What do you have planned this week?

Why is it that every half term we always seem to spend a fortune on activities? Whether it's a trip to the cinema, zoo or swimming we're always looking for a way to entertain the children.

Well, we have a few tips that might come in handy. 

Go to the local park… if the children are under 10 years old then this isn't a problem, however, if they are over 10, they seem to go through the stage where being seen with your parents "totally isn't cool". But if they are under 10 then this is perfect, take some outdoor toys with you i.e. ball, or even a blanket with a flask of hot chocolate, take advantage of the fact that it's not to cold.

Bake, bake and bake some more. Wether it's flapjacks or homemade ice cream, for some reason kids can't get enough of baking. Maybe it's the anticipation of licking the bowl or just making the biggest  mess imaginable, who knows? 

A movie marathon. So people say that it's not healthy for children to watch endless amounts of television, movies or play on computer games for hours on end, but surely a Disney marathon doesn't count in this? or Dreamworks? Who doesn't love Sherk? 

Team up, why not invite another parent and their child or children over for the afternoon? You can sit and relax whilst the children entrain themselves, although we do advise to maybe check on them every once in a while, you don't want their bedroom to turn into some sort of toy jungle. Don't fancy inviting them over? Then why not take a picnic to the park?

If you've tried all these and still find yourself spending endless amount on day trips, be thankful that this half term is one week and not two, your little angles will return to school in now time! 

One For The Sweet In Your Life

Whether it's your partner, family or even yourself why not indulge this weekend with these homemade treats? 
Honey and Apple Cranach 


All you need is the following key ingredients:


1kg baking apples, make sure you peel, core and cube them


3tbsp running honey

2 pots Cane Sugar porridge

2-3 tbsp demerara sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)


240ml double cream

150ml natural yoghurt

What to do:

Start by cooking the apples in a very small amount of water until they are soft and you're able to mash them until smooth with the honey, then allow to cool.  

Then gently toast the oats in a dry frying pan until they are a golden colour. Allow them to cool and then mix them with the demerara sugar, once mix, then whip the cream until it is thick and fold in the yoghurt. 

In a large glass dish or whatever you would like to serve them in, layer some of the apples into the bottom of the glass and sprinkle some of the oats over them, then spoon in some of the cream mixture. You should repeat this in layers until all of the mixture had been used, finishing with a layer of cream. 

Before you should serve these allow them to cool, then sprinkle over a little more of the demerara sugar. And the added bonus? There isn't even that much washing up to do! 

Oat Crunchies...

By the time you have finished reading this blog post, you will 100% want to make these little a squares of joy! There is no need in buying sweets this year for the trick-or-treaters just hand out these... although we can't guarantee that they won't come back for more! 

All you need is... 

180g hopper pot cane sugar porridge

250g dark or milk chocolate 

100g unsalted butter - cut them into small cubes

150g digestive biscuits 

1.  Break the chocolate into small pieces, put them in a heat proof bowl and add the butter. Melt gently over a pan of hot water, making sure to stir it now and then. Once the chocolate mixture is completely smooth, carefully lift the bowl off the pan and place the heatproof bowl onto a safe surface. 
2. Put the biscuits into a plastic food bag and use the rolling pin to break the biscuits, no smaller than you thumbnail, add the oats to the bashed biscuits. Then add both the biscuits and the oats to the melted chocolate and mix well so all the oats and chunks of biscuits are covered well. 
3. scoop all of the mixture into a greased tin and spread evenly. Cover with cling film and the leave to chill in the fridge for about 2 hours. Then cut them into equal size squares. Then sit back, relax and enjoy!! 

Santa is on his way...

As the autumn leaves fall, are you wondering where the year has gone?... we are too. And we known that this only means one thing is around the is on it's way... Christmas! With 64 sleeps left, why not treat your family to some delicious home cooked food.

So here is one of the traditional favourites... the mighty apple crumble.

All you need is..

300g plain flour, make sure you sieve it and add a pinch of salt
1 pot of cane sugar porridge oats, or 60g plain oats
175g unrefined brown sugar
200g unsalted butter and a knob of butter to grease the ovenproof bowl


450g cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
50g unrefined brown sugar
1tbsp plain flour

What to do...

You should start by preheating the oven to 18C/350F/Gas 4.

Then place the flour, oats and sugar into a bowl and mix well. Take a few cubes of butte at a time and rub them into the mixture. Use the tips of your fingers to mix together, you should keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Then you should place the fruit into a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar and flour. Make sure you stir well but be careful not to break the fruit.

Use the knob of butter to grease a medium size ovenproof bowl, spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom of the bowl, then you should sprinkle the crumble mixture on the top.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble topping is a golden brown and you can see the fruit mixture bubbling. Of course, I don't need to say what's next but just incase.. serve with custard and watch the family enjoy!

Weekend Tips Worth Trying!

As you all loved the pervious post about the healthy bake off, we have decided to give you a few more healthy tips that you can try out this weekend!

Here we go...

1. If you add mashed bananas and/or berries to your cookie recipe you can add colour, texture and even flavour which means you can replace the sugar in your recipe.
2. Im sure you know that peanut butter is high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat compared with butter, so why not us peanut butter instead?

So this weekend you have no excuse not to try these healthy substitutes. 

The Healthy Bake Off

As we have already established many a times, baking doesn't have to just be unhealthy. We have a few tips that can turn your baking into healthy baking.

1. Possibly the most important tip of all... switch your flour for oats. Or you could even mix the both together to boost your fibre intake and lower the glycaemic index, which means that it will release the energy slowly through out the day.

2. you can also replace sugar by adding bits of dried fruit rather than sugar to your recipe  it will help you to increaseyoyur levels of fibre, vitamins ans also minerals.

3. Last but by no means least, to cut down fat and calories you should use cocoa powder if you are making a chocolate based recipe.

We are sure that these healthy tips will come in handy at some point, and if you think of it like this then you can eat more and not feel as guilty, sounds go hey!