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Polesden Lacey Food Festival

The words Polesden Lacey and food are ones that make me want to drop everything and head over there sharpish, especially when they’re put together to form the words Polesden Lacey Food Festival. Fortunately this isn’t happening for a couple of weeks, so you too can join in. We love it there – there’s so many things to do.

Geocaching at Polesden Lacey

Here’s the press release –

Treat your taste-buds and stimulate your senses at the first Polesden Lacey Food Festival ! From Friday 4 – Sunday 6 October, the National Trust property will provide a glorious backdrop for local suppliers including Chalk Hill Bakery, Hogs Back Brewery and High Weald Dairy.  Come along from 10am to sample delicious Caribbean chutneys, homemade brownies, fine wines and lots more. Entry to the event will be free.

Experts will also be on-hand to offer cookery demonstrations, including special hands-on children’s sessions, beer and wine tastings.  Plus, for only £10 per adult (£5 per child) Wild Food UK will take intrepid foragers on a walk around the Polesden Lacey grounds to see what wild delicacies they can find.

For more information about the Polesden Lacey Food Festival visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesdenlacey or call 01372 452048.

Polesden Lacey is open daily from 10am (house from 11am), closing at 5pm (4pm from 4 Nov).  The cafe and coffee shop & deli serve a variety of fresh, homemade hot and cold food as well as cakes, teas and coffees.  The shop, one of the largest in the National Trust, sells a wide range of gifts, home accessories and more.

See you there!

by jo

Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats

As your child gets older, you’ll find yourself in the murky world of toilet training. That part may be a breeze, but there’s still night time to think about. There are so many options out there it can be difficult to work out where to start, but one thing which is often forgotten are bed mats – the pads which protect your mattress. We were sent some Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats to try.

Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats

Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats are different to other brands we’ve tried – they have a stick and stay put edge so can be placed onto the mattress where it is unlikely to slip. We’ve found that often moving around in the night the bed mat can become dislodged which in turn could lead to accidents leaking onto the mattress – nobody wants that!

With Huggies Dry Nites you peel off the backing paper near each corner and press onto the bed. It has a good size to it, so you’re covering around half of the mattress, thus giving plenty of cover. The only downside of this I could think of would be if there was an accident and there was a lot, as potentially there are the sides of the mattress to consider – but you’ll have some idea of what your child is capable of doing and where to put the mat. The stick and stay means you’ll know where to place it.

Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mat

We also put a Bed Mat in our bed – just to see how well it stuck (honest!), and found it stayed put well, whereas other brands do slip about a bit.

I would definitely recommend the Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats, mainly as it’s something you don’t need to think about until the accident happens, you’re not having to check underneath the mattress to make sure it is in the same place and hasn’t slipped away. It lies flat underneath the top bedsheet, you wouldn’t know it was there.

Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mat

Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats come in packs of 7, and currently retail at Ocado for £3 – so look around that price. I’d say it seems expensive, but the stick and stay sections make it worthwhile.

You can read more about Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats here.

We were sent the Huggies Dry Nites Bed Mats for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own and honest.

by jo

A Quick Lunch with Some Slim Pasta

Slim Pasta is something I’ve read about in a few places – essentially a pasta which ‘helps you lose weight’. Now I’m sceptical – it’s a low-calorie pasta, but is it actually helping you lose weight? So I bought some to see what the fuss was all about.

slim pasta

Slim Pasta was on offer at Ocado, so I thought I’d give it a go. It doesn’t come cheap though – you get 200g for around £2.50 – the pasta itself is ready to eat (with a tiny bit of preparation), and is low calorie, fat free, sugar free and gluten free.

It’s also ready in two minutes. Today is H’s first full day at school and I’ve taken it as holiday, so I am officially the School Run Mum for just one day. This has already led to me eating broken biscuits as my mid-morning snack (as our cupboards are bare), so I thought it was the ideal time to try the Slim Pasta.

