Heavenly Tasty Organics Baby & Toddler Snacks - Review

A few weeks back the lovely Kristen from Heavenly Tasty Organics kindly got in contact with me to see is the boys would like to try out some of their organic snacks. I was delighted that the local business, who are based in Augher, Co. Tyrone, got in touch and couldn't wait to try out their products with the boys. James especially prefers to snack throughout the day rather to sitting down for one big meal, so I was looking forward to trying something new and something that was healthy with no added nasties!

When I received our box of delicious goodies the first thing I noticed was their gorgeous packaging. It was vibrant, clear and informative. Very eye catching. Within the box we where very generously sent two flavours of each of their Happy Halo Bites, Yummy Wafer Wisps and Coconut smoothies.

Happy Halo Bites

Both my boys love eating dry cereal and will often sit down with a bowl of cheerios and munch on them while watching TV or a favourite film, so I was excited to see if they also liked the Halo Bites as they would be the perfect healthy alternative...They loved them! The halo bites come in two flavours which are apple and banana and they are the perfect size for your little ones to pick up in their little hands. They are suitable for babies from 10 months old and contain 'ancient organic grains buckwheat and amaranth, blended with natural organic fruits, with nothing added, not even sugar or salt.' A great feature that comes with the Happy Halo Bites is resealable packaging, which will keep them fresh and stop them for spilling over your cupboards or bag.

Yummy Wafer Wisps

These yummy Wafer Wisps come in two unique flavours, Spinach, Apple & Kale and Pumpkin & Banana. Each box contains 6 packets and each packet has 3 wafers inside. These are also perfect for little hands and surprisingly relatively mess free as they just seem to melt in the mouth and don't get sticky. They would be the perfect finger food from 6 months as there isn't much risk of your child chocking as they literally just dissolve, but yet are still packed full of goodness. Perfect! I think these are a must for all changing bags because they are so handy to have as an on the go snack instead of running to the shop for a packet of crisps or chocolate bar when your child is getting peckish.

Coconut Squishes

I left the best to the last. These coconut squishes are amazing! They are packed full of goodness and only the best organic ingredients. They also come in two flavours, Mango, Apple & Banana and Strawberry, Apple & Banana. James absolutely loved these and even demanded more once he had finished his first one he loved them that much. They are the perfect size for him and he is able to 'suck' the contents of the coconut smoothie out by him self, which is great for days when he is ready for a snack and I'm busy with Harry or if we are out doing errands.

Overall I am super happy, as is James and Harry, of the Heavenly Tasty Organics snacks and I wil definitely be purchasing more. If you would like to get your hands on you own heavenly snacks you can get yours from Gordon's Chemists (N.I), SuperValu (ROI), Amazon and Ocado. You can also purchase directly from the Heavenly Tasty Organics webpage.

Have you tried any of the Heavenly Tasty Organics baby and toddler snacks? What did you think? We would love to hear in the comments.

Have a lovely weekend!

*We were kindly sent these items for review by Heavenly Tasty Organics, however all opinions are 100% my own*

Weaning Wednesday #3

So it is week three of weaning James onto solids. I would love to say it has been going great but to be honest it hasn't been! He does not like the food being in his mouth and doesn't let me take his bottle away from him, when giving him half his bottle before hand. I tried giving him his solids first but he just screams the place down until I give him his bottle. I think part of his fussiness with weaning is also down to the fact that he is teething like mad at the moment. He is always trying to take the spoon off me to chew on and sucking his bottle is like a comfort to him.

I have been thinking of trying the baby lead weaning as he is trying to put things up to his mouth and he might like biting into the food more as it might help his gums as well. I have been putting off baby lead weaning as I'm so afraid of him chocking, but I have been chatting to a few mums who are doing BLW with their babies and have had no problems, which has reassured me a little and has given me some confidence to think about putting it to the test.

Carrot batons are the first BWL food that I am thinking of trying with him as they are easy held and don't have a very strong taste so may prove more palatable for him.

I'm hoping his hate for pureed food is down to his teething and that he will start to enjoy new tastes and textures soon but for now we are just taking it one day at a time letting him set the pace.

