Tuesday 30 September 2014

Science4you Science Kits - Review!!

My girls love Science and in the past we have tried out a few kits.....When we were given the opportunity to review a couple of kits we'd never tried before we jumped at the chance....

We reviewed Slimy Factory - Slippery slugs & Water Science.


First up we tried the Water Science kit....

With 27 experiments find out the properties of water, how to create fantastic soap bubbles, how to turn a glass of water upside down without spilling it, how to make instant snow & how to make a water xylophone. 

Ellie has a thing about water so this was the ideal kit for her to show her what else water can actually do....


 Making bubbles was nearly their favourite activity but it was the artificial snow which amazed them both......


And the Magical Spheres....Even I was impressed with these....I love seeing my girls reactions when things happen which they are not expecting....


This kit was fantastic and shows kids how something as simple as water can be fun to play with as well as educational.....My girls loved it....There is enough in this kit to keep children busy for hours....I'd say it is well worth the £14.99.

Next up was the Slimy Factory - Slippery slugs kit.....

With 17 experiments find out what atoms and molecules are, which polymers are used in everyday life and how to create fantastic slippery monsters and bouncing balls. 

The girls had been itching to try this since it arrived....They loved the idea of slime and making their own bouncy balls. It did not disappoint....

They started off by making a Crazy ball which really bounced and then made Fake Fish Eggs which was a lot of fun and once again amazed them!!


Our favourite thing in this kit wasn't slime though....It was the  bouncing ball.....There was enough to make one each for the girls and they are very impressed with there creations...


This kit again is a lot of fun and costs £19.99.

Both of these kits are fantasic value for money and can give children hours of fun.....There is everything you need in the kits to do all the experiments....Well apart from water obviously and there is more than enough of the powders and such....

My girls aged 12 & 7 both enjoyed them greatly....The directions are easy to follow and even though The Slimy Factory is aimed at older children my girls managed ok with a little direction from me. They managed fine with the Water Science kit and needed little help.

Using kits like this children learn without realising.....They are fun introduction to Science....They would make fantastic gifts for Christmas....

We were sent these Science kits free of charge....This is my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own...

Monday 29 September 2014

Our Weekly Meal Plan!! - #mealplanningmonday

http://athomewithmrsm.blogspot.co.uk/

Last weeks meal plan sort of went to plan.....It went great until we got the the weekend....On Friday Spam fritters were swapped for Pizza for the kids and Chinese for Stu and I.....I don't know why it is but by Friday night I just fall out of love with cooking.....I must remember that more when meal planning!! 

As the kids had already had pizza we ended up having Chicken Stir fry for the on Saturday.....Stu and the kids love cooking it and I have a break from the kitchen....Bonus! 

This week on the menu we have:

Monday - The Spam fritters, chips and beans...
Tuesday - Mushroom risotto....
Thursday - Pork and apple sausages and wedges....
Friday - Fun pitta pizzas....
Saturday - Burgers in buns....
Sunday - Chicken casserole, mash & veg....

As always I've joined in with the wonderful Mrs M's #mealplanningmonday linky....

Sunday 28 September 2014

Cute Rain Boots!! - Review!!

The weather is a changing.....There's a chill in the air and more of the wet stuff falling from the sky....No more flip flops and cute sandals.....It's out with the boots and wellies....

I don't know about you but I hate having wet feet....When it is raining I still have the school run to do twice a day so there is no chance of me staying indoors in the dry and if it snows trainers or shoes are useless so a good pair of wellies are a must for me!

I was asked if I would like to review a pair of boots I jumped at the chance....I chose the floral wide calf rain boots....I loved the colours and the design just jumped out at me.....


Man-made.
Man-made sole.
Ideal for all weather conditions.
Made from quality rubber material.
Boot height 14 inches.

The average boot is designed for a calves of around 15 inches. Many women need a more generous fit to be comfortable. This boot is available in 17, 18 and 19 inch fittings.

