Saving for a Rainy Day?

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reproduced under Creative Commons license

Well, we’re a few weeks in to the PKTMNY project and the kids are really getting into the idea of saving for goals. They’ve both been furiously adding items to their Wishlists and regularly reviewing what’s on there in terms of amounts saved.

Their cards came through the post and they couldn’t wait for me to register them (and set withdrawal and spending limits – which I’d done when I opened their accounts anyway).  They haven’t remembered their pin numbers (they can barely remember what they’re supposed to do from one minute to the next at times!) but they can click on their page to get it again once they need it.

Are they enthusiastic about PKTMNY? Absolutely.

Do they love the website and having a debit card? Definitely.

Do they like setting up goals and wishlists and monitoring their tasks? Yep.

Does this translate into them actually doing the tasks? Erm, well, hmmm…

My son has downgraded his goal from a PSVita to a Beyblade (wise child) and my daughter has put hairclips on her list so that shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve.  And they’re very enthusiastic about it.  The problem is though, that their enthusiasm doesn’t last beyond us checking their accounts and activity each week.

They’ve already learned to aim for achievable items – like a Beyblade or hairclips – rather than big ticket items and that came purely from being able to see in front of them just how big a gap there was between their pocket money savings and what they wanted.  Far more effective than me simply telling them that they would have to save up for years.

They’ve also learned a little bit about security – we had a long chat about how you had to remember your pin and not write it down or anyone could steal it.  Not only did that ensure they had an almost secret squirrel operation around getting their pin – with neither sibling allowed to be present while the other checked – but they’re also hugely impressed by the fact that their mother can remember 4 pin numbers!

Personally, I like the PKTMNY website.  I think it’s a great idea and both my children love the visual aspect to it, particularly being able to see what they’re trying to achieve and how much they have to spend. 

I suspect though that they’re just a wee bit on the young side (9 and 6) for it to translate into them carrying out tasks to earn pocket money.  That said, they’re far more enthusiastic about the idea that they were before so I’ll be sticking to using PKTMNY. 

It will take a lot more input from me – in terms of cajoling them to do their tasks – than I had hoped.  But then again, perhaps I’m being unrealistic about what a 9 and 6 year old will do to help out around the house.

This post is part of a project with BritMums, sponsored by PKTMNY, highlighting its launch. The new tool allows parents to easily pay and monitor their children's pocket money online, whilst allowing their children to earn, save, spend and manage their money in a totally safe and fun way. We have been trailing the service and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

It’s Pocket Money Day!

Being a thrifty sort of a mummy (the clue IS in the name), I’ve always tried to encourage my two to save attempting the old ‘pocket money in exchange for tasks’ technique with varying degrees of success.   

They are only 9 and 6, so I’m realistic about how much they will help around the house – or how much they will save – but, as they know that I won’t waste £2.99 on a comic, they do (when they remember) attempt to earn enough to cover the cost themselves.  The problem, of course, is that they (and me) quite often forget what they’re supposed to be doing and when – especially when the other ‘stuff’ gets in the way – like school, homework, swimming lessons, rugby, ballet and the rest.

So, our patchy approach to pocket money, I jumped at the chance to get better organised by taking part in testing out a new site aimed at encouraging kids saving habits. 

PKTMNY is a website that helps parents to monitor their kids spending (and decide how much they’re going to give them!) while the children themselves get their own debit card (don’t worry, you set the spending limit) and can save for items on their ‘wishlist’ (which they post on their page as a nice visual goal to aim for).  All sounds good, I thought, and in this tech savvy day and age, something that my two would probably be more interested in.

On setting up their accounts, I had the choice of setting up regular pocket money, paying one-off amounts (presumably for ‘special’ treats) and paying money for completion of specific tasks.   

Set them tasks and tick them off as they're done - simple!

Being a mean sort *evil laugh* I’ve only set it up for the latter.  I already save for my children in other ways and really wanted to use this site to encourage them to save money while also helping out.  I like the idea of being financially rewarded for tasks – it’s how the world of work operates after all – so I don’t think it’s too bad a lesson to learn.  Or one that can be learned too early.

So, two weeks in and the kid’s cards have arrived (much excitement on their part).  However, their earnings have been pitifully low.  ‘Oh no, are we back in the cycle of us all forgetting and it all falling flat on its face?’ 

Well, I actually think probably not.  Part of the problem has been the time of year – it’s Christmas with all the accompanying activities and ridiculous amounts of end of term homework – so in other words, it’s been the busiest couple of weeks so far this year.

But last night, when they sat down with me to ‘get paid’, they could see the tasks they had and hadn’t done alongside how much they could have earned.  There’s nothing like a visual reminder to send a message home.   