I got the Penne version and cooked it with some courgette, carrot and red pepper cut into cubes. All you do is drain the pasta, rinse it to remove the ‘starch odor’ (I couldn’t smell anything) and heat up, then serve.

slim pasta

Pretty simple, and I had the entire sachet, I was pretty hungry. Each pack serves 1-2 people, so it is pretty expensive, but right now I feel full. It has a ‘jelly’ feel like some noodles I’ve eaten in the past, without feeling yucky.

slim pasta

Slim Pasta is made from a vegetable fibre called Moyu which has been consumed in Asia for many centuries for its health benefits. This is what I find interesting – especially the claim it helps you to lose weight. It suggests 66g of pasta a day (one of the packets is 200g), three times a day. So in other words just under one packet a day. Four hours later I still feel full – so much so that my portion of food for tea is smaller than H’s – and I almost give up on it. I can see why you’d need a smaller portion, but I’m not sure I could make one last for the whole day. On the other hand, it may stop me snacking as I know I’m one of those snackers who eats when I have nothing else to think about.

I’d say as a weightloss food it’s probably not for me, but as a non-stodgy pasta option it’s a good one. Would I buy again? If it was on a deal at the supermarket then yes. As the pasta comes sealed it would travel well, which would make it a good option for going away somewhere – and one pouch would definitely feed all three of us and keep us feeling full.

I can see Slim Pasta also offer noodles, and I could see us eating with those in the future as they’d go well alongside a stir fry. It’s been an interesting purchase, anyway!

Slim Pasta’s Website is over here

by jo

Daddy Pig’s Puddle Jump – An App Review

Daddy Pig’s Puddle Jump is a new app from P2 games, and the latest in the Peppa Pig series.

Daddy Pig's Puddle Jump

Daddy Pig’s Puddle Jump is a little bit different to previous games, and in a good way. There are fifteen levels of play, and it is set out in a similar way to games such as Angry Birds, where there are different levels, and depending on how well you clear each level, you get a number of muddy splats – from 1 to 3.

Daddy Pig's Puddle Jump

There is an option to play as a one player or two player game, and you get to choose between Peppa Pig, George Pig or Daddy Pig to play. The aim of the game is to get as muddy as possible by the end – and the best jumps are the ones which clear the obstacles in the way.

Daddy Pig's Puddle Jump

The biggest bonuses of the game for us :
-It works well with a first generation iPad (all the P2 games do, to be fair!)
-There are no in-app purchases, so you’re not likely to find your child is buying random extras like some games we’ve tried.
-It’s fun – it’s all about fine motor skills, to control your character you tap them to make them jump, so having good reflexes and knowing when to do it is all good learning for H.
-Each level is a little more difficult than the previous one – but not so they’re impossible. It’s very repetitive, but H likes repetition at the moment so that isn’t a problem with us. Bear this in mind with your child if they aren’t into this.

Daddy Pig's Puddle Jump

 

The downsides?
-I think the repetition could put people off, but as H tends to like that kind of thing it isn’t an issue for us.
-If you choose a different character you still play the same game where you’re up to – it isn’t like other Peppa games which have three different games saved in your name.

Daddy Pig’s Puddle Jump is available now at the App Store for £1.49. It is compatible for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone.

For more fun Peppa Pig activities visit www.peppapig.com or join the Facebook page for all the latest Peppa Pig news and competitions at www.facebook.com/OfficialPeppaPig.

We were sent a code to try out Daddy Pig’s Puddle Jump, all opinions are our own.

 

by jo

Alphabites from Bear

We’re hugs fans of the Bear nibbles snacks and spotted they have a new cereal, Alphabites. We jumped at the chance to try it and I tracked some boxes down in my local Waitrose!

alphabites from bear

Alphabites are letter shaped cereal pieces. They’re vegetarian, in fact, vegan-friendly with no added sugar and also no added salt. They’re high in fibre and low GI, as well as containing one of your everyday wholegrain portions.

I like that breakfast time has become something we’ll sit and talk about letters. H is a big fan of cereals and these have been a big hit with her, especially when she spots any letters from her name. She’s making words in her food which in is complementing the work she’s doing at school. Educational food, anyone?

The Alphabites letters stay in their shape really well too, no mushing up as the milk soaks in, though we found the ones at the bottom of the pack are a little crumblier than the top – so give your box a good shake!

