In association with My Little Piccolo

Feeding. Food. I’ve always been a ‘Foodie’ (I loathe that term but you know what I’m talking about, right?) I’ve always had a big appetite & relished in the simple joys of eating. My favourite thing to do is dine out. I had what was often referred to as ‘hollow legs’ growing up; to the envy & shock of family, friends & strangers with my Bruce Bogtrotter-worthy consumption yet blessed with a skinny frame thanks to a freakish metabolism. Feel free to hate me right now but rest assured that I lost this power some time ago & now how have to apply a lot more discipline when it comes to what I put into my Cake Hole. Becoming a Mother made me completely re-evaluate the importance of nourishment.

When I became a Mum I never realised quite how much time, thought & effort would go into this basic human requirement & how quickly the ‘joy’ aspect would disappear amid a milky-sicky-burpy schedule. Ah, those early, often terrifying, long days of Breastfeeding/Bottle Feeding & all the self-doubt entailed in keeping a tiny person’s milk hunger satisfied. Some of my puzzlement on what was ‘best’ was solved for me because my choices became limited quite quickly. In the moments after my daughter was born she had a latched on like a limpet instantly despite a tongue-tie – the dream scenario, right? Wrong.

Day 2 in the world she was whisked off to SCBU, hooked up to various contraptions, tubes & bathed under the neon glow of Phototherapy lights to keep her alive.  She was now being ‘fed’ by a tube so I had to hand express what colostrum I could & dispense for her via syringe. When my milk supply came in I had to pump away (picture a poor cow) to keep it coming & make use of every momentary opportunity when she was allowed a break from the lights to feed her naturally. So, she was always ‘Combination’ fed by necessity & when she eventually came home, I continued to do this for 3 1/2 months when I then had to stop Breastfeeding for health reasons. NB: Formula milk is not the antichrist so please don’t fear it. Be thankful we live in a world where it’s readily available. Many people don’t have the luxury.

The next stage in feeding gets a whole lot more fun & the joy rapidly returns: Weaning! P’s very first tastes were mushy banana & peas which then moved on to a kaleidoscope of colours in every fruit & vegetable I could get my hands on. I was very determined to do everything fresh & from scratch so bought myself a hand blender & discovered Annabel Karmel – her ‘New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner’ became my Recipe Bible. We opted for a combination approach again of purees & ‘Baby Led’ weaning, allowing P to explore food & just go with the mess. Through exposing her to as many flavours as possible plus seemingly inheriting my tastebuds, at 18 months we’re yet to find something she doesn’t like (this girl liked olives instantly, not even I appreciated them ’til much later in life).

Side Note: The ‘Bumkins’ sleeved bibs by Hippychick & the ‘White Hot’ spoons by Munchkin are both brilliant for Weaning & beyond. Our High Chair is an excellent piece of kit by OXO called the ‘Sprout’.

Just like my attitude to formula, it’s good to have an open mind to packaged products. Thankfully, there are now a wide range of Baby & Toddler food brands on the Supermarket shelves but it’s always worth considering which ones to opt for. I appreciate that time is often limited, as are budgets – in that instance, nothing is cheaper or better than DIY from personal experience. It’s more than okay to go for the ‘easy’ option & wholly reassuring that some newer, natural brands have appeared. For us, My Little Piccolo has become our go-to for nutritious, delicious meals & snacks since it launched; we are very loyal Piccolo Family members & we’ve grown together since the beginning.

Before I launched IndieandPop.com I had regularly shared my love on Instagram because I was so impressed by their, initially limited, flavour range. My friends then all started trying Piccolo & word spread quickly in our #CamMama circles about their tasty, organic pouches; they made their way into the event goody bags & then into the hearts & day bags/changing bags/handbags of us all. First & foremost the ingredient credentials are superb: Organic & 100% natural. Secondly, they are packed with Mediterranean inspired flavour – I try everything Poppy eats & have on several occasions had them as a smoothie or snack myself! Try them 😉 As she now eats what we eat & place great importance on dining together at the table, I need trust in the brands I do choose to give her. For the most part we stick to this but I also don’t deny her the occasional naughtier treat/slice of cake/extra biscuit – it’s important to have a healthy attitude above all. Snacks are often leftovers, raw fruits & veggies or Piccolo pouches.

Because of the relationship that naturally formed with My Little Piccolo, we were thrilled when the brand wanted to us to trial their new products before they hit the shelves. Firstly for their #PiccoloPreview when the Stage 1 range expanded to include newer flavours & then again when they launched their Stage 2 range of #MediterraneanGoodness. See the Gallery below for just a few of our snapshots from everyday life & how we use the pouches. Head on over to my Instagram to see more for ideas & check them out next time you’re in the Supermarket. You can find your nearest stockist HERE. 

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Right, I’m hungry again now but for more info check out:

www.mylittlepiccolo.com 

See if you can spot us in the mix over on their Instagram & Twitter or Facebook pages!

There’s currently a great competition to win one of 3 of the Mystery Mediterranean suitcases & you can sign up for a Coupon for 50p off. 

Furthermore, 10% of profits go towards funding food education in partnership with NCT. 

Sincerest thanks to Piccolo & Bump PR for keeping us supplied with the range.