Rather than arguing with me that they had fed the cats (who were meowing through hunger at our feet at the time!) they were both rather sheepish on discovering how little they’d achieved when I only ticked 2 out of the possible 5 tasks for my eldest and 2 out of the 3 for my youngest.  However, rather than the usual whining about how they’d forgotten (which usually quickly escalates into how totally unfair life is) there was instead lots of chat between the two of them about how they were going to help this week; how much they would have by this Saturday and how much they might have by the end of the year.  So, judging by their very enthusiastic discussions, I am cautiously optimistic.

My two are still young but I think it’s important for them to earn their own money.  I earned pocket money as a child and that really helped me to become a saver.  I remember getting my first part-time job when I was still at school and saving until I had enough to pay for driving lessons.  I was very proud of the fact that I paid for them myself and never had to ask my parents to shell out.  

The kids can keep an eye on their savings going up via the website

I hope that getting the children enthusiastic about saving will set them on the same path.  And the very visual way that the PKTMNY site does this – with obvious rewards and goals to aim for – might be just the way to do it! 

That said, with a current balance of £4, I think it's fair to say that Cheeky Boy is a long way off buying the PS Vita on his Wishlist but you've gotta have a dream!

This post is part of a project with BritMums, sponsored by PKTMNY, highlighting its launch. The new tool allows parents to easily pay and monitor their children's pocket money online, whilst allowing their children to earn, save, spend and manage their money in a totally safe and fun way. We have been trailing the service and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Gluten Free Flour Mix - courtesy of Phil Vickery

Having just blogged about my gluten free Christmas cake (adapted from Phil Vickery's fabulous recipe), here's the gluten free flour mix that you need for it:

Combine 300g fine polenta or chestnut flour
500g brown rice flour
200g cornflour

And that's it!

Gluten Free Christmas Cake

Every year, I always made a Christmas cake.  I'm not hugely keen on the iced version but had an old recipe from a Tesco magazine (circa 1999) that I followed religiously every year.  It was a light cake made with tropical dried fruits and light muscovado sugar - and we all loved it.

Fast forward a few years and here we are: recipe lost 6 years ago in the move to this house (I think I accidentally threw it out!) and my Mum (the Christmas cake's biggest fan) diagnosed as coeliac.  Hmmm, what to do?

Thankfully, Phil Vickery has stepped into the breech with his fabulous gluten free Christmas cake which I've made for a few years now.  So, having enjoyed success with it, this year I decided to revamp it slightly and here is the result (pre-decoration - more of which later) and my version of the recipe (which is very close to Phil's with a few alterations).

Ingredients:
350g/12oz raisins
150g/5oz sultanas
50g/2oz mixed peel
150ml/1/4pint sherry
zest and juice one lime
vegetable oil, for the tin
140g/5oz gluten free flour mix (use link)
1tsp gluten free baking powder
1tsp xanthan gum (you can buy Doves Farm at Tesco)
1tsp mixed spice
1 tsp all spice
140g/5oz unsalted butter
140g/5oz light muscovado sugar
3 medium free range eggs, at room temperature
50g/2oz ground almonds
2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
100g/4oz natural coloured glace cherries, washed & halved
1tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp clear honey

FOR THE DECORATION:
2 tbsp smooth apricot jam, warmed
100g/4oz mixed glace fruits (red or green cherries, ginger, melon or pineapple)
50g/2oz nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecan halves)

1. Place the dried fruit and mixed peel in a pan.  Add the sherry, lime zest and juice and bring to the boil.  Take the pan off the heat, cover and leave to soak overnight (or if you forget, like me, over two nights!).  Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.  
2. Oil and line the base and sides of a 6 - 8cm deep round or square 18cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, including a tall collar sticking up.
3. Sift the flour mix, baking powder, xanthan gum and spices.  In a separate bowl (or if you're lazy like me - in the food processor) beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and light.  Gradually and alternately add the effs and flour mix to the butter and sugar mix, then add the ground almonds.  Stir in the milk, soaked dried fruit and cherries.  Finally, stir in the agave nectar and honey and give everything a good stir.
4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 1.5 - 2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the tin.
5. To decorate (which I haven't done yet this year but will post photos when I have) brush the surface of the cake with half of the warmed jam.  Arrange a selection of glace fruits and nuts over the top and brush over a second layer of jam to glaze.

TO STORE:
The cake will keep for up to 1 month (undecorated) tightly wrapped in foil in an airtight container.

TO FREEZE:
When cold, remove the cake from the tin, wrap it (undecorated) in greaseproof paper and two thick layers of foil, then freeze in an airtight container.  Defrost for 3 - 4 hours.  When defrosted, decorate as before.

