Doves Farm {Review}

Hello! Good day? I went to the gym and swimming while Toby was in creche again this morning - it feels so luxurious to be able to exercise during the day!! We nearly didn't go as there was really bad fog and my Mum/sister were a bit worried about me driving over, but I took it slowly and it was fine. Good experience, and having my sister in the passenger seat was, yet again, a calming influence (even if she wasn't actually that calm herself, haha!) Toby did really well again at the creche - obviously this time he did realise I was going to leave, but he said goodbye happily, no tears, and carried on playing. I wish I'd known about this creche before! Great experience for him, and great for me to have a couple of hours to exercise before evening tiredness hits!

When I got home I had a bagel for lunch, this time with blue cheese and grapes:

Not quite as amazing as last week's mashed avocado bagel, but still really tasty. Bagels are a good option for days like this. I have breakfast then do the school run, drive half an hour, about 45 minutes in the gym (although only 20 minutes cardio and the rest weights), 40 minutes swimming and another half an hour drive home...so by the time it is time for lunch I am starving and need something quick and easy! Bagels do the job perfectly!! :)

Liam is doing lots of overtime this week so we ate dinner before he got home tonight. I didn't feel like cooking and the children were more than happy when I suggested porridge. Toby hardly ever eats much dinner in the evenings but he gobbled this up! Mashed banana porridge with cocoa-peanut flour sauce (they had blueberries, chocolate chips and golden syrup as their toppings instead - Izzy's choice!!)...

I made rather a lot of sauce...not that I'm complaining!! I normally use 15g of peanut flour to make dipping sauces, but this was 10g of cocoa and 20g peanut flour (plus milk and a little agave). I didn't use as much agave as I normally would, just enough to bring the chocolate out, so it was like a really dark chocolate peanut butter sauce, mmm!

Anyway, on to the title of this post. A little while ago I was contacted by Doves Farm to see if I would like to review some of their newly repackaged cereal bars and flapjacks, all of which are organic and fairtrade. I love cereal bars for carrying around in my bag for when hunger strikes (either mine or the children's!) so I was happy to say yes! Thanks you so much for your generosity Doves Farm...I was very happy when this box was delivered!! :-D

There are three types of cereal bars in the range - banana mango & brazil, sultana apricot & apple, and crispy chocolate & rice:

The first cereal bar that I tried was the banana, mango & brazil:

I always find banana flavoured things to be a bit hit and miss - sometimes they can taste quite artificial, however this one was pretty good. It had pieces of mango, pineapple and brazil nut running through it, and whilst I might have liked the chunks to be a bit bigger, the size of them did mean that they were consistent throughout the bar without it falling apart. The bar itself had a great consistency - chewy whilst still having some bite to it. I enjoyed this bar and would happily eat it again, although as you will see further on in the review it wasn't my favourite - better are still to come! :)

The next bar I tried was sultana, apricot & apple:

I wasn't a fan of this bar to be honest. I like my cereal bars chewy, whereas this one has a really crispy texture. After taking my first bite, I checked the ingredients list and wasn't surprised to find cornflakes as the third ingredient. It doesn't taste bad, but it just isn't for me. A shame, it was the only bar I didn't like, but then I suppose they can't please all of the people all of the time! ;-)

The final cereal bar that I tried was the crispy chocolate & rice:

Chocolate flavoured things aren't normally my first choice when it comes to snack bars, so I was very surprised to find that I loved this! I love the appearance - the two different layers (one cocoa rice, one just sweet crispy rice) and the mini chocolate chips on top make this look really fun. I'd originally planned to share this bar with Toby, but after taking a bite I gave this one to Toby...

...and got a new one for myself! Yum. I can't believe the chocolate flavour is my favourite, but it's so good!! It is sweet enough for me, but not too sweet (Liam would've liked a bit more sugar) - you can really taste the cocoa in the bottom layer. Delicious. I've only got one bar left in this box and will be definitely be buying some more once it has gone!

Doves Farm also sent me a couple of boxes of flapjacks - plain butter flapjacks and apple & sultana ones:

These are really tasty, and great for lunchboxes too! The first time I tried the apple & sultana ones I cut it in half and put some in Izzy's lunchbox:

I really like these - in fact I'm eating one now as I type this - they are definitely taste more sugary than the cereal bars although actually I just checked and these have 12.3g of sugars per bar, compared to 16.9g per sultana, apricot and apple cereal bars. Another reason to love the flapjacks - they taste even more "treat-like" than they actually are! The flapjacks don't have a hugely strong apple flavour, but there are small chunks of cooked apple dotted through them alongside the sultanas. I love the texture of these flapjacks. Perhaps not as chewy as homemade ones, but lovely and soft.

There are also plain butter flapjacks for those of us (*ahem* Liam!) who don't like dried fruit in baked goods:

As the name would suggest, these flapjacks use butter whereas the apple & sultana ones use (sustainably grown) palm oil. I really enjoyed these flapjacks too, again they have a lovely texture and a luxurious taste. They are perfect for Liam to take to work too - I won't let him take anymore of the chocolate cereal bars as I love them so much (!) but whilst I like these, I prefer the apple & sultana flapjacks so Liam might be able to sneak a couple of them out of the box!!

