Those little #MorningWin moments

I’m participating in the Britmums belVita #MorningWin Challenge.  This Challenge is in partnership with belVita Breakfast biscuits, which I received three packets free to try. I also received a surprise Costa giftcard, so I can buy a nice coffee to have with my belVita. It is the second time I have participated in a Britmums belVita challenge, having done their #MorningStories challenge earlier this year.

I have three types of early morning routine. The first is when I’m working early shift and leave home at 6:15am without time for breakfast, before the rest of the household is awake. So belVita would be great for me to take eat when I arrive at work. The second is when I have to get the boys to the bus-stop on time, otherwise they will miss their school buses. Usually we are in a big rush on these mornings, so again belVita could come in handy. And the third is at weekends when I can enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast.

So my #MorningWin moments on my early starts are finding the traffic not quite as bad as anticipated in the bottleneck parts of the journey. Perhaps arriving at the office early enough to nip into the nearby petrol station to fill up before work rather than after when I’m again in a rush for school pick-up. And then in the office finding a spare five minutes to grab breakfast, rather than suddenly realising it is lunchtime without having eaten. Or at the right time of the year, seeing some fantastic sunrises.

And my #MorningWin times on other days come when I’m back home after getting the boys on to the bus. First is not finding something that they have forgotten to take to school. And next is after getting through the chores quickly and having time to sit down and check my emails.

But my best #MorningWin moments are on days when there is no rush. The pleasure of being able to have a lie-in and maybe a long soak in the bath.

belVita are proven to slowly release carbohydrates over four hours as part of a balanced breakfast. They contain at least five wholegrains, are rich in cereals, are a source of fibre and contain a selection of vitamins. They are recommended to be eaten as part of a balanced breakfast, along with a portion of fruit, a portion of dairy and a drink. We followed this guideline, but again like last time, I felt hungry much sooner than 4 hours. But it is just me, as they do satisfy the boys.

The three flavours we received this time were apricot, choc chips and hazelnuts. They are new additions to the belVita range. We all agreed that they were very tasty. I’ll certainly be looking out for these in the supermarket.

Son1 also spotted that there are now 3 biscuits in each pack compared to 4 previously. But on checking the box, the packs are the same weight, so the biscuits must be larger.

This post is an entry for #MorningWin Linky Challenge sponsored by belVita Breakfast. Learn more at http://bit.ly/belVitaUK.

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Breakfast time #MorningStories

I’m participating in the Britmums belVita #MorningStories Challenge.  This Challenge is in partnership with belVita Breakfast biscuits, which I received three packets free to try. I also received a surprise Costa giftcard, so I can enjoy coffee with my belVita.

I hadn’t previously heard of belVita who make Breakfast biscuits in 13 flavours. The challenge stated that they are the only breakfast biscuits proven to slowly release carbohydrates over four hours as part of a balanced breakfast. They contain at least five wholegrains, are rich in cereals, are a source of fibre and contain a selection of vitamins.

Even though I do some preparations the night before like checking the boys’ school bags and putting their clothes out, breakfast is usually a rush in our house as we have a deadline to get the boys to the bus-stop. Frequently the boys are slow to wake and dress, so not a lot of time left for breakfast. To make sure we are on time, I break the early morning down into segments and call out time warnings to the boys. So they are supposed to have 15 minutes from their alarm to get dressed, 15 minutes for breakfast, 10 minutes to get washed, plus 15 minutes slack. But in fact they seem to often spend 30 minutes getting dressed, as they take ages to get out of bed and then get distracted. Usually we try to squeeze in cereal and either yoghurt, fruit or bakery product. So I can see the attraction of belVita to fit in with our busy morning, especially as belVita biscuits are wrapped in portion packs. If push came to shove, you could even eat them after leaving the house. So they would definitely be great for me to take to work on days when I’m working an early shift, as I leave home at 6:15am without time for breakfast.

However they are recommended to be eaten as part of a balanced breakfast, along with a portion of fruit, a serving of dairy and a drink. So we followed this guideline, but I have to say that I felt hungry again after 2 and a half hours, although I resisted the urge for a snack and instead had an early lunch at the 4 hour point. I asked the boys if they had got hungry during the morning at school but they said they were okay. They do take a piece of fruit for mid-morning snack anyhow.

The three flavours we received were fruit & fibre, milk & cereal and cocoa yoghurt crunch. We all agreed that they were very tasty. I’ll certainly be looking out for these in the supermarket.

This post is an entry for #MorningStories Linky Challenge sponsored by belVita Breakfast. Learn more at www.facebook.com/belVitaUK.

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.