So here is my cake - will let you know how it tastes in a few weeks time!

Scary Hallowe'en Kids

OK, so I'm a week late with this post but it's not my fault - honest!! The school Hallowe'en disco was a week late as the kids moved into a fabulous new building. So I didn't get to unleash my creativity until this week!

Hallowe'en isn't my favourite time if year. I stress about my kids costumes and I hate how it's become so commercial like Christmas. I also don't like the American-isation of it. We used to dook for apples and go 'guising' which meant dressing up (in disguise hence the name) going round to your neighbours and performing a joke or a song for a wee treat. Half the kids coming to ours just held their hands out for loads of sweets (needless to say, I made them at least tell a joke before they got a thing!)

Anyway, rant over and onto my kids costumes...
Now sewing and are are not bosom buddies so the costumes were a combination of shop bought and distressed by me. I was quite chuffed with my face painting efforts though...

Muddy Puddles

The grown ups might not like the weather at the moment but something tells me the kids don't mind...

Dairy Free Dilemma

It's been just over 3 years now since Toots was diagnosed as being dairy intolerant.  Some days I feel like I've got a handle on it.  Others I'm convinced I haven't!

She was originally diagnosed after endless visits to the health visitor by me trying to find a reason for her, lets say, extremely regular poo cycle!  'Toddler diarrhoea' was always the response.  But as she was almost 3.5 and it had never changed, I began to suspect that couldn't be the case - particularly as she was often having accidents despite being potty trained from age 2.

Anyway, around the same time, my mum dramatically lost 2 stone.  We all thought the worst (except my mum, funnily enough) until, after about six months of testing, they discovered she was coeliac (or celiac if you're in the US).  The minute that word was mentioned within earshot of a health professional, Toots was rushed in to the Sick Kids for a battery of tests to rule it out.

The blood test (which was awful - screaming, almost passing out, turning three shades of grey - and that was just me!) revealed possible dairy, egg and peanut allergies.  After the allergy tests - a much calmer 'spot on the skin' testing experience - we discovered that she was intolerant and not allergic (phew!) to all three.  I remain totally unconvinced about peanuts (she'd eaten most of the entire bag she was to feed to the squirrels at the Botanics two days before being tested and was neither up nor down - however...).

As soon as milk was excluded from her diet there was a dramatic improvement.  But that said, we often have days when she'll have an upset stomach and we can't figure out why.  We have managed to re-introduce eggs but, given that she's 6, it's not looking like she is going to grow out of her dairy intolerance (apparently).

Fortunately, I love cooking, so have taken to experimenting with a few family favourites with mixed success.  Macaroni Cheese made with soya milk and Sheese just isn't any comparison to the real thing for the rest of us (although Toots loves it!).  Similarly, I haven't managed to make a fish pie that we're all happy with.  Toots has forgotten what dairy tastes like - we have not!

However, I have come up with lots of recipes that do work, mainly of the cake variety (as a big complaint of hers is a lack of 'treats' for dairy free kids!) and I'll be sharing some of them on here. And, of course, if you've any that you'd like to share back, I'd love to hear them!

Hello Meal Planning Monday!

I have been very remiss in doing much in the way of blogging recently and have and endless stream if excuses (work, school run, camping trips, and on and on and on) but the one thing I have managed to do is Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday linky - mainly because I meal plan every week in an attempt to save cash (thrifty and all that) so here's this week's meal plan:

Monday
Breaded Haddock, Mushy Peas and Chips - bit of a Friday meal on a Monday but I just fancied it ( because that's the way I roll - hah!)

Tuesday
Veggie Spaghetti Bolognese - made with Quorn mince, garlic, tinned tomatoes, grated courgette and carrot (disguised from the cherubs) bit of oregano all bubbled up together until thickened and served with whole meal spaghetti. Yum!

Wednesday
Tuna Nicoise - new potatoes, boiled eggs, tinned tuna, green beans and salad leaves with olive oil and balsamic. Easy peasy (especially on hockey, Rainbows, Cubs night!)

Thursday
Chorizo, pepper and chickpea salad - we LOVE chorizo in our house (you may have noticed) so here it is yet again, sliced, griddles and served up with chickpeas, roast pepper (from a jar) and salad leaves drizzled in lemon juice and olive oil. Just as well my kids eat salad!

Friday
Oriental Trout and Broccoli Traybake - straight from Good Food but with trout instead of salmon as CB hates salmon. Trout fillets, broccoli florets, spring onions, olive oil and soya sauce - bang it in the oven for 20 mins and Bob's your uncle! (Actually I don't have an uncle Bob so have never really 'got' that expression but hey ho, you catch my drift?)

