I don't think they thought me greedy as they sent me a cooler pack filled with meals (and crayons and balloons and little activity books) and so when the Mums came round after playgroup I threw the meals into the oven (and a cake) and carried on the chat where we found out a lot about each other.
All I am going to say about the chit chat is that its always the quiet ones, that I am proud to know these women and my list is now longer. I might talk about my list in a blog post one day... then again this is a family blog!
Back to the food.
We had several meals to try and there was enough that each of the children had a little bit of each meal and us Mum's could try some too. We had;
Salmon and Broccoli Pasta Bake
Chicken with Vegetables and Giant Couscous
Pasta Bolognese
Cottage Pie and
Chicken and Butternut Squash Pie
Luckily I have two ovens and so everything fitted in nicely. The smells coming from the oven whilst the food was cooking (for 15 minutes) were very tempting and even when the dishes were taken out of the oven I had to say I was impressed, the food didn't look like it was shop brought but looked like something that I would make in a fit of domesticity.
The Mums spooned some of each dish on to a plate for their child and then the fun began.
It was a mixed bag of reactions to the dishes with the Salmon and Broccoli Pasta Bake being identified by most of the children as the one they didn't want to eat (by spitting it out) and to be honest it did smell well fishy... yeah I know its a fish dish and it should be fishy but it was just too fishy! (although after everyone had gone home I ate the rest and found it to be really nice once the flavours had settled)
The Chicken with Vegetable and Giant Couscous was a success with one little one using it to decorate a drawing he had done whilst waiting for the food to be cooked! I have to say that Baby Boy did like this (which pleased me a lot as I was the only one in the house who liked couscous before this taste test!) and this is the one that we will be buying again for a treat for him!
The Pasta Bolognese was very nice and with Angus Beef Mince and five pureed vegetable it almost resembled one I would make (I hide more vegetables in mine!) as was the Cottage Pie although the topping of sweet potato and parsnip was a little strange for a few of the little ones (I liked it!).
The last dish was the Chicken and Butternut Squash Pie which everyone liked Mums and children alike! I almost didn't get to taste this one as after the initial taste tests from the Children and Mums there was a queue to get seconds. Luckily I managed to nibble a little from Baby Boys plate and could agree that it was very scrummy!
All the Mums had a good look at the packaging and loved that it was so clear to read, there was no added Salt or Sugar, they are nutritionally balanced and have clear allergy information. When Top Ender came home she also loved that inside the sleeves were pictures to colour in and she loves the illustrations on the front especially the unicycling cow!
The range can be brought at Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and on Ocado.com and if you are looking for a healthy ready meal for your kids I would recommend these!
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