We were recently contacted by KatKin to see if our cat Sonya wanted to try out their cat food. Unlike most canned and sachet cat foods, KatKin is not super heated to kill off any bugs or nasties. It means it won't last for months in your kitchen cupboard, but it also means it has retained more flavour and nutritional value. This is fresh meat, cooked, and frozen.

We were sent a 2 week trial box, with 14 portions of food in a variety of flavours (each approx 147g), plus Chicken Nibbles (50g) and Chicken Sprinkles, which are both made from freeze dried cooked chicken.

We were recently sent the ZEROWATER 12 Cup / 2.8l Jug to review. This is a jug with a combined 5 stage ion-exchange water filter to remove all kinds of dissolved solids from your water before you drink it - and it fits neatly into the door pocket of a fridge. It also has a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter included, so you can see how effectively it works.

As soon as you open the packaging, you see an important message - the filter should be replaced once the meter registers 6 or more. 

Inside our box we had some of the brand new Miracle Cake Bars - Chunky Double Chocolate. We all tried them straight away, and I'm very pleased I split one between us because they do qualify as a small meal. 

They're lovely. Incredibly filling and containing just 131 calories which seems to be mainly comprised of fibre (over 1/3 of your recommended daily intake). They also only have 0.7g of sugar each, and you'd never know it. This is sweet and chocolatey goodness.

I've worked with HARIBO quite a lot recently, partly because they've brought out a whole range of vegetarian sweets which I can eat too! They asked if I'd be interested in sharing the #HARIBOFestiveFun by making a gingerbread house and decorating it with HARIBO sweets. I replied that I was already planning to, so it couldn't have fallen better really...


Gingerbread houses are synonymous with Christmas, even though there's no law that says you can't eat them year round. Those festive flavours and the spectacle of a gorgeous sweet treat in the middle of the table are just perfect, and ridiculously easy to make. Trust me.

As usual there is tons on for families in the North West this Summer, and I've included everything I've been sent here. Theatre, days out, music, workshops and so much more. It's early days yet, so I'll be adding lots more as venues finalise their programmes and event days.

There really is something for everyone, and I've included events that suit families with children of all ages, even when they're taller than you are and have a more impressive beard.



If you have anything you'd like me to add, please email it over with a photo - or beware, I'll use a random one of mine...

Last week Yard And Coop invited us over to review and as we all had a few days off, it was perfect timing. Specialists in chicken, but with a menu that looked equally interesting to me as a vegetarian, we were really looking forward to it and I'm pleased to say we absolutely were not disappointed.


The visit got off to a great start before we even got inside, because the artist Qubek / Mural Life was busy painting their outside wall. He's responsible for some awesome images around Manchester, including two of the most poignant and well-remembered after the Arena bomb. It was amazing timing that wasn't lost on my 9 year old.



Inside the Yard And Coop is huge and spaciously laid out with a range of different seating and tables to suit anyone, or any number. You could have an intimate 2 person meal here or an office party with 35 people and it would be perfect. We were offered a corner booth with a big sofa and loads of windows and gladly accepted.

Yes it's true! One of the biggest sweet names in the UK has increased and revamped their vegetarian range just in time for National Vegetarian Week, and they've very kindly sent us a bundle to try. As the only vegetarian currently living in our house full time, I'm claiming these as mine!!


The Giant Strawbs Gone Mini are a brand new addition to the range, the flavours of the Jelly Beans have been tweaked and Funny Mix has a new recipe with real fruit juice.

It was down to me to take on the difficult job of taste testing... and I did get the view of a regular HARIBO eater as well. He's been eating HARIBO for 25 years and his informed opinion was "They taste the same as the non-vegetarian ones". So there you have it...

We've reviewed tons of items, activities, movies, games, toys and foodstuffs over the past few years. Some things stand the test of time and prove themselves worthy of another mention. I've gone through my February posts from 2013 to 2018 and chosen a few of our favourites. I've split each month into two halves, this is everything we really liked from the first half of February...


February 2014 saw us film our most popular ever You Tube video. It's really pretty dire and not at all professional. His Dad still slept a lot after his Meningitis, but my 5 year old was desperate to show off his magic tricks, so I filmed him. The magic set was designed for age 8+, but I put the video on You Tube anyway. Some of the comments really do give you an insight into the less intelligent members of the public... Here is Drumond Park's Gross Magic....

Back in September we waved 3 of our young people off to uni, 2 of them as Freshers starting their 1st Year. Before she went I had a special 'goodbye tea' with my daughter and last Friday we turned the tables. It was my turn to visit her at Uni and she had to cook for me. I also had a peep in her kitchen cupboards to see if she really is eating healthily...


My daughter had mock exams until late afternoon, so I met her straight afterwards at the Student Union. There's a Co-op food store really close by and we headed over there and picked up the ingredients. It's a gorgeous Co-op with loads of space...


The Co-op are working with MOB Kitchen and you may have seen one of the crew, Ben, in the October issue of Co-op magazine (found in-store). They've put together a collection of recipes that are easy to make, healthy and filling, and so we decided to choose a recipe from the list.

I've always understood how valuable yogurt is nutritionally and it's something all of my children have loved to eat. We've often bought the big tubs and let the children add toppings of their choice, but Lancashire Farm Dairies have sent us some of their delicious Free Range Yogurt and their fantastic novelty game Toppers to really expand our horizons...


The yogurty game Toppers involves choosing a base yogurt card, picking a sauce card and then throwing the dice to see which two other toppings go in your bowl.

I have 3 young adults off to uni this September and 2 of them are freshers in their first year. It's a scary time for them, but also for me, and I've tried to prepare them all for independence as best I can. This includes making sure they can cook themselves something hearty and filling without breaking the bank or missing out on the nutrition they'll need to stay healthy.