Saturday
Roast chicken - I love roast chicken. Nuff said. I shall be serving this with some of my apple, rhubarb and raspberry crumble (or whatever fruit we have) which I tart up a bit with the inclusion of mixed nuts and Demerara sugar in the topping mix (which I usually buy from Tesco as it's dairy free and makes life easy!)

Meal Planning Monday

 

I've just realised that I haven't really posted anything much this past week - although in part that's because I found out I was getting referrals from a dodgy site which put me off a bit!

Anyway, here's my meal plan for the week for At Home with Mrs M!'s weekly recipe linky - not terribly exciting (but then again it is the last week of the month!)

Monday

Smoked salmon & scrambled eggs on fresh wholemeal baguette with salad

Tuesday

Seafood paella with mussels, calamari and prawns - delicious!  (And using up leftover frozen seafood from last week!)

Wednesday

It's hockey followed by Rainbows, followed by Cubs - which means it's baked potatoes with tuna, sweetcorn and salad as there's not much time to prepare much else!

Thursday

Vegetarian pasta made with garlic, oregano and tinned tomatoes simmered down into a thick sauce and served with a generous helping of Parmesan!

Friday

Portobello mushrooms and halloumi cheese burgers - done on the griddle pan so the cheese goes all crisp which is just how I love it!  Served on burger buns with salad and corn on the cob on the side.

I've also been informed (by my dairy free daughter) that I've to make some of my dairy free pancakes at the weekend to be coupled with dairy free Nutella (homemade - and yes, the recipe is here too!)

Phew - so that's today's slightly late Monday Meal Plan.   But better late than never, I guess!

Blimey - it's Meal Planning Monday Already!

Well, after joining in the Meal Plan Linky for the first time last week, here's week two's effort - which is a wee bit hurried as the weekend just disappeared!

Monday: Baked Sweet Potatoes with Tuna, Sweetcorn and Salad - exactly as it sounds. Easy, tasty and sneers 2 of their 5 a day into them painlessly!

Tuesday: Roast Beetroot Risotto - I have a glut of Beetroot in the garden (yay I LOVE Beetroot!) so I'm going to pull some up, wash it, cut into wedges, roast it for 40 mins then add to some risotto which I make with garlic, onion, veg stock, glass of white wine, a dollop of creme fraiche and lashings of Parmesan!

Wednesday: Mixed Seafood Pasta - have a bag of mixed seafood thatci'm just going to cook with some olive oil, garlic and saffron before adding to pasta with basil. Will be interesting to see if the kids eat it :-)

Thursday: Spanish Tortilla with Chorizo and Salad (homemade and delicious!)

Friday: Homemade Dairy Free Pizza - it's just me and Toots for tea on Friday so we're having pizza topped with roasted artichokes (she loves them), roasted peppers, olives and basil.

And we're only planning up to then as we're off camping at the weekend (fingers crossed for good weather!)

Inspirational Children

I read a post today which I just had to blog about as it demonstrates the power of the human spirit and, in particular, the strength and compassion of a little girl in the US and how it changed the lives of hundreds of others living thousands of miles away.

In my 'real job' I run my own fundraising consultancy and, reading through some of the leading fundraising blogs this morning, I came across a post by The Agitator, about charity: water a US charity and how they thanked donors to a campaign they ran last year.  By the end of the post (and more importantly, the link to the charity's video that accompanied their donor email) I had tears running down my face.

Last year, a little girl called Rachel decided she wanted to raise money for charity: water to help children in Africa to get fresh drinking water.  She decided she would raise $300 and asked everyone to donate to the charity instead of giving her birthday presents.  She raised $220 and told her mum she would try harder next year.  One month later, she was killed in a tragic car accident and the resulting publicity about this caring, considerate wee girl ended up bringing in donations of $1.2 million which help 149 communities across Africa (rather than the 15 people she had originally intended).

The attached video is on their website.  Have a hankie at the ready but I just had to write about it as the girl and her family are truly inspiring.  No-one wants to think of anything like this happening to their children but for her mother to continue to fundraise in her daughter's name is, I think, inspirational and courageous.  And I don't think for a minute I could do it.

Click here for the link to Rachel's Campaign for charity: water

Meal Planning Monday

 

Well, this is my first ever entry to meal planning Monday courtesy of the Meal Planning Linky on At Home with Mrs M! although far from being my first ever meal plan.  In fact, as Thrifty Mummy, meal planning is the one thing that I consistently do to actually try to keep the costs down.

