Blueberry & Raspberry Sheet Pan Pancakes

I LOVE Pancakes! So much that when I finished work to start my maternity leave, I used to cook them for myself daily (while everyone was at work and school) up until Joe was born, but when it comes to making pancakes for the whole family I never seem to enjoy them, as by the time I’ve finished flipping away making theirs and mine are ready, everyone is usually finished and wanting seconds!

I’ve had lots of sheet pan pancake recipes saved on Pinterest for a while now and FINALLY decided to try my own recipe over the weekend.
It was nice for us all to be sat at the table on Sunday morning enjoying warm pancakes together as a family for a change!

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

• 300g Self Raising Flour
• 2 Large Eggs
• 300ml Full Fat Milk
• 60g Unsalted Butter - melted
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract
• Handful of Blueberries & Raspberries

Directions

1. Line a baking tray (approx 15” x 12”) with baking parchment and preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
2. Combine all of the wet ingredients together in a bowl then gradually add the self raising flour until combined. 
   
3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray, making sure the batter is spread to all of the edges.
4. Top with blueberries and raspberries - I used whole fresh blueberries and frozen raspberries (which I broke into smaller pieces) but you can use any fruit or even chocolate chips for a little treat!
   
5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden and cooked through. Then cut pancakes into desired portions while they are still hot - I used a pizza cutter for this.
6. Serve! We all topped ours with a drizzle of Sweet Freedom Choc Shot.

If you have any pancakes left over, they are also perfect for freezing. Just defrost for a couple of hours at room temperature then reheat in the oven.

Enjoy!

MyHummy Review - Leon

Sleep... what’s that again?

Thankfully we’ve had it quite easy with Joe as he has been sleeping well since he was a couple of months old, but we've always had to use white noise as he stirs quite a lot during the night and some days his naps can be anything from 30 minutes to 2 hours!

I was so excited when MyHummy sent us Leon to try out as I had already read so many amazing reviews, plus how cute is he?

In the two new MyHummy families there are 6 bears to choose from -

The Sweethearts:

Leon

Lena

Lily

The Smarthearts:

Max

Mia

Matt

You can also choose between two humming hearts - the standard sleep sensor or the sleep sensor with bluetooth.

Our Leon came with the sleep sensor with bluetooth meaning I could control him using the MyHummy app on my phone - genius!

The app is really easy to use and once your bear is connected you have 5 humming sounds to choose from, volume control which ranges from 1-16, humming duration which you can set for as little as 10 minutes up to 12 hours, sleep sensor which will automatically activate the humming sound if any noise is detected and a sensor mode which will notify you if your little one wakes.

The main two features we have been using is the humming duration - which is set at 2 hours for nap time and 1 hour for bedtime, I also have the sleep sensor activated of an evening so if Joe stirs during the night the sleep sensor will activate the humming sound to help settle Joe back to sleep.

This sleeping aid has really worked for us especially at nap time as Joe has now been napping for a full 2 hours which means he’s less grumpy of an afternoon, plus Joe and I was poorly over the weekend and he usually struggles with his sleep when he’s poorly or teething but Leon has worked his magic!

That also meant that mommy managed to have a cheeky nap too which made me feel a little more human!

Each bear also comes with an attachment ring/teether so you can attach your bear to your cot, car seat or pram and also a travel pouch for the humming heart which can also be used with the attachment ring for when you are out and about or travelling and you don’t want to take your bear with you.

If that’s not enough, once the humming heart is removed your bear is machine washable!

Not only is Leon the perfect sleeping aid, he’s now Joe’s best friend too. Joe always has him near and loves to cuddle him!

Leon gets a thumbs up from us!

* this item was gifted, but all opinions are my own.

Lollipop Baby Camera Review

Well isn't this the cutest baby monitor you've ever seen?

We were kindly gifted the Lollipop Baby Camera to try out and review. Prior to this we had been using a different baby monitor so I was excited to see what else the Lollipop Baby Camera could offer.

What’s in the box:

• Lollipop Camera (Available in Turquoise, Cotton Candy or Pistachio)

• Power Adaptors

• 3 Meter Cable

• Wall Mount

• Crib Bond

• Cable Holder

• Set up Guide

The first thing I love about the Lollipop Baby Camera is because it has a bendable tail, it can literally be mounted anywhere! To attach to the crib it comes with a handy crib bond that helps to keep the camera in place and secure when mounted to the crib. If you have a flat surface or shelf you can bend the Lollipop Camera tail into a curved shape so it can stand on it's own, and my favourite way to mount the camera is on the tree branch which you can either stick to the wall or it can be screwed to the wall - both options are included in the box.

If that wasn't enough, you also get 3 cable holders which stick to the wall to keep the wires tidy and hidden.