I was really impressed with (most) of these bars. The calories range from 142-196 calories per bar, which, for me, makes them ideal for a mid-morning snack with a latte, or just to have in my bag for if I get hungry while I'm out. The only one I wouldn't buy again are the sultana, apricot & apple cereal bars, but if you prefer crunchy cereal bars then you may well like these as well - it was only the texture I objected to. Thanks again to Doves Farm for giving me the opportunity to try these - I will definitely be picking up some again when I go shopping! :)

Have you tried any of Doves Farm's cereal bars or flapjacks before? Or any of their other products? I guess a lot of us will have used their xanthan gum (great for thick smoothies!) and I have also enjoyed their gluten free pasta before. This was my first time trying their snack bars though and I was really impressed. I often regret eating pre-packaged bars - wishing I'd taken the time to make my own snack - but these bars tasted really fresh so definitely make a great portable/quick alternative to home baking.

Toby's First Time At Creche

Hello! We've had a busy morning over here - I'm exhausted now!

I set my alarm for half an hour earlier than usual this morning so that I'd have plenty of time to get ready and eat breakfast before the school run. An unpictured skimmed latte plus a bowl of granola, yoghurt and strawberries:

This bowl looks a lot smaller than it was - there was more granola & yoghurt hidden under the strawberries!

After we took Izzy to school, Toby and I picked up my sister, Sarah, and drove to a sports centre about half an hour away from us. Me driving in itself was a big deal as I don't drive very often and don't have a lot of confidence. Sarah parked for me when we got to the sports centre as the car park was really busy, but apart from that the drive went fine. More important than that though...when we got there Toby went for his first ever childcare session!!

The gym/swimming pool in the town I live in don't have a creche which is a shame, but this sports centre is also included in my gym membership and for only £1.20 for a 2 hour session, Toby can be looked after while I exercise. Brilliant! As soon as we arrived at the creche, Toby ran straight in and immediately started playing, so when he still hadn't looked my way once in the 10 minutes I spent filling in forms and chatting to the staff, I made the decision to leave without saying goodbye (sob!) so as not to upset him. I was definitely way more emotional about our "first proper separation" than he was!!!!

Happy that he was being well looked after and that they would put a call out for me if there were any problems, Sarah and I headed to the gym. I did 20 minutes on the cross trainer and then spent about 20 minutes on the different weight machines before finishing off with some ab exercises and stretching. We then headed over to the swimming pool and swam 30 lengths (half breast stroke, half front crawl) in just under 25 minutes. We had to cut our swim slightly short as it was time to go and pick up this little guy...

Trying to smile whilst actually munching on a piece of bread - he's not actually worried as he looks!

I was so pleased/relieved to hear that he'd had a great time. Lots of playing, no crying, apparently he'd asked "where's mama?" a few times but had been happy with the response that I was swimming. Asking where people are is his current "thing" anyway - I spend most of that day telling him where Izzy & Liam are! The creche seemed really nice - there were three other little boys there while Toby was there, and two staff members. My sister is off work again next week (before starting a new job the following week) so we are going to go over again one day next week and then after that I will have to drive over on my own (eek!). It is great for Toby to have a chance to spend some time away from me, and also nice for me to be able to exercise during the day - win win!

By the time I got home I was absolutely starving! I quickly gave Toby some lunch and put him down for a nap, and then I made myself a bagel with mashed (very ripe) avocado and Munchy seeds:

This was amazing! I inhaled the first half because I was so hungry, and then slowed down to appreciate the second half. Such a great combination. I love it when an avocado is perfectly ripe, and the fluffy bagel and savoury seeds went perfectly with it! Yum.

You'd think that a 530 calorie lunch would satisfy me, but I was still feeling a little hungry. I had some water and waited half an hour, and then had "dessert" of Total 0% Greek yoghurt mixed with cocoa powder and agave nectar:

Please excuse the messy mixed-in bowl!

I love this for a quick sweet treat - almost like eating a light version of chocolate frosting! I have such a sweet tooth that my mind often doesn't think a meal is complete until I've eaten something sweet, so things like this are a good solution.

And now there is only half an hour left until we need to go pick Izzy up from school. Toby is still fast asleep so I'm going to have to wake him in a bit - all that playing tired him out! Today has gone really quickly, but in a good way - it's been fun! :)

Those of you have children, can you remember when you first took them to childcare? Did you feel emotional?? Izzy went to nursery from when she was 6 weeks old, and then a childminder from when she was 2, before going to pre-school aged 3.5. I remember feeling a bit anxious/tearful each time, but I soon realised that she was happy and let her get on with it. She's always been used to being around lots of different people, so is very confident in that respect. Toby, on the other hand, hardly ever leaves my side! He was 2 back in January and I think the only time we've left him is for one night for our birthday last May, and then for our honeymoon last July. Both times were with family though so I was a bit worried how he was going to react being left with people he didn't know today. He did great though, and I now feeling much happier taking him there again. Phew! :)

Do you prefer exercising in the daytime or the evening? Which do you do most often? I definitely prefer exercising in the daytime, but unfortunately this isn't usually possible. Our local gym and swimming pool don't open until 7am, and Liam leaves for work at 7.15am so that's no good. He then doesn't get home until 6.30pm so if I want to exercise it has to be in the cold, dark (!) evenings. I'm hoping it will be easier in the summer, but for now exercising once or twice a week - either at the weekends or by putting Toby in creche once a week - is a good compromise. Then I'll see if I can muster up extra motivation for an evening workout or two!