In addition there are activites on the back of the pack relating to letters (S for space, P for pirates, I for insects, for example) with the whole alphabet set to roll out over the next twelve months, if you’re like us and collect the cards from inside the yo yo snacks, imagine that on a bigger scale!

alphabites from bear

Alphabites come in two flavours – Multigrain and Cocoa Multigrain – both are made with six natural ingredients. They’re available from Waitrose, Ocado, Wholefoods, Holland and Barrett, Planet Organic and lots of other places.

We were sent two boxes for the purpose of review – they’re already a big hit in our house, and I’ve found them to be filling as all good low-GI wholegrain foods should be, keeping me from feeling too hungry by lunchtime.

You can read more about Alphabites over here.

by jo

The Higgidy Cookbook

Quercus Books have just published The Higgidy Cookbook by Camilla Stephens. I bought it the day it came out and have drooled over the pages since. Now you’ve got a chance to do the same as I have a copy to give away.

The Higgidy Cookbook is full of recipes – 100 to be precise – for pies and so much more.While a few of the pies and tarts don’t have visuals, there’s a lot of end pictures in there – and where I’ve loved previous cookbooks for breaking down each process, for this one all you truly need to know is how to make a good pastry and a good filling and have the right guidance. This book does all that.

The Higgidy Cookbook is broken into sections – Simple Suppers, Party Pies, Quirky Quiches and Tempting Tarts, Pudding Pies and Sweet Treats, and Easy Extras & Perfect Pastry. On the last chapter we may have mistaken some Sticky Onions for Portugese Custard Tarts – they look pretty similar! (though obviously taste different)

Being one who doesn’t like to wait, tonight I decided to try one of the pies – the Strawberry and Apricot Freeform Tart – which starts with the most tempting of sentences:  ‘This is a great recipe for novice bakers and enthusiasts alike’ – plus it looks pretty awesome too.

The Higgidy Cookbook

Being as weight-conscious (and cost-conscious) as I am, I bought Sainsburys Basics strawberries (two packs, £1.50 each), a tin of Apricots (£1ish?) and added some dried ones. I still didn’t have enough fruit to make up the 500g I needed, so added two pears which worked.

Essentially, you make your pastry, leave it to chill for thirty minutes then roll out and put into a dish, bake for 45-50 minutes and voila, you have your dish.

I found the instructions really clear and simple to follow. We were missing one ingredient (cornflour) and I didn’t substitute with anything else which left the tart oozing with juice but not ruined which was a relief. H says “it’s the best tart ever” and Shaun thinks “it’s pretty awesome”. Me? I’m quite pleased it wasn’t a disaster in any way! The pastry was crispy and well cooked, the fruit warm and tangy. The best bit? You can use fruit which is going a bit soft for this too!

I was offered a chance to review The Higgidy Cookbook, but as I intended to anyway and bought it, I am instead offering the copy as a giveaway. Answer one simple question, then there’s a few additional things you can do via Rafflecopter to gain some extra entries. UK residents only please, and the closing date is two weeks today, the 8th October 2013.

All entries will be checked to make sure the rules were followed, as it’s unfair to say you’ve commented and to not leave one, and one winner will be sent a copy of The Higgidy Cookbook from the PR company. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by jo

Gatton Park Trail – National Trust

Sunday morning, it’s 8am and Shaun informs us that the weather is set to be good until early afternoon when it’s going to rain. So we got up and outside – after our previous trip was cut short we tried the Gatton Park Trail again!

Gatton Park Trail

The Gatton Park Trail is in Reigate, situated near Reigate Fort and at the top of a very large hill looking down over the Surrey Downs – you get excellent views of planes taking off and landing at Gatwick. The walk goes around Gatton Park as the land is split, of the 600 acres 340 is owned by the National Trust, and 260 by The Gatton Trust. We only got to the National Trust side, as the Gatton side is open the first Sunday of every month until October (and also qualifies in the Gardeners World 2 for 1 on gardens ticket, if you bought the April edition).

It is a circular walk which is popular with dog walkers, horse riders and cyclists – and us! The best bit? As we walked around almost everyone said “morning!” – a real nice cheery start to our day.

