Plastic Free July - Wet Wipes July 12 2019, 0 Comments

It's Plastic Free July and i'm looking at all the things that I have been swapping in order to be less wasteful as a family. Today I'm looking at wet wipes. 

It's been a while since Hugh's war on Waste hi-lighted the problem of wet wipes containing plastic. They discovered how wipe manufacturers are avoiding the subject and just how big a problem it is for our national sewerage systems.

As a family we were using the occasional toilet wipe as a last wipe for bottoms and for taking out wet wipes for mucky hands. When the kids were younger and in nappies we used them so much more and although I never flushed them down the toilet they were still going straight to land fill.

After watching the programme last month we have eliminated wipes from our bathroom completely. When we need to take out wet wipes we now use the brilliant Cheeky Wipes  or these funky baby wipes from local maker Bonnie Pop Makes.

If you want to use them for bottoms too you can buy a kit from Cheeky Wipes that has a clean and dirty box to use or again you could cut down on the bulk box and use a reusable bag. I take them out damp in a sandwich bag and for us this works really well. 

If I'm not sure whether i will need to use them I take them out dry and just squirt a bit of water onto the,m from one of our water bottles. we've always got water with us!

The Green monster fits around 4 or 5 of the Cheeky wipes which measure 15cm squared which is actually a much better size than a flannel.

Our smaller snack bags fit 2 inside so those are a great option for just taking a couple out with you!

Have you switched to a reusable alternative to wet wipes since watching the programme? 

Watch War on Waste: Series 3, Episode 2 here:

Plastic Free July July 01 2019, 0 Comments

Plastic Free July has now become a yearly event that more and more people are taking part in. Unlike the name may suggest you are not expected to avoid all plastics throughout July to take part.

You can opt from 3 levels of participation:

•  Avoid single-use plastic packaging
•  Target takeaway items (the Top 4: bags, bottles, straws and coffee cups)
•  Go completely plastic-free

Even then you can pledge to do it for as little as 1 day, a week, the whole month or from now on.

I try my best to avoid single use plastics but there are so many items that I don't succeed with and some things do just need plastic to work or to stop food from being spoiled. I will be using this July to keep up with the changes that I have made already and also attempt to make buying other items without packaging become more routine and easier to stick to.

I have recently joined a wonderful Facebook Group to help me make a few more swaps. The group is aimed at busy parents so we all have very similar issues. It's created with those of us in mind that are either starting from scratch or already do a bit so we can ask questions without feeling awkward and be inspired by ideas that are within our reach rather than suggesting that we all become Tom & Barbara from The Good Life overnight!

Founder Jen says:

"I'm all about the 'ish' - which means there's no minimalist plastic-free perfection. Which means we focus on progress, not perfection. Start from where you are and know that no step is too small"

Join The Sustainable(ish) with kids Facebook Group:

Join The Plastic Free July Challenge:

Good Luck!!

Air travel with Babies & Toddlers May 22 2019, 3 Comments

Flying with little ones can take some careful planning especially if you have a weaning baby or a fussy toddler to contend with. Our top tips for feeding whilst flying will help you plan the perfect trip and be prepared for anything:

