Ross Beef Burgers-Review and Halloween Recipe

With Halloween coming up, Ross have come up with some ways to make a yummy burger treat into something fun or scary(depending on age of children).

To make the burgers devilishly good, you can make them ooze ketchup blood, cut scary shapes or faces into cheese, add red pepper horns, and swamp plant topping(or lettuce to you and me).

Ross burgers are available from Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons, so off i went to Morrisons, and picked up some burgers. The range consists of 4-6 packs of quarter pounders and 8-16 packs of 2oz burgers.

The burgers can be bbq'd grilled or oven cooked. I opted for oven cooking, simply popping into the oven for 20ish minutes, turning the burgers a couple of time to ensure they were cooked through.

When they were cooked I cut some buns in half, and put the burgers on. We then got squares of cheese, and using our small cookie cutter me and Eva cut out 2 heart shaped eyes, and a semi circle smiley mouth in each piece. As Eva and Jack are 1 and 3 I don't think they would of been too impressed with anything "scary" but I'm sure older children would have great fun seeing who could make the scariest, most gruesome burger.
We put lettuce on top of the burger, and put on the cheese. We then added tomato ketchup to make eyeballs, and into the mouth too.
With older children you could make scary devil faces in the cheese, and top with red pepper horns, or cut out scary ghost shapes in the cheese, the possibilites are endless.

Next came the taste test. I will openly admit i wasn't expecting much from these, as other brands of frozen burgers i've tried in the past have been quite greasy and tasteless. Well all it took was one bite to totally change my opinion. These burgers were delicious. Not at all greasy, and really tasty, and the fact that they contain no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives made it even better. I will definately be buying these on a regular basis, as they are yummy, quick and handy to keep in the freezer. Even Eva, who is the fusspot in our family when it comes to food, enjoyed these burgers. I cut Jack's up into bite size pieces and he soon polished his off. They were a huge hit with all the family.

Why not buy some, and get practising some spooooky halloween burger treats.

Loren xx

Unicef and Dulux-Own a colour for £1

Dulux has teamed up with children’s charity UNICEF to give people the chance to ‘own’ a colour for £1.

The paint brand is offering people the opportunity to buy from a selection of 16.7 million colours – the number the average computer, smartphone and tablet can display – in an effort to raise £16.7million.

People who purchase a colour are able to rename it and have it displayed on a dedicated Dulux microsite. All money raised will go directly to the children’s charity UNICEF.

Matt Pullen, UK Marketing Director, from Dulux comments:

“Dulux has a mission of 'adding Colour to People's Lives' and is closely aligned to the vision of Own a Colour, which will harness the power of colour to have a positive impact on saving lives of children.”

Celebrities who already Own A Colour include Jemima Khan (CFC Blue), Duncan Bannatyne (Scottish Saltire Blue) and Sir Roger Moore (Swedish Blue).

To Own A Colour visit: http://www.ownacolour.com

This is a fantastic and fun way to raisie money for an amazing charity, and by donating just £1, as you can see, it will all add up to a huge amount, that will make such a difference to Unicef, their charity work, and the children they help.

Eva chose a pink, called "Eva's Pretty in Pink" and Jack's colour is a blue, called "Jackopotumus Blue".

Why not have some fun and "own your colour" now, aswel as raising money for charity.

Loren xx

Soreen Toastie Loaf-review

As you may remember not so long ago i was sent some yummy soreen products to review(which you can read here). Well Soreen have now released a new toastie loaf. Pre cut and ready to pop into the toaster.

It costs around £1.39, and available in Asda.

If you love your soreen malt loaf toasted, but find it too sticky putting it in and getting it out of the toaster, here if your answer. It has been created especially for toasting, the malt toastie loaf is still packed with deliciously squidgy energy, and the same unique malt loaf taste as the original malt loaf.

I actually love this, and as i'm trying to lose a few pounds it made a yummy breakfast, or lunch and satified my sweet tooth, so i'm not feeling the need to be snacking on sweet things in between meals.
When taking it out the packet, it isn't at all sticky, making it simple to pop into the toaster. Whilst cooking i was wondering, if its not as sticky as original malt loaf, is it going to taste the same. Well i added the butter, and as if by magic i had a yummy toasted, sticky treat.
Jack now, will eat his breakfast cereal, and then a slice of toastie malt loaf, which is his way of giving it a big thumbs up.

Each slice contains just 116 calories and 0.3 per cent saturated fat, making it a low fat, high energy way to start the day, and making it perfect for children and adults alike.

You can top with whatever you wish, from simply butter/marg, or top with jam or honey, or even cream cheese. You really can add whatever you want to make this your perfect breakfast, lunch or snack.

The toastie loaf is available to buy now, in an Asda store near you.

Loren xx

Home made pasta sauce-Schwartz Perfect Shake Garlic Italian

When i was sent a batch of Schwartz products a while back i was thrilled, Schwartz is a brand i know well and use regularly. One of the products was the Perfect Shake Garlic and Italian.