I made a rookie mistake last year and bought a pair off boots and tried them on when I was only wearing tights....They had no chance of fitting over my jeans.....These however do which is absolutely fantastic!

I ordered a size seven....I usually take a size six and a half but I always find boots to be tight on my feet so didn't want to chance it.....These are a big size 7.....It doesn't really matter though as I can wear my thick winter socks with them....Bonus!

The adjustable buckles are wonderful....I can get the right tightness depending on what I'm wearing and the length of them is just right....They are comfortable to wear and don't feel too heavy like some boots can.....These boots are well made and I can't wait until it snows to really see what they are made of....


These boots came from a comparison site called Cute Rain Boots that finds the most popular women’s and children’s rain boots online.....They have a pair to suit any occasion such as.....

Gardening – Sturdy and rugged designs that are comfortable to work in.
Fashion – Boots to pair up with an outfit to wear in wet weather without compromising the look.
Hiking – Boots that are comfortable enough and flexible enough to walk in for long periods of time.
Leisure – Rain boots that are fun and funky.
 

They feature boots from manufacturers such as Hunters, Bogs, Kidorable, Dav, Tretorn, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Crocs.
Family Fever
I was sent these boots free of charge....This is my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own...

Silent Sunday!


http://www.cosmicgirlie.com/silent-sunday/http://onedad3girls.com/

Saturday 27 September 2014

Preparing For Children...

It is not just a matter of reading books and decorating the nursery.....


 Here are 14 simple tests for expectant parents to take to prepare themselves for the real-life experience of being a mother or father.

Test 1: Preparation

Women: To prepare for pregnancy.
1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
2. Leave it there.
3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.

Men: To prepare for children.
1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter and tell the pharmacist to help himself
2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.

Test 2: Knowledge

Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they have allowed their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behaviour. Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.

Test 3: Nights

To discover how the nights will feel:
1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 - 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2.  At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4. Set the alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
10. Make breakfast.

Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL

Test 4: Dressing Small Children

1. Buy a live octopus and a string bag.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that no arms hangout.
Time Allowed: 5 minutes.

Test 5: Cars

1. Forget the BMW. Buy a practical car.
2. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
3. Get a coin. Insert it into the CD player.
4. Take a box of chocolate biscuits; mash them into the back seat.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Test 6: Going for a walk

a. Wait.
b. Go out the front door.
c. Come back in again.
d. Go out.
e. Come back in again.
f. Go out again.
g. Walk down the front path.
h. Walk back up it.
i. Walk down it again.
j. Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
k. Stop, inspect minutely and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way.
l. Retrace your steps.
m. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
n. Give up and go back into the house.
You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Test 7: Conversations with children
 
Repeat everything you say at least 5 times.

Test 8: Grocery Shopping

1. Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
2. Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
3. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.
Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Test 9: Feeding a 1 year-old


1. Hollow out a melon
2. Make a small hole in the side
3. Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it side to side
4. Now get a bowl of soggy cornflakes and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon while pretending to be an aeroplane.
5. Continue until half the cornflakes are gone.
6. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor.

Test 10:TV

1. Learn the names of every character from Peppa Pig, Micky Mouses clubhouse and Ben & Holly.
2. Watch nothing else on television for at least 5 years.

Test 11:  Mess

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out:

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a fish behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds and then rub them on clean walls. Cover the stains with crayon. How does that look?
4. Empty every drawer/cupboard/storage box in your house onto the floor and proceed with step 5.
5. Drag randomly items from one room to another room and leave them there.

Test 12: Long Trips with Toddlers

1. Make a recording of someone shouting 'Mummy' repeatedly. Important Notes: No more than a 4 second delay between each Mummy. Include occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet.
2. Play this tape in your car, everywhere you go for the next 4 years.
You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Test 13:Conversations

1. Start talking to an adult of your choice.
2. Have someone else continually tug on your shirt hem or shirt sleeve while playing the Mummy tape listed above.
You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Test 14: Getting ready for work

1. Pick a day on which you have an important meeting.
2. Put on your finest work attire.
3. Take a cup of cream and put 1 cup of lemon juice in it
4. Stir
5. Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt
6. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture
7. Attempt to clean your shirt with the same saturated towel
8. Do not change (you have no time).
9. Go directly to work

You are now ready to have children. ENJOY!!