It’s buggy-friendly (if you need one), though there are some evil hills. There’s plenty of seats to rest (especially if you’ve a tired four year old who has done really well with all the walking), we found loads of bramble bushes too which was great for foraging – we had a yummy bramble and apple pie for tea that night – and checked off number 21 on the 50 Things Challenge for this year – H is doing pretty well with these! We all failed trying to catch leaves.

Gatton Park Trail

As far as accessibility goes, parking is free nearby (you don’t have to be a National Trust member), with refreshments in the car park at a reasonable price (and the only toilets are there as well). The Gatton Park Trail is free, and open all year round. Allow a couple of hours to do it – there are nine unnumbered markers along the way, and free maps from the refreshment area.

You can hear the M25 in the distance too.

We found parts of the Gatton Park Trail muddy but that wasn’t a problem, we had good walking shoes on so we were fine (but muddy). Mid-way you get to see the Millenium Stones – ten standing stones to mark the double Millenium, with each stone representing a 200 year segment. They’re in the middle of a field owned by sheep and goats, so remember to close the gate…!

It was an enjoyable walk and one I’d like to do at a different time of year, maybe in Springtime. Our next stop is to get to Gatton Park itself in October, before it closes until next year – the gardens look amazing!

by jo

Kelly’s Of Cornwall Clotted Cream and Raspberry Ice Cream

Kelly's Clotted Cream and Raspberry Real Cornish Ice Cream

Kelly’s Clotted Cream and Raspberry Real Cornish Ice Cream is the latest addition to the Kelly’s Of Cornwall Range. We were offered the chance to try it and of course jumped at it.

Available in Sainsburys and Waitrose and all good supermarkets, we had it with a delicious Raspberry and Coconut cake from the Cook Food stores which complemented it well.

Kelly's Clotted Cream and Raspberry Real Cornish Ice Cream

As before, when we reviewed the Kelly’s Of Cornwall ice creams, it’s about portion size – I’m pleased I can have a decent scoop and the calorie content isn’t too high. The ice cream has a lovely creamy flavour and the raspberry is delicious – while still being nice and smooth.

We’ve also tried the Kelly’s Clotted Cream and Raspberry Ice Cream with a bramble and apple pie last weekend that we made after doing a spot of foraging which works as well.
Kelly’s has been producing Cornish ice cream for over 100 years in Bodmin, Cornwall using only the finest dairy ingredients. They’re also the only genuine Cornish ice cream which is made in Cornwall and available nationwide.
Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream and Raspberry Ice Cream is available from selected supermarket stores nationwide, RRP £3.99 for a 1-litre tub.
Kelly’s Clotted Cream & Raspberry Ice Cream joins these other flavours – Clotted Cream Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Honeycomb Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Strawberry Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Blackcurrant Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Golden Syrup Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Chocolate Ice Cream , Cornish Dairy Vanilla Ice Cream.

For more information on Kelly’s of Cornwall, visit: www.kellysofcornwall.co.uk

Also, if you’re pretty good about reusing old ice cream tubs, the Kelly’s tubs are just the right size for felt tip pens and crayons… there’s nothing like a bit of upcycling!

We were sent a voucher to try out the ice cream, all opinions are our own.

by jo

Big Fish Little Fish September Event

The Big Fish Little Fish September event had its official launch in Brixton, at the Effra Social club. We went to a pre-launch in the summer which we enjoyed. Big Fish Little Fish is a new afternoon club for those of us who used to go out; think of it as being like a playgroup which plays music you can dance to as well, with beer!

Big Fish Little Fish flyerBig Fish Little Fish September had a theme – a nautical one. That was fairly easy for us, so we got H ready to be a pirate – a stripy t-shirt and leggings plus a neckerchief I quickly made with spare fabric and some wonder web, though we had no hat. Fortunately the craft room was up and running where you could make so many different kinds of things – which included the aforementioned hats – fun!

Actually, most of Saturday was about fun; be it dancing, eating, making, or creating.

Big Fish Little Fish September craft

H got a free Cheeky Monkey smoothie and some Bear YoYo snacks and got on with the job in hand – there was plenty of craft supplies to choose from too, as well as some nautically themed temporary tattoos. At the licensed bar there were sausage rolls and scotch eggs at a reasonable price, as well as cupcakes from Rosie’s Deli Cafe in the craft area.

