza or when time is really short to yet another round of sandwiches.

I always mean to get something out the freezer and cook something up in the slow cooker in the morning, but now I write full time (and am hopeless at getting side-tracked), I usually remember after lunch that tea is looming.

The kids are too big for baby ready meals and too small for adult ready meals which, being generally stuffed with too much sugar, salt and other additives are often a poor choice anyway.  Ieuan is still resisting baked potatoes, although he will deign to eat roasties so I was happy to find that there is a range of ready meals for kids which cater up to 8+.

Miniscoff is a children's organic food brand founded by Angus Oliphant, who, as a working dad discovered that trying to cook meals from scratch was challenging and that healthy prepared meals suitable for kids were hard to find. He decided to create his own range of organic ready meals for parents that didn’t want convenience to mean compromise.

Ieuan weighing up the Miniscoff Organic Sauces

All Miniscoff dishes are certified organic and made by hand and the brand has recently received awards from Prima Baby & Pregnancy as Best Toddler Food Range and Best Children’s Food Brand from Junior Design Awards.

Miniscof meals are available from Ocado as well as the Miniscoff website and are also available on over 300 menus across the UK if you're travelling.

The meals include 9 organic ready meals and 4 organic sauces:-

The Ready Meals

Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie (lamb) (GM, Egg & Gluten Free)

Mr MacGregor's Pie (beef) (GM, Egg & Gluten Free)

Curly Wurly Chicken (GM, Egg & Dairy Free)

Broccoli Bill's Pasta Pie (GM & Egg Free)

Salmon Ocean Pie (GM & Egg Free)

Jolly Spag Bolly (GM, Egg & Dairy Free)

Planet Spaghetti (GM, Egg & Dairy Free)

Chilli Yum Yum (GM, Egg, Dairy & Gluten Free)

Creamy Salmon Pasta (GM & Egg Free)

The Organic Sauces

Chicken & Bacon (GM, Egg, Dairy & Gluten Free)

Bolognese (GM, Egg, Dairy & Gluten Free)

West Country Cheddar (GM & Egg Free) 

Cheese & Tomato (GM, Egg & Gluten Free)

We were sent a selection of Miniscoff meals to try and we tried Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie, Curly Wurly Chicken and Broccoli Bill's Pasta Pie.

Caitlin tries Miniscoff Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie

Initially I wasn't too convinced about the portion size but they were just right for my two.  You may want to add a side dish or two of extra vegetables if you have time to bulk the meals out.

We did find that, particularly with the Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie, the omission of seasoning was noticeable, although only to be expected and that a pinch of salt and pepper improved the dish greatly. My kids are 8 and nearly 7 though so you would not want to do that for younger children.

The pasta dishes we tried, (the Curly Wurly Chicken and Broccoli Bill's Pasta Pie) were preferred by my two who adore pasta and they both said the sauce had more flavour.

I found all three dishes to be tasty and with a natural flavour.  You can tell that there are no artificial additives in the dishes.

In fact, Ieuan actually cleared his plate which is practically unheard of in the Hobbis household.

Miniscoff have set themselves a challenge by coming up with organic ready meals for such a comparatively large age range (1 - 8+) but I think they have succeeded. I will be trying the organic sauces during the week and they will be ideal for a quick half-term holiday lunch.

I did find that microwaving two meals together required extra time for the Shepherd's Pie but that is standard with microwaved foods.

As an option I think that the Miniscoff meals give you a hassle free choice of menu options to serve up without having to rely on pizza and fish fingers.

I don't know about you but when the kids are off I find I really have to scratch my head to come up with lunch and dinner options that find favour!

You can find more about Miniscoff on their website, on Facebook or Twitter.  The ready meals retail at £3.50 and the sauces at £3.00.