As I live in Scotland, our wee angels go back to school this Wednesday - so no more leisurely dinners cooked with a glass of wine in hand and served well past 5pm.  Oh no, back to the REGIME which is probably reflected a wee bit in my meal plan for this week.  The theme being 'easy meals'.

Monday - Full English Salad (courtesy of BBC Good Food this month and reflective of the fact that I still have sausages and some salad left from our final BBQ *sniff* of the school holidays)

Tuesday - Baked potatoes with tuna, sweetcorn, mayo and salad

Wednesday - Spaghetti Bolognese (bulked out with courgettes and fresh tomatoes as the kids will have failed to consume any of their 5-a-day that I pack into their snacks and lunchboxes for school!)

Thursday - Sweet Potato, Egg and Chorizo Salad with crusty bread (a family favourite that I really should feature on this blog in my favourite recipe pages).  Essentially, it's griddled sweet potato slices and chorizo, served with boiled egg and salad and drizzled with a dressing made up of chorizo oil (from cooking) mixed with lemon juice and garlic.  Simple but delicious!

Friday - Thai Style Turkey Patties Served with sweet chilli sauce and salad

Saturday - Veggie Pasta (with sauce out of a jar!)

Sunday - Roast Chicken with new potatoes and roasted summer veg. 

Inspiring a Generation

OK, not London but Edinburgh's Olympic rings

So what was my favourite Olympics moment? 

Screaming at the TV while Chris Hoy belted over the line in the keirin? 

Jumping up and down while Andy Murray smashed Federer and claimed the gold? 

Crying with the two rowers who, after giving their all were gutted to have come in second? Watching Jess Ennis power over the line, Mo Farrah winning 2 golds or Tom Daly's huge grin as he leapt into the pool on winning bronze? 

And of course, let's not forget last night's closing ceremony which was quite bad (compared the the fantastic opening ceremony) but which was turned into an evening of triumph by the commenting on Twitter which was hilarious!

Actually, it's probably all of those moments and more besides but most of all the reaction of Cheeky Boy and Toots has made the whole Games come to life on our house. They've followed cycling, badminton, tennis, hockey, fencing, swimming and diving with huge enthusiasm. They've started a regime of warm ups and cool downs every morning and Toots even decided to take up running with her Mummy!

Today, Toots is off to practice her butterfly stroke in the pool (she's 6 and has already mastered the body wiggle part - I can't do it to save my life!) and CB can't wait for his next hockey tournament in a few weeks time and is desperate to get back to practice.

They're sporty kids already but having seen for themselves what hard work can achieve (rather than their folks banging on about it) they seem to have grasped that they do need to put the graft in BEFORE the tournaments can be won (for the moment at any rate).

So sharing the Olympics experience with the kids has definitely been the highlight for me.

All 3 of us try to get in on the Olympic action - 400 miles north but you get the drift.

Sir Chris Hoy's Post Box (well the one he got for the team sprint - his keirin win is actually in Hunter Square)

Super Indulgent Summer Family Dinner - and it's Dairy Free!

To celebrate the fact that it has (finally) been sunny and, as we're nearing the end of the school holidays (boo), I cooked up a wee treat which I thought I'd share.

I love the fact that it's dairy free (for madam Toots) but we could all have it AND it still felt like we weren't compromising.  Toots often feels a bit left out when it comes to 'nice' food (by which she means 'totally indulgent') but this certainly didn't leave her complaining.

But please don't let the fact that it's got no dairy in it put you off - it's delicious, perfect for a summer celebratory dinner and more importantly, Cheeky Boy and Toots ate every last morsel (including the accompanying veg) and asked for seconds!!

Dairy Free Smoked Salmon Souffle Tart

I adapted this from the August 2012 edition of BBC Good Food. Toots can have eggs (she has thankfully grown out of that allergy).

Half 375g pack of shortcrust pastry (Jusrol is dairy free - and probably a few others too)

50g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

50g hard Stork (in the gold foil packet NOT the plastic tub)

300ml rice milk (almond or oat would probably do too but soya never cooks particularly well I find)

3 large eggs, separated

zest 1/2 a lemon

100g pack of smoked salmon slices (value range will do as it's being cooked in a tart with other ingredients rather than served on its own)

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.  Roll out pastry (or be lazy and buy ready rolled like I did!) and use to line a 22cm tart tin - mine has a loose base so it's easy to get things back out of once they're cooked.  Leave excess pastry hanging over the edge (you'll trim this off once it's cooked).  Line with baking parchment and baking beans (I used a packet of out of date dried Scotch broth mix but lentils or dried peas/beans would do it) and bake blind for 15 mins.  Remove paper, press fork over the base to create little air holes and bake for 10 mins more.