On the back of the tub is a recipe suggestion, which is a pasta sauce.
Today Eva wanted pasta and cheese for lunch, but i fancied pasta in sauce, so immediately i thought of making the Perfect Shake Pasta Sauce.

Ingredients:
1 small chopped onion
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
3 table spoons of tomato puree
150ml water
2 table spoons Perfect Shake Garlic and Italian

Finely chop and fry a small onion in a little oil. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, water and perfect shake seasoning. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes and serve with pasta or spagetti. This will serve 2 as a main.

The first time i made this, i followed the recipe exactly, which was really yummy, but the second time i made it i used only 1 table spoon of tomato puree, and also added cheese. So you can add, or takeaway ingredients to find a pasta sauce that is perfect for you. If you wanted a smoother sauce, you could blend the sauce to get rid of the lumps(onion and tomatoes).

This is a really tasty snack or meal, that takes under 15 minutes to make. You could also add chicken or any other meat if you wished. Why not try making it the night before, and having it cold for lunch the next day, as yummy alternative to a sandwich.

Making this is a much cheaper and tastier alternative to buying ready made pasta sauces, and i am going to try doing a pasta bake using it.
The flavours in the seasoning are really yummy, and compliment the tomato flavour perfectly. If you prefer a little kick to your food, then you could also try adding some chilli. This pasta sauce is a huge hit with all the family, and a yummy snack me and Jack often share whilst Eva is at nursery. Definately a family friendly food, that we would give a resounding 5 out of 5.

Loren xx

Chilli Papa's Mandalay Curry mix-review and competiton

When emailing around regarding my christmas post a few weeks ago, Chilli Papa's were kind enough to send out a curry mix of my choice for me to review. I chose the Mandalay Curry Mix but you can see the full range here.

As a family, we have my parents round on a regular basis for tea, and quite often i do homemade curry, so i was really interested to get a verdict from all the family.

The curry arrived, containing 2 mixes, and very clear, easy to follow instructions.

What you need :

• 300-400g meat, meat substitute, fish or vegetables
• 1 onion
• garlic and ginger, fresh or ready chopped
• 1 stock cube(depending on what your main ingredient is, either vegetable, beef, chicken or fish)
• 200ml water
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes(optional)

Now the really easy bit.

• Add all below ingredients together and cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the meat is cooked through.
• Chop one medium onion
• Chop 300-400g meat
• crumble one stock cube
• add 1 teaspoon of garlic granules or 2 cloves of fresh garlic
• add 1 teaspon of chopped ginger or about 1x2cm fresh ginger
• add 200 ml water
• add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes(optional)
• add 1 mandalay curry mix

So that's how to cook it, now comes our verdict on the taste.
It was Yummy. We served ours with boiled rice and naan breads, and the blend of the spices worked so well together, with every mouthful i would notice a different taste. I'm no good with portion control, so always do huge portions, and when i was full i still carried on eating, something i do a lot when what i'm eating tastes so nice. It really was delicious.

I'll definately be buying chilli papa's curry mixes as christmas presents for the men in my life(Daz, my dad and my brother), and will definately be buying from chilli papa's again, i really need to try the other mixes in their range. The mixes are sold as a 2 pack, retailing at £1.99 with free shipping.

We have teamed up with Chilli Papa's to offer you the chance to win a curry mix of your choice.

For the chance to win, comment below telling us which curry mix you would like to win.(commenting can be quite confusing, so best thing is to do is comment annomously, but make sure to include your full name i.e " I would love to win a 2 in 1 Tikka Mix. Loren Peabody).
Winner will be picked at random.

For one extra entry like both Lorens Little Lovelys Blog facebook page and Chilli Papas facebook page, commenting "I would love to win a yummy curry with @Chilli Papas and @Lorens Little Lovelys Blog Page"

For one extra entry tweet "I would love to win a yummy curry with @Chillipapas and @LorenPeabody", and feel free to follow us whilst you're there.

Competition will be end on 15th October 2011.

* Due to lack of entries competition will run for longer, for a week, or until there is enough entries for us to draw, so spread the word*

Loren xx

Dotty Bots Cloth Nappy-Review and COMPETITION!!!

As many of you know I'm addicted to fluff...or cloth nappies! So as you can imagine I wasn't going to be saying no when the chance came up to review one of dotty bots new bamboo nappies. After talking to the lovely Rebecca and telling her what a heavy wetter Jack is, she very kindly put a new charcoal bamboo insert in for me to test aswel. Perfect for night time use. I also got to choose (YAY) which design i wanted, and having always always wanting a camo nappy for Jack this was my obvious choice :-)

This is the nappy made up with the 2 bamboo inserts, and on the left is the charcoal booster.

For those who don't know, a pocket nappy is pretty much as simple as a disposable...except you wash it.

It consists of a layer of waterproof pul, or waterproof minky, with a top layer of fleece or bamboo, with an opening at the back where you add the absorbant inserts. You also have the choice of adding a flushable liner on top, so if the thought of poo in your nappies scares you, you literally just take your nappy, tip the poo and the liner into the toilet, flush that away, then store your nappy in your bucket or wetbag. Then wash your nappies with less then half of non bio washing powder and no fabric softener/conditioner, line or tumble dry, put your inserts back in, and use. It really is as simple as that.

