The Owl and The Pussycat Chilled Baby Food

Baby Craftiness is a fussy little thing; we haven't quite achieved him eating anything with lumps and bumps in yet. The only things he will eat have to be completely smooth as otherwise he vomits the food back up. He's still breastfed so I'm not too worried about his fussiness with food at the moment. With my first son I tried to be perfect and followed the Annabel Karmel baby meal plan to the letter. I had lots of time on my hands then and I could afford to make every meal from scratch. These days it's just not practical. It's bad enough catering for a very fussy seven year old, so I quite often give jars of baby food to Baby Craftiness. I do feel a little guilty but there's not much choice.

The usual brands of baby food that I buy are Hipp, Heinz and Cow and Gate. So I was intrigued when I was given the chance to review some 'chilled baby food.' Even more intrigued by the lovely sounding name 'The Owl and The Pussycat.' The packaging looks quite tempting with the cute little owl and pussycat from Edward Lear's book. The packaging isn't overly fussy though and in most circumstances I have found that the simpler the packaging, the nicer the food.

So now we are getting down to the nitty gritty? Did Baby Craftiness like them? To be honest, I didn't hold out much hope on him liking them as he is just SO fussy with food. I was waiting for a day to try them out on him when he had had at least one substantial meal already in him, so that it didn't matter if he chose not to eat them. However, my husband had different ideas and was eager to try him with something more nutritionally beneficial. So while I got down to housework, hubby fed the food to Baby Craftiness. Did he like it?? He LOVED it. I was called down to inspect the empty pot. This was the 'Chicken, French Beans and Coriander.' I tried him with the second pot of this flavour the next day and again he devoured it.

Next up for trial was 'Tomato and Celeriac Risotto with Cheddar Cheese,' he loved it! And lastly the 'Beef with Parsnips and Apple' which he devoured. As he is such a fussy eater, this was a HUGE achievement! What more can I say.... I am now in awe of this baby food brand.

The important difference and advantage of this baby food over jarred baby food is that 'The Owl And The Pussycat' food is gently steamed to preserve the fullness of flavour ensuring that each dish tastes and smells delicious and fresh. Jarred baby foods have usually been heated to very high temperatures to sterilise the ingredients which means that the food doesn't have the same fullness of flavour.

The chilled weaning food is being launched by a small family run food business, based in rural Wiltshire - Sally, Simon and Sarah are the people behind the new range. All have young families and when it came to weaning they wanted to buy food that was close as possible to their own home made food - and that means fresh.

Each pack of The Owl and The Pussycat chilled baby food contains two individual 100g pots (priced at £2.79) and can simply be heated in the microwave or on the hob before being served. All Owl and The Pussycat meals are certified organic by government approved inspectors, Organic Farmers and Growers.

So are there any drawbacks? The only drawback to me is the fact the baby food is currently only available at Waitrose and through Ocado as I don't shop with them. I would be more than happy to pay a little extra for these foods as the nutritional value is so much better. So to the makers of 'The Owl and The Pussycat' food - please consider stocking in other supermarkets. I promise I will buy!!

You can find more information about the fantastic 'The Owl and The Pussycat' range including recipes, nutritional information as well advice for parents on weaning at www.theowlandthepussycat.org

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Hallmark Cards Urge UK to Get Creative

Stuck for family things to do in the colder weather? Why not get creative and take part in a new nationwide photography competition launched by Hallmark Cards.

Hallmark has joined forces with the UK’s favourite designer and artist, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, to find an image that best represents motherhood with the lucky winners getting their picture on a Hallmark card for the public to buy!

The competition is open to everyone in the UK – from children to adults and complete novices to budding photographers. Pictures can be captured on anything from mobile phones to the latest high tech digital cameras and can be submitted from now until 27^th February 2010. The only criteria that apply is that the photograph must be your own work and must capture an image that best represents motherhood.

Submissions will be judged in two age categories (up to 17 and 18 plus) and the winners will be announced on Mother’s Day 2010. The winning images will be captured on a Hallmark Mother’s Day card which will be available for the public to purchase through the company’s online personal card service www.hallmark.co.uk. They will also receive £1,000 worth of photography equipment.

The competition is part of Hallmark’s annual Cards for a Cure™ Mother’s Day initiative which, by March 2010, will have donated a massive £1million to breast cancer charities to fund vital research into the disease.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will form part of the expert judging panel. Speaking about the competition, he said: “This is a fantastic initiative aimed at getting the public to create an image which really celebrates motherhood. I’d urge everyone across the UK to get their cameras at the ready, you don’t have to be a professional or have all the latest equipment. And, just think, you could have your photo captured on a Hallmark Card for the nation to buy.”

Hallmark Cards annually contributes £1/4 million to Breast Cancer Campaign and Action Breast Cancer, a programme of the Irish Cancer Society, as part of its Cards for a Cure™ campaign for Mothers Day. This is the fourth year of the initiative. The money is contributed independent of card and gift sales and is used to fund vital breast cancer research at centres across the UK and Ireland.

People can enter the competition at www.hallmark.co.uk.