2. Meanwhile, make the filling by putting Stork, flour and rice milk in a pan together.  Heat, stirring constantly, until it makes a VERY thick smooth sauce.  Stir in the egg yolks, lemon zest and seasoning.  Tip: if you like dill, add in 1tbsp at this point - I loathe it so omitted it!

3. Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk (or whisk attachment on your food mixer as I did - best and most used wedding present EVER even 12 years later) until they hold their shape, then fold carefully into the sauce.  You want to make sure that the air bubbles stay in so don't go mad stirring them in.

4. Tear the smoked salmon slices into large pieces and arrange half over the base of the tart.  Sppon over the soufflé sauce, then arrange the remaining smoked salmon on top with black pepper (and the dreaded dill if you like).  Bake for 25 - 30 mins until puffed up and golden.  Trim the edges et voila!  Lovely Sunday lunch/dinner served up with new potatoes and some broccoli.

Empty plates AND requests for seconds from everyone!  Now that is what I call a result.

Then for seconds we had...

Squidgy Chocolate Brownies

These are not only dairy free but are gluten free too - oh yes, did I mention Granny Thrifty is ceoliac?!  Courtesy of Nigella Express but with a tiny adaptation to make sure they were dairy free for Toots.

225g dark chocolate (70%)

225g Stork (the old gold tin foil pack again)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (not essence)

200g caster sugar (I used golden but ordinary fine)

3 eggs, beaten

150g ground almonds

100g chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Melt chocolate and butter gently over a low heat.

2. Take pan off heat, mix in the vanilla and sugar and let it cool a little.

3. Beat eggs into the pan along with the ground almonds and chopped walnuts then turn into a 24cm square baking tin.  (I don't have one so used a similar sized square casserole dish which worked just as well).

4. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 mins until the top is set but the filling is gooey beyond belief!  Once cooler, cut into 16 squares.

I then served this up with my Dairy Free Nutella made the week before and melted in the microwave for 30 seconds along with some homemade ice cream (for the grown ups and Cheeky Boy) and Swedish Glace for dairy free Toots (you can get it in Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda and the Co-op - the usual suspects and probably a few others too).

So, total indulgence (well, I had just done a spinning class!).

Let me know if you try either of these - and if you do, if you enjoy them.  Or are there any other adaptations you'd make?

Gorgeous Dairy Free Homemade Nutella

I've realised that I haven't blogged with a new recipe for a while - which is pretty appalling as I cook ALL the time.  Recently, after buying Cheeky Boy a pot of Nutella when he requested pancakes and Nutella for his birthday breakfast, I have had constant moans from Toots (who is dairy free and therefore, unable to enjoy the delights of Nutella - and quite a few other things too).

In a quest to stop the whining - and in the interests of trying out more dairy free recipes as she's also fussy as well as being dairy intolerant - I searched the internet and found this little beauty on The Londoner blog (thank you!)

Not entirely sure what blog etiquette is here but I've copied it out below (or you can hop on over to The Londoner's Nutella recipe here).

Anyway, it does go rather hard in the fridge overnight so I'd definitely leave it out for an hour before using.  And it's WAY too rich for me (not a massive chocolate lover myself) BUT it is delicious.  I think it would make a fabulous chocolate sauce (albeit very thick!) on ice cream and I am definitely going to try it out in the Frugal Family Homemade Nutella Cookies recipe too substituting the butter for hard Stork, of course (as it's dairy free)...

Homemade Nutella

150grams of hazelnuts
200grams of chocolate (milk would probably make it less rich but I had to use dairy free dark chocolate - for obvious reasons.  Next time I'd be tempted to up the cocoa quantity and reduce the chocolate to reduce the richness but obviously, that's entirely up to your own personal chocolate preference!)
120g icing sugar
60g cocoa powder
Vegetable or rapeseed oil (I used Black and Gold rapeseed oil from East Lothian)
and a clean jar - I sterilised it in the oven for 30 minutes on a low heat.

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C or 350°F 

2. Pour your hazelnuts into a baking tray and roast them on the middle shelf forabout 10 - 15mins.  If you're using unblanched hazelnuts (as I did) you'll need to take of the skins after roasting to stop the spread being too bitter - but don't worry about removing every last piece as it won't make too much difference as long as most of the skins have been removed.  You can do this by hand.

3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.  Once the hazelnuts are ready, put them in a food processor and blend until turning into a hazelnut butter consistency - the smoother the better (although crunchy Nutella would be lovely too!)

4. Once blended, add all the dry ingredients, the melted chocolate and 2 tablespoons of whatever oil you've decided to use.  Blitz for a few seconds to combine before adding another tablespoon or so of oil then whizz for 10 - 15 minutes - basically until it looks like melted Nutella.