Friday 26 September 2014

A chill in the air....

This week my word has to be...


Autumn is here and I don't know about the rest of the country but up here in Northumberland it has been rather chilly....

It seems we've had a day of rain then a dry, sunny day then another day of rain and so on....

There is a chill in the air and so far I am resisting putting the heating on during the day.....You can find me sat under a fleecy One Direction blanket! (Don't hate me...lol) We did give in and have it on for an hour the other night as it was so chilly and we just couldn't get warm after being caught in the rain coming home from school....Ellie and I were soaked but not as bad as Becky....She came in like a drowned rat! lol Hot chocolate was a must!!

It's playing havoc with me doing the washing.....I hate using the tumble dryer....Apart from the cost of it the only place we have space for out dryer is in my bedroom....Putting it on means I have to open the windows which leaves the bedroom so cold....

Boots have been brought out of the back of the cupboard and warmer coats are getting used more....There's a chill in the air and I can feel winter coming....


Thursday 25 September 2014

Top Toys for Christmas 2014!!

Now that the girls birthdays are over with and all the bills are paid for the time being I can start thinking about Christmas.....Yes I know it's only September but I know if I don't start shopping early Christmas will creep up on me before I know it...

I've been looking at what toys are going to be big this Christmas and there are so good one's!

My Friend Cayla -  £59.99
Toys R Us

My Friend Cayla is not just a doll, shes a real friend. Ask her all sorts of questions, from her likes and dislikes to general knowledge and sports results, and shell tell you the answer! Sync her with an Android or iOS device via Bluetooth and shell use speech-to-text technology to look up answers online and speak them back to you. Theres a pre-defined list of bad words? and topics which Cayla will not talk about. Cayla can also play games, tell stories and discuss photos, when shes not helping with homework! Cayla has lovely hair to play with and is wearing a cool outfit.

Doh Vinci Style and Store Vanity design kit - £19.99
Smyths Toys

DohVinci Style and Store Vanity. Design in 3D with the DohVinci Style and Store Vanity Kit! You can use the 4 Deco Pop tubes, sculpting tool and styler in this set to decorate your vanity your way. Swirls, flowers and other beautiful details are a snap - just aim, squezze, and design to your heart's content! The speciality tip lets you create even more snazzy decorations! They harden overnight so your creations will be around for a long time. The vanity has a real mirror and a working drawer, so once you're done creating, you can store your favourite things in it. Age from 6 years.

Kidizoom Smartwatch - £29.99
Tesco

An amazing smart watch just for children. It's easy to use, with a 1.4" intuitive touch screen that features lots of different analogue and digital watch faces for you to choose from.

It's got a camera for taking 0.3 megapixel photos and videos with fun stamps and effects, along with a photo gallery. There's also an alarm, stop watch, timer and 3 fun games. You can even record your voice with different voice effects! Includes micro USB connection and cable for charging and transferring of files and rechargeable battery.

Barbie & Me Glamtastic Colour Change Handbag - £26.99
Argos

Imagine if you could change the colour of your handbag to match your outfit....well now you can! Hold the super stylish Barbie and Me Glamtastic Handbag against whatever you want to match it to and watch in amazement as it matches to over 100 colours 

Teksta T-Rex - £59.99
Tesco

Meet Teksta T-Rex the bone crushing dino! Just like his puppy friend this Teksta Dinosaur responds to your voice, lights and sounds with expressive eye patterns to share his feelings. Using cutting edge hand gesture technology command Teksta T-Rex to walk, move his hands, tail and stop. Stroke his face to hear him roar and see him snap just like a real T-Rex Dinosaur! When he’s hungry feed him with his dino bone to see his ultimate trick, watch him crunch, munch and launch it away, followed by an almighty burp! Over 100 physical and app-sized interactive play features.

