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Halloween Baking Activity October 20 2021, 0 Comments
We love a bit of Halloween baking with the kids. It has to be the most fun "holiday" to bake for because there's no expectation for neatness. Messy is better and once you put a pair of googly eyes on they're instantly transformed into something fun!
Halloween Straws October 05 2021, 0 Comments
Love Halloween? You'll love our printable straw sliders too!
10 steps to reduce your Carbon Footprint September 09 2021, 0 Comments
It’s been over a month since the IPCC report was released and sparked comments of “code red for humanity” by the UN Chief. As parents, we a Nom Nom Kids found the report highlighted a really worrying situation for our children’s future.
We thought we’d share 10 actions that can be taken to reduce your carbon footprint.
Essential Packed Lunch Freezer Stash September 05 2021, 0 Comments
Our packed lunch essentials that can be made ahead and frozen ready to grab on busy mornings:
Starting Nursery or Pre-school August 28 2021, 0 Comments
12 tips for starting nursery or Pre-school to make the transition stress free.
The New Flexible Plastics Recycling Program August 05 2021, 0 Comments
Did you know that you can now recycle ALL flexible plastics at designated Supermarkets around the UK? Read all about what you can recycle and where!
Yummy Ice Pop Recipes July 20 2021, 0 Comments
A tasty selection of Ice Pop recipes for the whole family. quick and easy options, homemade smoothie versions and some adult only alcoholic ones! Which one will you try?
Weaning Advice from Latch to Ladle May 03 2021, 0 Comments
It's weaning week from the 3rd-9th May so the perfect time to take a look at when to start and how to progress through this fun stage!
I asked the lovely Raphaella Rookes from Cheltenham based Weaning specialist at Latch to Ladle to put together the essential advice for you. Raphaella is a Specialist Paediatric Dietician and a mum to Monty who has recently had his own fun weaning.
When to start weaning?
The National advice is to start weaning at 6 months and not before 17 weeks. You may be advised by your GP or Health Visitor to start before 6 months if your little one has reflux or a higher risk of an allergic reaction. Signs to look out for that baby is ready to be weaned?
- Is your baby able to hold their neck and head up unsupported for at least ten minutes?
- Does your baby show good hand-eye-mouth coordination? Are they bringing toys up to their mouth and chewing on them?
- Has your baby lost their tongue thrust? (Not all babies have a prominent tongue thrust but if they do, we need to wait for that to stop before progressing with weaning.
- If you can answer yes to the three above points then you are good to go!
What meals to serve & when?
Check out the meal plans at latchtoladle.com where tailored meal plans are there to suit you and your little one.The general advice when progressing with weaning is as follows:
- Weeks 1 & 2: Introduce bitter vegetables once a day – combination of puree and finger foods (lunchtime tends to be best)
- Weeks 3 & 4: Progress to two meals per day (breakfast and lunch) and start to introduce combinations of flavours with 2-3 ingredients per meal e.g. tuna pasta with sweetcorn, carrot porridge, potato and swede mash
- Weeks 5 onwards: Build up to three meals per day with lots of combinations of flavours. Use herbs to flavour food and introduce allergens right from the get go! Check out latchtoladle.com for lots more advice on introducing allergens and meal ideas
Started weaning?
Once you’ve started weaning, you’ll realise just how much fun it can be! Although equally frustrating at times! A good technique from early on is to offer meals in different environments to add to the mealtime experience for little ones. This may be picnics, eating outside and now things are opening up more may be food on the go too! So, what are good foods to take out and about?
- Bread sticks, soft fruit, puffs and dry cereal, soft vegetable sticks, cooked pasta shells, avocado slices, pinwheels (always a Mum fave!), hard boiled egg slices, cheese cubes, chickpeas, rice cakes with nut butter and lots more besides! A great way of taking these foods out and about? Use Nom nom Kids pouches – they are a firm favourite in our house!
How can you make weaning run more smoothly?
