Food Glorious Food - Recipes and the top best buys

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Perfect Pair

Two major players offer an innovative new weaning 'must-have'

Cheeky Rascals sources innovative baby and nursery kit who are teamiong up with BabyBrezza to off er tasty solutions for the all-important weaning process (and beyond) thanks to their innovative One Step Food Maker Deluxe, said to be the only food maker that automatically steams and blends homemade baby food in one easy step. Now also including the useful ‘Essential Guide to Weaning’ from expert Zenia Deogan, making delicious and creative recipes has never been easier! Th e BabyBrezza One Step Food Maker Deluxe is the perfect piece of kit for any parent taking on the weaning process, and now with the support of Zenia, parents enjoy the benefi ts of a perfect partnership. Whether parents choose to steam and blend, steam only or blend only, when bringing the weaning process to life, they can be assured that BabyBrezza is doing the hard work for them. Th e advanced twelve-piece system doesn’t just prepare baby’s food it also serves and even stores food as the machine comes with three reusable food pouches and fi lling funnels. Suitable for both frozen and fresh foods, a simple push of the start button will have perfectly blended food prepared button will have perfectly blended food prepared in minutes. RRP: £159 cheekyrascals. co.uk/product/baby-brezzafood-maker-deluxe/

Lizzie’s Mother’s Day Blondie Recipe

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, Great British Bake Off quarter fi nalist, Lizzie Acker, has created a delicious vanilla-based Blondie recipe that is easy and great fun for kids to make under supervision.

Preheat the oven to 180°c. Place the butter in a pan and cook until it starts to simmer and slightly browns. In a bowl place the light and dark brown sugars, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt and mix. Once the butter has browned, pour into the bowl with the sugar ingredients and stir to mix, then allow to cool slightly. Mix the eggs into the sugar and butter mixture. Fold the fl our and baking powder into the mixture until there are no more. pockets of fl our visible. Mix in the chocolate chips. Put into a lined tin and place in the oven for 30 mins. After 30 minutes take out of the oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile melt the 200g of white chocolate and add the food colouring. Allow to cool slightly and then add to the piping bag. Pipe on your messages and decorations before the Blondie sets. You can decorate with sprinkles, edible glitter, or freeze-dried fruit, it’s completely up to you. Cut the Blondie into square shaped individual portions to eat with your mum on Mother’s Day!

Ingredients:: 180g unsalted butter 150g light brown sugar 150g dark brown sugar 2 eggs 3 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract Pinch of salt 250g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder 200g white chocolate chips Decoration:: 200g white chocolate Pink gel food colouring (or any colour) Sprinkles / freeze dried fruit Decoration:: Equipment:, Pan, Bowl, Baking paper, 8-inch square tin and Piping bag 20 minutes prep, 30 minutes to cook, serves eight to ten people.

Preheat the oven to 180°c. Place the butter in a pan and cook until it starts to simmer and slightly browns. In a bowl place the light and dark brown sugars, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt and mix. Once the butter has browned, pour into the bowl with the sugar ingredients and stir to mix, then allow to cool slightly. Mix the eggs into the sugar and butter mixture. Fold the fl our and baking powder into the mixture until there are no more. pockets of fl our visible. Mix in the chocolate chips. Put into a lined tin and place in the oven for 30 mins.

Party Politics

Top tips for planning your child’s hassle-free birthday party!

Party planning can be a minefield - and kids party planning even more so! Should you invite the whole class? Do you need to invite siblings? Do you have to cater for parents? How much should you spend on the goody bag? The list goes on and on... And with parties firmly back on the cards after two years of restrictions, children's parties are expected to be bigger than ever before. Party planning etiquette expert Lisa Forde, of leading stationery shop, Dotty About Paper, has the answer to every stressed-out parent's questions as she's been in the party planning business for almost two decades. “Organising a party at any age should be an exciting time but when it comes to the politics surrounding guest lists and trying to stay within budget, it can zap the fun out of it all quite quickly,” said Lisa. “You may think, kids’ parties are simple affairs - balloons, cake, presents, done. But there’s a lot more to it than that.”

WIN WIN WIN

Dotty about Paper is a stationery specialist based in the beautiful market town of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, who offer a fantastic range of different themes and styles for every event, all printed onto quality materials!

To WIN a £50 Voucher to spend at their online store email the answer to the question below to info@countrychild.co.uk by the 1st April 2022.

What is Lisa's suggested gift budget for the birthday girl or boy? Check them out → dottyaboutpaper.co.uk

Lisa has answered some of the top questions all parents want to know:

Should you invite the whole class?

“The answer simply is no,” explains Lisa. “You’re not obligated to invite the entire classroom if that doesn’t work for your family. But bear in mind it would be unfair to invite nearly the whole class and miss a couple of children out so maybe stick to less than 10. If you’re not inviting everyone, it’s worth talking to your child about discretion surrounding the party and remind them that they should keep the party talk to themselves to stop any friends feeling left out. And maybe hand out your party invitations to parents discreetly.”

Should you invite siblings and do you have to cater for parents?

“There was a TikTok that went viral recently of a mum of five saying she always brings all children to parties, even if just one is invited, which caused quite a conversation,” Lisa said. “Some party venues charge per child and numbers need to be confirmed in advance so if you don’t want to invite siblings and you’re only inviting one parent, you need to make this clear on your party invitations to avoid any awkwardness on the day of the party. Most parents don’t expect to be fed at a children’s party - but they’re often happy to help hoover up any leftovers if invited!”

Do you have to give out goody bags?

“Goody bags aren’t a necessity but some children will be expecting them if they are used to receiving them at other parties which can make things awkward,” Lisa explains. “They’re also a great way of signalling that the party is at an end and people should start making a move to leave. If the budget doesn’t cover goody bags, the most important thing is a thank you card, thanking guests for attending - and why not send guests home with a slice of homemade birthday cake?”

What should you do if your child receives an expensive gift?

“This can be very tricky but you need to remember that you don’t give to receive,” Lisa adds. "Receive gifts gratefully and don’t consider refusing the gift because it’s too much. Instead, ensure to explain to your child that it’s a very special present and make sure they say thank you. When it comes to that child’s birthday, don’t feel you need to reciprocate. Stick to your budget. If it helps, you could always speak to the class parents at the start of the year to discuss a rough budget for parents - £10 a head maybe?”

As the party host, should you reprimand an unruly child at the party?

“This is another difficult one! Parties are an exciting environment, and sometimes that excitement can spill over into an unruly mess. It’s always awkward telling off someone else’s child for their behaviour, but as the host, you’re within your rights to take an unruly child gently to one side and ask for them to calm down. If their parents or guardians are at the party, it’s also ok to subtly suggest that things might need to come down a notch or two. Another great tactic is to have a ‘quiet’ game in your back pocket to restore order to the party, such as Silent Statues, where you see who can stand still and quiet for the longest - and a small packet of sweets for the winner always helps!”

10 July to 6 August 2022

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