The Walled Garden at Clumber Park

A few weekends ago we went camping at Clumber Park, it is a great place to escape to and not far from where we live.  Included in the camping fee is entry in to the walled garden, we have been in there once before and it is a beautiful place to explore, full of colours which change through the seasons.

This visit did not disappoint, with Dahlias as big as your head, lots of fruit, veg and plenty of insects and wildlife to see too, it was a colourful delight

The greenhouses are the first stop, they tell the history of the gardens and how they were used, from back in the 1800s, up to the present day, it is an interesting look back into how some things have changed but it also shows that really a lot remains the same.

One of my favourite spots is the potting shed, with rows and rows of pots, I loved to imagine how many hands they have passed through, how many seedlings they have grown and how many of the plants there today they have been home to.

There is currently a trail about fruit and vegetables from around the world and where they originate from, it was interesting to see where things came form and sometimes places you don't really think of. The kids always love a quiz and it got them running round like Challenge Anneka, trying to find all of the blow up globes with the answers on, dotted around the gardens.

With so many other plants and flowers to spot and try and guess what they were it was a lovely way to spend an hour.

If you are visiting Clumber any time, then I can highly recommend stopping by for a look round, the walled garden is a wonderful place to sit and reflect.

Summer, Strawberry Picking & an Easy Strawberry Flan

So, yesterday started off a little bit grey, however I had been watching the weather forecast and knew it should clear up enough for us to pop over to the local pick your own farm and collect some yummy strawberries.

We picked up a couple of baskets and headed off to find some yummy red beauties, we may also have eaten one or two on the way round!

Afterwards we popped over to the rhubarb patch to pick some huge stalks of rhubarb, the kids loved helping me to pull them up and then carried them back over their shoulders like huge fans.

Once we got home we washed our beautiful red strawberries and made them into this super easy strawberry flan.

All you need is a flan case, some custard, I used Ambrosia Devon Dream as it can be kept in your store cupboard and then some lovely fresh strawberries....top the flan case with the custard and then arrange your strawberries as you wish.

Here are some more fabulous summer strawberry recipes for those extra strawberries you don't manage to eat on their own.

Follow The Mummy Diary's board Strawberry Recipes on Pinterest.

Crushed - Fruit Pouches Review

As a busy mum on the go, sometimes I have days where I forget about myself and eating five a day evades me. After I was diagnosed Fibromyalgia, I knew my diet should be better than it is, but comfort food is a strange thing and you just want sugar, usually in it’s worst form.

So, when I was sent some Crushed fruit pouches to try, I looked forward to having some fruit in my bag, something that I could take with me when I got those sweet cravings and that wouldn’t get battered and bruised as the day went on.

Usually you think this sort of thing is for children, but they have been invaluable for me during my recent house move, meaning I can have fruit on the go, easily and most of all quickly.

The pouches are an easy and accessible way to transport fruit, in your handbag, schoolbag, or lunchbag.

Best of all the Crushed pouches are tasty, the Strawberry & Apple have a little zing to them and the Apple & Banana are nice and smooth, my daughter has tried both and loved them equally meaning they really are a hit for both adults and children alike!

Containing one of your five a day and with a long shelf life they are the perfect store cupboard and fridge staple for when the fruit bowl is running low. 

Currently available in store from Waitrose and online from Ocado at £3.50 for 4 they work out a lot cheaper than some of the similar brands available.

NB: I was sent these to try, I was under no obligation to write a review however I feel they are a great product and wanted to write about them.

Healthier Halloween Treats

Halloween is a time where there are lots of sweets and treats. So, to try and cut down our sugar intake, Sykes Cottages have invited me to come up with some healthier options to serve this Halloween.

For the younger children, these banana and choc chip eyeball cakes are the perfect afternoon treat at Halloween. They are really easy to make, so it's a good time to get the children involved with the baking.