Using the Lollipop Baby Camera.

Setting up the camera is really easy. Download the app, plug it in then it will take you through registering and connecting to your WIFI. Once you are connected the app is really easy to navigate.

The one thing I love about this camera is the crying detection. Joe makes lots of noises during the night but this clever little camera can distinguish between random noises and your little one actually crying! When it hears crying you will get a notification. Any crying/noise events are all tracked and recorded for 30 seconds.

Another fun feature is that the camera can also play sounds/music! You have a variety to choose from, from sea waves to Chopin or Mozart! 

The Lollipop Camera can also be set up on multiple devices, so both me and daddy can have the app on both of our phones to view Joe's camera. 

Also have you ever been on a (rare) date night wondering if your little ones are fast asleep or has nanny kept them up past their bedtime? You can also view the camera while out and about and from anywhere in the world! 

If you worry about security the Lollipop Camera also has a privacy mode so you can block any outdoor streaming and only indoor monitoring is available. If you do use this function then some features are disabled.

Overall we are really happy with the Lollipop Baby Camera. It retails at £145.00 on Amazon - which some may find quite expensive but our previous baby monitor was a similar price but this camera has lots of extra features, plus it looks better too! The only thing I wish it had as standard which our previous monitor had is a temperature display. A separate sensor can be purchased which tracks room temperature, humidity and air quality.

* this item was gifted but all opinions are my own.

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Burgers

For the last couple of days I have been trying out new recipes as I feel like Joe’s meals are getting quite repetitive as of late.

One recipe I came across which I thought we would all love is Sweet Potato and Chickpea Burgers, but I changed the recipe to make them extra tasty!

These are not only perfect for BLW, served without the burger bun, but are a healthy alternative for older children and adults, plus they taste even better topped with guacamole on a toasted brioche bun.

Makes 6 Mini Burgers

Ingredients 

• 1 Medium Sweet Potato
• 110g Can Cooked Chickpeas (Drained)
• 8 TBSP Plain Flour
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 TSP Smoked Paprika
• 1 TSP Oregano
• Black Pepper

Directions

1. Peel the sweet potato and cut in half. Cut the one half into chunks and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and then mash. Grate the remaining half of the uncooked sweet potato.
2. Drain the chickpeas and mash with the back of a fork then add the mashed and grated sweet potato.
3. Add the egg, flour, spices and pepper and mix until all of the ingredients are combined. If the mixture is too sticky then add a little more flour.
4. Form the mixture into 6 patties, place on baking parchment, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Add a little olive oil to a frying pan and cook each patty for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden.

These burgers are also perfect for freezing. Once cool, place a small piece of baking parchment between each patty and pop into an airtight container.

To reheat, leave to defrost for a couple of hours then warm in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Let me know if you try out this recipe and don’t forget to tag us in any of your creations - @Joesfoodadventure.

BLW | Pinwheels

Before I started baby led weaning with Joe, I never knew what a pinwheel was! But they are now not only a favourite of Joe's but the whole family love them too.

I try to make a huge batch of various flavours so I can freeze them but guaranteed half of them have been eaten by me, my OH and Lily as soon as they come out of the oven!

There are so many different pinwheel fillings you can try, sweet and savoury, but I thought I would show you our two favourites, cheese and spinach and pizza! 

Makes 20 Pinwheels

Ingredients

• 1 Ready Rolled Puff Pastry Sheet
• Approx 100g Spinach
• 1-2 TBSP Pizza Sauce
• 1/4 Finely Chopped Pepper
• Handful of Grated Mozzarella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

2. Boil the spinach for a couple of minutes then drain and squeeze out any water.

3. Roll out the ready rolled puff pastry sheet (I leave this on the greaseproof paper that is rolled around it so it doesn't stick to the surface) and cut in half.

4. Add your fillings!!

On the left I've added a layer of cooked spinach with a sprinkle of mozzarella on top, then on the right I've added a layer of pizza sauce, chopped peppers and also a sprinkle of mozzarella.

5. Gently roll the pastry into a log, place onto a tray and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

6. Once pastry has chilled, remove from the fridge and cut each log into 10 equal slices.

Pop onto a lined baking tray (I can fit 16 onto a large baking tray then I pop the remaining 4 onto a smaller tray) and cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

If you manage not to eat all of the pinwheels as soon as you take them out of the oven, they can also be frozen once cooled and I usually defrost for a couple of hours at room temperature before warming in the oven for 5 minutes.

Some other fillings you could try are:

• Pesto
• Ham and Cheese
• Cheese and Tomato
• Leftover Bolognese
• Cheese and Onion
• Apple and Cinnamon
• Banana and Nutella

Enjoy!