Kellogg's Give A Child A Breakfast - Competition

You've read my recent post about the Kellogg's Give A Child A Breakfast campaign, haven't you?  Well, how would you like to help your local school's Breakfast Club, by giving them an amazing £50 of vouchers to help provide children with a healthy & nutritious breakfast?

That's right, I've got £50 of Kellogg's vouchers right here in my hot & sweaty hand, ready to send out for you to give to your school's breakfast club.  And if your children aren't in school, or your school doesn't have a breakfast club, there's sure to be another school nearby that does.  And they'd be more than happy to accept these vouchers.  (And if you still don't know of a school, I know plenty!)

Not this Breakfast Club!

Breakfast clubs are amazing.  I visit families every day who struggle to make ends meet, and have to go without basics to keep the house warm, to pay the rent, to have school uniforms. Breakfast clubs can ease a little bit of that pressure.

So, you want to help? And you want to win?  Here's what you need to do:

Leave a comment telling me your favourite breakfast, and a way to contact you.

Simple as that!  Nothing complicated.

Entries are open now, and will close on Friday 1st November 2013 at 11.59pm.  Any comments left after this time will not be counted.  Worldwide entries accepted, but the prize is only valid for donation to a UK school - so if you're overseas, think about where the vouchers are going!

A winner will be picked at random after the closing date.  My decision is final.

Best of luck!

Kelloggs Special K Porridge Review

I was recently sent a set of Special K's new microwaveable porridges to try out.  I really like Special K, it's got quite a stand-out flavour, and despite being marketed as healthy, it's also quite enjoyable.  But as the weather's getting colder, my mind turns to warmer breakfasts.  The sound of a Special K porridge, with the mix of 3 cereals definitely appealed to me.

The porridge comes in 3 flavours - Original, Almond & Honey and Red Berries, with strawberry and raspberry pieces.  Each box contains 6 (in the flavoured ones) or 7 (in the original) individual packs of porridge, and the bags have a line on them so you can use them to measure out the right amount of milk to add to the porridge.  Simple idea, huh? I can never find a measuring jug in the morning, and as Squeaky's getting older, we have less & less cups around with measures on the side, so this comes in handy.  The bags are a bit delicate though, I have to wait until I can see straight, or there would be milk all over the kitchen floor.  2 1/2 minutes in the microwave, and another couple of minutes to cool & thicken, and breakfast is served.

The big question, the taste.  Great.  The original does taste a bit more like Special K than standard porridge, which makes it a more interesting proposition, and I really liked this one.  It's my favourite, and I'm going to have to go & buy some more at this rate!  The Almond & Honey is a bit richer & sweeter, with small almond pieces, which I was quite relieved about, not being a big nut-eater.  And the Red Berries is just yum, quite indulgent.

The box makes a big thing about there being 30% less fat in the Special K porridge than "other porridges".  As I had one of the other brands of microwave porridge in the cupboard I decided to check out those claims.  And comparing the nutritional info of the un-made packets, yes, there is 30% less fat.  However, there's more sugar, more salt, and more calories.  I feel slightly swizzed at this point.  There's less fat again when the porridge is made up, because it uses less milk (and therefore makes up slightly less porridge) than the other brands.  I know this is actually quite common in reduced fat foods, but it's the first time I've really seen it for myself.

Red Berries porridge & apple juice.

Would I buy them again? Probably, I like the flavours, especially the original, and we do eat a fair bit of microwave porridge over the winter months.

Special K Porridge is available in the major supermarkets for around£1.99 a box of 6/7 packs.

Disclosure: I was provided with three boxes of porridge, as pictured, free of charge for the purposes of this reveiw. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.

Kellogg's Give A Child A Breakfast Campaign

Have you noticed something recently, on the telly, or your morning cereal?  Kellogg's have launched their Give a Child a Breakfast campaign.   And they want you to get involved.

Shockingly, an average of 2.4 children in every class go to school each day without having had breakfast, which is over 10% of the average class size.  That can impact on their concentration, their energy levels, and ultimately, their educational achievements.  I know if I haven't had breakfast, I'm sleepy, dopey, and grumpy until I get something to eat (never mind the other 4 dwarves!).  Imagine how that feels when you don't have the option of hitting the coffee machine & office biscuit tin.  That's why breakfast clubs exist.  They give children the chance to have a healthy, balanced breakfast, in the company of their school friends, free of charge.  Arriving to school hungry means a child loses the equivalent of an hour's learning a day!