I'm delighted to be working with Co-op Food on a campaign to get students cooking and eating healthy meals. It really is something I'm passionate about and I've even put together all of my family's favourite and most-used recipes, as well as a few others, on my recipes page. I have tried to keep costs down, skill levels easy and nutritional value high. There is rarely a prouder moment than when I discover one of my young people cooking from one of my recipes.


The Co-op meanwhile show their commitment to students by offering a 10% discount at over 2000 stores nationwide with a TOTUM card (previously called NUS Extra). This starts at £12 a year, so you can get your money back very quickly just on Co-op food shopping. That's on top of the regular Co-op member rewards.

Tofuture make a great little tofu press that you can use to press bought tofu. This makes it a firmer consistency which will soak up marinade better and be more suited to stir fries. This will give you a tastier meal, but you can also use the press when making your own tofu from scratch.


The press comes in 3 parts - a deep outer tub, the insert with perforated base to let the whey drip out and the clip on lid. The lid clamps on securely at the sides using rubber bands, which have 3 different positions depending on what you have in your Tofuture press at the time.

Steenbergs Organic are a family-run Yorkshire company passionate about the environment and those who live in it. They are committed to Fairtrade and provide organic spices, loose leaf tea and organic cooking ingredients full of flavour and aroma, each with a known provenance, so you can be assured you get only the best. And they're one of my favourites.


I am truly delighted to have been sent the gorgeous Taste Of Baking Jute Bag gift set, which arrived beautifully packaged and opening it felt just like Christmas to me! This is not only a practical jute shopping bag, it is crammed with exciting goodies.


The Taste Of Baking bag is full of of Steenbergs baking ingredients, as well as a set of 3 very special T&G /Sophie Conran designed wooden spoons and a huge Steenbergs Tea Towel.

Chicago Town have added 4 new pizzas to their range with The Pizza Kitchen. These deli-style pizzas have thick toppings on a unique, freshly-baked deli-crisp crust. They asked if we wanted to take part in their promotion. I didn't even have to put it to a family vote.


My family love pizza and Chicago Town are a regular choice here. I know everyone will fill their bellies and I will receive no complaints! It's the one guaranteed all-round crowd-pleaser, plus cooking and washing up are a breeze. Pizza night is an even bigger treat for me than it is for everyone else...

Black peas are a local delicacy to us and really not to be missed. Around this time of year they're all over the shops and everyone is talking about them. If you haven't been to Lancashire or North Manchester though, you may never have even heard of them...


Just like green peas, black peas are a legume, and they're eaten boiled into a mushy pea. They've loads of names including Parched Peas, Mapple Peas, Chestnut Peas and Pidgeon Peas, but generally they're just Black Peas. They're actually Purple Podded Peas and they are slightly less sweet than green peas, with a hint of nuttiness and a firmer texture, so they maintain their shape better. Their skin is soft and thin and breaks down well when they're boiled, which is another benefit over mushy green peas.

Dell'Ugo and Evexia Thrive are two brands hoping to bring delicious fresh pasta to everyone. Dell'Ugo create really delicious 3 minute complete meals that anyone with limited time can enjoy, and Evexia Thrive have a free-from range that makes life a lot more tasty for people on a gluten-free diet. Everything not vegan is made with cheese containing non-animal rennet and suitable for vegetarians.


As much as we'd love to have the time to create our own fresh filled pasta everyday, it's simply not possible and shop bought pasta can be disappointing. Dell'Ugo have been making fresh pasta since 1929, and they've learned a few things along the way.


We were sent two Dell'Ugo Raviolis. Both are a complete meal for 2 in a box and take only 3 minutes to cook.

Pudology want to make vegan food that's just as indulgent and delicious as any dairy based pudding. Their dairy and gluten free desserts are now available in Sainsburys and they've sent us a selection to take a look at.


We've been sent the Deeply Decadent Chocolate Pud, Smooth Chocolate Orange Pud and Simply Sumptuous Millionaire's Pud. All are are free from gluten, dairy, eggs and nuts - and suitable for anyone following a vegan, coeliac or kosher diet.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited down to the Vegetarian Society Cookery School in Altrincham for the launch of the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark. Our day was spent participating on the Vegan Toolkit Workshop - one of several courses on offer at the Cookery School.



I've been Vegetarian for 32 years and I've spent most of that a keen cook for a large family, so I didn't know how much I'd learn on the Vegan Toolkit Workshop. In fact I learned plenty and all in a really friendly, relaxed atmosphere - despite the fact that the 8 of us cooked (and ate) over 20 dishes in only 6 hours!

I'm vegetarian, so I don't often review meat, but when my partner fancies it, I'll accept on his behalf. Mor Sausages did interest him because they promise more than your average sausage, and he was very keen to try them.


Mor have 4 varieties of sausage, each with some more surprising ingredients such as beetroot, chickpeas and super green veg. They are gluten-free and much lower in fat than regular sausages, with pulses such as rice or lentils, plus herbs and spices inspired by foods from around the world.

Ready Brek has been around for the last 80 years - giving our children enough slow-burning energy every morning to see them through until lunch. We're Going On a bear Hunt may be only 28, but Michael Rosen's classic story has also become something of an institution.


Both Ready Brek and Bear Hunt are committed to keeping children healthy, active and enjoying the outdoors - and they make a great team. New Ready Brek packs have a Bear Hunt Guide on the back, with games and activities for your very own bear hunt.


Each pack also includes a delicious recipe, there are 3 to collect and they are really easy to make with your children, nutritionally balanced and energy boosting to keep your adventurers going for hours.