Giveaway

If you fancy trying Miniscoff organic ready meals, I have a lovely hamper of 6 assorted ready meals and 3 organic sauces for one lucky winner.  Entry is via the Rafflecopter in the usual manner.  Terms and conditions apply.  UK entrants only.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 pm on Friday 17th June 2016.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

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Tips For Looking Stylish In All British Weathers

We all know that the British weather can be slightly unpredictable.  One minute it's lovely and warm and the next minute you're stuck in a downpour.  It makes staying stylish in summer a real challenge.

How do you balance the changing temperatures and the constant risk of rain whilst still looking chic rather than crumpled?

These tips may help.

1. Take a spare pair of shoes, ideally flats or wellies.  It's a good idea to keep these in the boot of your car so you always have them. You can change into your sparkly sandals when you get there to avoid turning up with soaked feet!

2. Wear waterproof mascara and take extra precautions with your makeup by using a waterproof foundation and a longer lasting lipstick. A primer will also help to keep your makeup in place.

3.  You can also protect your hair with an anti-frizz serum or a humidity proofing hairspray. Scarves are always handy to shield your hair from the sun or rain.

4. Have an emergency umbrella. It may not be used but it's better to have one just in case.

4. Always carry a pocket size pack of tissues. The cold or wind can make eyes and noses water.

5. Carry a wrap, cardigan or shrug. I have recently discovered that good quality Cashmere knitwear can be had at prices that won't break the bank.

6.  If you're off to do the school run and pushing a pram or pushchair, you might want to invest in a lightweight coat with a hood.

7. Wear lip balm to protect your lips from the drying effects of the sun and any cold and windy conditions! Don't forget to apply a good hand cream with an SPF either.

8. Wear several layers so you can put them on or take them off as the weather changes.

9.  But don't forget your sunscreen and a good pair of sunglasses that protect your eyes from the sun's glare.  Look for a pair that block 100% of both UVA and UVB rays.

10.  If you are travelling on the underground or public transport a small portable fan may come in useful and it's always good to have a bottle of water if you have room to carry it.

If all else fails, make sure you've got the latest blockbuster novels loaded on your Kindle or phone so you can lose yourself in a great book and forget that you are more bedraggled than groomed!

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New Releases, Free & Bargain Books Link-up 20 May 2016

Another week has whizzed past and there's just one more school week for us here in Wales before the Whitsun holidays.  It's also my birthday on the 28th so I'll be giving the Husband a long list of books I fancy as a birthday treat.

If books are your ideal present too, you'll find plenty to choose from on this week's linky.

Here's the fab books on offer this week.

Sharing the Love of Books
Enjoy our selection of New Releases / Free & Bargain Books this week

Click HERE for this week's awesome selection.

Authors please feel free to add your own books
Readers please free to add your own finds
(any genre except erotica welcome)

This weekly link up is hosted by Beck Valley Books & these awesome book loving blogs...
Monday
 Life as Leels | IrishdaisylovesRomance | Book Babble | All Romance Reader
Tuesday
It's My Side of Life | Celticlady's Reviews | First Time Mommy Adventures | Bound 2 Escape
Wednesday
Beck Valley Books | A Library of Reviews | Cinnamon Hollow Reviews
Thursday
Miki's Hope | Taking Time for Mommy | Nicki's Nook
Friday
Ebook Addicts | I Love Romance | A Bit Bookish | Mother Distracted | Colorimetry
Saturday
Totally Addicted to Reading | 3 Partners in Shopping | Angie's Angle | I Creat Purty Thangs | Wishful Endings
Sunday
Lynchburg Mama | LibriAmoriMiei | Ali - The Dragon Slayer | Wondermom Wannabe | My Bizzy World |  Deal Sharing Aunt 

For Pre-orders post - PRE-ORDER / genre / title /author

For New Releases post - NEW / genre / title / author

For Free Books post - FREE / genre / title / author / end date 

For Bargain Books post - SALE / price / genre / title / author / end date
(Strictly no Erotica please.  Steamy romance is fine but watch those covers people, incase any underage child is viewing it!)

Click HERE for this week's awesome selection.

And don't forget you can always add some of your own!