Leapfrog LeapTV - £119.97
Asda 

With the LeapTV educational video gaming system, kids' will learn through motion as they jump, dance and more! The library of 70+ LeapFrog educator-approved games and videos teach reading, mathematics, science and creativity.

There are 3 amazing ways to play and learn: Body Motion - no controller is needed, dance, jump, hop and karate-chop. The camera captures kids movements as swing from skyscrapers as Spiderman! Pointer Play - with a simple twist you can turn your controller into a pointer for motion-based game play. Swivel one end of the controller out to play as Jake from Disney. Classic Control - fast-paced gaming, or tilt and shake the controller to race in LeapFrog Kart Racing.


Transformers 4 Stomp N Chomp Grimlock - £83.99
Toys R Us

Grimlock figure is a giant, 50cm Robot with a mighty sword that’s ready to take on any enemy. Transformers 4 Chomp & Stomp Grimlockchanges in 1 step to a dinosaur with a terrible, chomping jaw andlight-upeyes! Team him up with the included Transformers Optimus Prime mini-figure for maximum mayhem. Power Battlers and One-Step Changer figuresboth work with Stomp and Chomp to activate different lights, soundsand weapons, and his weapons pop out for battle!  

BoomCo Rapid Madness blaster - £37.49
Argos

The BOOMco. Rapid Madness Blaster features the BOOMco. Smart Stick system that lets you see exactly where you hit. The tip of every dart sticks to all Smart Stick targets and blaster shields. The Rapid Madness Blaster offers ultimate firepower on the battlefield, with two ways to blast - single-shot for accuracy or 20 darts in seconds, firing up to 50 feet. It also features push-button removable transforming shields, so you can capture your opponent's darts and use them yourself. BOOMco. blasters feature sleek lines and bold angles, and are air-powered - no batteries are needed. Its 20-dart clip is specially designed not to jam, delivering blasting action in seconds. Ages 6 and older.
 

Ice Skating Elsa from Frozen - £28.99
Smyths Toys

 Join Elsa from Disney's Frozen for some ice-skating fun around the Frozen kingdom! With just a push, Ice Skating Elsa Doll glides gracefully back and forth, arms and leg moving in elegant ice-skating style! Re-create the movie moment when Elsa skates to celebrate the end of winter, or make up icy cool adventures of your own! Look for Ice Skating Anna to double the fun! (sold separately). 

Xeno Ultra Violet Interactive Soft Toy - £79.99
The Entertainer

Meet Xeno, a loveable, yet cheeky, baby monster who interacts and plays with you. He has over 10 real emotions, including happy, sad, hungry, unwell and playful. His cool LCD graphic eyes display over 40 eye expressions and he has 80 tailor made sounds so you can truly understand him. Xeno is also very ticklish, dances to music and occasionally gets tummy ache and lets out a little burp. For added fun, Xeno will play 5 mini-games with you, including a game called Burp Factor, where you have to copy his eye movements using his special sensors. To play additional games and explore Xeno's world download the free app from Apple's App Store or Google Play

So there you have the top toys for this year.....Are any of these on your children's Christmas list?

Wednesday 24 September 2014

No messin....Children will touch anything!

A poster by Spelthorne council has gone viral and sparked outrage.....The poster shows a young boy eating fake dog poo with the caption ‘No messin’, children will touch anything’.

It has been called 'disgusting' and the council have been accused of using shock tactics.....Spelthorne council say that ‘these kinds of messages and imagery are necessary to have the required effect.....



Read the full story here...

Good on the council! I think the poster is shocking to look at but it gets the point across!! They are doing the right thing.....People don't take any notice of polite signs and fines are obviously not working....Maybe the shock tactics will!....

I personally find dog mess left in the streets more disgusting than this poster! Every time I step ouside of my gate I can't take a few steps without stepping around dog poo.....The streets to the side of where I live are even worse....There's even bins with signs on but no notice is taken!