1. Try to fly direct! Stop offs make things a lot more complicated when travelling with tiny ones as it’s an extra security check point to go through and more time hanging around or dashing to another gate. If it’s unavoidable just call up your airline before-hand to check the logistics.
2. Despite restrictions on liquids, this does not apply to milk or other drinks/purees for babies and toddlers ie. cow’s milk, soya milk, formula or expressed breast milk. You can take through airport security any amount that is needed for your baby or toddler to eat or drink on a flight. Consider how long your flight is and how much your baby / toddler will really need and then add a bit extra in case of any delays! you may be asked to try some of the items but many airports now have special machines that scan the food and drink.
3. If you are taking expressed milk in bottles there is no limit on the bottle size or how much you take but of course you will need to keep it cool. You won’t be allowed to take a large ice pack through security. Small ice packs (under 100ml) can be used and placed in the zip lock bag with your toiletries at security checks or you could freeze your milk overnight. As above you may be asked to taste the milk.
4. Breast feeding on a flight is simple. Dress in what you are comfortable feeding in. Despite all your best planning you may find yourself sat next to stranger so take a cover up if you prefer to use one. The lights can be bright at times so this can also help shield your baby’s eyes and stop then getting to distracted. Your little one may feed differently on a flight. Try not to worry too much and keep yourself extra hydrated.
5. If you use formula reserve some of the ready-made bottles from Boots (Air side) stores in UK Airports. Check on Boots.com to find an air side store. Call the store to book what you need at least 24 hours in advance to pick up before you fly.
6. Ensure that you take enough sterilised bottles for your baby’s milk feeds if you plan to buy milk at the airport.
7. Take a Tupperware / icecream container with you that could easily fit the whole bottle inside for sterilising (just in case of accidents or you need another bottle made up) – don’t forget to take a few Milton sterilising tablets in your hand luggage for this. You can use the container to store dry snacks or anything else for the journey (toys, clothes, clean nappies etc). You can also use it during your holiday for sterilising and heating up bottles or pouches.
8. Baby Food Pouches are a great way to feed pureed food or liquid snacks such as smoothies on a flight (they don't need to be under 100ml). Pouches heat up very easily in hot water which is the only option on a flight so they make complete sense. If you prefer to take your own home-made food or your child has allergies then using a reusable food pouch works brilliantly. The one disadvantage of reusable pouches is that they must be kept cool. To get round this you can freeze one of more of the pouches over-night and use this as the Ice-pack in a good quality insulated bag. The longer the flight the more you will need to freeze. You can also use the small ice packs as mentioned in tip #3. As with milk you may be asked to try one or some of the pouches to prove that they are in fact food. If you can’t squeeze any of the frozen ones out just open the side zipper and take a little bit to taste. If you are taking processed baby food pouches make sure that the ones opened at security are kept cool or used within a couple of hours. As with formula you can usually buy Ella’s Kitchen pouches at Boots Airside stores.
9. Just because you book a ticket or even a separate seat for your baby or toddler, don’t assume that your airline will automatically book them a specific meal – call up and check what they serve and book this in advance. Many airlines may also provide commercial baby food meals. Take your own baby/toddler cutlery in your hand luggage to make eating easier.
10. If your toddler is a messy eater make sure you take a large bib/cover up (and lots of wipes). Consider taking a reusable food pouch onto the flight empty so you can put the yogurt from the airline meal into it to reduce mess. There’s always a yogurt! You might be able to get an extra pot from the cabin crew to give your little one if the airline food isn’t to their liking.
11. Take sandwiches, pasta salad or extra snacks for your older baby, toddler or any fussy children in general as these are not restricted to take on board. If flying within Europe you can take them off the plane with you if they don’t get eaten but if travelling beyond Europe you will most likely need to throw them away when you land. Our snack bags are fab for storing these kinds of snacks as they fold flat and can be used to hold any rubbish or for using on holiday too.
12. Take your child’s favourite sippy cup onto the flight and keep this topped up with water to keep them hydrated, particularly on long haul flights.
13. Whilst taking off and landing try to get your baby to feed and toddler to drink or eat something. A pouch is great for this as they’ll be swallowing frequently. This will help with the pressure change and hopefully help avoid any tears.
14. If you feed pureed food and want to keep this up on holiday (assuming you are self catering) invest in a hand blender or mini blender that can be packed into your luggage. You can then store your meals in reusable pouches for easy feeding during your holiday. Check if your accommodation has a freezer so you can store meals for the whole duration. Some restaurants may be happy to blend food for you, don’t be afraid to ask but check if things have been cooked with salt.
15. Overall, try not to worry too much…you’ve done everything you can to make sure that familiar options are available, but your child may just not be as hungry as normal or may be extra hungry! Your baby may feed lots or hardly at all but they will get back to normal once you are settled on holiday or back home.

