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Plum Baby Little Foodies

Plum baby Little Foodies meals are a winner in our house yet again…I was apprehensive when I first received the four nutritious organic meals to review, as I my two year old and four year old have not eaten such varied meals as I have not experimented with these combinations and tastes with my children before in the home environment. (I know they eat a great variety of tastes and textures at nursery however when at home they become more selective and fussy.)

So here we go with Morroccan Tagine with Apricot, Lamb and Bulgur Wheat and Jamaican Jerk Mango and Chicken with Wholegrain Rice!!!

The Moroccan Tagine was well received and eaten in one serving by my two year old son, when offered his older sibling (4)  he willingly ate the food too.  Plum baby must have got the smell, texture and appearance of the meal just right as I find children from 2 years upwards start to use the appearance of food as a gauge of whether they will like the meal.  As a parent I also feel reassured that the meal smells and looks as I would ‘expect’ or want it to look.  Further looking at the nutritional information I am pleased to see only 4.5g of sugar per 100g however would like to see a higher amount of meat.  I believe the price point should warrant a greater percent of meat than 10%.

The last of four to be chosen by my expert reviewer was the Jamaican Jerk Mango and Chicken.  I shared this meal with my youngest two children and added an extra portion of rice to make two main meals.  Yet again, eaten without protest (potentially aided by the prospect of dessert).  I appreciate the four differing traditional food origins in providing my child with a wide range of different tastes, ingredients and textures.  

Looking forward to these meals launching and accessing more of them, with potential of range expansion?

The bottom line for me is: my children enjoy eating them & I am reassured that they are eating organic, nutritious food.

 

 

 

Plum baby … Plum tots … Little Foodies … Vegetable Biryani

 

Plum Baby Little Foodies present Vegetable Biryani in a delicious and nutritious toddler meal form! My son eagerly chose the ‘green one’ pointing out the vegetables displayed on the front of the packaging.  I was able to pretty instantly serve his dinner, as it takes a mere 30sec in the microwave.  Little Foodies differ to previously tried toddler meals as the vegetable biryani looked, smelt and tasted appetising for my child.  He and I are normally instantly put off by the smell and texture of ‘baby food’ especially when spooned from a glass jar (normal food does not normally come packaged in a glass jar!!)  My little food reviewer added extra raisins to his dish, he happily allowed me to feed him and would help himself to the food independently, I did not need or try to cojeul him to eat any.  No aeroplanes needed!!!!  I was admittedly surprised at his willingness to eat his meal, my previous attempts at child friendly curry have failed spectacularly.  It feels safer on my cooking ego and financially easier to spend just over £2 to try out unfamiliar textures and tastes that accompany a meal such as Biryani without trying to make it at home from scratch with children vying for your attention as you try your parental best to create a nutritional and delicious meal to then serve a meal that is then rejected!!  Sure every parent has been there!!  

Plum Tots, Little Foodies, Vegetable Biryani another winner!!!

 

 

 

Plum baby…Plum tots…’Little Foodies’

 

Plum baby are about to launch another super duper range of meals designed especially for tots, called Little Foodies aimed at 1-3 year olds, which feels refreshing for families who feel a little lost and unknowing when your child is weaned and the amount of guidance on portion size and availability of meals that still contain the high standard of nutrition that you have become accustomed to during weaning. Plum tots contain organic ingredients with no hidden nasties including no added sugar or salt.  

I feel relieved to see these products about to join the supermarket shelves.  We trust that Plum baby provide tasty meals containing the best organic ingredients and this time containing a mixture of texture and ‘lumpy’ foods for building up mouth muscles together with guidance on portion size.

My son aged 2 when presented with the four options first chose the ‘red’ packaging of the Italian Ragu.  The packaging colours seem to naturally match the contents; I would associate red with pasta and pasta sauces.  The images of the ingredients also assists quick choosing in the supermarket hurry.  My son also sat looking at the pictures trying to identify the ingredients.  This could prove to be both positive and negative; I ensured I only named those food I knew he liked to encourage him to eat the product, if he had identified an ingredient he definitely does not prefer this could have put him off tasting the meal.

The packaging was easy to open and can be recycled which is always helpful. The food looked like a meal more than ‘baby food’ and smelt as you would expect it to.  The meal looked appetising once it was warmed.  The plastic bowl was easy to hold in the palm of your hand and the shape allowed your spoon to scoop the food out easily without any awkward corners.  My 2 year old could have independently eaten the food out of the bowl with minimal mess.  My son liked the food and eagerly ate it all.  His 4 year old brother tasted it too and asked for more.  I would buy this meal for my 2 and 4 year old but may need to add extra pasta for the older child.  Due to the price I would need to restrict these meals to times when I needed a quick unplanned hassle free meal with which I could guarantee that my child has consumed the correct portion size consisting of the best healthy ingredients.  My only quibble was the inability to see the 10% of beef, although I thought this may be hidden? I do however like the use of quinoa to add to the protein content.

Within an hour of eating, I washed the bowl and we reused it as a paint container!!  Reusable and recyclable packaging is always a winner in our house!!

 

 

Vegetable Biryani review coming tomorrow, it is good…… yum yum

 

 

Summer Love

Whoop whoop the sun has been shining for ummm two consecutive days…is this dare I say it SUMMER?!

I always notice something happen in our family when the sun shines and we can all play and be outside without need for constant hot drinks to warm up…the thing that seems most noticeable for me is that the pace of life seems to slow down and slow down in a pleasant harmonious contented kind of way.  It feels healthier, we are more physically active, less consumer driven and more content to be at home participating in intrinsically rewarding activities, my children play with everyday items; buckets, spades, kitchen utensils; they climb in trees, dig in mud, explore in the sand using the environment around them as their playground.  They can use their outdoor voices without a feeling on my part of being looked at, they can run and not crash into people…they have access to free space…I just love summer!!!  We eat differently; more fruit and fresh food, less comfort food (comfort normally means unhealthy for me).  Messy play is so much easier if you can set this up outside too, my children painted and painted themselves, I was able to relax, interact and enjoy instead of being stressed about the destination of the paint beyond the paper. We pegged up our masterpieces up on the washing line to dry!!! 

The real challenge for me is to harness this change in pace and the healthier, more contented environment and transfer it to those days when you are forced to be inside all day.  I know it is stacked against me as I am a clean house freak and we are family whose personalities are best suited to large open spaces!  The other challenge comes in the form of technology and the impact this has on everyones level of physical activity and the use of imagination and creativity.  Nothing of virtual technology can beat climbing trees, cloud watching and running your hands through the sand…can it?!