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Have You Been Diagnosed With An Underactive Thyroid?

I have just been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and, being me, I obviously came straight home and terrified myself by googling the subject.

It's important to understand what your test results mean.

I have been prescribed 25mg of Levothyroxine and advised to have my blood retested in 6-8 weeks to see if the medication has improved the level of antibodies in my blood.

I am completely rubbish at taking medication and made the mistake of reading the side effects leaflet which came in the pill packet.

I am now awaiting weight gain, baldness, palpitations and depression and, having taken precisely 3 tablets so far am convinced I now have dry eye syndrome since my eyes are sore and gritty.

The Husband is already out of patience!

The problem is, if you visit the many thyroid forums, that testing in the UK only takes into account one of 4 antibodies, T4 and medicates for that whereas our American cousins say that an holistic approach is needed to supplement all four.

To add to the confusion, many of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) are the same as those suffered by many women during the menopause.

So what is the thyroid gland and what does it do?

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ located in the base of your neck. It is about 2-inches long and lies in front of your throat below the prominence of thyroid cartilage sometimes called the Adam's apple.

The Thyroid System

This gland produces hormones which regulate the body's metabolic rate as well as heart and digestive function, muscle control, brain development and bone maintenance. Its correct functioning depends on having a good supply of iodine from the diet.

The thyroid function is normally regulated by a hormone produced in the pituitary gland (thyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH for short), which ensures that neither too much nor too little thyroid hormone is produced.

If too little thyroid hormone is produced, the body functions slow down and the thyroid is said to be underactive - hypothyroidism.

If, conversely too much thyroid hormone is produced, the sufferer is said to have an overactive thyroid - hyperthyroidism.

Some of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid include fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, constipation, impaired fertility, and depression.

Some sufferers have also reported dizziness, inability to pay attention and memory loss, hair loss and tinnitus.

In truth there are loads of symptoms and it can be very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of these.

Underactive Thyroid is more common in older people and in women than men, with estimates that 10 times more women than men are affected.

The conventional treatment for an underactive thyroid is with the hormone levothyroxine (LT4 or Synthroid), which I have been prescribed.

If an underactive thyroid is left untreated for a prolonged period of time, more serious symptoms will develop as the condition advances, such as cardiovascular disease and raised cholesterol.

An underactive thyroid is a lifelong condition, so you will probably need to take levothyroxine for the rest of your life.

It's important for the health of you and your baby that an underactive thyroid is treated properly before you become pregnant.

An annual blood test to screen for an underactive thyroid is recommended for individuals with this condition.

Current research tells us that the best diet for an underactive thyroid is one that contains whole foods, is high in protein, and naturally rich in iodine and selenium.

Seaweeds like kelp are an excellent natural source of iodine, whilst Selenium can be found in Brazil nuts, cod and mustard seeds – 3 to 5 Brazil nuts each day provides plenty of selenium for proper thyroid function.

I am at the beginning of my thyroid education and am hoping that this small dose of Levothyroxine will be enough to return my hormone levels to normal.

Have you been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid?  I would love to hear your experiences and the lifestyle changes you have made to cope with this condition.

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How To Talk To Your Kids About The Risks From Cigarettes, Vaping & Marijuana

You might be a smoker, you may or may not support the legalization of marijuana, but you will never want your kids being involved with any of these things.

With the new trend of e-cigs and related vaping products becoming increasingly popular among teenagers and the ongoing debate on the topic of legalization of weed, a lot of parents find themselves on a shaky ground during an argument about their usage.

To make things worse, you find a lot of celebrities posting their pictures using such products and it leaves you with a question, “Will we be able to raise our kids without them being addicted to any drug or related smoking product?”

The answer is “Yes” but it always pays to have a plan.

You don’t want to sound uncool or strict while dealing with such scenarios.  As parents we know that both of these approaches can be counter-productive.

Below are some of the things that you can do to make your children aware of the pressures placed upon them by the marketing campaigns of regular and electronic cigarette manufacturers, as well as the risks both short, and long-term of marijuana use.