For some families, that means that they can afford maybe to keep the heating on a little later in the evening, some fresh veg to go with their tea, the cash to join in with a school trip.  For others, it means that their child is safe and supervised if parents start work early in the morning.  That may be all the difference between a parent being able to work, and not.  It improves the chances of the whole family.  Did you ever think a box of cornflakes could do so much?

Squeaky's school has a breakfast club, and when she's in the morning group at the nursery class, I hope that she'll be joining her friends and other children at the club.  I honestly believe that it'll help her learn about a balanced diet, and provide her with a great start to the day.

If you follow this link you can donate breakfasts free of charge, just by using the social sharing buttons, or watching the video.  Kellogg's are aiming to donate 2 million breakfasts to breakfast clubs across the UK through this campaign, as part of a wider aim to donate 15 million breakfasts in the UK by the end of 2016 through breakfast clubs and donations to foodbanks (a cause I've blogged about before), and an incredible half a billion breakfasts worldwide to people in need.

Watch out soon for another opportunity to help out your local breakfast club.

Disclosure: I have not received payment for this post. I will be hosting a further post in relation to this topic shortly.

Information in this post has been obtained from "A Lost Education: The reality of hunger in the classroom" published by Kellogg's, with answers arising from a YouGov survey of 762 teachers in June and July 2013.

Beanies Flavoured Coffee Review

I'm a coffee girl, I have to admit it.  The only thing better than a mug of coffee first thing in the morning, is one made by someone else, and accompanied by a bacon sarnie.  And I do love a posh, frouffy, flavoured coffee.  The sort you get in those expensive coffee shops, where you have to wait ten minutes & then get a pint of scalding coffee with your name on the paper cup.  Well, anyway, the people at Beanies Flavour Co asked me if I'd like to try out some of their flavoured instant coffee to review, and how could I resist?

I received two jars of Beanies coffee, in Rich Hazelnut and Amaretto Almond flavours to brighten up my mornings.  They're only weenie 50g jars, but as I've got no intention of sharing with Daddy, they're big enough to keep me happy for a fair while (he drinks a bucket sized mug in the morning, one of these would barely make it to the weekend with him, and it's Thursday night now!).

I cracked open the Amaretto Almond flavour first, I do love Amaretto in coffee, and I figured the flavour of my favourite boozy coffee, without the actual booze, might be one way to get me in a good mood to start the day.  And do you know what? It works.  The Amaretto Almond flavour is lovely, properly almondy, but without being over the top.  It's nicely sweet, the coffees are designed to not need sugar in them (though I always need sugar in my coffee, it's part of the ritual), and a smooth rich taste, just right to put a smile on my face.  I decided to enjoy this in my Olympics mug with a slice of marmite on toast.

I have to admit, I wasn't quite so keen on the Rich Hazelnut flavour.  I'm not quite sure what it was, the smell was great, but the flavour was just a bit too much for me.  It just didn't work for me, but if you like the purple ones in the Quality Street tin (and plenty of people do), it might well tickle your fancy.  I'll use it for baking, the coffee is quite strong, and that always helps with cakes as it means you don't water down the mix too much.

The Beanies range includes chocolate, vanilla, caramel, Irish cream & Cinnamon & hazelnut variations in the instant coffee as well as the two I tried, and a HUGE range of "proper" coffee for filters & machines - including a couple of flavours I used to get from a high street coffee co, who have stopped selling them, so now I can get my Chocolate Cherry Coffee fix again, in the comfort of my own home!

You can order Beanies Coffees online, or they're stocked exclusively in Sainsburys (with some exclusive flavours!).  The 50g jar retails at £2.50, which sounds a lot, but that's less than the price of one from CostaBucks.  And you don;t have to feel inadequate because you'd rather read Heat than the Grauniad.

Disclosure I was provided with two jars of coffee free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions remain my own. Links are provided for convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Lizi's Granola - Review

This is a long overdue review post.  The problem is, see, I promised SqueakyDaddy (and myself) that I wouldn't open another carton of breakfast cereal until we'd finished at least one of the existing boxes, because the cupboard is bursting at the seams.  And so the packet of Lizi's Granola has sat tormenting me on the side of the worksurface for far longer than it should have done.