A few months ago a guy let his dog poo right outside of my gate and I was on my way to pick the kids up.....He had no intention of picking it up until I said something! I said to him I'll find his house and go and crap outside of his gate.....Not the most ladylike of moments from me but it got my point across as when I got home with the kids it was gone! Shock tactics do work.....lol

It would be nice if this poster did the trick and had dog owners picking the mess up but I don't think it will.....I hope it at least makes them think twice!!

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Saving Water & Money....

It can sometimes be difficult to understand why it is important to be careful with the water when we have so much of it in the UK....We take it for granted....I do anyway! 

Did you know 97% percent of all the water on the earth is salt water which is not suitable for drinking......Only 3% of all the water is fresh water and only one percent of that is available for drinking water.....The other two percent is locked in ice caps and glaciers.....I was quite shocked by this!

We must learn to save water now for the future.....Apart from air water is our most precious resource.....

Reducing the amount of water that we waste at home can help protect the wildlife that live in rivers and wetlands and reduce the energy needed for treating and pumping water for domestic use.....

Saving water is easier than you think....You don't need to make big lifestyle changes here are some Water saving tips to think about....


Don't fill your kettle if you don't need to - As well as wasting water a kettle uses a lot of electricity so try not to boil water you won't use....

Taps are not power washers - Wash vegetables and fruits in a large bowl or tub of water and scrub them with a vegetable brush instead of using your taps as a power-washer.

Boil food in as little water as possible - You just need enough to submerge your pasta, rice or veg....This will also save energy as there will be less water to boil...

Leftover water - Use the water left over from boiling to water your plants....Just be sure to let it cool down first!

Get a dishwasher- They almost always use less water than washing dishes by hand, especially with water- and energy-efficient models.....Just make sure to only run the dishwasher when it’s full.

I had a look at a Water saving calculator and it's true.....I thought Dishwashers always used more water......I was so wrong.

£32 a year is a lot of money to save and 103 hours a year.....That's just over 4 days....Crazy! I knew there was a reason I hated washing the dishes by hand....

Choose tap water over bottled – It takes about 6 litres of water to make a single plastic bottle....

Fill the washing machine - Make sure your washing machine has a full load before you switch it on and buy a water efficient washing machine.

Use leftover tumble dryer water - If you use a condensing tumble dryer collect the condensed water and pour it straight into your watering can or iron.  

Fix dripping kitchen taps - Broken kitchen taps can waste 12 to 20 litres of water a day. Crazy!!

Shower instead of a bath - A bath uses around 80 litres of water in comparison a shower uses around 35 litres.

Try to cut down on shower time - Take a timer, clock, or stopwatch into the bathroom with you and challenge yourself to cut down your showering time!

Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily - Dispose of tissues, and other rubbish in the bin rather than the toilet.

Convert your toilet to a low flush one - Place a plastic bottle of water in the tank to displace some of the water used for each flush.....Weigh the bottle down with pebbles or sand!!

Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face...

Washing the car - Wash your car with a bucket and sponge....A hosepipe can use up to 1,000 litres of water in an hour!!

Do you try and save water? How do you do it?

Monday 22 September 2014

Our Weekly Meal Plan!! - #mealplanningmonday

I missed meal planning last week.....We too part in the #Afterschoolchefs Challenge and enjoyed a lot of Birds Eye food....This week normal service will resume and we're back to the normal meal planning....



This week is a normal week for us....We have nothing on....Phew!....After the last few weeks of Birthdays, hospital visits and other appointments it will be nice to do nothing after school.....

This week on the menu we have:

Monday - Chicken curry, rice and Naan bread....Using the leftover chicken from the roast dinner we had yesterday.....
Tuesday - Spaghetti bolognese & garlic bread....
Wednesday - Jacket potatoes with the leftover Bolognese sauce....
Thursday - Soup of some sort....
Friday - Spam fritters, chips and beans....
Saturday - Pizza....
Sunday - Toad in the hole, mash & veg.... 

As always I've joined in with the wonderful Mrs M's #mealplanningmonday linky....