Regular Tobacco Cigarettes

• Tell your kids about the dangers of smoking by showing them the health-related statistics and pictures of the complications that smoking cause. Once they will realize that the consequences aren’t as cool as the act, they will hopefully decide to stay away from smoking by themselves.

 • Explain how addictive nicotine is and how hard it is to get out of its addiction. Your kids should know the physical signs of nicotine addiction and how bad it is for them.

• Make your kids aware of various marketing gimmicks - for example even if a cigarette is menthol or any other flavored, it’s still just as bad for your health as a regular one.

Electronic Cigarettes

• Tell your kids about the latest research on e-cigs and vaporizers that indicate that these vaping products contain carcinogenic chemicals like formaldehyde.  A spokesman at Simply E liquid advised that they are only permitted to sell to the over 18's and that if they are suspicious of any orders then they will contact the buyer to verify their age.

• Tell your kids about the harmful effects of vaping on growing bodies.

• Tell them about the nicotine addiction they can get by using vaporizers and electronic cigarettes.

• Ask your doctor to tell your kids about the various health hazards related to vaping and usage of other related e-cig products.

• Explain to your kids how e-cig sites use celebrities for the sake of their product’s advertisement and make these products look harmless and eco-friendly as compared to regular cigarettes.

Marijuana

• On contrast to the popular belief, teenagers still tend to listen to their parents and look up to them for guidance. You can guide your kids about the importance of a good character, better judgment, and how the promise of a successful future is compromised by an addiction.

• Explain the side-effects of marijuana addiction and how it affects a developing brain.

• In scenarios, where the kids do not respond to a restriction very well, asking them to wait until they’re old enough, and their body and brain has developed, can help you delay this situation as long as possible.

• Look for the factors that influence teenagers to develop a habit like this. Make sure that your kid is not dealing with any social or education-related stress or he/she is not facing any emotional instability.

• No one, especially kids these days, like being tricked or made a fool of. Explain the advertisement strategies of companies and how they tend to use the name of famous celebrities like Bob Marley or Willie Nelson to boost up their marketing campaign for their own benefit.

Smoking is never an easy subject to address but the sooner you do so and the better armed you are with the right information about the dangers to their health, the better chance you stand of stopping these habits in their tracks.

And of course, if you are a smoker yourself and don't want your kids to pick up your bad habits, this may be a very good time to cut back and eventually quit altogether.

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Parenting Solo - What I've Learned When The Husband's Away

Although he has the luxury of 'working from home', the Husband spends most of his weeks travelling which leaves me to hold the fort and parent solo.

There's never a dull moment

Now I am not claiming that my experience is anywhere near that of a single parent but my time alone with the kids has given me an insight into the trials and tribulations we parents face when the role of good cop and bad cop falls to us for days on end.

In the early days, I used to feel very anxious at being left alone and I still hate locking up at night. Houses tend to make all sorts of funny noises when they cool down and I am such a scaredy-cat that I hate passing uncurtained windows just in case someone is lurking.

Of course I can't pass on any of this anxiety to the kids!

Here's what I've discovered.

Kids will gang up on you

My two have worked out how to wind me up with all the subtlety of MI5 in order to avoid i) eating unnecessary vegetables and ii) getting into bed before I have spent 30 minutes pacing the floorboards while they clean one tooth at a time.

The logical extension of this is that the kids will then start to parent you, viz, "Mum, you're really grumpy so we think you should go to bed the same time as us tonight".

No matter how many toilets there are in the house, the kids will fight over one.

They will also synchronise bladders to precisely 5 minutes before bedtime, even though they otherwise have the bladder capacity of camels.

There will never be any toilet roll left.  The cardboard tube will be rolling round the floor and new toilet rolls will have to be unearthed from the cupboard under the stairs using a torch and several choice expletives.

You will not find out that the toilet roll has run out until 11:59 pm.