For the cake:

100g Butter, softened

2 eggs

175g Light brown sugar

225g Self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons milk

2 ripe bananas, mashed (use a fork to mash the banana)

50g Chocolate chips

For the decoration:

125g icing sugar

15ml warm water

Smarties, buttons, icing

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assisted and line a muffin tray with 12 cases (spooky ones if you have them!).

2. Place the butter, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, milk and banana in a mixing bowl and using a hand held mixer, blend until smooth, add the chocolate chips and stir in with a spoon.

3. Spoon the mixture equally between the cases and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

5. Once cooled, make the glacé icing. Mix 125g icing sugar with a teaspoon of water at a time until it reaches a smooth and thick consistency. Try not to make it too runny or it won't stay in the centre.  Place a teaspoon full of your thick icing on the middle of a cake and spread into a round(ish) shape.

I used some renshaw candy melts for the iris and a chocolate chip for the pupil, but you could use a smartie and some black icing, or a raisin. For the red around the eye I used a streak of red food colouring on the end of cocktail stick and just squiggled it through the icing before it set.

Once you have done this with all of them, there you have it, a spooky healthier cake.

Next up is a recipe I have made several times, it is a mix of raisins and nuts blended up. These bites are full of natural energy and perfect for slightly older children, although my three and six year old both enjoy them, I know some people like to be careful with nuts. They are blended into tiny pieces though so should be fine.

Ingredients:

100g Raisins
30g Cranberries
30g Cashews
30g Brazil nuts
30g Flaked almonds
20g Mixed seeds
1-3 tsps Honey
Liquorice Catherine Wheels for decoration.

1. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Place the raisins, cranberries, cashews, brazil nuts, mixed seeds and flaked almonds in a mixer or chopper and blend until chopped and mixed, add a little honey at a time until it becomes wet enough to roll into balls without breaking apart.

Once you've rolled out the spiders bodies, cut the liquorice in half lengthways so you have thinner strips to make the legs. Add these to the tops of the bodies whilst still squidgy, once you have done this you can add little pieces of cranberry as eyes or leave as is. Place in the fridge to firm up and then  serve.

Together these treats look great displayed next to a pumpkin and some cobwebs...

This is my entry into the Sykes Cottages Healthy Halloween Treats challenge.

Fruit, Nut and Seed Bites

I am currently suffering with all sorts of health problems, the doctor has diagnosed me with possible fibromyalgia and I have reduced kidney function so things are breaking all over the place.

On a mission to get healthy and to stop snacking on rubbish I spotted these over on Instagram and decided to give them a go with whatever I had in the cupboard.

I don't have any measurements it is basically a whatever you have in the cupboard kinda recipe and chuck in as much as you like of each thing.

These have raisins, dried cranberries, coconut, flaked almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts and some mixed seeds, 1 tsp cocoa and 1tsp of honey, all blitzed together until it becomes a sticky mess.

They don't look that attractive and even less so in ball form but you could put them in a baking tray and cut up if you so desired. Once rolled pop in the fridge to firm up and voila, Nakd style bites of loveliness.

Not only are these a healthier snack but they do seem to fill me up for longer to stave off the cravings till lunch and tea, plus they are really quick and simple.

Shopping Local to Make Great Food

I have been on a mission of late to shop local, so last weekend I met my grandparents for a coffee and visited a local greengrocers in the process.

The Fruit Bowl on Mapperley Top in Nottingham offers a huge range of fruit and veg, most of which is local or UK grown with the add addition from abroad that we simply don't have the climate to grown them.

My gorgeous selection of food consisted of, beetroot (for beetroot brownies), tomatoes, plums, cress apples, pears, onions, all from UK and then sweet potatoes (for soup) and peaches from abroad.

How fabulous to be able to buy so much English produce and the taste is so much better.

Since this week has been rather rubbish weather wise I made some simple sweet potato soup, just onion, sweet potato, stock, salt and pepper and some milk. Perfect for an autumnal day.

Do you use your local greengrocers? If not then why not give them a try next time you need some fruit and veg.