However, today that long-awaited day arrived, and I was able to rip the top off the packet & pour myself a bowl of very grown-up Belgian Chocolate Granola.  This is great, chocolate isn't just for children's cereals any more! Equal opportunities breakfast, though admittedly I'm not one to shy away from a bowl of coco pops when I'm faced with a hotel breakfast.

Not a hotel in sight!

Well, anyway, yeah. Granola. That was the point here, right?  Granola seems to be the in-thing in breakfasts at the moment, and I can find it a bit hit & miss.  I've tried some that I've loved, and then I ended up feeding a rather expensive box to the birds because I just couldn't get on with it.  Open minded though, I approached the bowl of Lizi's Granola.  And with the first mouthful I wasn't quite sure.  The chocolate flavour is quite subtle, but the seeds are pretty strong.  I'm not sure which seed I could taste, as there's pumkpin seeds, sunflower seeds & linseeds, along with dessicated coconut, cashew nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and the obvious oats & chocolate.  And no added sugar.  Healthy breakfast!

As I said the first mouthful, I wasn't quite sure, but I persisted, and after a couple of spoons I got used to the seed flavour & actually quite liked it.  It is definitely one for the adults, the combination of the seed flavour and the bitter chocolate would be too much for children.  I did offer Squeaky a try, in the interests of a full review, but she declined, saying "It's got bits in!" and went back to her jam on toast.  I don't know, it's a little bit "marmite", you'll either love it or hate it.  Personally I love it, and I'm glad I didn't just go with that first taste & turn my nose up.  It's grown on me, and I'm glad.  I stayed properly full until lunchtime, despite a crazy morning of running around, shopping, delivering, and preschool dance club.  As I'm the person whose sandwiches are usually gone by 10 o'clock, this is quite an achievement.

The packaging really impressed me as well.  The granola is in a light bag, heavy & opaque to protect the contents, but lighter and easier to transport than a traditional cereal box, meaning less environmental impact.  But ahead of most other cereals I've seen in bags, it's got a reseal strip at the top, so I don't have to get all Stepford Wives & pour it out into my plastic cereal dispenser boxes.  A brilliant bit of thought, and makes my life much easier.

Lizi's Granola is available in a range of flavours, including the Belgian chocolate I was sent to try, and is available to purchase directly online, or from Tesco, Ocado & Waitrose.  And you can keep up with all the Lizi news on their twitter feed: @lizisgranola

Disclosure: I was provided with a package of Lizi's Granola free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Kellogg's Children's Cereals - Win and Review

That's right. That magic word at the top there, WIN!  You've got some reading to do first, but you could win some Kellogg's cereals for yourself, or your children.  Kellogg's got in touch with me recently and offered me the chance to try out their new range of children's cereals.  I was more than happy to help them out, partly because I'm a big kid myself.  I'm the person who, when faced with a hotel breakfast bar, bypasses the sensible stuff & reaches straight for the chocolate, sugar coated cereals, no matter what people around me might be eating.

There are 4 cereals in Kellogg's new range, all lower in sugar, high fibre, wholegrain, low in salt, and a good source of Vitamin D (a big consideration in this bad weather!)  In fact, they're so healthy that they're allowed to be advertised on children's TV, where there are strict guidelines on what is allowed to be advertised.

The 4 cereals are additions to existing brands, as you can see. Strawberry Rice Krispie Multigrain Shapes, Coco Pops Croc Prints, Honey Pops & Honey Loops.  Squeaky, Daddy & I tucked in to them all.

Not cheesy footballs

Well. When I say Squeaky, Daddy & I, I mean mostly me.  I'll be honest here.  Squeaky was very excited about the Honey Pops, as was I.  She was mostly excited because the picture on the box makes the Pops look like biscuits, which are one of her favourite things in the world.  She was a bit upset to find out that they weren't actually biscuits, but instead were crispy balls, which Daddy said looked more than a bit like those cheesy footballs you get at Christmas.  I really like them though, no matter how much they remind me of Christmas.  They're light & crispy, and stay crisp in the milk. And don't taste of cheese!

I have raised a strange child.  When the average three year old is faced with the choice of "grown-up" breakfasts, or cereals aimed at children, especially those that taste of chocolate, which do they choose?  Squeaky deigned to try each of the cereals in the range once.  And then demanded corn flakes and/or plain porridge.  I should be pleased, for the most part her dietary preferences leave something to be desired, but when she's got the chance of indulgent children's cereals, wouldn't it be great if she'd eat them?  This isn't a criticism of the cereals at all, just an observation on the oddities of my daughter.  I will bear this moment in mind in a couple of years' time when she refuses to entertain the concept of anything other than the most absurd, multicoloured, sugar-coated, chocolate-filled nonsense.