There will be something very urgent to be communicated as soon as you go downstairs last thing at night.

For example, whether Caitlin can go to the beach to collect sea glass or if Ieuan can buy his 27th light-sabre.

Your attempts to cook will be futile

Firstly you'll be so knackered from the constant negotiation to get them to school and back, plus homework and the usual after school activities that you won't feel like it.

If you do cook anything it won't be as good as dad's and you may just as well resign yourself to pizza, spag bol and something inventive with fish fingers.

My lovely Hedgehog Potato

Any household appliance about to burn out or break down will do so.

Our boiler likes to cut out from time to time ensuring a short, sharp icy shower.  It never does this when I am bathing the kids, but saves it for me.

If the kids are going to be ill,  it'll be now

You know that tremor you feel in your gut when you hear 60% of your kid's classmates have gone down with the latest plague?  That suspicion that you're next on the list?  It usually happens when the husband's away.  Best get the bucket and Dettol out just in case.

And if the kids aren't ill, it'll be you

In which case don't bother because languishing in your bed waving a lace hanky around and demanding smelling salts won't get you anywhere.  The best you can hope for is gnawing a chunk of yesterday's pizza slumped in front of Power Rangers in your dressing gown whilst the kids moan about your cooking.

In any case you will have run out of Calpol

I swear the stuff evaporates.  We do, however, have a cutlery drawer containing 25 Calpol syringes.  I should throw them out but they may come in, you know, useful at some point.  For feeding baby hamsters or something.

You won't get to talk to your other half on the phone

When the Husband phones, I either have to physically remove the phone from the kids whilst they run through their day minute by minute, or the poor sod gets little more than a grunt from them because they are lost in Sims or Lego games.

He does little better with me because I am, by this stage, cross at being left alone whilst he,  in my eyes, is living it up in 5 star luxury in a place which never runs out of toilet roll and has things like a mini bar and staff.

You talk to yourself

I do this anyway but in the absence of any other adult conversation I find I can have very interesting two way conversations about business, politics, literature - all sorts of things.

When it becomes a three way conversation I know I'm getting a bit stressed.

You need your mum and your mates

It's great to have someone to turn to when it all gets too much and, for stay-at-home mums like me, I have made some great friends on Facebook.  There's also the wisdom of other parenting bloggers too. We're all going through the same things and sharing our experiences.

You might indulge in a bit of 'whingeing'

Having given up work and despite being lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mum, there are times when I hanker after the freedom that comes with leaving for a job every morning and having someone left behind to carry the load.

I don't doubt that the Husband works very hard but sometimes I think we mums just wish we could hit the off switch for a bit and give our brains a rest from all that fretting and mothering!

You count your blessings.

You know it's not actually so bad and you do discover you can cope with more than you thought.  You do get an insight into what it might be like to be a full time single parent.  I have written before that single parents have nothing but my absolute admiration.

It makes you appreciate your partner a lot more, although it does shine a light on your individual parenting styles.  The Husband always says I am not consistent in my approach which is often true - but when there's one of you, you don't always want to be the bad cop, do you?

I do think there is what I can the "superstar daddy syndrome" - where the partner comes home and the kids react as if David Beckham has just walked in.  You are suddenly invisible.  That mad woman chewing pizza in her dressing gown moaning about the lack of toilet roll.

This usually lasts about 24 hours - or until the Husband lays down the law about vegetable eating or cleaning teeth in under 15 minutes.

Then,  happily, balance is restored.  Mummy is rightfully restored to her place as all round nurturer and the nice one who soothes brows and knows where the Calpol syringes are.

It's very easy to get quite competitive for the kids attention, isn't it?

There's nothing like one partner working away and the other holding the fort to throw a torch light on a relationship and your parenting styles.

Being older, the Husband and I are quite traditional in our approach and we have a system that works for us but you may find that time spent parenting on your own for a bit throws up all sorts of issues that need an honest discussion and possibly a renegotiation of responsibilities.

Do you have to parent solo from time to time?

