Life in our household has been some what chaotic over the last few months. I returned to work (granted it's only 2 days a week but it's 20 hours so long days), we've been away quite a few times and we've also had a few illnesses. Quite frankly I don't know if i've been coming or going.
I'm struggling to get back into a household routine since returning to work. I used to be quite organised with meal planning, batch cooking etc and we'd all have meal times together. Sadly with me often finishing work at 8pm, I occasionally miss mealtimes. My husband works in Bristol so he also comes home quite late. Between cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing, school runs, homework and working, life is busy.
Annabel Karmel recently asked us to review her new range of tasty Frozen Toddler Meals which are available in Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Ocado and Iceland. There are 6 different meals to choose from and they are suitable for ages 1-4. The RRP is £1.75.
I'll be the first to admit that i've never given my girls Frozen ready meals, i'm not sure why but I didn't like the idea of it. When I thought about it I realised I was being silly as I have batch cooked meals, then frozen them and then given them to the girls. Buying Frozen meals from someone I trust is no different. I've used Annabel Karmel's recipes for nearly 5 years. Both Eva and Ophelia loved her weaning recipes which made the weaning process much less stressful.
Annabel's new meals go through the natural freezing process and are inspired by the recipes in her books. They are high quality and nutritionally balanced. Each meal is low in salt and contains 1 of your 5 a day. They are free from artificial additives and preservatives.
The range includes:
I'm struggling to get back into a household routine since returning to work. I used to be quite organised with meal planning, batch cooking etc and we'd all have meal times together. Sadly with me often finishing work at 8pm, I occasionally miss mealtimes. My husband works in Bristol so he also comes home quite late. Between cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing, school runs, homework and working, life is busy.
Annabel Karmel recently asked us to review her new range of tasty Frozen Toddler Meals which are available in Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Ocado and Iceland. There are 6 different meals to choose from and they are suitable for ages 1-4. The RRP is £1.75.
I'll be the first to admit that i've never given my girls Frozen ready meals, i'm not sure why but I didn't like the idea of it. When I thought about it I realised I was being silly as I have batch cooked meals, then frozen them and then given them to the girls. Buying Frozen meals from someone I trust is no different. I've used Annabel Karmel's recipes for nearly 5 years. Both Eva and Ophelia loved her weaning recipes which made the weaning process much less stressful.
Annabel's new meals go through the natural freezing process and are inspired by the recipes in her books. They are high quality and nutritionally balanced. Each meal is low in salt and contains 1 of your 5 a day. They are free from artificial additives and preservatives.
The range includes:
- Mummy's Fish Pie
- Hidden Veggie Bolognese
- Yummy Beef Lasagne
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Chicken, Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta
- Tasty Cottage Pie
- Scrummy Macaroni Cheese with Broccoli
All of these meals are literally my girls favourite home cooked meals. Lasagne and Spaghetti Bolognese are always a winner in our house and both of my girls adore Curry. I thought they would notice that they didn't taste the same and that they weren't cooked by me but they were fooled. The only one they realised didn't taste as good as mine was the Lasagne. They thought the Fish Pie was much nicer than when my husband or I have cooked it.
The meals can either be cooked in the microwave or in the oven. The portion sizes are ideal for a toddler. Ophelia has pretty much eaten all of hers when we've given them to her. Eva has also been eating them but she is 5.5 and often asks for garlic bread or vegetables with hers.
I've had a sneaky taste of all of the meals and I am very impressed with the flavours. The Curry is really tasty and the Chicken, Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta tastes just like how my husband makes his sauce. I was also impressed with the fact that none of the meals were watery. Quite often with ready meals I find they have a watery consistency but these didn't.
Overall, Ophelia has been really enjoying these meals. They've been so helpful when life has just gotten in the way. Also when we've had family babysitters over we've gotten them to give these to the girls for food and they have found that easier than cooking meals.
We have now bought a stash of these for our freezer. I won't be giving these to the girls everyday but I will definitely be using them when life is crazy. I'll also be pulling them out and using them when they don't like my cooking (which does happen a few times).
Have you tried these or any of the Annabel Karmel range?
*This is a sponsored post with Annabel Karmel. All words and opinions are however my own and are truthful.
4 comments
Ophelia is nearly 11 months old and therefore very settled into her weaning journey. This time around we took a much more relaxed approach to it all. We allowed her to let us know when she was ready. We did a mixture of baby led weaning and mashing things but she now pretty much eats anything and everything.
There's been a few items on our journey that have really helped us out, so i've rounded them up in a list of my favourites. Hopefully they can help you on your weaning journey.
1) Babymoov Nutribaby
I always find that whenever it comes to baby products there are always so many of them. The Nutribaby has become a bit of a lifesaver in our house. It has certainly freed up some room in the kitchen. It has 5 functions which are bottle warmer, steriliser, steamer, defroster and a blender. It's the ideal product for weaning as it does everything you need for your journey.