There are so many things to think about when travelling with babies and toddlers (sleep, clothes, toys, time-zones) especially when travelling long haul. I hope my tips help with the feeding side but for the rest take a look at these tips from Baby Centre UK

Leave me a comment if you have some great tips of your own so we can share them around!

check out our products here we have Animal pouches for babies and younger toddlers, 200ml Monster pouches for older toddlers on wards and our new monster snack bags for solid snacks.

Cheesy Veg rolls May 21 2019, 0 Comments

We all love sausage rolls in our family and the kids especially love the home made veggie packed versions that I make for them (if you haven't tried these, go make them immediately! Recipe is here).

I wanted to make some veggie only versions to help reduce the amount of meat we eat and give me some alternatives for lunchboxes and picnics. This recipe contains loads of veggies, lentils and cheese and it makes delicious veggie puff pastry rolls.

The quantities in this recipe are a bit vague as it was based on my first attempt and was using up whatever I had in my fridge!.

1 tsp oil

handful of cauliflower

handful of Broccoli

1 small to medium potato cut into chunks

half a medium sweet potato cut into chunks

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

30g split red lentils.

150g mature cheddar cheese grated

low salt veg stock

Pinch of dried thyme

Pinch of black pepper

1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion and fry until soft.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the vegetable stock, lentils and all the vegetables except for the broccoli.Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the broccoli. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Drain the pan. Remove the potato and sweet potato from the pan and mash with the grated cheese and then add the fried onions. 

Use a stick blender to very roughly blend the rest of the vegetables and the lentils. Use short bursts so it doesn't turn into a puree. You can mash the vegetables if you prefer but make sure the stalks are mashed well.

If liquid has separated from the veggies, pour this away and then blend the vegetables roughly with a stick blender if you have visible veggie averse kids. Feel free to leave as they are if you prefer.

Once cooled a little mix the veggie mixture with the sausage meat, sage and pepper. Ensure it's fully mixed through.

Take the sheet of puffed pastry and cut it in half length ways so that you have two rectangle shaped pieces. Divide the veggie mixture into two and spread each piece down the middle of the pastry sheets, leaving a gap of about 1cm either side and add some egg wash to help seal.

If you fancy making large sausage rolls cut the sheet in half the other way and spread a thick layer for a deep filled roll.

Roll the pastry over the veggie mixture so that the two edges meet. Press down with a fork to seal it.

Cut the rolls into whatever size you like. Place the cheesy veggie rolls onto the baking sheet and egg wash over the tops.

Cook in the oven for 25-35 minutes (time will depend on the size of the rolls so be sure to check them often from 20 minutes) until golden brown and cooked through.

Enjoy!!

Waste Free Weaning May 10 2019, 0 Comments

As Featured on WeaningWeek.co.uk we’ve put together our top 10 tips to help you save waste whilst weaning and beyond.

1. 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.

2. Batch Cooking

Preparing and/or Cooking more than one portion at a time can work out to be a great waste, time and money saver. There’s nothing better than to open the freezer to find a complete home cooked yummy meal ready to defrost and heat up. You can easily take your own meals out and about with you too. There are so many on the go storage options now from flasks, pots and pouches. Just remember to add an ice pack to keep your food fresh if it needs to stay cool.

3. Use Leftovers

We joke that our daughter is a dustbin and it’s been like that since weaning. In the early stages I would cook extra of anything that they could eat (without salt or salty sauces / stock) and save some for them to eat the next day or as snacks. Broccoli and steamed veg even makes a great snack for a baby. My son preferred his foods blended into purees or mash and mastered a spoon very early whereas my daughter liked to eat with her hands and have everything as finger food or very chunky. We also like to make a big veggie puree at the end of each week using up all of the leftover bits of veg in the fridge like broccoli stems, carrots, courgette and pepper. It makes a great base for pasta sauces, savoury muffins and pinwheels. Try it!

4. Buy Loose Ingredients

Shop at Markets, your local loose food store if you can or where produce is sold without packaging. If this isn’t possible look out for packaging made from LDPE that can be recycled with carrier bags at supermarkets or Paper and card packaging. Don’t buy pre portioned or prepared fruit and veg! Plan ahead, prepare and portion your own.