Make sure you've got enough toilet roll and pizza.

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Tips For Travelling By Car Safely This Summer

Now that the half term holiday is approaching and many of us are about to hit the UK roads and motorways, it's worth thinking about how we can keep ourselves, and our children, safe whilst we drive.

We all know that our cars must have a current MOT and be adequately insured.  Even though we no longer need to display a tax disc, the Police are able to track untaxed vehicles on the road.

Fuel, oil and water levels need to be topped up before we set off and our tyres checked and inflated to the correct pressure.

It's best to top your fuel up before you hit the motorway to avoid any price hikes on fuel which frequently seem to hit the unorganised driver.

And it is a good idea to carry a well stocked first aid kit in the boot, as well as some bottled water and some (non-meltable) snacks.

Is your breakdown cover up to date and do you have the relevant contact numbers already entered in your phone in case you get stranded on the M25?

Travelling with little ones means we need to make sure we are up to speed with the rules and regulations about child car seats and ensure everyone is wearing their seat-belt.

If your kids suffer from car sickness, it's also worth taking a bowl, cloths and some soapy water, plus a change (or two!) of clothes for them.  You can bet that the day you don't have these things is the day you'll need them.

Before you go, check your SatNav is in good working order and is charged.  We recently found that ours wouldn't charge in-car and the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry cut out at a critical moment going round a roundabout.  Taking a good old-fashioned OS Map is a good back-up.

Make sure that you drive within the National Speed Limit for the road you are on - not only with this keep your licence point free but it will help you keep your petrol consumption down.

And, if you have had a lot to drink the night before, remember that you may still be over the limit the next morning.  Some prescription medications may also leave you drowsy and nowhere near as alert as you need to be.

Tiredness kills so make sure that you have regular, scheduled breaks, particularly when travelling with little ones, for toilet breaks, food and, in my case, coffee!  You might want to pack sandwiches though because the cost of feeding a family at the UK motorway service stations is often high.

It's also useful to carry a picnic rug or blanket to sit on, or for the kids to snooze under.

You'll want to take a selection of CDs for the kids.  Some kids are able to play on iPads and read in the back of the car but we've found this increases the risk of travel sickness.  Luckily we've finally outgrown the CBeebies classics so we don't sail down to Devon to the dulcet tones of Mr Tumble any more.

If you find driving a bit of a nerve-wracking experience, insurer LV recently published an excellent guide entitled "12 Road Safety Tips To Help You Feel more confident On The Road" which will help you to avoid looking like Matt LeBlanc driving round the Cenotaph.

For example, Chris Gilbert, a former Metropolitan Police driving inspector who taught Princes William and Harry to drive advises us to "drive more consciously" so that we anticipate situations rather than react.

I don't know about you but it can be tricky to drive consciously when you have two kids arguing in the back, the SatNav cuts out and the Husband is trying to give you conflicting directions.

But we should be as alert as we can to what is going on around us, rather than faffing about changing radio stations or trying to unearth the last Werther's Original from the glove compartment because Ieuan hates mints.

Another excellent piece of advice is to make sure there is an adequate gap between you and the car in front.

The advice is that you should keep at least a two-second gap between yourself and the car in front. You can count it from a road sign as the car ahead passes it.

Tailgating is probably one of the biggest annoyances experienced by drivers and I have found that women driving their kids seem to attract more than their fair share of tailgaters for some reason.

Other regularly mentioned annoyances from other motorists include:-

- leaving rear fog lights on when there's no fog and it's just raining

- those who drive everywhere with their lights on full beam and dazzle approaching drivers at night

- or drivers who don't put them on when it's dark and tipping down with rain

- drivers who abruptly change lanes at the last possible moment at motorway exits - sometimes leaving it too late and crossing the hatched area

- drivers who drive while using a hand-held mobile phone - incredibly this is still a frequent sight, as is drivers trying to text with one hand on the wheel.

What tips would you add to my list?  And what really irks you when you're on the road?

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