Hallmark Valentine's Card

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I just wanted to show my readers this really clever Valentines Card by Hallmark. It's a limited edition video Valentine's Day card which plays some of Disney's most famous screen kisses. With only 1,500 cards ever to be produced, and selling at a premium £20, Hallmark Cards is expecting the one-of-a-kind cards to fly off the shelves as soon as they go on sale in Clinton's stores across the UK this February, with demand predicted to far exceed supply.



It's such a unique way of showing your loved ones exactly how much they mean to you. I haven't seen anything as good as this on the market before. It's actually like watching a mini TV. As the music plays all your hairs stand on end as it's just so emotive. The sound is great and all the happy moments on screen make you feel really loved-up.

This is a little bit more expensive than your average Valentines card as it is priced at £20. But this is going to be something that even the children will love watching and will be a card that will be kept forever. This card is certainly going to be of interest to Disney collectors also.


Available from Clinton's stores.

Crock-Pot Sauté Slow Cooker (SC7500)

It's cold, bleak and miserable at the moment and the last thing I feel like doing at the end of a long day is cooking. I'm one of those people that are full of energy first thing in the morning and then by the afternoon I suffer from a sudden slump in energy. This usually results in making the preparing of the evening meal seem like a massive chore; which then means we get takeaways.

But not since I discovered this wonderful slow cooker. I really can't praise it enough. It is not one of those items that you use and then resign to the back of the cupboard as it's such a practical item. Put your ingredients in first thing in the morning and by the time you come home you have a delicious meal awaiting you. It uses much less electricity than an oven and you can use cheaper cuts of meat and by slow cooking you get deliciously moist and tender results. I have been using this for the last few months and I am using it practically every day. One of my favourite recipes is Shepherd's Pie. I didn't used to be a fan of mince, but when it comes out of the slow cooker it's so tender and tasty that it tastes wonderful.

Another reason I love the slow cooker is that as my husband comes home from work quite late, I can leave the food in there on the 'Keep Warm' setting and it will be lovely and warm for him when he comes in.


What's brilliant about this slow cooker is the fact that if something needs browning off first; you don't need to dirty loads of different saucepans. You can just lift out the cooking pot and place it on the hob and then place back in the heating cradle and use it in the usual way. The stoneware can also be used in a conventional oven and if you have any leftovers, you can store them in the freezer. When you are ready, simply defrost the meal and reheat it in the microwave.

Think this sounds good enough? Well there's more....

You don't even have to spend ages scrubbing the slow cooker clean as it has a 'Rinse Clean System.' It's the next best thing to having a chef and maid in your home.

The model I have is a 4.7 litre capacity which will feed around 4 to 5 people. So it's perfect for my family needs.

And if you don't know what to cook in the slow cooker there are literally hundreds of recipe books available and loads online. The slow cooker even comes with a book which features a selection of recipes that have been created by chef Phil Vickery. Although I found the book a tad bit too fancy for my family. I have found a brilliant recipe on BBC Good Food website.

What more can I say, this is the answer to the problem of soaring food costs as you can use cheaper meat and avoid buying expensive takeaways. I can now also ensure that my family eats healthy and nutritious food.

The only minor flaw with the slow cooker is the shape at the bottom, as it has a ridge it makes it a little bit difficult to get the food out of the very bottom.

Priced at around £44.99 I think you are getting fantastic value for money!

Overall I think this is the best piece of kitchen equipment I will ever own. I recommend everyone to get one of these!

For further details of stockists, please contact the consumer helpline on 0800 0523615

simplehuman press-n-tear kitchen roll holder

My readers will know my love of attractive items for the home. I love things to be functional and yet swanky looking and so when I laid eyes on this kitchen roll holder I knew I had to have it. It looks nice and sturdy and the stainless steel keeps the kitchen looking sparkly clean.

When I first opened the box and took the kitchen roll holder out I was surprised by the weight of this item, the weight seems to mainly be in the base so that the holder remains steady when removing a piece.

The metal frame around the bottom ensures that the kitchen roll doesn't unravel and remains nice and snug. The best bit about the press-n-tear kitchen roll holder is that it features a spring-loaded knob that allows you to stop the roll and easily tear off just one sheet at a time. You just push down the knob at the top and pull; it's as simple as that. This is a great feature as it prevents wastage.

My only problem with the press n tear is that you can only use kitchen rolls measuring 22.8cm in height which means that if you want to go with cheaper kitchen rolls such as 'Thirst Pockets' then you simply can't as they are not tall enough for the mechanism in the kitchen roll to step in to action. So you would be looking for kitchen rolls such as 'Bounty' for this kitchen roll holder to work. Obviously, you could just use it as a manual holder but then it leaves no point in buying a 'press-n-tear' holder. It would be great if the manufacturers could put a function on this holder so that you could lower the holder to adjust for different size kitchen rolls.

It's a great quality item though and the press-n-tear function works each and every time. The item comes with a 5 year warranty so that shows that the company places a lot of faith in the product.

I love this item and it serves its purpose well.