5. Convenience when really needed

It’s hard to make your own all the time. We travel, we go out, we have to work or simply life gets busy. To save waste, save the convenience foods for those occasions rather than every day. Buying pre-made food can cost so much and the nutrients in preserved baby foods are depleted during mass production.  They are perfect for an easy meal occasionally, but they are best not to be relied on for every day sustenance. When you do use pouches and crispy snacks check with Terracyle UK for a local recycling point.

6. Take your own snacks out

Snacks account for a massive amount of weaning waste when bought in individual portions. For the snacks that you can’t make yourself, choose large packs and decant into smaller containers or reusable snack bags for taking out and about with you. Crispy snacks, raisins, fruit segments and vegetable sticks can all be taken out in snack pots and bags. Yogurts and smoothie style purees can also be taken out in a reusable food pouch rather than buying a processed fruit or yogurt pouch.

7. Share!

When trying new foods or those that you buy in large quantities get together with friends and share. If you have NCT or antenatal group friends who are all weaning at the same time, make a plan to share raw ingredients or cooked foods. Arrange play dates where you take it in turns to cook something new and let the babies all try them together. It’s a great way to try new things.

8. Reusable wipes

Weaning comes with mess. Messy baby, messy floor, messy high chair! Instead of reaching for the disposable Baby wipes get some reusable wipes like Cheeky Wipes or even make your own out of old towels. Baby wipes and the wrapper they come in are not recyclable and they don’t generally biodegrade.

9. Get an awesome bib

Don’t let clothes get ruined by food. Get an awesome coverall bib that wipes clean (with those reusable wipes) to allow your baby clothes to be passed on and on. Obviously, the other option is feed your baby naked and give them a wash afterwards…skin is at least wipe clean by design! We love Bibado bibs.

10. Use Reusable storage options

Ensure that any baby food storage is free of BPA, easy to use, easy to get clean and reusable many times over. Always check what you already have in your cupboards that can be used before you buy something new.

Happy Waste less weaning!

Written by Suzanne Moore, owner of Nom Nom Kids Reusable Pouches.

Suzanne is the mum of two behind Nom Nom Kids Reusable Food pouches. She developed her products whilst approaching weaning with her 2^nd child after finding pouches to be an incredibly helpful snack on the go with her toddler. She just didn’t feel comfortable with the waste and the expense and started the process of developing her own refillable versions. Nom Nom Kids now have 2 different sized pouches, mini snack bags and larger sandwich bags. All are BPA Free, reusable, freezable and washable by hand or in the dishwasher.

Don't waste those Leftovers May 08 2019, 0 Comments

By the end of each week my fridge is generally littered with the same leftover bits of vegetables:

• Half or part of a courgette
• ends of a pepper
• mostly broccoli stalk and the odd floret
• a couple of celery sticks

In order to save these items from the compost bin I have started a routine of cooking them all up along with a few other staples such as carrots, frozen sweetcorn and even some lentils to produce a lovely nutritious veggie puree. 

There are 2 ways to make the puree. Either steam chopped veg for the appropriate amount of time or grate the veg and fry in a deep pan with just a little olive oil. I alternate depending on the veg I have.

I keep pouches and also ice cubes of these puree's in the freezer to use for:

1. Adding to tomato pasta sauce
2. Adding to pizza topping
3. Using in pinwheels
4. Mixing with sausage meat to make hidden veg sausage rolls
5. Adding to pesto pasta
6. Making savoury muffins

What veg do you have leftover that you could make into something rather than throwing away?

Take a look at our reusable products here

Baby Food Pouches April 18 2019, 0 Comments

When your baby approaches weaning it’s only natural to turn to the baby food aisle at the supermarket for inspiration. It’s an ever-expanding aisle these days full of pouches upon pouch of purees, snacks and cereals. The majority are organic and convenient, but these things are expensive and wasteful as 95% of finished pouches currently go to landfill.