When it comes to weaning, like lots of things when babies are developing, there are good and bad days. Weaning is a learning process and some days your little one will gobble up their scrambled egg on toast and other days they’ll throw it all on the floor. Where possible, try and eat together as a family as little ones learn so much from you from how you eat, to using cutlery, to pacing at mealtimes too.
Try and avoid distractions at mealtimes like tablets and TVs and limit mealtimes where possible to 10-15 minutes maximum – they’ll soon get bored after that! The main thing is to try and be positive and praise good eating behaviours and ignore the negative ones where you can…! Take lots of photos along your weaning journey as it really does fly by!
For your one stop shop on weaning and feeding advice, visit latchtoladle.com where Raphaella, Specialist Paediatric Dietitian, can provide bespoke advice to suit you and your family’s needs.
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Check out our range of reusable food pouches and snack bags to help you with taking foods out and about with you. Perfect for weaning and well beyond, these handy bags help you save waste and feed your little ones whilst out. All products are possible to wash in the dishwasher or by hand.
Waste Free Weaning May 01 2021, 0 Comments
As Featured on WeaningWeek.co.uk we put together our top 10 tips to help you save waste whilst weaning and beyond.
- Make your own
The most obvious way to save waste (and money) is to make your own food for your baby, whether you choose to puree, mash, serve simply as finger food or make up elaborate recipes. The packaging waste saved by making your own foods is quite dramatic and you can also choose to store it in a portion size specific to your baby and their stage in weaning leaving less leftovers to waste.
Read more...
Top Tips for Cooking With Kids February 17 2021, 0 Comments
Home Made Fruit Pots February 03 2021, 0 Comments
This delicious fruity compote is packed full of nutrition and perfect for a squeezy snack or dessert. The flavours are based on one of our favourite fruit pots recreated for our pouches.
Eco-Able July 28 2020, 0 Comments
It's almost the end of Plastic Free July! This years month of reflection and action has been somewhat overshadowed in my household (and quite probably yours) by the pandemic situation. The lovely Dani at Eco-Able has managed to make it all a little bit easier for us though
Adventures with The Out Pack July 18 2020, 0 Comments
The Out Pack is a brand new product to encourage us all to get out and about with the kids to explore our wonderful countryside.
Picky meals with Pickplates July 16 2020, 0 Comments
What kid can resist a picky meal with lots of variety? Mine certainly love this way of eating as long as nothing touches!) so I was really excited to see these new divided plates from the lovely Ciara Attwell of @myfussyeater
Park Essentials for Lockdown July 06 2020, 0 Comments
What will you be packing in your bag to keep the kids safe at the park?
National Picnic Week 2020 June 23 2020, 0 Comments
We're looking at making picnics waste free - a collaboration with Cheeky Wipes and a joint giveaway going live on Friday 26th
Lockdown Maths Help May 13 2020, 0 Comments
If you are home with a little one from Early Years to Key Stage 1 this colourful Rainbow can help them really nail their number Bonds.
Get a downloadable image to practice for yourself!
Simple Smoothie Making March 25 2020, 0 Comments
Some people say a smoothies must contain banana but I disagree. I like my smoothies to be colourful and creamy textured, bursting with flavour and nutrients. I find that using ingredients of similar colours I can get a much more vibrant smoothie that makes even the pickiest child desperate to try it. 
Wonderland Pop Up Cheltenham February 28 2020, 0 Comments
Read all about the Wonderland Pop up we will be part of at Jackeroo Boutique, Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7NB from 2nd-28th March.
Sockatoos February 12 2020, 0 Comments
My Second blog in a series of introductions to businesses that I think you'll all love to know about. Sockatoos is run by another one of my fellow Cheltenham Mumboss club members based in The Cotswolds so I really wanted to feature her straight away!
Sockatoos are basically lovely soft trousers with built in Socks that can never get lost!! I can think of so many occasions that these would have been handy, We used to lose socks everywhere!....Baby carrying, soft play, in the pushchair.
Busy Little Bears January 21 2020, 0 Comments
This is the first blog in a series of introductions to businesses that I think you'll all love to know about. First up is Busy Little Bears run by one of my fellow Cheltenham Mumboss club members and another local cotswolds business.
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