After just one prewash(usually nappy companies recommend at least 3 prewashes, which helps increase absorbancy, but i couldn't wait to get this on Jack) I was eager to try out our gorgeous Dotty Bots Bamboo Nappy.

Jack has always been a very heavy wetter, which was the whole reason we started using cloth, as he was outweeing every brand of disposable out there.

I first tried him in the bamboo nappy at night, using the 2 bamboo inserts that came with the nappy, and also using the charcoal booster. I was very dubious that we'd wake up to a wet babygrow, as we usually use heavily boosted 2 part nappies at night, but i awoke to the lovely surprise that Jack was dry. The nappy was very wet inside, yet his skin was dry, thanks to the fabulous top bamboo contact layer.

After that i had no doubt that it would also make a fantastic day time nappy.

I think we got to a little over 3 hours before i changed Jack, but the back of the inserts were still relatively dry, so i know that if we were out or on a long car journey, without a doubt this nappy would keep him dry for as long as needed.

We also had a not so nice pooey nappy, and there was definately not going to be any leaks happening.

Whilst the nappy and bamboo inserts were in the wash after using as a day nappy, i used the charcoal booster on top of one of jacks night nappies. When teething Jack gets really bad nappy rash, but after using the charcoal booster-which is known for its anti-bacterial properties-i was amazed to see a huge improvement in his nappy rash. I will definately be ordering more of these, i am still shocked at just how good they are.

Dotty Bots nappy's are birth to potty nappies, which adjust in height with poppers on the front. They are then fastened around the waist with various popper settings.

They are also cheaper then most brands on the market, with their Original nappies, that come with a micro terry insert AND a super bamboo booster costing only £8.50, The Bamboo nappy, that we reviewed is £12.00 and the stunning couture range, supplied with the same inserts as the Original nappies are only £9.50.

The wetbags retail at £6.50 and fit 5-7 wet nappies in. They can all be purchased here, along with extra inserts and boosters.

To use cloth nappies full time it is recommended to have between 15-20 nappies. If you had 15 Original Dotty Bots nappies and 1 wetbag(although i would recommend 2) it would cost you in the region of £134. Compared with other companies where for the same you would be paying £240, this is an absolute bargain.

Bear in mind, if in disposables you were paying £20 a month, that would cost £240 a year. On average your child will be in nappies for 2 years, if not more, so over 2 years you would be spending £480 on nappies. Definately makes £134 from birth to potty look really appealing doesn't it.

We have teamed up with Dotty Bots to offer you 2 fantastic prizes.

We are giving away a girls set and a boys set. Both Sets contain a nappy and a wetbag of your choice.

All you have to do is head over to Dotty Bots facebook page and say "I want to win fluff with Dotty Bots and Lorens Little Lovelys" and also head over to my facebook page saying the same. Then pop back here to let me know you've done it, and if you would like to win a girl or boy set.

There is also a chance to gain extra entries by:

• Heading over to twitter and saying "I want to win fluff with @dottydonkey and @LorenPeabody" and feel free to follow us while you're there. Again coming back here to let me know you've done it.
• Following my blog via the networked blogs on the right hand side of your screen.

Three chances to win a super prize, so why not enter now. Competition will end on 8th October 2011.

Loren xx

*UPDATE!!!! WE WILL BE RUNNING THE COMPETITION FOR AN EXTRA WEEK, DUE TO MY LITTLE LOVELYS BEING POORLY* LETS GET SOME MORE ENTRIES IN THE NEXT WEEK :-D*

Organic Monkey Massage Oil-Review

We were sent a sample of Organic Monkey massage oil to review.
I love the smell of most essential oils, and this was no exception. "Our Hello Mellow Massage oil comprises of a delicate blend of nourishing organic oils to moisturise the skin with a hint of organic sweet orange, lavender and roman chamomile essential oils to aid well being and help soothe restlessness and hyperactivity."

With Eva and Jack being 16 months and 3 and a bit, i was certain they weren't going to lie down and let me do "baby massage" on them, but Eva enjoyed me rubbing some onto her legs, and rubbed some onto the backs of her hands saying "mommy, i'm going to be relaxed".

As well as being calming and relaxing, this oil is also good for delicate skin, and a little of this oil goes a long way. It is perfect for using when doing baby massage, which amongst other things, is a great bonding experience.

But it's not just for babies, after a stressful or tiring day, get your partner to give you a massage with this oil, or as i do, gently massage it into my hands when winding down when the little ones are in bed.

Jack gets a little bit of eczema on the back of his knee's, so i've been rubbing it into there, and it does seemed to have calmed it down.

This lovely organic oil is £12.00 for 125ml's, which will last, as like i said before, a little goes a long way, and it can be bought here.

It's a lovey buy, and would make a perfect baby shower or new baby gift, or just to treat your baby, and yourself.

Loren xx