I’m not going to make anyone feel bad for using them. They are incredibly handy, they keep at room temperature for an age. You can keep one in your change bag for emergencies and avoid a hangry meltdown….something we can all aspire to! But, I’m not a fan for every day feeding and snacks when there are better value, more nutrient rich and more eco friendly options available.

Reusable food pouches have been around for a while but never seem to get much publicity mostly because it's small businesses like mine making them. I started developing Nom Nom Kids in 2013 when I had my own weaning baby and a 2 year old that loved a smoothie pouch. I didn't like the wasteful packaging and really wanted to be able to put my own food inside the magical pouches that made my fussy 2 year old eat fruit.

Making your own baby food & snacks

Baby food and squeezable snacks can be incredibly easy to make yourself and it doesn't have to take up lots of time. There are recipes all over the internet and even some here on my website. If you've made your dinner with no added salt you can also just blend parts of it together along with a little of your baby's milk and store it in a pouch, pot or ice-cube tray. You can freeze the pouches or keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours and you can heat it in hot water if you want before serving.

Check out my first food blog post if you want to know more about the first stages of weaning or take a look at how our pouches can be used at different stages of your baby's development here. The can be used from 6 months to school age .We would love to get all ages using them.

Why choose Nom Nom Kids

I may not have the resources of a large company behind me or a fancy marketing & PR department but I strongly believe (and have been told by my customers) that my side opening pouches are the easiest to use on the market mainly due to the love and attention that I have given them to ensure that they are easy to fill and most importantly, easy to clean.

The benefits of Nom Nom Kids over the others you can buy are:

• No filling stations required to get the food into the pouch, just spoon or pour it in
• Strong double zipper that does NOT leak - I promisse
• Wide opening allows you to get your whole hand in to the pouch
• No hidden corners or crevices, the gusset opens the pouch up.
• Stays open in the dishwasher to get it really clean.
• The gusset allows more food to be packed in without making the pouch oversized.
• Holds 140-150ml of liquid food – others claim to hold the same but don't.

Fruit Yogurt Pouches April 12 2019, 0 Comments

Creating your own fruit flavoured yogurts is a great way to give your children some healthier yogurt options for snacks and puddings or more choice if you want or need to opt for dairy free yogurts. It also creates less waste and can save you a good amount of money too!

A reusable pouch is a really convenient way to take out yogurt. If your little one decides not to eat it all you can pop the cap back on and save it for later. You can also decide how much yogurt you put in a pouch to save on food waste. A weaning baby may only need a tablespoon full where toddlers can have 2 or 3 spoonfuls. Somewhere between 50g and 100g is a good guide for under 5's.

You can fill a pouch with any big pot yogurt but sugar levels can get very high with some so how about flavouring your own?

Making fruit yogurt isn't as simple as mixing the yogurt and fruit in a blender together. By doing this the yogurt loses it's thick consistency and turns into a liquid. You therefore need to blend the fruit first and then stir it into the yogurt.

Big family?

If you've got a big family to feed you can easily puree fruit as you need it or use it over 2 days by storing in the fridge or mix the lot with a full pot of yogurt and use this up within 2 days.

But what if I don't have a big family?

It’s really tricky to puree small portions of fruit so I like to blend up larger  batches in a bendable size and then store these in the freezer in small portions so I can use them as and when I need them. 

I store them in different sized ice cube trays and weaning cubes and freeze them for 24 hours until solid.

Once solid, pop them out to free up your trays and also save space in the freezer.

Transfer them to a bag or tub that's easily accessible in the freezer. Pull out the cubes you need as you need them. I like to pop 1 or 2 into a pouch and leave to defrost before adding the yogurt. Sometimes I leave it overnight in the fridge or I just leave it on the side in the morning whilst I do everything else. If you're in a rush you can pop the pouch in the microwave for 20-30 seconds on defrost. 

