Family Food - Single Parent Pessimist

Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge

Claire — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 12:08:00 +0000

I was set a challenge to create a meal using Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burgers this week, and I chose to do a healthy option!

My son does at least three clubs a week at the moment after school, so I'm always rushing about trying to find quick, but healthy meals to cook.

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Healthy Breakfast Ideas using Ready Brek

Claire — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 10:29:00 +0000

Now winter seems to have made an appearance, I'm trying to finding warm, healthy breakfasts to start the day.

Porridge and warm Weetabix are my easy go-to choices, but my little boy can get bored. I've been looking at ways to spice breakfast up a bit without using sugary cereals.

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December’s Degustabox

Claire — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 20:36:00 +0000

Another month, another great selection of food and drink from Degustabox. December’s Degustabox The December box includes: Eisberg Non-Alcoholic wine which I have reviewed myself recently and included in my Adult Christmas Gift Guide. Pukka Herbs Clean Green tea- I am a huge green tea fan, and I love it when it has a hint of lemon, so this will help kickstart my weight loss after Xmas! Bahlsen biscuits: Caramel and Milk Chocolate. My boy loves these biscuits and now there’s a caramel version which I quite enjoyed dunked in my brew! Fry Light is the only thing I use these days, as it is so much healthier than oil in cooking, and they’ve created a new Infuse range. I was sent the garlic infused Fry Light which is going to add gorgeous flavour to some of my favourite dishes such as spaghetti bolognase and lasagne. The CHAI Co create healthy breakfasts, so this will also help to kickstart my new year cleanse. There were also Gloworm premium mixers, Bonne Mann marmalade, Pop Chips and a Kent’s Kitchen meal kit for me to enjoy. Overall this was a good selection for December as the majority of it was healthy, low calorie products that can be used after the indulgence we are all going to enjoy next week! Don’t forget, I have a special reader discount, where you can have a £3 discount, input code 0P305 when registering for your box. This box was provided to test and review. No payment was received and all opinions are honest and my own. Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook

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November Degustabox

Claire — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 06:30:00 +0000

November DegustaboxClick to Enlarge I have been lucky enough to sample another Degustabox and this one is one of the best yet! There were fewer items this time, but the items that were included were of higher worth, such as the very VERY lush Lindor My Melting Moments chocolates. They were in the shape of snowflakes to celebrate Christmas and not surprisingly these have already been eaten! There was some rather yummy curry sauces from Holy Cow! Chunk and I have already eaten the Korma sauce with some chicken, vegetables and quinoa and it went down a treat. I washed it down with some Montano Cider which is gorgeous when chilled, and I then had the option of a Cool Dawn Recovery Drink to prevent and cure a hangover. This is something I have not tried yet, but I’ve been told by fellow bloggers that it tastes like liquorice! So there was quite a range this month and I can only imagine what they will be planning to put into the December one! These boxes usually cost £12.99 each, but I have a £3 discount code for you to enjoy which is IL2QB. This box was provided to test and review. No payment was received and all opinions are honest and my own. Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook

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Competition: Win a Bah Humbugs’ Sweet Bucket

Claire — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:07:00 +0000

Win a Sweet Bucket of your choice from Bah Humbugs just in time for Christmas! Check out the range of Sweet Buckets they do and if you fancy having one of these to add to a Christmas stocking enter the Rafflecopter form below! Bah Humbugs Sweet Buckets And if you cannot wait until the competition ends to try out the buckets or all the other fab sweets Bah Humbugs offer, they are giving my readers 15% discount on ALL products! The code is BLOG15 Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook

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Food Review: September Degustabox

Claire — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 05:00:00 +0000

I got to sample another entire box of goodies from Degustabox this month to try out and they did not disappoint!Degustabox send monthly boxes to customers that contain exciting new food and drink products that are hitting our superstores. For £12.99 per month you can get a huge box of 9 to 14 surprise products each month, plus handy recipe cards and the occasional coupon. In this month’s box there was all this beautiful stuff, which included: Little Miracle’s Organic Tea 3 Righteous Salad Dressings Elizabeth Shaw Dark Chocolate Thins Crabbie’s Ginger Beer La Vieja Fabrica Marmalade Jordans Simply Granola Crabbie’s Fruit Alcoholic Drink Bahlsen’s Pick Up! Biscuits Burts Lentil Waves Carnation Cook With It! My favourites this month had to be the chocolate thins, as they were gorgeously minty and refreshing, and a bit too addictive. They were washed down beautifully with the Crabbie’s fruity alocholic drink, it’s just a shame I didn’t have more than one bottle in the box (greedy!). The lentil crisps were another fave of both mine and Chunk’s, as they were so light but sooo flavoursome. I loved that they are under 100 calories too so I didn’t feel guilty shovelling them down. As a cereal addict I was pleased there was a big bag of granola, and I particularly enjoyed it with chocolate soya milk. I’m going to use some of it to make some flapjacks, and will just add some raisins and dried cranberries and a little bit of natural sweetener to stick it together. Due to being such AMAZING readers, I have a discount for you if you want to get your hands on these scrummy boxes. To get a £3 discount, use the code EUK98.*I was kindly given the box for the purpose of this review. No payment was given so all views are honest and my own* Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook

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#MorrisonsMum Challenge: Bank Holiday Family Cooking