Big Fish Little Fish September pirate

What is there to say about the Big Fish Little Fish September event, compared to last time? The volume of the music was lower and one we could talk and dance with – it was perfect – not too loud for kids (or my) ears. The event just had two DJs this time – Strictly Kev aka DJ Food from Ninja Tune and Will Nicol which I felt kept the downstairs area going – I didn’t notice the changeover. H danced to some Future Sound of London, reggae, I tried to get her to dance to 808 State (she refused), and so much more – The Prodigy and SL2 (“mummy’s work put this out” I told her, she wasn’t impressed but still danced). There were glitter bombs, bubbles, a large parachute at the end and one very tired H. She loved her glowstick which is given for free at the door, which she made into a bracelet.

Big Fish Little Fish September dancefloor

We didn’t get to the chill-out room but did spend a lot of time in the craft area – which was brilliantly organised, with plenty of supplies – there’s plenty of things for kids to do, and if they love dancing the dancefloor is just the right size.

October’s event is on Saturday 19th with a theme of ‘Things that go bump in the night’ – and for us it’s an easy journey, the train from Carshalton to Herne Hill just twenty minutes, and the walk from there no more than ten – and a good route via Brockwell Park, avoiding the main roads too which also has a giant wooden conker near the venue. If you fancy food in the area afterwards we can recommend Olleys – we had a feast and came away with change from £40 too – and it’s very child-friendly.

brockwell park giant conker

We really enjoyed the Big Fish Little Fish September event and already a few of my friends are talking about going to the next one, see you there!

Thank you to Natasha for organising free tickets for us, this hasn’t affected our opinion of the event at all!

by jo

We’re Going on a Bramble Hunt With Barny Bear

Barny Bear are a new snack, and one we were sent a box of each flavour to try. Our challenge was to go on an adventure, so we decided to do a spot of foraging locally. We’d come across the snacks at Lollibop though hadn’t tried both flavours, so we knew what to expect.

Barny Bear snacks

Barny Bear come in chocolate and milk flavours, and we’re going on a bramble hunt. BUT. Beforehand, something very peculiar happened. I got to the box of chocolate Barny Bear flavour to get some snacks ready, and found much to my surprise that there was only ONE BARNY LEFT. A big mystery.

50 Things Pooh Sticks

We headed out to Wilderness Island which is a short walk from our house, and started out with a spot of pooh sticks, as H had never played it before. This also covers another of the National Trust 50 Things challenges, so it is duly ticked off in the book. I should do an update as we’re doing pretty well with these too. Wilderness Island has the perfect bridge for Pooh Sticks anyway – the one as you enter. There are also a lot of bramble bushes there.

We got loads, enough for a bramble crumble anyway which was our plan. However, picking brambles is tiring work and you need a snack. Out came the Barny Bear snacks at the right time to help our hunger pangs. I mentioned the empty chocolate box, to which Shaun duly confessed he’d had at LEAST two. Cheeky. Still, it goes to show adults like them too.

Barny Bear Bramble Picking

H insisted on the chocolate Barny Bear on the reasoning her father had eaten most of them – who am I to argue, so she got her own way, going for poor Barny’s head first. We had a quick stop and snack before heading back towards the entrance where there seemed to be a plethora of bramble bushes and the Pooh Sticks Bridge.

Barny Bear

So, what’s to tell about Barny Bear? They’re a bear-shaped sponge snack with two different fillings, launched originally in France over fourteen years ago. The snacks contain no artificial colours or preservatives, and each are individually wrapped in a pack of five. H really liked them and wanted more. I’m standing firm – although they may need to be eaten before Shaun gets his hands on them… ahem!

The ending to our tale, the brambles were plentiful in supply (when we left Wilderness Park and headed towards the old overgrown garages nearby), and tonight for tea we’re having apple and bramble crumble with custard. I fully intend to make green custard to live the school dinner dream from the 1970’s and 80’s that my daughter will never witness. It’s only fair. I love that H will grow up with a good sense of the outdoors around her like I did when I was young, and learn to embrace the kind of school meals that made me into the woman I am.

brambles

This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Little Adventures Challenge’ in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here.