How to prep and Blend different fruits

Kiwi – remove skin and blend with a stick bender or in jug style blender / Nutribullet. I add a few spinach leaves along with it to keep the lovely green colour and add extra goodness. No one will ever know!

Apple – peel and slice apple and add to a pan with a little water in the bottom. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until soft. Ensure it doesn’t boil dry. Blend with a hand blender until smooth.

Raspberry – Rinse and blend with a stick bender or in jug style blender / Nutribullet. until smooth. Sieve the puree if you want to omit any seeds.

Blueberries – Rinse and blend until smooth. depending on the power of your blender you will have some tiny flecks of skin that haven't completely blended. Don't bother sieving this as it's really soft.

Strawberry – Rinse, hull and blend with a stick bender or in jug style blender / Nutribullet.. Sieve the puree if you want to omit any seeds.

Cherry - Rinse, pit and blend until smooth. depending on the power of your blender you will have some tiny flecks of skin that haven't completely blended. Don't bother sieving this as it's really soft. I've been buying some frozen cherries that are already pitted.

Banana – Peel and Mash the flesh with a fork or blend with a hand blender if you want a smooth puree

Mango - remove the skin and blend the soft flesh with a stick bender or in jug style blender / Nutribullet. I like to use frozen Mango as I find it much easier and less messy.

All of the above fruits blend and freeze really well. You can add 1 or 2 cubes to a pouch or tub. Allow to defrost and then stir in your chosen plain yogurt whether it's Greek, Coconut or other Dairy Free alternative.

You can also use the cubes for mixing into porridge or Weetabix. No need to defrost as the hot breakfast melts them really quickly and cools breakfast down!

If you don't want to go through the hassle of pureeing your own fruits you can buy some pureed fruits in tins or use fruit pots / pouches from the supermarket although this isn't saving as much waste as making your own sometimes convenience wins.

If you are interested in buying reusable food pouches take a look at our products page or click on the below product to add it to your basket.

Healthy kids Breakfasts March 24 2019, 0 Comments

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but it's also the one that generally needs to be prepared and eaten the quickest. Our brains aren't always working at their best first thing and with a little one begging for food at 6.30am. It can be hard to come up with a variety of healthy, sugar free (or at least low sugar) options that are going to give them the energy they need to tackle the day ahead.

So, here's some of my go to Brekkie suggestions...mostly aimed at your little ones but no reason why the big kids and grown ups can't eat them too. Some can be made ahead and others quickly prepped.

Porridge Bread (make ahead)

This stuff is amazing. A combination of oats, plain yogurt and egg. This is delicious sliced with some honey on top. suitable for 12 months+ with the honey but from 6 months without. Recipe developed by My Fussy Eater but you can watch how it's made by Eats Amazing here.

Scrambled Eggs (10 minutes prep)

Quick and tasty, scrambled eggs are perfect from 6 months onward. Serve with a little toast and some avocado slices or a few cherry tomatoes chopped in half. We make ours firmer and stirred less so there's nice big chunks for little hands to grab or forks to lift.

Eggy Bread (10 minutes prep)

We make our eggy bread simply with 1 beaten egg to 1 slice of bread and nothing else. Beat the egg in a flat bottomed bowl. Place the bread into the egg and allow it to absorb. Turn over to ensure it's coated on both sides. My kids like theirs cut into squares with the crusts off (which they steal and eat anyway!) Fry in a little olive oil until golden and serve with some fruit for a filling breakfast.

If you want some extra flavour why not try this recipe from My Fussy Eater instead or simply add a little cinnamon.

Dippy Eggs & Soldiers (10 minutes prep)

It's now safe to serve runny eggs to babies from 6 months as long as the egg has a UK lion mark. Getting the perfect runny egg can take some practice but when you get it right, it's sooo good. Serve the toast cut into smaller strips with a little butter, marmite or spread with mashed avocados for an extra nutrient boost.

For little ones, you can spread the egg onto the toast to make it easier to eat. You may find making the eggs soft but not runny are easier to eat in this way. I bought one of these to help me get the perfect egg consistency.