Claire — Tue, 06 May 2014 21:03:00 +0000

T to to to oMorrisons Cut Their Prices Last Weekend A lot of mummy bloggers (including moi!) were given a challenge by Morrisons to cook a simple, low-priced and tasty meal for our family during the bank holiday weekend.I usually shop at Asda, so I was intrigued to see what Morrisons had to offer, especially as they have just cut prices on THOUSANDS of their products, and not just temporarily! I took advantage of a morning when Chunk was at nursery, and went shopping by myself; It’s amazing how much quicker shopping is when you are alone, and how much easier it is to remember everything you went in there to buy! Part of the #MorrisonsMum challenge was to buy the food I usually buy in my weekly shop to compare how much cheaper it is now their prices have dropped. Bargain Avocados I was impressed by the fruit and veg prices, especially the avocados, as I rarely get to buy them as they are usually about £1 for two, so when I saw 4 for £1 they went straight in the trolley (I have a huge love for avocado on toast… it really is lush!). I picked up some sweet potatoes as they have such a great taste and are far healthier than your standard potatoes. They are great to use as mash, homemade wedges and even homemade chips! They add a nice colour to the plate which can really appeal to my toddler too. After loading up on fruit and veg, I came across the humous section…YUM. I’m a big fan of humous, especially flavours such as caramalised onion and Moroccan, so was excited to see they have a great range of flavours, and you can get two for £1.80 (20p cheaper than Asda). Humous Heaven! I opted for the lower fat plain humous, caramalised onion, sweet chilli and a slow roasted tomato one. These are great for ‘picnic’ style lunches with my little boy; I use lots of bright coloured little bowls and chop up carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers to put in the pots. I then have some breadsticks and crackers on the side, and some cheeses and cold meat, and we sit on the floor and have a little picnic spread. It’s a great way to help him learn how to pick foods that he wants and to decide when he is full, and he is loading up on all the gorgeous fruit and veg he needs. My £80 Shop Loved their Dairy Section! They did a ‘3 for £10’ on selected meats, so I got some burgers, lamb and apricot kebabs and some mince, and also got some veggie burgers as I am not a fan of giving my boy too much red meat, and at the moment he really loves the word ‘burger’ and thinking he is eating just that! In terms of what the supermarket had to offer, I liked a lot of their fresh produce, but I was disappointed with their baby and toddler section. I was hoping to get some nappies (size 6) but they only went up to a size 4 and only had the small packs rather than the large box packs I get in Asda. For that reason alone I wouldn’t be able to shop there regularly, but I imagine it doesn’t cater for parents hugely because it’s in the city centre of Brighton and is aimed more at the young adults and students that live there. They need to open a larger one in another part of the city and I wouldn’t hesitate to be a convert! Our Indoor Barbie featuring some Homemade Cous Cous Bank Holiday weekend had some lovely weather, so from the huge trolley load of food I managed to buy, I decided to make an indoor barbeque-style lunch for the family (I don’t like the toddlers sitting out in the hot sun when eating). I used the beef burgers and veggie quarter pounders, and the very yummy lamb and apricot kebabs. My Homemade Cous Cous I teamed this with bowls of salad (cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, avocado) and some homemade cous cous. To make the cous cous I used: cous cous, broccoli, sweet potato, cauliflower, boiled water, tomatoes. I just added some water to the cous cous, stirred it and let it sit whilst I steamed the vegetables and the sweet potato. These were then added to the cous cous and voile! You can add sauces to it, but I knew it would be mixed in with the salad and any sauces we were having with our burgers so it wasn’t needed. Our Indoor BBQ Lunch I love cous cous because you can do so many things with it, and it is so quick to make! I use it as an alternative to rice and pasta for some dishes when I’m in a rush, and my favourite is to chop up fruit and add some low fat yoghurt to it and have it as a breakfast or pudding. Burger Must-Have I laid out some humous to add to the salad and burgers, and my favourite thing to put in burgers is of course Reggae Reggae Sauce. I’m half Jamaican, so adore any Caribbean food I can get my hands on! When I totted up how much I spent for the lunch and compared this with Asda’s prices, there was only 3p in it! The meal cost £3.50 per person, whilst Asda would have cost £3.53 (when comparing prices on the bank holiday weekend only). It’s great to see that Morrisons is now competing with a supermarket that has been seen as one of the lowest priced ones out there at the moment. Our Evening Roast I ended the day by cooking the family a roast (also with ingredients from my Morrisons shop) and the plates were almost licked clean! We even had apple crumble and custard for dessert, which is why I am now on a diet! If you’re heading […]

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Easy Banana & Blueberry Pancakes

Claire — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 08:42:00 +0000

Happy Pancake Day! We’ve just eaten homemade banana and blueberry Pancakes and wanted to share the recipe with you! Now I’m no chef, so the fact they came out yummy means this is a must-try recipe! It’s so simple I didn’t even need to read a recipe! -Whisk one cup of plain flour, one cup of milk, one egg, a mashed banana and handful of blueberries together. -Heat a small frying pan, put a little oil or frylite in it and once warm, add one ladle of the mixture. -When the edges come away from the sides when touched, and the middle starts to bubble, it’s ready for flipping! -Flip, heat til colour you want underneath, then serve plain or with some agave natural sweetener. Chunk devoured them so think these may become a once a week breakfast! To add to the fun you can use cookie cutters for decoration! Baked Potato Mummy has tried out my recipe today and it was a hit result for her family too, see her post here. Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

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Baking With My Toddler: Cinnamon & Ginger Xmas Biscuits

Claire — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 21:35:00 +0000

Today (Christmas Eve) I decided to be creative and bake biscuits with my little boy, both for Santa tonight, and to put in treat bags for my son and his cousin for Christmas Day!

I found a recipe for cinnamon and ginger snowmen biscuits, and decided to put my own little spin on it!

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Homemade Iced Lolly Recipes for Babies & Toddlers!

Claire — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 21:02:00 +0000

During the heatwave we've been having this week, I've started to think of little frozen treats that my son can enjoy to attempt to cool down.

Overheated toddlers are not an enjoyable experience!

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