For more information visit simplehuman

Silver Cross Halo Pushchair

If you have ever read the Sophie Kinsella novels in particular 'Shopaholic and Baby' then you will know my level of expertise in all baby items. Road-testing a pushchair is a must as you just can't get a feel for how smoothly they will move if you don't. This is my third pushchair since I began my life as a mum and I now know what it feels like to have a pushchair that simply 'glides' as opposed to having to give it a good old push.

So here's my review of the Silver Cross Halo Pushchair.

As I type this my husband is currently wheeling my son around and admiring the excellent suspension. It was very easy to put up as the instructions were so clear. As with all Silver Cross products the instructions come in two sets; one a written version and one a version with pictures. This makes it easy if you don't quite understand a step, you can look at the other version.

Immediately it was put together it had that 'wow' factor. In our household the pushchair constantly remains up as when the baby needs a nap in the daytime this is the way we get him to sleep. When a pushchair looks this good it is a joy to leave it up. It comes in an array of trendy colour ways; it's available in Fusion (black), Green Tea (green) and Ice (blue).

I love the various prints on each colour. The black has hot air balloons.

Green has birds flying in to the sky.
Blue has umbrellas.

The Silver Cross logo features on the side of the hood and the back of the pushchair, so I felt quite proud to be pushing such a lovely pushchair from such a renowned high-quality manufacturer.

The pushchair is named 'Halo' because of the unique elliptical frame, which almost appears like a halo around the pushchair. I feel the name 'Halo' is quite apt as I feel my son is surrounded by a safety halo when being pushed in this pushchair.

My main problem with pushchairs is that they are usually quite finicky to close down when you want to put them quickly away in to the car. The Halo collapses by pressing the two trigger buttons on the side of the frame and I didn't experience any problems with this. I was really impressed with how small the pushchair could fold to, which is a big bonus when you have a car boot filled full of kid's paraphernalia.

As a petite person who is not overly strong, in the past I have found myself struggling to manoeuvre the pushchair up kerbs and over bumpy roads. The Halo could be compared to swapping from a car with gears to an automatic, as the pushchair just seems to do all the work for you. It is amazing!!

The pushchair is suitable from birth to toddler and it converts in to a travel system where you can attach the car seat (available separately). The pushchair reclines so that the baby can lay down flat which is perfect if you have a baby that loves to sleep in a pushchair.

The only downside I can see is that it doesn't have a storage basket underneath but a system of stretchy elastic which won't really hold a lot. I haven't found this a huge problem as I don't do huge shops when I have baby in tow. However, after searching online about this problem I found that there is a bag that you can buy separately for it. Problem solved!

My son seems so cosy and comfortable in this pushchair and the suspension means that he doesn't have a bumpy ride. And the foot muff and seat liner made my son incredibly snug and warm despite this cold patch of weather we have been having of late. The rain cover that comes with the pushchair is the easiest rain cover I have had and will be great if we get caught out in a shower as you simply drape it on and there are holes for the handles to poke through. No zipping. It could probably be put on within a few seconds which is a huge bonus.

The fabrics and paints used in the pushchair make it feel a very high quality item.

It costs £275 and in my opinion is worth every penny as
(a) my baby is safe
(b) my baby is comfy
(c) it is great quality
(d) it looks fantastic!

Rating 9/10

A fantastic pushchair!

For more info visit Silver Cross

Leapfrog 'My Pal Violet'

If only you could have seen my baby son's reaction to this toy. I opened the package containing 'My Pal Violet' and left it on the bottom step of the stairs. I wasn't planning on giving it to my son just then as he was covered in dinner. He was frantically pointing at it and as I continued up the stairs he started to cry in hysterics and point in frustration. I proceeded to get him cleaned up and then returned to collect the dog for him. I can tell you I have never been under such pressure. Whilst I rushed to cut the plastic wire twists keeping the toy in the box, my son acted like I was killing someone. He cried at me like I was the cruellest person in the world, preventing him from having Violet.

When I had finished and gave him the toy, I just wish I had had a video camera to capture his reaction! His little legs shook with delight and he was laughing whilst hugging her to him. He sat there for ages just listening to her voice in awe. When I took him out of the playpen, he managed to crawl over to me (the other side of the room) with Violet in his hand and crawled on to my lap with her. He was repeatedly looking at my face and then Violet's as if to gauge my reaction to her. Simply put, he is in love with her! When I personalised her to say his name, it was the icing on the cake. In fact he went to sleep holding her! I have never had such a reaction with a toy!



Here's a quick video of the toy in action, I couldn't do a very long video as obviously I don't want to publicise my sons' details on the internet.

I think this toy is a bargain at £15.99. I LOVE the colours of the toy and the embroidery on each paw which lets you know which button to press. You can choose to play learning songs, music or games. Violet will ask questions which will engage your child such as asking them about their favourite food or colour. I loved the fact that it was so easy to personalise, just connect the toy up by USB and log on to the Leapfrog website and you can personalise it not just with their name but their favourite colours, foods, songs. 'My Pal Violet' impressed every member of the family when she sang a song with my sons name and then spelt out each letter of his name in the song.


I think the below picture speaks for itself on how much we love this toy! We went out and bought the 'My Pal Scout' for our son's birthday!


For more info visit www.leapfrog.co.uk