I've written about the steriliser function here, Steriliser. I will also be writing about the other functions in future posts.
There's been a few items on our journey that have really helped us out, so i've rounded them up in a list of my favourites. Hopefully they can help you on your weaning journey.
1) Babymoov Nutribaby
I always find that whenever it comes to baby products there are always so many of them. The Nutribaby has become a bit of a lifesaver in our house. It has certainly freed up some room in the kitchen. It has 5 functions which are bottle warmer, steriliser, steamer, defroster and a blender. It's the ideal product for weaning as it does everything you need for your journey.
I've written about the steriliser function here, Steriliser. I will also be writing about the other functions in future posts.
This cup is easily one of my all time favourite weaning products. I am gutted I didn't know about them when we were weaning Eva. Ophelia wouldn't take to drinking from a beaker. We therefore had to try and give her water through a cup which as you can imagine, resulted in both her and us getting soaked.
This cup really is a miracle worker. This doesn't spill water at all!!!! Not even in your change bag. You can tip it upside down and shake it until your heart is content but the water won't spill out. When a baby sips out of it, it reseals straight away.
It's also really easy to clean as it has no sprouts etc. I cannot recommend this enough.
I've batch cooked a lot of Ophelia's meals to put in the freezer. These bowls are airtight but best of all you can write on them. This is such a handy feature. You can then clean the markings off when you wash the bowls.
I've also used these when we have been on picnics. Eva loves to help prepare food for a picnic and then pack them away into these bowls.
These spoons are brilliant for the first stages of weaning. They also last a long time as we still have the ones we used on Eva. They are very soft, so are perfect for tender gums. I love how long the handles are as you can reach the bottom of jars and pots. Ophelia loves to grip them and attempt to feed herself.
This highchair is ideal for all stages of weaning. It grows with your baby as you can adjust the height.
It's very sturdy, matches well with our kitchen and is very easy to clean. I can't begin to tell you how many red pasta sauces have been sprawled all over ours but there are no stains.
The final pick is this Bibetta bib. It's been everywhere with us including our holidays abroad. It washes really well in a washing machine.
There is a fold out pocket which is brilliant for catching all those dropped pieces of food.
What are/were your favourite weaning items?
I'm really hoping summer is going to show its face soon for a long stint. There are so many lovely ways to get the family together and enjoy dining al fresco. In our house food brings family together and creates memories so here are some of our favourite ways to dine outdoors.
1) Picnic
We adore picnics in our house. We always tend to have eyes too big for our bellies but isn't that what most of the fun is all about, preparing lots of food and nibbling as you please. We've enjoyed plenty of picnics in the garden this year and we have even had some in our living room as typically the great British weather doesn't always do what we want.
I bought a fab picnic rucksack this year which has been invaluable for when the 4 of us are having a picnic away from home. It comes complete with plates, glasses and cutlery. I always pack a picnic rug to snuggle in to and our Messy Me Mat to sit on. It's ideal for picnics and outdoor use as it's wipeable meaning it's super easy to clean.
We like to make lots of different things for picnics such as sandwiches, veggie sticks, fruit, quiches etc. I use my Babymoov Babybowls for storing a lot of the food. They are so handy as they have lids, can be stacked and you can also write on them (which then washes off). Eva loves them and tends to fill them and pack them herself.
2) BBQ
Nothing says summer dining better than a BBQ. I'll admit, we haven't used ours as much as we'd have liked but again I think that's been down to the weather. Whenever we have had one it's something that all of us have enjoyed, even Ophelia.
Luckily Ophelia loves finger food so she always seems to want whatever we have. She's tucked into hotdogs, burgers, meat and fish skewers and she is a huge fan of potato salad. If you're babies aren't onto a finger food stage you can simply make them a puree of whatever meat and salad/veg you are cooking.
3) Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea's are a tradition in our house. We really enjoy them. One thing we haven't done yet is an afternoon tea party at our house. We always have them at a hotel or restaurant. Fortunately, it is afternoon tea week so I am planning to do a surprise one for the girls in the garden on the weekend.
Eva will love it. She loves anything that resembles a party so she will love having sandwiches and cakes in the garden.
I'm thinking of doing soft cheese, cucumber and egg for the sandwich fillings and i'm even going to attempt to bake. I think i'll try and make some savoury muffins for Ophelia to eat.
I'll just have to make sure she is wearing her Bibetta Bib to catch all her mess and protect her clothes. She loves to touch and feel everything and of course squish it everywhere, which we encourage.
4) Breakfast
We've had breakfast out in the garden a few times. I always find we have a better day if we start it outdoors and in the sun. It's a great way of waking yourself up. We've had French breakfasts with croissants, pastries, coffees and juice and we've also had American breakfasts with lots of pancakes. Both the girls love pancakes.