Saturday 20 September 2014

A Birds Eye Week! #Afterschoolchefs

If you are a regular reader here you may or may not have realised that on Monday I didn't post my usual weekly meal plan...I had a good reason....I wanted to save it for this post....

Every week I meal plan....I have found it saves money by only buying what I need and saves on waste too....They tend to go to plan during school time but during the holidays they're a bit hit and miss especially when we decide to go for a day out and are not back in time for me to cook what I've planned......

Now the kids are back at school I am back to meal planning......It adds a bit of routine and I have found the kids are more willing to eat food if they know what they are having......
 
The girls are usually starving when they get in from school and if I haven't had chance during the day to prepare something it is handy to have a well stocked freezer....

I was recently given a great opportunity.....I was given £20 worth of vouchers to stock my freezer with fantastic Birds Eye products......Didn't we do well!!


So this week we ate from the freezer which is not as bad as it sounds.....This is what we ate!!

Sunday!!

We had Shortcrust chicken pie, Mashed potato and hearty farmhouse vegetables....Ellie ended up with some corned beef pie as I forgot to put the chicken fingers in the oven.....(She's not to keen on Chicken pie) She like's pastry and chicken but it in not pies!....Strange child!



It is the first time we've tried the vegetables in bags which you put into the microwave.....What a clever idea.....They take 3 minutes and taste the same as if you boil them..... They're very handy and I think I will be buying them in future as they save on waste too as we're getting the correct portion size!!

Monday!!



We had burgers in buns with onion rings....Becky's covered in red sauce and Ellie's in barbecue sauce....She's gone crazy about it lately.....She had a fried egg with toast for her breakfast on Sunday and had barbecue sauce on it....Eww! A nice, simple, quick meal for an easy start to the week.....

Wednesday!!

The kids had BBQ Mini Chicken Griddlers, I had 2 Sticky & Sweet BBQ Chicken Chargrills & Stu had 2 Sweet Chilli Chicken pieces.....We all had them with Super Noodles!

I always have a couple of boxes of the BBQ Mini Chicken Griddlers in the freezer.....They go with everything. Pasta, rice, noodles and we have had them in wraps before with salad....



Thursday!!

Vegetable Nuggets and a bag of rice fusions (Mediterranean one's) each of course covered in sauce!



Rice fusions are another thing I always have in the freezer..... They're very handy to have....Ellie isn't too keen on chips and will only eat them when she's in the mood for them so she tends to have a bag of rice if she isn't fancying chips.

Oh and I've just noticed Becky's pj's.....She has changed them she just has two pairs of them.....lol We're not tramps really!!

Friday!!

Friday is always fish day in our house.....I have always had fish on a Friday and carried on the tradition with my girls....

The girls had Fish Fingers, Mashtags and Spaghetti hoops...



As much as my girls loved the other meals I think Fish fingers will always be their favourite.....I remember loving fish fingers as a kid....It's just one of those things that most kids love....

So that's what we've been eating this week...

It's been a fun challenge eating a lot of Birds Eye food.....It is perfect for after school and hungry children....

This post is an entry for #Afterschoolchefs Linky Challenge, sponsored by Birds Eye. Learn more on the Birds Eye Facebook page

http://bit.ly/afterschoolchefs


I was sent £20 worth of Birds Eye vouchers to pay for the food to do this challenge.....All thoughts and opinions are of course my own. 

Friday 19 September 2014

Exante Diet Products - Review!!

Since Becky started secondary school I've been getting up at 7am with her.....I never ate breakfast.....I used to be up and out without eating a thing but now I seem to have plenty of time on a morning to get something to eat.....

When I was asked to try some breakfast products from the Exante Diet range how could I refuse.....Cereal and/or toast gets boring very quickly....

Exante Diet is proud to be the largest online VLCD Total Meal Replacement Company in the UK. There are not any 'off the shelf products' at Exante Diet. All the products are unique to Exante Diet and they continue to develop their range of products with the some of the UK's leading food technologists.