5. Then pour into the jar, seal tight and put in the fridge overnight.  

As I said, I'd give it an hour to soften up but it is absolutely delicious!  And, more importantly, now Toots has a dairy free chocolate spread/sauce that's all her own!

What Summer?

I promise I'm not going to rant about the weather (well, not much) but has anyone else been completely underwhelmed with their veg patch this year? My lettuces have come to naught, my beet root while looking impressive are only tops - the bottoms have yet to develop. My runner beans are half the height they should be and only have 2 flowers on them!

Anyway, the kids - who always love the summer harvest, have finally joined me in my disappointment (instead of telling me to stop moaning). They harvested a huge number of fully puffed up pea pods, shelled them excitedly and got this...

Summer Holidays Listography

Inspired again by Kate Takes 5's listography, here are my top 5 'thangs' about the Summer Holidays that I love (incidentally, living in Scotland means I only have 2 weeks of the summer holidays left up here so I am feeling somewhat nostalgic rather than staring 6 weeks in the face)!

1. NO SCHOOL RUN - I have never been a lark and don't leap out of bed full of the joys of spring.  I do, however, grimace when the alarm goes off, grumble under my breath and grump all the way to the bathroom.  Needless to say, I can do without the shout fest that is 'getting ready for school'.  "Do you have your lunch bag?"  "Go and clean your teeth." "For goodness sake, get your shoes on NOW!!"  "Have you cleaned your teeth yet?" "No, I do not know where your hair slides are." "What do you mean you haven't cleaned your teeth?!"  I haven't missed any of that.  (Although, I should mention here that the BEST response EVER to the question, "are you ready yet?" was my then 8 year old son saying "Not yet. I'm dusting my Batmobile.")

2. CHILLING OUT WITH THE KIDS AND NOT REALLY DOING ANYTHING - I quite like a spot of 'what shall we do today?'  This could end in painting pottery, going to our new (and quite fantastic) library, baking cakes, going for a walk or, as my previous post today shows, going for an Olympics inspired 'run'.

3. DISCOVERING THINGS WE NEVER KNEW ABOUT IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD - We live in East Lothian, just outside Edinburgh.  Truly a beautiful part of the world.  Gorgeous countryside, long, yellow sandy beaches, winding country walks and woods with hiding places and picnic spots aplenty.  Of course, during the other 46 weeks of the year, we're too busy running around to actually fully appreciate it so it's nice to take the kids to a local beach, huddle together against the wind (I'm not feeling that nostalgic yet!) or go for a long, pointless walk.  Bliss.

4. NO ACTIVITIES - OK, so that's not strictly speaking true.  We do book the kids into a few summer activities.  They both went to rugby camp last week and they're doing gymnastics and archery this week but it's all very leisurely and, more importantly, we don't have to balance it with school and homework.  My usual week consists of the school run accompanied by Tuesday: badminton (Cheeky Boy), swimming (Toots); Wednesday: hockey AND cubs (CB), Rainbows (Toots); Friday: swimming (CB), Saturday: guitar (CB), ballet (Toots); Sunday: rubgy (both).  Sure, we've booked them into all these activities and, on balance, they love doing them and we love the fact that they get to try out so many different things but not having to do them makes me appreciate the break that the summer holidays gives us all the more.

5. FAMILY HOLIDAYS - now I fully admit that purchasing an in-car DVD player was THE BEST decision I ever made and has made family holiday travel all the more bearable but I do like a wee trip with the kids too.  The chance to take them to countries they haven't been to before (France this year) or parts of the world that they don't visit regularly (Devon last year or London where their auntie lives) means that we get the chance to introduce them to new things and I am constantly surprised at their interpretation of the world - not to mention that it gives us the chance to see things afresh too.  My son's new found independence in France this year going to the local bakery every morning for baguettes, speaking French and figuring out the money was fantastic.  It was a joy to see his confidence grow - and to have a lie in while he went for breakfast!

Still, as I said in my intro, this is almost a nostalgic look back for us with 2 weeks and only a few playdates and sleepovers left, it won't be long until the school run and the myriad of activities starts up again.  So I really better make the most of it, hadn't I?

Guilty Pleasures

After something of a hiatus here on Thrifty Mummy (I have been blogging just over on Activate Fundraising which is a bit more business-y) I thought I'd join in again with BritMums blog prompt - guilty pleasures.  So, deep breath, here goes:

1. Miss Marple
Oh, how I hang my head in shame but I LOVE a bit of Marple on the TV.  It is really sad and middle aged and my OH just rolls his eyes whenever it comes on and slopes off out of the room - but I can't resist it.  The intrigue, the who done it, the picture postcard English villages, the knitted cardies, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie being all fuddled and confused but really as sharp as tacks... it's just too much for me to resist.