Coco Pops Croc Prints.

She tried out the Coco Pops Croc Prints, but after a few mouthfuls decided they weren't for her.  She does the same with ordinary Coco Pops, so I know it's nothing about these ones.  I really enjoyed them, they're not overwhelmingly chocolatey, and kept me feeling full well into the morning.  Squeaky ate most of a bowl of them without milk the next day, so maybe this is the way forward.  She also claimed to have found a crocodile in the bottom of her bed, which may or may not have been connected.

We did best with the Honey Loops, Squeaky ate most of a bowl, and I only had a few to finish off.  They stayed nice and crisp though, and were sweet without being sickly.  A good alternative, and the one we'd be most likely to buy again, as we both liked them.

The Rice Krispies Strawberry Multigrain Shapes were the least favourite in our house.  Squeaky, as I've said, is quite the plain cereal fan, and I'm not a fan of fruit flavours if there's no actual fruit in front of me (I blame being a child of the 1970's).  They're nice and reminiscent of strawberry milkshake, but just not quite for us.  You may well have other opinions.  We don't dislike them, but they're less of a favourite here.

Well, how do you fancy the chance to try all four of these cereals out for yourself?  It's dead easy, just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. (You might need to use a laptop/desktop, sorry mobile people)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to you all!

Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola Review

My New Year's Resolution this year is to TRY and eat breakfast every day.  It's the effort that matters, not whether I actually achieve it every day without fail.  I try.  I'm fairly easily bored as well, so I like to take the opportunity to try out new breakfasts, and I was keen to give Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola a try.

I'm fairly taken with granola recently.  It seems to have taken off in the UK in quite a big way in the last few years, or at least describing those crunchy oat "things" as granola has, rather than calling them clusters.  I don't know, maybe I'm just old and things have been this way for a long time, but granola is one of those foods I always associate with America.  I'm glad it's here though.

I was sent a bag of Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola in Raisin & Almond flavour.  There's also Fruit & Nut and Tropical Fruits varieties.  The bag took me slightly by surprise, but it's quite sturdy, and with a bag clip on top it'd be secure & not spill all over the cupboards in most houses.  Knowing our house though, I put it into one of those cereal dispensers that makes me feel like a Stepford Wife.  It's something to bear in mind, but you could always slip the bag inside a recently vacated box of another cereal if you're worried.  It cuts down on waste and transport costs, and I'm happy with that.  The bag was a generous 1kg size, which means less trips to the shops, and better value for money.

Anyway, onto the taste test.  We're not big nut eaters in our house, by any stretch of the imagination, but I make an exception for almonds.  The slices of almond in the granola add a little texture, and a subtle flavour, but not overwhelming.  The main taste comes from the honeyed granola and the raisins.  I tried a handful without milk and it makes for a tasty snack while watching tv, and also goes well with yogurt instead of milk if you're in the mood for something a bit different at breakfast time.

I was feeling kind, and decided to share my granola with Squeaky Daddy.  He's a bit more of a traditionalist than me, and tucked in to a bowl with cold milk.  He was impressed with the generous amount of raisins, and said that the cereal was not too sweet, so he felt he was eating something good that he enjoyed, and not a children's cereal.

As it's not too sweet, I'm tempted to try it out as an ingredient in cooking, I've seen some recipes online using granola in stuffing for pork that sound quite tempting, or maybe just homemade cereal bars to keep me away from chocolate at work.

Jordans Crunchy Oat Granola is available from most major supermarkets for around £3.29 for a 1kg bag.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a bag of cereal free of charge for the purpose of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive payment for their use.

Jordan's Super Berry Country Crisp Review

Good morning!  How are you today?  Is the coffee piping hot?  OK. Now what are you having for breakfast?  If you're anything like me, you know you should have a healthy start to the day, but if you're lucky, it's a jammy dodger grabbed as you run out of the door on the nursery/school run before another day at work.  Well stop right there!  Make a bit of time.  Because I've got a bowl of loveliness to share with you!  Jordan's Super Berry Country Crisp, in fact.

Are you hungry already?  Country Crisp is made up of baked oat clusters with freeze dried blackcurrants, cranberries & blueberries.  All those lovely anti-oxidants waiting to jump into your bowl, and fill you with goodness!  I love the cluster type cereals, they stay crisp in milk far longer than flakes, and you don't get so much dust at the bottom of the box, so I was very happy to give these a try.

