Recipes

Recipe: Chunky Fish Soup with Warm French Bread and Garlicky Crème Fraiche

This delicious recipe for Chunky Fish Soup with Warm French Bread and Garlicky Crème Fraiche is easy enough to make and tasty for a hungry family. Ingredients 350g cod fillets 200g king prawns 200g crème fraiche 1 fennel bulb 1 carrot 1 onion 1 tsp sugar 1 tin chopped tomatoes 800ml vegetable stock 2 garlic cloves crushed 25g chopped dill 1 tbsp olive oil 25g tbsp chopped parsley French…
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Recipes

Recipe: Chicken and Butterbean Casserole with Mashed Potatoes

This delicious recipe for Chicken and Butterbean Casserole with Mashed Potatoes has been kindly donated by Jessica’s Recipe Bag, an amazing service that delivers a recipe book including all ingredients you need to prepare easy and healthy home-cooked meals for a whole week. Ingredients 600g boneless chicken thighs 400ml tin of butterbeans 1 tin chopped tomatoes 100ml chicken…
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Schooling

Early readers should be taught meaning, not sound

Children would find it much easier to learn to read and write if they were first taught how the English language works and what words mean, rather than trying to sound out words. According to new research, English is so complex that relying on phonics – the common practice of teaching children to read by sounding out words – makes learning English much more difficult than it needs to be. Dr…
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Baby & Toddlers

What to do when you are weaning a baby

Weaning (also referred to as complementary feeding) is the process of introducing babies to solid foods. What, and how, you feed your child is crucial to their development and health including developing speech and social skills. However, with so much conflicting information out there it can seem like an incredibly daunting process, instead of the exciting new stage of your baby growing…
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BlogMumpreneurs & Mums at work

Simple tips on how to return to work this Spring!

Great tips on how to return to work this Spring provided by Lila Veltze and Sarah Archer, co founders and Career Coaches at CareerTree, an organisation that helps people make positive changes to their working lives. They are both mums and between them they have over 15 years experience helping other mums back to work. The thought of returning to work can seem really daunting if you’ve been…
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BlogFeeding the FamilyRecipes

Recipe: Spicy Meatball Soup

Quite a lot of ingredients here but very well-worth the little extra time and effort. Serves 4 Ingredients 400g lean minced beef, lamb or chicken 1 egg, lightly whisked 2 tablespoons fresh herbs, finely chopped (parsley/oregano/thyme/marjoram) ½ teaspoon salt A few good grindings of black pepper Pinch chilli powder 1 tablespoon olive/rapeseed oil 1 large onion peeled and finely chopped 2 large…
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BlogBooksSchooling

Book review: Wherever My Wellies Take Me by Michael and Clare Morpurgo

Where My Wellies Take Me is a collection of favourite poetry chosen by former children’s laureate Michael and Clare Morpurgo. Woven around the poetry selection is the story of Pippa, who loves to stay with her Aunty Peggy in the Devon countryside. The book features illustrations from Olivia Lomenech Gill. I love all books by Morpurgo but this was is a particularly special one. First of…
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BlogFeeding the FamilyRecipes

Recipe: Orange Chocolate Coconut Clusters

This amazing Orange Chocolate Coconut Clusters Recipe was kindly donated by Dean and Sarah Gough, authors of the book ‘Recipes For Life – Fighting Back With Food’, a recipe book with a difference. Each individual recipe was eaten by their two-year-old son Alfie when he was battling Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Sadly, little Alfie died in 2010, however, Dean and Sarah believe the…
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BlogFashion & BeautyFitness & Health

Busy Mums guide to winter skin care

At this time of year it’s easy to forget your beauty routine, to hide away behind a thick hat and scarf. The drop in air temperature, biting wind and blasts of central heating will dry out even the most supple of skin. It’s definitely time to take stock and redefine your beauty regime for the winter. With the long nights ahead what better way to relax than soaking in a long hot bath…
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BlogFitness & HealthParenting Skills

Arctic freeze brings hidden dangers - Safety tips for motorists

With heavy snow and ice predicted across all parts of the UK this weekend and into next week, The Royal Life Saving Society UK, Britain’s leading lifesaving and lifeguarding organisation, warns motorists to be extra vigilant in snow and bad weather and for parents to teach their children not to go on to frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs under any circumstances. Media coverage has…
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