2. Crisp Sandwiches
I don't actually indulge in these terribly often (honest!) but you can't beat two slices of thick white sliced bread (I'll stoop to 50/50 if I must), slathered in butter (not marg!!) and filled with Walkers Ready Salted crisps.  Yum!

3. Home Magazines
I subscribe to Ideal Home but still buy Real Homes, Good Homes AND House Beautiful!  I know, I know, I am supposed to be Thrifty Mummy but this really is my one great indulgence.  I CANNOT get enough of house magazines.  I drool over gardens and plan out my own vintage style kitchen while flicking through the lives and homes of others.  I even have a scrap book of my favourite bits from magazines past.  It's such a serious addiction, I am considering therapy.

Right, that's it, confession time over.  I need to go and have a lie down on the sofa with a copy of Ideal Home and a Marple DVD on the go...

Listography - 5 Teenage Crushes

After laughing over the entries in this week's Listography over on Kate Takes 5 I had to stop my chortling and join in.  First of all, at the risk of seeming to have completely copied Kate, my first 2 are exactly the same:


1. James Dean - I loved him and was strangely devastated about the fact that he was dead (even though he was quite clearly dead before my crush began!)  I never said I wasn't a weirdo.

2. Michael J Fox - I saw Back to the Future, Teen Wolf, Family Ties - everything and anything that he was in about a million times.  And was very happy that he was about my height!  Suspect it was because I was 14 and he was totally unthreatening (being that he resembled a teenage boy).

3. Harrison Ford - yep, from the sublime cute boy to the ridiculous!  I LOVED Han Solo and Indiana Jones with a passion.  And I definitely didn't get the whole Luke Skywalker thing (and time has borne me out on this one - compare the two actors and see who you think has aged best).  And when Blade Runner came out (or possibly, when I was old enough to see it) I fell in love with him even more.  Even the fact that he's only 2 days younger than my Dad didn't put me off (and it hasn't put Calista Flockhart off either!)

4. Prince - ah, the diminutive one - do you see a theme forming?  I watched Purple Rain (the bloody awful film) about a million times and hated Appolonia (or whatever her name was) followed by Sheena Easton (although I think I already hated her).  I didn't mind the fact he was little and wore heels - I just adored the purple midget.

5. Leroy (yep, from Fame) aka Gene Anthony Ray.  My walls were covered in Leroy posters; I bought the Kids from Fame albums (the ones accompanying the dodgy TV series, not the edgy Ridley Scott film); and I even went to see them in concert.  At end of said concert, I ran to the front and shook hands with Leroy - and didn't wash it for about a week!  

Thankfully, I'm not a teenager any more and can only blame hormones for my, quite frankly, dodgy taste in the opposite sex!  Thanks for the trip down memory lane Kate.  Now I think I need to hide in a darkened room to get over the shame.

FREE Stuff to Do with the Kids!

OK, this is a slightly short and cheats version of my fourth entry into the NaBloProMo by BritMums (essentially encouraging us all to post on our blog every day in November - only another 26 to go!!)

Anyway, my post the other day was about thrifty or free things to do in East Lothian with the kids this weekend - it's Guy Fawkes, it's autumnal, and the forecast (here anyway) isn't too bad.  So, I thought I'd do a little update (partly because I know what the weather is likely to be like and partly because I missed something...)

FREE Fireworks - if you're in East Lothian or Edinburgh, take a trip along to the Racecourse at Musselburgh for their free fireworks display - doors open at 6pm and the display starts at 8pm.  Let's just hope there's no horse racing!



Tyninghame Beach - this is my favourite beach in the whole of East Lothian so, if the kids have had their fill of their Hallowe'en sweets and need to burn off some of that sugar, get along to Tyninghame for a spot of bracing fresh air - and a view of the Bass Rock that you might not have seen before.

Hailes Castle - fab wee castle ruin about 2 miles from Haddington on the road to East Linton.  Great for the kids to explore (although next to a stream so explore with supervision only) and, if it's dry enough, a picnic in amongst the ruins is always fun.



Butterdean Wood - will no doubt be a bit muddy underfoot but get your wellies on, take along a couple of bags and get the kids collecting all sorts of leaves, seeds, acorns - and maybe even the odd chestnut.  Great for exploring with little ones as you can make the walk as long or short as you'd like.


Whatever you're up to, enjoy the weekend.  Personally, I'll be spending the entire weekend at Lennoxlove Book Festival - a book festival on my doorstep, I'm in heaven - as they are one of my clients for my 'other' job.

Enjoy!