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.

Summer Fun with Panda Drinks - Review

We were recently sent some Panda Drinks and summer fun goodies to test out, a great treat for the kids including a book of things to do.

We took the drinks on a picnic, my son will only drink water and even those these are clear and look like water he is no fool and wouldn't even give them a go. My daughter who is a little more adventurous loved them, I had a try and they are a nice blackcurrant flavour.

Using some of the goodies we were sent we played football in at the park, tried to skip in the garden and used the chalk to drawer round our feet and write our names on the wall outside.

The booklet had some timeless classics for us to try like tig, a favourite for my son and his school friends and then more recently, with autumn arriving, conkers. My daughter loved giving skipping a go although at three she did struggle a little.

They are the perfect size bottle for packed lunches and picnics and great size for little hands to hold on to.

My only gripe with these drinks is they contain Acesulfame K, I really don't like artificial sweeteners and prefer a bit of sugar so if this could be changed they'd be on my shopping list.

NB: We were sent the panda drinks and summer fun goodies, all opinions and words are my own.

Yumbox Review

My son has been having a packed lunch for the last few years and it is something I enjoy making for him, what I don’t enjoy as much, is washing all the containers out each evening.

So, imagine my joy when I saw a bento style box that was not only air tight but also spill proof and was coming to the UK! The Yumbox is currently available in the USA and Australia but from June/July will be here.

Silicone lid and compartments

This isn’t just a lunch box though, it is a convenient and easy way to deliver a healthy, balanced and nutritious lunch. Each compartment is labelled with a fun picture of a different food group, not only does this enable the maker of the lunch box to easily see what to include, it also helps your child understand the importance of a balanced diet.

Being compact and spill proof (with it's special silicone lined lid) it also makes a great picnic box, whether you are in the garden, at the park or the beach it is a great way to transport a packed lunch with everything contained in one place. One thing I find when taking a picnic for young children, is that getting their food to them quickly is a must, they are usually so excited about where we are, they just want to get on and play. With the Yumbox, there is no need for separate plates or passing around of food to everyone.

I'm happy to say that this box is not just for children, I have been using it to take my lunch to work in. It does what it says, it is airtight and even apple packed the night before is still fresh. I have taken hummus and strawberries in the box together and the fruit hasn’t been tainted by the strong smelling garlic.

A few people have been put off by the price but for something so versatile I think it is well worth the money and I have already placed an order for one in the first shipment in June, more for the picnic aspect of the box than anything.

Whether it is a coincidence or that she is a growing girl, my daughter has eaten everything she's been given since she has been using the box. I think the fact it is her favourite colour helps, the one time I tried to give her just the tray she was pretty upset and I had to put it in the box.

Reading some of the reviews on Amazon I did notice a few people said there wasn’t much room for food and that their older children didn’t find it filling enough, however, for my six year old I can fit exactly the same amount of food in this as I could in his normal lunch box.

This type of lunchbox is also kinder to the environment, as you are cutting down on waste, I haven’t ever sent plastic bags, clingfilm, or tin foil for his lunch anyway but definitely won't have to now :)

I am hoping the box will last a long time but as it has been myself and my daughter using it and it has not been chucked about the place by a six year old boy, I cannot comment on its durability as much as I would like. I am informed that it has been stress tested by the manufacturer and a fellow blogger has thrown hers down the stairs (not on purpose) and it survived, so hopefully it will do the trick.

One of my favourite things about these boxes are it allows you to see everything at a glance and is a fun way to store lunch, the fun element I think is important no matter how old you are, no one wants a mess of badly presented and squashed food!

I have tried to find something wrong with the Yumbox but I can't, I really love it and so does my daughter. My son is looking forward to getting his too and for now I will just use their's when they aren't looking.

If you like what you see they are now available to pre order from the Yumbox website and will be available properly from July.

What's in the Box?

Well actually it is a lunch bag but that doesn't have the same ring to it!

I have had packed lunches on the brain for the last few weeks, is mine OK, is my son enjoying them etc.

Then a week ago we got a pack from school, one of the leaflets stated that a packed lunch was full of fat, salt and sugar and that instead I should pay for him to have a school meal.

That would be all well and good if he wanted to have a school meal and is this really the case for the lunches I prepare, certainly in comparison with what he would be served at school!

My worry is more my lunches aren't filling enough because he has so much in the way of fruit and veg. However he always has a hot meal at home in the evening, freshly prepared with all the veg I can fit on a plate.

So what do you think?

Monday:

Pitta with Ham and Cheese
1/3 Pack of Quavers
Cucumber & Carrot
Pear and Grapes
Raisins (OK I know grapes and raisins but he doesn't know)

Tuesday:

Pitta with Ham and Cheese (again I know but it was his choice)

Homemade Sausage Roll

Cucumber and Carrot

Strawberries

Raisins (not in picture as was an afterthought)

The school lunch for Monday dinner was:

Cheese and Vegetable Stuffed Jacket or Red Onion and Pepper Quiche, served with Boiled Potatoes, Baked Beans or Broccoli and then pudding of Jelly and Oranges or Fruit Salad.

on Tuesday

Beef Lasagne or Cheese and Vegetable Cobbler served with Carrot and Swede Batons, Salad, Bread or Mashed Potato and then pudding of Fruit Salad or Chocolate Sponge Pudding and Custard.

Now all this sounds wonderful but can they really be sure of the salt, fat, sugar content of these when making on mass? I make them at home and to be sure it tastes of something you would need to add some salt, sugar etc.

So, for now I will continue to come up with different lunches for my son to take with him, hopefully as he gets older I can include soups, pasta and quiche etc but at the moment he doesn't like these so I have to find new ways to present what is essentially a sandwich.

Am I just being too fussy/silly/paranoid/all of the above?

School Dinners, what to do?

So, we are currently filling in the forms for our son who is starting school in September and one of the questions is what will he be having for lunch? Will he be having a hot meal or taking a packed lunch.

Now for me I always took a packed lunch, whereas my husband who went to a private school had a hot school meal.

There is a lot of chatter about school dinners and the sometimes poor quality and offerings, but how do we know for sure? We will never see them?

My son is a pretty good eater, but given a choice I worry that he might just choose chips and fish fingers every day!

At nursery I know they have a varied meal schedule with everything from lentils to fish and meat. In the afternoon they make their own sandwiches and someone keeps a good eye on them to ensure they choose veg as well.

At £1.60 a day it will cost considerably less to make a lunch than pay for it but hubby thinks not, what does he know though!

I would love to hear some other experiences of this, asking my son, he wants to take sandwiches however my husband says 'he's four what does he know!'

Does the drama of starting school ever end?!?