I tucked in to a bowl, just look at those berries!  It's not often that the reality looks as good as the picture on the box. (These bowls are HUGE by the way, that picture is very deceptive!)  The fruits have got so much flavour in them, even with the milk added.  They soften up a bit, so there's a good contrast between the fruits and the crispy clusters.

There was one little issue for me.  One that could be quite a big issue for other people.  We're a nut-free household by choice, not by necessity.  That means I don't have to scour labels for nut warnings, but I do avoid products that state they contain nuts on the front of the box.  I was surprised to find chopped roasted hazelnuts listed in the ingredients, when cereals usually make good mention of the presence of nuts on the front.  You can't really taste them, which suggests to me that they don't add anything, and I slightly wonder why they're there.  To be honest I'd rather they weren't, and I'm glad we're only nut-free by choice.

There was something VERY cool about the Super Berry Country Crisp though, that really made my morning.  Do you remember when you were a kid, how exciting Coco Pops were? Not just because you were allowed to have chocolate at breakfast time, but because they turned the milk chocolatey? That was even in the advert!  Well, I can go one better!  Super Berry Country Crisp doesn't give you brown milk, it gives you LILAC MILK! Honest! That's not a spoonful of yogurt there, that's semi skimmed at the end of a bowlful.  How cool is that? Seriously, lilac milk, if that doesn't start your day with a smile, I don't know what will.

Jordan's Super Berry Country Crisp is available from Waitrose & Tesco (and probably others) for around £2.69 for a 500g box.

Disclosure: I was sent a box of Country Crisp free of charge for the purpose of this review. I was not told what to write & all opinions are my own. Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Ocean Spray 100% Review

I'm not at my best first thing in the morning.  I used to be great at mornings, I was the person who started work at 7 every day out of choice, walking half an hour to get there.  But age, parenthood and blogging all take their toll, and mornings are a struggle.  Added to the fact that I don't just have to get myself ready any more, Squeaky needs to be dressed, fed & watered, and Peppa Pigged before I can think about myself.

Sadly that means that my breakfast tends to fall someway short of the balanced nutritional start to the day that diet gurus tend to recommend, and much as I like to claim otherwise, coffee beans do not count as one of your 5 a day.  So when I was offered the chance to review Ocean Spray's new 100% juices, I knew it would be a good idea.

Any excuse to get the crystal glasses out!

Ocean Spray have been making cranberry juice for over 80 years, and have been a feature of the long-life juice shelf for as long as I can remember.  The 100% juices are a departure, and can be found in the chiller section (and my fridge!)  There are 3 juices in the range, Cranberry Blend, Blueberry Blend & Mixed Berry Blend.  All are 100% juice, and the natural sharpness of the cranberries (and blueberries) are sweetened with nothing more than other fruit juices.  That's all. No added sugar, sweeteners, water, or nasties, just 100% juice.

I looked round all our local supermarkets (3 of the big brands), and I could only find the Cranberry blend, which was a bit of a shame, as I was really looking forward to trying the Blueberry.  I'm going to keep my eyes open, and there may be a sequel if I find some in another town.  It was a bit of a disappointment, as the stores I looked in were all superstore sized, and normally carry whole ranges.

I was pleasantly surprised how sweet the Cranberry blend was, I've found some cranberry juice drinks in the past were so sharp they felt like they were stripping the roof of your mouth.  The taste is definitely cranberry, but not unpleasantly so.  It makes a really refreshing drink, and a welcome change from the coffee normally making up most of my breakfast.

What did surprise me, considering the name, was that on looking at the ingredients, the Cranberry blend is in fact 75% grape juice.  I understand that the grape is there to sweeten the cranberry, but that's a lot of grape! Looking at the picture on the bottle a little more closely, you can see grapes photographed alongside the cranberries, but I don't know, I felt a little mislead.  If I'd wanted grape juice, I may have chosen another brand.

All said & done, I like it, I just think the name is a little misleading.  It does make a great breakfast drink,
and I must admit, it goes pretty well with vodka too.  (What? Parenthood is hard work!)

Ocean Spray 100% juice is available in all major supermarkets for around £2.29 - and right now there's a try me free offer on the packs.

Disclaimer: I was provided with vouchers to purchase juice for the purpose of this review.  I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own,