Foodie Friday: Delicious cakes as easy as ABC

Another favourite recipe here at Dolly Towers is the 'ABC cupcake' which was given to me, by another parent, as a fail-safe variation on Banana Bread. I can't imagine many children will be able to resist these, and they are moist enough to not need any topping, which keeps them healthy enough to be suitable for lunchboxes. Which is of course my thing at the mo'. 

Why ABC? Apple, Banana and Choc Chip, of course!

ABC Cupcakes
Makes 12

110g self-raising flour
75g brown sugar
20g porridge oats
1 egg
60ml milk
60ml apple juice
60ml vegetable oil
100g ripe banana, chopped (about one whole medium banana)
50g milk chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 170 degrees .
Line a muffin pan with paper cases.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Put the egg, milk, oil and juice in a jug, stir, then add to the dry mixture.
Add the choc chips and banana, mixing in roughly.
Spoon in the mixture to the cases.
Bake for around 20 mins, until well risen and golden.
Stand for 5 mins then transfer to wire rack.


Happy eating x

Foodie Friday: Lunchbox - Are you ready?

That  Back to School craziness is almost upon us, and I, for one, am not looking forward to lunchboxes. I have many lunchy ambitions, but I suppose the terror about them is that:

1) in reality I don't find the time to create the bento-style packed lunch  of my dreams

2) when asked my kids always say they want crisps and a sandwich. It's almost like they want what everyone else has!!

Also, it does get more complicated the more you have to do per day. I am only on 2 a day, soon be 4 though when the youngest get to school, so I guess I better shape up soon. One of the best things I ever heard was my friend who makes all her sandwiches on Sunday night, then freezes them. That is a marathon session of 30 sarnies at a time. Phew.

While I was thinking about lunches I found this amazing post which says everything I wanted to and MORE. Life at the Zoo has pretty much said it all!

So I won't go into most of my ideas about lunch which are either a less good version of what's in that post, or no way as good!

But let me leave you with a little challenge for the next term. It's all about building a better lunchbox. One that is funner (I know, not a word) and more healthy. One that cements the individual bond between mother and child, not churn out same old same old. Ambitious? Well all the above might be so much guff, but I think that Iit might be a simple matter of substitutions ie better lunchbox foods replacing poor, overly familiar choices.

Over the next few weeks in my Friday posts I will be creating Items for a Better Lunchbox. If any of you have recipes and ideas which you like to use, I would LOVE to share posts from your blogs too, readers. 

Join me - on my LUNCHBOX CHALLENGE!!!! More to follow........

Foodie Friday: Delicious Sweetcorn and Blackberries!

But not eaten at the same time, no.... Now we are back from our holidays I am having fun times wrangling all three of the kids all day all week. Which as much as we love, is very tiring! Also sooo easy to slip into a kind of a rut eating-wise.

Beans
Soup
Cake
Fishfingers
'Red Pasta' (ie penne with tomato puree squeezed on, ultimate laze meal)

When kids and I are in the kitchen we usually make cake, cake and MORE cake, which although delicious is naughty. So in order to celebrate the wonderfulness of fresh English things, I forced them to make a savoury food this time and we cooked Sweetcorn and Cheddar Scones. If I could have these for lunch OFTEN that would improve life. I think they are going on my Items for a Better Lunchbox list, which is something I will blog more about during term time, methinks. I got the recipe from Abel & Cole, who also supplied the sweetcorn.

Also, the first blackberries of the season are here, so we have been scouring our garden and local hedges. Yum! I love free food. We did not get around to cooking ours, because they are so difficult not to eat starightway, but my friend invited us for lunch last week and served a delicious Blackberry Almond Cake, which I would recommend as a taste combo that just hums happily 'Late Summer'. I think she found her recipe here at Confessions of a Bright Eyed Baker, it looks about right, and lovely photos too.

Product Review: Feed those Cheeky Monkeys With Walkers Hoops and Crosses

This weekend we were sent a some new crisps from Walkers to try. Hooray! If we have one guilty pleasure in our lunch boxes, then it has to be crisps. I get in a rut sooo quickly with packed lunches, trying to find foods that are 1) healthy 2) indestructable (is it only my kids who are so rough on their lunch boxes?) 3) contain no nuts. Basically, it's sandwiches all the way, yawn.

I generally find the new generation of baked crisps and other 'healthier' kids snacks a better option than normal crisps. Walkers Hoops and Crosses are baked,  have 85 calories per bag and are made from wholegrain with no artificial colours or preservatives, so clearly aiming for that healthier lunchbox demographic.

So, what did we think of these new Hoops and Crosses? Firstly, as ours came with a lovely monkey toy, they were instantly popular. But unfortunately I think the monkey was a reviewers perk!

My three year old enjoyed them on our picnic lunch today. She loves anything that can be worn as a ring, so at least half the crisps in the packet were 'my best'. The crosses also disappeared pretty quickly into her tummy though.... The crisps come in three flavours, we were sent the Roast Beef ones, but you can also get Salt and Vinegar or Prawn Cocktail.

I tasted them too, and I thought the flavour was pleasant. The choice of flavour and texture very much puts them, in my opinion, in the food for the kids section of my pantry, but that's the idea eh? I guess if they were designed to go with a nice glass of white they would not have been sent with a monkey toy!

My older daughter is more likely to get these in her lunch box then the younger one, but I probably will buy this product again when I am buying crisps for family packed lunches and picnics. Apparently you can also play Tic Tac Toe with them, but will they stick around that long?

Update: My eldest has now returned home and announced that they were delicious. You heard it here first folks!

We received the monkey toy, crisps and actual money payment for undertaking this review. Opinions are my own, additional facts supplied by Walkers Crisps.  

Lunchtime Shopping

Further to yesterdays post, about lunches, I was at the shops today indulging in a little retail therapy when I happened upon Paperchase's new collection, which includes many a cute lunchtime item. Got the girls an  (other) adorable cutlery set, which I find very useful for eating out, weddings etc (how many times have I had to stop my 18m old poking herself in the face witih an adult sized fork?: too many to count) and a bento style lunch box with removable compartments which will be very handy for toddler lunches when she starts at her childminder. But my favourite is this tiny bowl with 'ears' - kawaii!!