Saturday Review

Fox’s Caffe Snaps and Thins

I came across the Fox’s people in the Lounge at #britmumslive when I was searching out a coffee. I tested one of these beauties and was hooked, so was delighted to find a packet or two in my goody bag. Designed for dunking, and specifically with coffee-drinkers (ie: me) in mind, these crisp little half-moons make every mouthful taste of caramel- or hazelnut- macchiato. What’s not to love? The strong flavour of the biscuit also works very well as a base for cheesecake, for which I will be posting a recipe soon.

Soda Stream My Water

Another #britmumslive attendee, the sight of a Soda Stream takes me back twenty years to my Gran’s kitchen when making your own soda pop was the height of cool. As with all things, this is back in fashion, and Soda Stream have released a bunch of new flavours that bring excitement to water. Fancy! Just half a  teaspoon flavours an entire litre with fragrant pomegranate so it makes me think that I could use the sample I was given to finally have a go at making marshmallows.

Laughing Cow Emmenthal & Blue Cheese

Laughing Cow Light has two new flavours, and I have been delighted with them. Creamy and smooth and in a convenient 25cal portion, they are perfect for bringing flavour to unappealing rice-cakes. I had great success last night using the Emmenthal as a cheese-sauce alternative for my prawn and chorizo gnocchi, so they are versatile too. A perfect addition to the range, and to my fridge.

Coca Cola Caffeine Counter

Coca-Cola paid for my hotel stay whilst at #Britmumslive and I had a chance to chat with them about some of the brilliant apps they currently have on their site. The caffeine counter is an easy way of keeping track of the caffeine you are ingesting every week, which is useful for those who may need to keep a careful watch, but what fascinates me is that my beloved Diet Coke has less caffeine than a bar of chocolate and even my also-beloved espresso! There’s also a fantastic Work it Out calculator on the Coca Cola GB website which is an easy way of finding out what fun activities you have to do- and for how long- to burn off your fizzy drink.

Oxo mini dustpan and brush

When offered a selection of goods from Oxo, I opted for the compact dustpan and brush and an upright sweep set. The latter was not available so I was sent a Microfibre floor duster instead. Ironically this is gathering dust in the loft since we have no flooring suitable for testing. The compact dustpan and brush has proved very useful though. You wouldn’t think that you need a variety of sizes of dustpan in your life but this pocket-sized pan is perfect for sweeping crumbs from the table and flour from the surfaces. I use it exclusively for clearing up after rolling and baking, storing it on a kitchen shelf for easy access. Then I just wipe it out when I’m done. Brilliant.

Scarlett Willow A-Z Placemats

When Scarlett Willow got in touch I wasn’t sure there was a need in my life for personalised placemats but it turns out I was wrong. Aside from the sheer beauty of them, I revel in the ownership of something that was made for us. The arrival of the initialed round mats has encouraged my children to stay at the table, and to indulge in family moments for a little longer than before. The felt-back mean they don’t damage the table, they are so easy to wipe clean and they have doubled as a learning opportunity for Dimples: she now recognises all her letters, these ones especially and I am in the enviable position of having my children jockey each other to set the table. Win!

Persil Power Pro Dishwasher Tablets

The day after these tablets arrived, our dishwasher broke- no connection I hasten to add- so my plans to compare Persil Power Pro against our regular brand like The Mummy Blogger were thwarted. My brief foray into dishwasher was not a happy one and I was happy to down the Marigolds and let the new washer take the strain. I was even happier to note that my kitchen smelled delightful after using the lemon-scented tablets, as had eaten smelly pulled pork the night before. The tablets cleaned the grease off the plates without issue and glasses dazzled, even at low temperatures my new dishwasher favours. Persil Power Pro certainly did a more competent job than I did at washing up and I am happy to leave them to it.

Schwartz 2-in-1 Recipe Mixes

I was sent a couple of packets of this new 2-in-1 range from Schwartz through BritMums, who are asking us ‘What’s For Dinner Tonight?”. The first packet had cheese in so, for the sake of DH’s allergy, I shipped it off quickly to Granny who reported that it was an excellent concept for weeknight suppers and she enjoyed her Mediterranean Pasta Bake.

DH, The Girl (for we have one- a houseguest) and I tucked into Roast Chicken and Crispy Roast Potatoes. I say Roast Chicken- it was chicken breasts coated in the mix: I tossed them all in a bag together before emptying onto a baking tray and popping in the oven. And I say Roast Potatoes, but they were new potatoes, chopped up and thrown in a baking pan with some chopped up onion, a glug of oil and a sprinkle of the packet of coating.

So in fact my meal bore no resemblance to the picture on the packet. It was still tasty: lots of flavours, plenty of the mix to cover the four chicken breast and a tray of potatoes, and it made light work of a mid-week meal. Hurrah.

“This post is an entry for BritMums ‘What’s for Dinner Tonight?’ sponsored by Schwartz. Find out more about the new 2in1 mixes here”

With grateful thanks to all the companies mentioned who sent or gave goods and services mentioned.