Miracle Growing in My Garden

This is a review post, not a sponsored post. I was provided with a free sample of the product but the opinions are my own. 


When I received an email asking if I would like to review a product that could help clear up the brown spots on my grass, I was delighted! I was sent a sample of Miracle-Gro Patch Magic Dog Spot Repair. 

This was what our grass looked like before.

The Patch Magic is easy to use. You simply clear away the dead grass, rake the ground, water the ground and spread the Miracle-Gro grass seed onto the patch and water again. You continue to water the patch regularly after application. It really is idiot proof.

Well, not exactly.

The first time I left Hubby to do it and he did one patch. He mustn't have done it properly because there was no change at all. I don't think he raked the soil enough and didn't water it first before laying down the seed. In his defence though, it did rain terribly for the few days after application and totally flooded the whole garden. I don't know if this affected it but I won't be telling him that.

This was the result . . .

I tried it again with another patch and I'm happy to report that I did a pretty good job. You can see here from this photo that the grass seed is beginning to grow and hopefully the more I water and cultivate my little patches the fuller they will become!

starting to sprout

Starting to look greener!

I am planning on buying more of this product to treat the rest of the garden. As you can see, I have plenty of patches to work on. I would recommend this product as it is an easy product to use (providing you don't give it to your husband who doesn't read instructions). The product is a reasonable price too, I've seen it being sold from £10 - 12 depending on where you buy it from.

So in a nutshell . . .
The Highs

• Easy to use, mostly idiot proof
• Reasonably priced
• Award winning technology
• Superior Grass Mix compared to other brands

The Lows

• My grass seed didn't grow as well as I'd hoped, probably due to weather as well as birds stealing the seeds. 
• It doesn't say on the pack how long the growing process is likely to take. 

I'd still buy it again and I plan on working on the rest of my 'patches' this summer. Once I have fixed my grass I will need to find a way to protect it from further damage. That might be more difficult!

Super Snacks For Toddlers On The Go!

JC can have sudden hunger pangs when we are out and about so snacks that are easy to carry around in his change bag are a must. His latest favourite are these Nibbly Fingers from Ella's Kitchen.

His favourite flavour is the banana and raisins one. He had been eating these for a while when Ella's Kitchen contacted me to review them. I was delighted to review them on the blog as he already loves them so a taste test wouldn't be necessary! What I like about them is that they are a perfect size for an in-between meal snack, individually wrapped for easy transportation and they are full of healthy ingredients without any rubbish added in.

They did send me a multi-bag packet of their other new product, Munchy Biccies. The flavours they come in are cinnamon and oranges, cheese and apples or bananas. When I received the product through the post, it was the cinnamon and oranges one and I wasn't sure what JC would make of them because he isn't keen on cinnamon. I've tried to get him to eat cinnamon in his porridge and he won't touch it! I gave him a packet and he tried his best, he ate about 3 biscuits before admitting defeat. I gave the remaining packet to a friend whose child was less fussy about flavouring and her comment on them was that they must have been good as they didn't last long!

To give the product a fair test I went out and bought the banana one (as this would be the flavour I would buy for him normally). He loved them! He wasn't content to have one biscuit at a time. He had to have one in each hand and one in his mouth, whilst keeping a close eye on me to make sure I wasn't stealing any! I would recommend Ella's tasty snacks and I have nothing negative to say about them. Other than JC not loving the cinnamon flavour, the other products with different flavourings were a big hit. It's also comforting to know that these products are organic and are made with the best of ingredients for a healthy snack to feed your toddler.

This was a review post but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun to read! I received a free sample of the Munchy Biccies but all opinions are honest and are my own. 

Ella's Kitchen Single Fruit Purées

We were lucky enough to be asked by Ella's Kitchen to sample and review their new single fruit purées. We were given 2 free samples, pear flavour and mango flavour. They are smaller packs of 70g for tiny tummies and being a single fruit makes them perfect for first tastes.

JC follows a baby led weaning approach and didn't eat many purées when he first started weaning but we have always used fruit packs as a top up for him to accompany his breakfast cereal or as a dessert after dinner. I really like the Ella's Kitchen packs compared to jars as they are much more convenient, you don't even need a bowl, just pop it straight onto a spoon or older children can enjoy it straight from the pack. I recently took fruit puree packs abroad with me to get me through the first few days and the Ella's Kitchen packaging was perfect as it was so light, I didn't have to worry about my luggage allowance!

Here is a video of JC trying out the fruit packs. You can tell by his face that he approves!

The Lowdown

Ella's Kitchen First Taste fruit pouches are 100% organic and contain just 1 single fruit, nothing else. They come in 4 flavours (pear, banana, mango and apple). The 70g packs are available from Sainsbury's, Boots, Ocado and Tesco stores and they cost 69p per pouch.

Advantages 

• Convenient packaging
• Single fruit ideal for first tastes, allergies or fussy fruit eaters
•  100% organic puts your mind at ease that the best available ingredients have been used
• The price is reasonable, not cheaper that puréeing the fruit yourself but much less effort and time

Disadvantages 

• I don't really see any disadvantages but I think that the 70g packs are more suitable for younger children. JC would need 2 of them really or a bigger pouch. However, I do like this size for his breakfast cereal. 

Disclaimer - I was not paid to write this review and although I received 2 pouches to sample, this did not taint my opinion of the product.