The Big Breaktask in conjunction with Warburtons

Mornings, you either love them or hate them!  Overall, I would say that my mornings are pretty OK.... but is that due to the planning that takes place the night before?  Or would everything fall nicely in to place regardless of the planning that takes place!

Did you know that Mums have to juggle twice as many tasks as business owners, directors and decision makers during the breakfast rush, according to new research by Warburtons. Between 7.17am and 8.30am each weekday morning, busy mums face a constant series of domestic tasks and chores – these often include tactical strategies, coercion and juggling children, partners and dogs (in my case, anyway!).

Warburtons are compiling a collection of useful tips, ideas and recipes in a handy book to make the weekday breakfast routine as smooth and enjoyable as possible, as well as providing inspiration for the more relaxed weekend breakfast.

Considering we (me and hubby) run a bed and breakfast serving breakfast to our guests from 8.30am to 9.30am and have to get the children (aged 5 and 8) to school at 9am – sometimes I think we deserve a medalfor what we manage to achieve!  But, at the end of the day, it’s our choice to be self-employed and we love it!

So how do we manage? This is often a question asked of us by our guests and so the answer is ready to give.... BE ORGANISED!

Our local primary school runs a breakfast club where the children can go to school at 8.15am and have a healthy breakfast (cereal, toast and fruit juice) followed by an outdoor activity – weather permitting, of course!  So, during the summer school term when we often have more guests than at this time of year, the breakfast club is truly a god send!  I get the children dressed and ready for school, whilst hubby does the prep for the breakfast service.  I take the children to school - only 5 minutes walk away – and then back in time for the guests to arrive in the dining room and eat.

At quieter times of the year, we take the children to school for the normal time of 9am – but we still prepare in advance what we can.  Organising the uniforms, PE kits, dinner money, fruit, etc... the night before is a must, as well as making sure we have both the left and right shoe of a matching pair of school shoes!

I must confess that once I nearly (only nearly!) took my son to school with odd shoes on!   Luckily, we noticed when we were at the endof my garden path! 

And then the questions of what to eat in a morning?  My daughter is perfectly happy with a drink of milk and a bowl of cereal or toast, but my son, given the choice, would love scrambled eggs, bacon and tomatoes for his breakfast with a glass of apple juice on the side!  During the week, this just does not happen(!) so he is happy with cereal and toast.  But at the weekends he can have his cooked breakfast, no problem!

The only thing we leave until the morning is the sandwiches part of the packed lunch for my daughter.  We put everything else in her box in the fridge – but I can’t stand soggy sandwiches and so always make them fresh in the morning!  It only takes 5 minutes and what can go wrong with a ham sandwich!

I also like to get up about 30 minutes before everyone else.... just to get myself ready and check my emails in peace!

So, to sum up, here are my top tips for juggling the family Breakfast Rush Hour:

• Plan ahead - do what you can the night before.
• Make sure all parts of the school uniform (including shoes) are ready to put on.
• Don't give your children too much choice with breakfast items.
• Wash up later on - just put all the dishes in the sink/dishwasher and deal with them when you return from the school drop-off.
• And most importantly, don't get stressed!  Children are very sensitive to your mood and to try and ensure a great start to the day, keep a smile on your face and breathe! 

So, if any of you Mum’s and Dad’s out there have any top tips, advice and recipes for juggling the family Breakfast Rush Hour, you can submit them through the Warburtons Facebook page here.

Warburtons Winter Fruit Loaf Review

Especially for the festive season, Warburtons have produced the loveliest fruit loaf that is "Warburtons Winter Loaf".  It is delicately spiced and smells fantastic!  Traditional seasonal spicy nutmeg combined with cinnamon and a burst of rich fruit pieces is sure to bring some seasonal cheer to your bread bin! 

This delicious loaf is a tasty addition to the family baker's existing Fruit Loaf range, which includes Warburtons Raisin Loaf with Cinnamon and Warburtons Fruit Loaf with Orange. 

This loaf is definitely a festive family favourite in our house - a little bit of everything Christmassy to get you in the mood!

