{Guest Post: Fun Summer Recipes}

We all want the best for our little ones, including a healthy diet. Feeding them a variety of different foods can be very difficult when you have financial restraints, work commitments, and many other factors to consider. Sometimes, by our own admission, we are guilty of whipping up ‘something quick’.  Looking for some summer inspiration to keep them full of goodness and recipes they will enjoy joining in with? Look no further. Cooking is a skill for life so introduce it to your little ones with these creative culinary delights.

Fruit Ice Pops

These are perfect for hot days and ensure your little ones aren’t getting any of those icky additives the shop-bought ices may contain. You can also make these up any fruit that is close to spoiling.

You will need:

•        Ice Lolly Moulds
•        Diced fruit
•         A blender or masher

1. Chop up the fruit of your choice. Strawberries and watermelon work well together, as do peaches and mango. Then, add them to a blender.

2. Blend the fruit until smooth, and then pour the thick liquid into your lolly moulds.

3. Freeze them for 6-8 hours, or until fully frozen, then enjoy!

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Banana Bagels

Whether you take these on a picnic, or serve them as a treat breakfast, banana bagels are a perfect way to give your kids the fuel they need while tasting delicious.

You will need:

•        One bagel per child
•        Peanut butter or Nutella
•        Banana slices

1.  Cut each bagel in half as you would cut a bread bun and toast it until warm and slightly crispy.

2. Spread each half with your peanut butter or chocolate spread, then add 6-8 banana slices. Serve open, or put both halves back together if desired. Simple!

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Rainbow Salad

A delicious salad filled with a rainbow of colour to get your child the nutrition they need in the most colourful 

form possible!

You will need:

•        Shredded lettuce
•         Grated beetroot (around 50g)
•        Three grated carrots
•        Sweetcorn 
•         2 red peppers, one cut into strips and one diced
•        If desired, some lean bacon strips, cooked.

1. Each salad should be prepared separately for maximum effect, so pick a bowl for each child.

2. Following the principles of the ‘rainbow’, layer your ingredients in the bowl, starting with beetroot at the bottom, then lettuce, then sweetcorn, then carrot, followed by red peppers on top.

3. Top your salad with the bacon and serve!

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About the Author

This article was written on behalf of Galt Toys. Galt Toys have been manufacturing toys for over 175 years, and know a thing or two about toys…and having fun!

{Messy Play}

Messy play is a few of my friends worst nightmares, but I'm all for it! I love to let the toddlers get creative with paint, glitter and glue and we are very messy bakers with flour and sugar everywhere!

This week my eldest had one of his friends over for lunch & a play, and I set up some messy play for them.

My inspiration came from Pinterest, as always!, and the two boys were very excited when I said we were going to create a foaming car wash.

I've seen lots of reference to Tuff Spots, but on seeing them in B&Q that morning I decided to get two slightly smaller trays which were just as sturdy from the gardening section - easier to store!

I set up one tray with baking soda and the other I filled with water. After letting them shunt their cars about in the 'snow' we then added some vinegar.

The baking soda started to fizz and expand, but it didn't last long and to be honest we were all rather disappointed.

Thankfully, I had also purchased a cheap canister of shaving cream which we squirted into the tray instead. It worked a treat and the three kiddies had great fun.

from What Do We Do All Day? blog

A recent email from Galt Toys has prompted this blog post. I don't think it will come as a shock to find out that technology has had a negative impact on some children's playtime at home and apparently playtime with mum and dad is less than an hour a day. The statistics are quite frightening. 

I've never owned a tablet or laptop computer and rarely spend time on my iMac whilst the children are awake. (I admit that I'm known to send the odd tweet, upload the occasional photo to Facebook or check my emails whilst they're around, but I'm not glued to my iPhone). I made the mistake initially of letting my son play with my iPhone, but he now does not get to use it. I do have some toddler friendly apps downloaded and would use them if necessary to keep him amused but only as a last resort, for example if we had a long wait at the GP surgery.

I definitely believe that traditional playtime is better.

"A parent is a child's first teacher"

You'll find me running round the house or garden on 'missions' or we're escaping from imaginary monsters. We're jumping up and down in fits of giggles on the trampoline or we're at the kitchen table with paints and Play-Doh. 

Don't get me wrong, I do think that technology has it's place. We will occasionally sit at the 'big computer' and watch some short videos on YouTube - number songs usually - and we also watch CBeebies or Disney DVDs for quiet time when we've had hectic days and we all need a rest.

What are your thoughts?