All of their soups, shakes, bars and food packs (porridge, pasta carbonara, shepherds pie etc) are Total Meal replacements products. By using 3 of the products a day to replace your normal meals you can cut down your daily calories and you'll still receive 100% of your Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) of vitamins and minerals. This means that you stay fit and healthy whilst you lose weight, because your body has all that it needs to enable safe and effective weight loss. 

I was sent a selection of products including....

Diet Shakes - £1.59 Each.

Including strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, toffee caramel and chocolate mint flavours....


Exante's Diet Shakes are deliciously thick, creamy and formulated specifically for weight loss. They are high in protein, low in carbohydrates and we've made sure that they contain NO aspartame, NO artificial colours, NO MSG and have NO genetically modified products!

I had one of these each morning and they filled me up until it was time for lunch....They took seconds to make and tasted lovely.....The chocolate and chocolate mint one's were my favourite.....The only way I can describe the taste is you know when you have leftover milk after chocolate cereal....Yes? Just like that....

Diet Bars - £2.20 each.

Including Raspberry and White Chocolate chips, Double Chocolate and Chocolate Orange flavours....

There big, tasty nutrition bars have NO aspartame, NO artificial colours, NO MSG and have NO GM products so you can indulge without the guilt!

These were delicious....If I happened to feel peckish mid morning these were ideal for a little snack....I loved the double chocolate one.....Looks just like a chocolate bar but surprisingly tasted much better.....Maybe it was the fact that I knew it wasn't as unhealthy as a regular bar of chocolate....

Orange drink mix - £4.99

It contains 0.4g of Carbohydrates....Simply add a teaspoon of the powder to water......Each tub contains 30 servings!

To me this tasted just like normal diluted orange juice....


Choco Balls - £2.20

 Choco Balls are the perfect fix for any sweet tooth. Low in carbs and high in protein. One packet contains 2 servings.

These were a lovely treat...They tasted so sweet but perfect if you have a sweet tooth like me.....

I don't know much about diet foods like the one's I've tried out this last week.....What I do know is they are usually expensive.....Exante Diet products seem very reasonably priced.....It is something I could imagine myself buying without breaking the bank if I ever wanted to lose weight....The products are very filling and more importantly very tasty!!



I was sent some Exante Diet Products free of charge to try...This is my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own...

Not the best or was it....

I really struggled this week to come up with a one word to sum up our week.....I finally came up with....

 
 It hasn't been the best week.....The weather hasn't been that good and we found out Ellie is totally deaf in one ear now but I've found some positives.....More than I initially thought.

The girls are still doing well at school.....Becky has decided cookery is her favourite lesson despite burning herself 3 times on the oven.....She came home with the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted....Watch out Great British Bake off....lol She's keeping up with her homework and is actually enjoying it....Phew!


 Two days this week Ellie hasn't had to wear uniform which she thought was just the best.....Firstly for Roald Dahl Day she went dressed as a witch....From The Witches of course and today for Jeans for Genes day....

Ellie got the best seat on the bus both on the way to and coming back from the hospital.....Right at the front at the top....It's the simple things!!

We got our first letter about the famous secondary school trips that happen....

Two nights in London and sight seeing.....Pizza making at Pizza express, meals at the Hard Rock Cafe and another at the Rainforest Cafe....A visit to Madam Tussauds, the London Dungeons, The London Eye, the Science museum, a river cruise and to see a West end show....As well as a 3 hour guided tour of London.....We thought the £295 seemed a lot but when you add the price of all the attractions and the travel down there it's a fab price!! 

We've paid the deposit and now we have to keep our fingers crossed Becky is picked to go as only 20 children from year 7 and 20 from year 8 can go.....

Oh yeah and I'm the best mam in the world.....I won Niall out of One Direction....Well a cardboard cut out of him from a twitter giveaway....lol


I've said any fighting over him and I'll chop him in half then the problem with be solved.....Last night he stayed in Becky's room and tonight he's staying in Ellie's.....

So after thinking nothing good had happened this week it turns out it wasn't such a bad week after all....

The Reading Residence