Some foods that we have tried so far:

• apples
• carrot
• sweet potato
• peas
• pear
• mango
• parsnips
• creamy porridge

Have any of you dealt with a baby refusing to wean or have any advice on BLW? I would love to hear from you!

Weaning Wednesday #2

On Sunday I decided to try James on some baby rice again after his 11am bottle. I still haven't got round to cleaning Harry's old high chair (bad mummy) so I just sat the pram up a bit and gave it to him in that. We made the baby rice up with a little bit of his usual milk and gave it a quick heat in the microwave making sure there were no hot spots before giving it too him. I only gave him a small spoonful at first. He was still a little unsure of it but then started to reach out for the spoon and take a bit more. He took 3 or 4 small spoonfuls of the baby rice then started to push it all out again so we left it at that for the day.

On Monday he got baby rice again after his bottle and started to eat it slightly better. He was still screwing his face up and trying to figure out how exactly he was men't to eat it as he is only used to sucking through a bottle to eat and not chew.

Then yesterday (Tuesday) I tried James with some carrot. I just used the Ella's Kitchen carrot food pouch as I knew I would only be using a small amount at first and they can be kept in the fridge for 48 hours and can also be frozen into the ice cube trays that I suggested in my last weaning post. Using the pouches also gave me a good Idea on how thick of a consistency the food should be as well. James preferred the carrot purée better than the baby rice and was still trying to get the hang of trying to chew and it is so cute watching the little faces he makes when trying out these new foods.

I am going to try him on the carrot purée again today and tomorrow I will maybe try him with some more root vegetables like sweet potato or parsnip before introducing the sweeter tastes like fruit.

What is/where your little ones favourite 1st foods?

So James is almost at the stage to start weaning. Where is my little baby disappearing to! He is almost 6 months old which, for me, seems late as Harry weaned at 4 months, even though I know it is recommended to wait until 6 months to start. Harry was always a great feeder and drained all his bottles where James tends to be more fussy. I tried James with some baby rice a few weeks back but he wasn't interested in it and I just felt like he wasn't ready just yet and didn't want to push him so decided to wait an few more weeks. Below I have listed a few things to consider and some things that you may need to buy, if you don't already have them, before you start weaning.

Some signs that your baby is ready to move onto weaning:

• they are 6 months old
• they are able to hold and control their head
• taking an interest in your food
• milk no longer satisfies your baby and is wakening up again during the night
• tries to put things in their mouth
• makes chewing motions
• chews fingers and fists

1. high chair - when choosing a high chair I would recommend one that is easily wiped clean as there are sure to be some messes to clean up in those first few months especially if you are baby lead weaning. One that reclines and can move up and down are great to grow with your child right into those toddler years. You may need to get a padded insert to support younger babies or a car seat/baby seat can be used instead.
2. small bowls - small feeding bowls are perfect for weaning as your baby will only be talking one or two teaspoonfuls at first. They will also come in handy for snack bowls when they become a toddler. 
3. ice cube trays - great for freezing small portions of puréed food. The food can be frozen in the trays and then transferred into a sterile freezer bag and labelled with the date. That way you can take one or two cubes out at a time to defrost or mix and match with different cubes of food. 
4. bibs - bibs are essential for keeping your little angels clean during the weaning stages. Plastic wipe clean bibs are fantastic as well as those with a pouch at the bottom to catch any food that may miss their mouths. However younger babies may prefer a softer bib to start off with.
5. hand blender - great for blending small amounts of baby food as again you wont be puréeing awful large amounts at first. It is essential especially if you do not have a food processor and a lot cheaper. 
6. plastic feeding spoons -when buying feeding spoons soft plastic ones are best as metal ones may hurt your babies gums and can become very hot.
7. lidded cups - from six months it is recommended that milk and other drinks should be offered in a lidded cup. I found that the hard tip ones, like the tommee tippee one pictured, seem to work best compared to soft tip ones. 

Some things that may be useful:

• Steamer
• Food processor 
• Flask
• Mess mat
• Masher
• Mouli (food grinder)

I hope you have found this post helpful for any of you that are thinking about starting weaning or wondering what you may need before you start. We will be posting our weaning journey every Wednesday so make sure to keep tuned! Please feel free to leave a comment if I can be of any more help or advice!