Although it was lovely just simply toasted with a lovely cup of tea, we also used it in an adaptation of a summer pudding recipe.  The recipe is really simple to make- mine didn't quite look like the photograph in the recipe but tasted good enough to pass the taste-test in our house!

Warburtons Chilled Winter Fruit Loaf Pudding with Cranberries
Serves 4, 200 kcal and 1g fat per person.

2 slices of Warburtons Winter Fruit Loaf
1 tbsp dried cranberries
1 cup of fresh cranberry juice
Brandy (optional)

1. Sprinkle the cranberries in the base of a ramekin dish.
2. Roughly tear the slices of bread and place over the cranberries.
3. Mix a little brandy with some cranberry juice and pour over the bread, ensure the bread is fully soaked but not soggy (for a deeper coloured pudding, mix the cranberry juice with a little blackcurrant juice).
4. Press the bread firmly down into the ramekin.
5. Chill for 1-2 hours in the fridge before turning the pudding out onto a serving plate.
6. For that extra Christmas touch, flambe with brandy and serve with brandy butter.

I made the puddings without brandy so that the children could enjoy them too... I also didn't add any blackcurrant juice, although next time I make these I think that I will to enhance the colour a bit better - they were a bit pale without the blackcurrant juice, but still tasted scrumptious!

Hubby's next request is bread and butter pudding made with Warburtons Winter Fruit Loaf (instead of boring bread, he added!).  So watch this space for the next recipe using this lovely Winter Loaf!

For more information on Warburtons products, click here.  Warburtons Winter Fruit Loaf is a limited edition loaf and is available in all major supermarkets for the 2012 winter period.

Warburtons Naan Chips Review

When you think of Warburtons, what pops into your head? Bread and crumpets are the first two things that I think of! But have you tried the new Naan Chips from Warburtons? They are fantastically crunchy and tasty- perfect as a snack or as an accompaniment to a curry or other savoury dish.  They come in 3 great flavours - Fiery Madras, Classic Tikka and Creamy Korma.

Monisha Bharadwaj has developed some delicious recipes in conjunction with Warburtons and so we gave some of them a try with the different Naan Chips.

The Murgh Mirch Chaat is a quick and easy substantial dip recipe using leftover cooked chicken... So after your roast on a Sunday, don't just stick the leftover meat in a one-pot curry or stew! Make this deliciously simple dip and keep it a secret that it's a thrifty way of using up your leftovers!

Murgh Mirch Chaat
Serves 4, Preparation time 10 minutes, Cooking time 30 minutes.


1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp pink peppercorns
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 grren chilli, finely diced
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
Few sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
300g cooked chicken, shredded
Salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Dry roast the 2 kinds of peppercorns in a small saucepan, and crush to a powder in a mortar and pestle.  Reserve.
2. Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan.  Add the onions and fry on a medium heat until soft.  Stir in the chilli and ginger-garlic paste and cook for a minute.
3. Tip in the dill and allow to wilt for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the cooked chicken,season with salt, drizzle with lemon juice and heat through.
5. Mix in the reserved crushed peppercorns and serve at room temperature.

Use Warburtons Baked Naan Chips, Classic Tikka and Fiery Madras flavours to scoop up and enjoy.

This recipe is matched with the spicy and medium-hot chips, but we tried it with all of the flavours and it worked well with each of them!  And we also used coriander rather than dill, as we couldn't get our hands on any in my home town!

The chips are also great as a snack on their own... A long drive to Kent via Bristol at the weekend was partly fuelled by Warburtons Naan Chips!

A bonus is that they are lower in fat than potato chips but still must be shared(!) as the bags are pretty big and generously filled, no half bags here!

All members of the family enjoyed the flavours - from the youngest aged 5 to the eldest aged .... !

They would be great as a starter with Indian dip "Nacho-style" or on a buffet. For those entertaining over the festive period, these would definitely be a great buy to have in stock to impress your guests!

So pick yourself up a pack or 2 from Morrisons supermarkets around the country - keep your eye on their Facebook page here for stockists updates!  And check out the Warburtons website here for lots more great tasting products!