Nuby weaning equipment - review

A while ago I reviewed some Nuby bath toys they kindly sent us. At the same time they also sent us some suction bowls and lolly moulds. We've put of them to the test and this is what we think:

Stackable suction bowls with lids

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with these bowls. I *love* (as does my toddler) that each bowl has a lid - me from a practical point of view, good for storing/stacking etc and D because they are fun to open to see what's inside! I also love the bright colours, the fact that they are different sizes so you can pick the right size for the meal and the fact that the suction base is part of the bowl (rather than being separate - like on our vital baby suction bowls).

Loving the lid

Stuck down good :)

However... I'm not sure if it's me, or my kids or what but I'm not completely sold on the suction. When it works it is amazing and I can hardly get it loose myself. But other days (when I think I've stuck it down the same way!) Iz manages to get it loose in about 10 seconds! Lately (she's nearly 10 months) she's also learnt to slowly jiggle it side-to-side whilst hugging it towards her. That normally gets it free! Lol

Is anyone watching if I start tugging...

Woohoo it's free!

Despite this I use these bowls every day for Iz at all 3 meals - another benefit is because there are 3 on a pack I can use one for each meal and not have to wash up til the evening :) 

They remain my go-to bowls and seeing as I'm always sitting with her when she's eating it's no big drama if she manages to free the bowl - I just squished it back on her tray. Weirdly (again I have no idea why - my strange kids!) I've noticed she is much more likely to feed herself food if it's in the bowl rather than on the highchair tray... So thanks Nuby, I will continue to use these bowls every day.

Happy with their bowls :)

Garden Fresh fruitsicles

This lolly maker is great. When I saw it online I thought it would be perfect for the approaching summer and for Iz teething and it is. It is super easy to use, made of thick plastic so is very hardy (yes I have accidentally dropped it on the floor a few times!) and D loves the bright colours - he chooses which colour lolly he wants - usually the pink one for some reason - perfect colour recognition practice :) 

Easy to hold (at 6 months)

The handles are also very easy to hold - even Iz at 6 months had no problems - and they have a great "no drip" design so any drops get caught in the handle rather than dripping down your child's hand/arm.

Love her "too cold" face :)

But she still always goes back for another mouthful!

Are there any downsides? The tray does take up a bit more space in your freezer than it needs to (if it was in a square design I think they could've made it quite a bit smaller - although that may well have made it harder to extract the lollies at the end). And a tip - leave the lollies in for a few more hours than you think they need. If you try to get them out when they've only just frozen solid then I only got a 50% intact-extraction record... But wait another few hours and it was always 100% :)

To show how easy they are to us here is D making our first batch:

Line up what you need

Fill each compartment with fruit puree

Sample a bit of the product while you're there

Clip in the handles

Put in the freezer and wait for the freezing magic...

Now there are a million and one fruit ice lolly recipes online but every single one I read involved using a juicer/mixer etc to purée the fruit. They may have sounded delicious but I'm a bit lazy in the kitchen so here are 4 tried and tested recipes that we've done which only require a fork :)

Mango/Strawberry/Yoghurt

- using a fork mash up a slice of mango, 2 strawberries and then mix in a small yoghurt (we used a baby Yeo valley fromage frais). This made enough to fill all 4 lollies and have enough left over for Iz's pudding (unfrozen)

Banana/Raspberry

- mash half a banana with 4 raspberries. This made enough for all 4 lollies and a spoonful of fruit left over for me :)

Banana/Pear

- mash a banana and pear together (the riper the better as then easier to mash!). This made enough for the 4 lollies and 2 pots which I froze for later puddings

And finally, the laziest of them all... A fruit pouch squeezed into the lolly compartments and frozen - this perfectly filled all 4 lollies :)

Mmmmm yummy

******

Have you ever found a bowl that 100% stays stuck all the time? Or have you made different flavoured ice lollies with your kids? I'd love to hear :)