Porridge (10 minutes prep)

Porridge doesn't have to be boring. It's full of goodness and so filling. You can make your own smoother baby porridge by blending dry oats or Opt for the Jumbo oats if you like more texture. We make ours with half milk and half water. Top with a little honey (over 12 months only), fruit or fruit compote.

You can even mix peanut butter in and add an array of seeds on top, add stewed fruits or grated veggies for even more goodness. Anything goes with porridge. Check out these ideas for some more alternative porridge toppings.

Porridge Fingers (10 minutes prep)

These are perfect for Baby led Weaning and originate from the original Baby Led Weaning Cookbook by Gill Rapley. Check out the recipe here

Weetabix (5 minutes prep)

Serve in a bowl or pop it in a pouch for an on the go Breakfast for those mornings when you're in a rush or have no time for the full body clean up operation.

Sugar Free Fluffy Pancakes (15 minutes prep)

We love these served with fruit, a little maple syrup or a slither of chocolate spread for a treat. I would just serve them plain with fruit for babies and toddlers and save the spreads and toppings for older children. They're also a fab snack to take out with you. You can make up the mix the night before and store in the fridge if time is tight. You can also make up batches of pancakes and freeze them!

2 Ingredient Pancakes (10 minutes prep)

This is a fab BLW recipe containing just banana and egg. So simple and perfect for little hands and tummies. Check out the recipe with My Fussy Eater here.

Savoury Muffins (make ahead)

My kids love a savoury muffin as much as they love cake. Try our hidden veggie version if you've got fussy little ones or opt for extra visible veg if you can get away with it.  These freeze really well so you can make a batch and pull them out as you need them.

Baked egg cups (make ahead)

This is the original recipe I tried from Super Healthy Kids It's also delicious with a little bit of cooked sausage or bacon in so I often make a batch of these for the freezer when I have some leftover.

Breakfast Smoothies (5 minutes prep)

whether you serve it in an Instagram friendly bowl, in a glass with a reusable straw or in a reusable pouch. Smoothies are a great start to the day and can get our little ones off to a good start with their 5-a-day. Try ones containing Oats to make it more filling or go for just fruit and veg and serve with porridge fingers. Peanut butter is a great way to add some extra protein for a busy day ahead.

@Babytoddlerfoods

Smashed avocado on Toast (10 minutes prep)

I love avocado so this is my perfect breakfast. A poached egg on top and i'm in heaven! We recently discovered that our reusable pouches keep your mashed avocado lovely and green. so mash up a whole Avocado and put the leftovers in the pouch until the next day.

Ice Lollies (make ahead)

Yes! Ice lolly pops for breakfast. Obviously lovely home made healthy ones made with smoothie mix or blended fruit. Pull these out of the freezer and the kids will think it's an amazing treat! You may need a little toast or some porridge fingers to fill them up a bit too.

@zokuHQ

We think it's important for the whole family to eat well in the morning. it's a perfect time to slip in one or more of your 5-a day and your a winner if you can provide a filling dish that isn't sugar laden but still yummy. If you want even more inspiration check out the My Fussy Eater Blog with 50 Breakfast Ideas for Kids You'll never have to serve boring (sugar laden) cereal or plain old toast again.

A brilliant article to read if you want more inspiration from Registered Nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed BSc, MSc, RNutr. Specialist in maternal, infant and child nutrition. Getting Extra Nutrients into my Child’s Diet: Breakfast Edition

Waste Free Wednesdays March 19 2019, 0 Comments

Have you heard about Waste Free Wednesdays? The Idea is to have one waste free day a week where you create no waste to give Mother nature a break.

The team behind the idea have created an Instagram and Facebook account "to share, inspire and create a waste free lifestyle, one day at a time". 

I have to say that I love this concept as so often a zero waste lifestyle seems so unattainable to most of us and that unfortunately stops so many people from just doing little things. We need to change our habits one step at a time so 1 day a week of zero waste living (or as close to it as we can get) feels like a challenge that we could rise to.

