(Paid partnership with Very UK - see disclaimer)
There's a lot of talk around children and food, even before you have that little one in your arms - there's the question of how you'll feed them once they arrive then before you know it, it's time to wean and that is when it gets really fun. We had a relatively easy weaning journey and that has continued but I always love to find new and inventive ways to make sure our son is getting enough fruit and veg in his system.
Be it with snack plates, funny ice cube trays, soups and our favourite, smoothies.
We love a versatile kitchen appliance and the Ninja 2-in-1 Blender available from Very UK is a dream to use.
The multi-serve blender can make anything from silky smoothies, crushed-ice cocktails and yummy milkshakes to sauces, sorbets, dips and dressings, There's always enough to share with its 2.1-litre jug or could blend straight into the 700ml cup with a travel lid to enjoy a drink on-the-go. It has Auto-iQ Technology meaning its three intelligent blending programs are tailored to deliver the results you want at the touch of a button. Exclusive to Ninja, there is also the Pulse, Pause and Blend patterns that do all the hard work for you.
The unique Pro Extractor Blade design easily blends the toughest ingredients, including whole fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and even ice, in the cup and cleaning is easy thanks to dishwasher-safe parts which is always great to hear when you have kids - we need easy cleaning time right?!
- Whizz up a yummy sauce - if you find that you need to hide the good stuff from your children so that they'll eat it then making a sauce is the easiest way to do so. I find as long as it is tomato-based using chopped tomatoes or passata it's super easy to hide anything esp celery, broccoli - anything green! The Ninja whizzes all your ingredients up so perfectly that you're left with the silliest sauce perfect for any pasta dishes all the family would enjoy.
- Smoothies! We love smoothies in this house and having a good blender is vital for that. We usually pick our own fruit and freeze it or use frozen fruit to create at home deliciousness. I tend to add things like oat milk and agave syrup to give it a subtle sweet hit that's still great for children.
- We're big on chips and dips so being able to make our own is a must plus it's a fun activity to do with children as you can experiment with different ingredients and flavours.
- Soup is such a fail-safe lunch, incredibly messy with little ones but you'll always remember those messy, soup covered faces when you look back and it'll make you laugh. My parents still have photos of me covered in beans as a child! It's a brilliant way to blend in more or less any vegetable - you can get them to choose what they want to try and help you make the soup too. Cooking as a family is such an easy activity to incorporate especially at the weekends when there's a little more time to be had.
The Ninja 2-in-1 Blender has slipped into our family lives seamlessly, especially in the mornings when we've been able to start the day with fresh smoothies and juices - my husband has adopted the travel cup as his own as it makes it so easy for him to grab and go for his commute to the office.
You can purchase the fabulous kitchen appliance direct from Very UK - it's on offer at the moment too!
Tell me... What would you blend first?