5) Camp Fire
One thing we are yet to try but is on our bucket list is to have a camp fire at night and toast some marshmallows and have hot chocolate. If the weather stays nice we are planning to camp in our garden at the weekend so we'll hopefully get a chance to do this over our fire pit.
6) Movie Night
Last on the list is to have an outdoor movie night. We have wooden sofas as our garden furniture and they are very comfy. We have snuggled under blankets and watched a movie on our iPad with popcorn and treats. The dream is to get a projector so that we can project a film onto one of the walls or fences.
You can also try this if you have a big trampoline. Get yourself some sleeping bags, cushions and blankets and snuggle up together under the stars whilst watching your favourite family film.
Do you do anything off our list of ideas? Have you got any other suggestions?
It's been a while since I updated you on how Ophelia's weaning journey is progressing. You may have read my post on her first tastes when we initially started. She is now nearly 8 months old and is very much into her food.
She started with puree food but progressed quickly onto finger foods. She seemed to want whatever we were having. I guess that comes with having a big sister to look up to and always wanting what she has. We decided to try to offer her a mash dish and a finger food at every meal which seemed to make her very happy.
Here's what she had last week:
Monday
Coconut greek yoghurt
Toast fingers
Dairylea sandwich
Apple slices
Spaghetti bolognese
Garlic bread
Tuesday
Porridge
Toast fingers
Ham sandwich
Banana
Beef Casserole
Watermelon Slices
Wednesday
Scrambled Egg
Toast fingers
Selection of finger foods such as carrots, cucumber
Greek Yogurt
Lasagne
Garlic bread
Thursday
Coconut greek yogurt
Toast fingers
Dairylea sandwich
Cottage Pie
Watermelon slices
Friday
Porridge
Toast fingers
Ham sandwich
Banana
She started with puree food but progressed quickly onto finger foods. She seemed to want whatever we were having. I guess that comes with having a big sister to look up to and always wanting what she has. We decided to try to offer her a mash dish and a finger food at every meal which seemed to make her very happy.
Here's what she had last week:
Monday
Coconut greek yoghurt
Toast fingers
Dairylea sandwich
Apple slices
Spaghetti bolognese
Garlic bread
Tuesday
Porridge
Toast fingers
Ham sandwich
Banana
Beef Casserole
Watermelon Slices
Wednesday
Scrambled Egg
Toast fingers
Selection of finger foods such as carrots, cucumber
Greek Yogurt
Lasagne
Garlic bread
Thursday
Coconut greek yogurt
Toast fingers
Dairylea sandwich
Cottage Pie
Watermelon slices
Friday
Porridge
Toast fingers
Ham sandwich
Banana
Cottage Pie
Saturday
Toast fingers
Selection of finger foods such as carrots, cucumber
Spaghetti Bolognese
Sunday
Scrambled egg
Cottage Pie
Banana
Lasagne
Garlic Bread
A lot of what she eats is quite repetitive but that's because I batch cook and I know she likes it. Her favourite food has to be toast fingers. She would eat them at every meal if she could. She seems to like strong flavoured food which is exactly what Eva liked too when she was weaning.
We've been using the Babymoov lunch set for her meals which we love. The section plate is so handy as I can separate the different food items. We've been using it since we started weaning and it gets used 3 times a day. It honestly still looks brand new. No matter how many times it's had bolognese on it and has been threw the dishwasher, it still comes out looking clean. This is a far cry from some of the other dishes I used with Eva.
It's definitely durable. Ophelia loves to bash things about at mealtime and her plate, bowl and cup take most of the brunt of it. I'm amazed that they don't even have a chip in them.
How did you find weaning? What meals and finger foods did your little one's enjoy? I'm always on the hunt for new ideas so please share any.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Sunday
Scrambled egg
Cottage Pie
Banana
Lasagne
Garlic Bread
A lot of what she eats is quite repetitive but that's because I batch cook and I know she likes it. Her favourite food has to be toast fingers. She would eat them at every meal if she could. She seems to like strong flavoured food which is exactly what Eva liked too when she was weaning.
We've been using the Babymoov lunch set for her meals which we love. The section plate is so handy as I can separate the different food items. We've been using it since we started weaning and it gets used 3 times a day. It honestly still looks brand new. No matter how many times it's had bolognese on it and has been threw the dishwasher, it still comes out looking clean. This is a far cry from some of the other dishes I used with Eva.
It's definitely durable. Ophelia loves to bash things about at mealtime and her plate, bowl and cup take most of the brunt of it. I'm amazed that they don't even have a chip in them.
How did you find weaning? What meals and finger foods did your little one's enjoy? I'm always on the hunt for new ideas so please share any.
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