As a family we do a fair amount to help save waste in our lifestyles. We buy quite a lot of things loose, use bamboo toothbrushes, use reusable cups, bottles, pouches and make a lot of our own snacks and food but we have so much more that we could do and I hope that giving this more thought 1 day a week I will make more changes than thinking about it less seriously all week long.

Things that we as a family will need to address each Wednesday are:

• Only buy products without packaging. Wednesday may become my day to visit the market, butchers etc with my own bags and containers.
• Make our own snacks, lunch, dinner from scratch preferably with ingredients that came unpackaged.
• Use up food scraps to create minimal food waste.

We may not be able to succeed with being totally waste free but at least 1 day a week my whole family will think very seriously about the waste that we are creating. We will hopefully set in place some new habits and start to think about  some further changes we can make.

I will be sharing some of the ideas from @wastefreewednesdays on my Instagram and Facebook Accounts. I would love to know if they inspire you to save waste.

Do go follow the Waste Free Wednesday accounts on FB & IG for yourselves

Waste Free Wednesday on Facebook

@wastefreewednesday on Instagram

 Thank you for reading!

Suzanne

Simple Swaps to save Waste February 27 2019, 0 Comments

My Kids love a Dairylea Dunker. It takes them all of 2 minutes to demolish one and i'm left with a fairly sturdy plastic tub and a piece of foil to dispose of. Both can be recycled but i'd rather not have to. In addition there's the £2.25 price tag for a pack of 4.

Today I put my foot down when the request was made for Dairylea dunkers and I made our own versions using a big tub of Dairylea spread, some Eat Real veggie Straws and a few mini cheddars that were leftover. 

I used a divider pot from our Tum Tum Tots lunchbox (that remarkably I found the lid for) to hold the cheese spread and popped the crispy bits into a reusable snack bag.

Nancy loved that it was less wasteful and also really enjoyed the veggie straws for dipping.

What other snacks do your kids love that have way too much packaging? Lets see if we can replace it with a more eco-friendly version. 

More snacks to try:

Nutella & Go - Nutella chocolate spread + bread sticks to dip

Lunchables - Crackers, cheee slices and ham

Tommee Tippee Steamer Blender Giveaway February 08 2019, 0 Comments

WIN one of two prizes....

Prize 1

• 1 Tommee Tippee Steamer Blender
• 10 x Nom Nom Kids reusable food pouches
• spare caps 
• pen to write on the pouches
• 4 x reusable snack bags

Prize 2

• 10 x Nom Nom Kids reusable food pouches
• spare caps 
• pen to write on the pouches
• 4 x reusable snack bags

We have teamed up with one of the biggest baby brands Tommee Tippee to give you a chance to win one of their amazing steamer blenders. For a family about to start on their weaning journey this machine is a legend. You can easily make small portions of blended baby food for your baby quickly, safely and with minimal mess. Combine it with our reusable food pouches and you can make your own versions of all the pouches you see in the supermarket….but with better flavour and packed with more nutrients.

Using the 2 in 1 blender is so easy. Just pop the ingredients into the jug, select the correct settings for steaming time and consistency and it does the rest. You can make smooth Puree’s to start and move to more textured as your baby progresses.

If you’re about to start weaning and you want to feed your baby home made purees enter the giveaway to win:

1 x Tommee Tippee Steamer Blender

10 x Nom Nom Kids Reusable pouches

This Giveaway is UK entry only. The prize will only be shipped to a UK address.

There are 3 ways to enter. 2 winners will be picked at random from all entries. Enter in one or both of the below ways:

Facebook

• LIKE our nomnomkids page. 
• LIKE the competition post. 
• COMMENT on the competition post so I can see that you've entered.

We would love a share or it would be great if you tag some friends. It's always good karma to spread the love and they might win too!

Instagram

• FOLLOW @nomnomkids and @tommeetippeUK
• Like the giveaway post
• comment on the giveaway post and tag some friends

Oxfordshire Baby & Toddler Show

• sign up to my newsletter list at the show on Sunday 10th February 2019 to enter

T's&C's: