I may have come to the Ocado party a little late but this weekend we had our first Ocado grocery delivery and Lara was tasked with taste-testing a number of Ocado's products to help assess their family-friendliness as part of their taste-testing panel.
Recent research from Ocado suggests that UK parents spend up to £2000 a year buying kid-friendly meal options but Ocado believe that parents shouldn't need to buy different foods for adults and children and that, with a bit of constructive input from taste-testers like Lara, it is possible for them to stock great food options that are loved by kids and adults alike. This is music to my ears - part of my Mellow Mummy mantra is that mealtimes should be fun, not stressful and, ever since the very first day that I started weaning Lara (almost exactly 5 years ago) I've tried to ensure that, wherever possible, my girls have eaten exactly the same meals as us.
Lara tried out a range of different Ocado products, the same set that were recently tested by other members of the Ocado kids taste testing panel. She had great fun rating each food for look, smell, texture and taste. It was a real challenge for her to isolate her senses and really think hard about the adjectives she could use to describe how the food made her feel. Here are her highlights:-
Garofalo Kids’ Organic Anistelle Pasta
These cute star and moon shaped paste pieces are just as groovy for grown ups as for adults. Lara enjoyed the firm, traditional italian pasta texture and taste and, after she had finishes, I cooked myself up a bowl of them - fab! Lara rated the Garofalo pasta as "awesome" across the board.
Tideford Organic Tomato and Basil Sauce
I never expected Lara to enjoy a basil sauce because she has never enjoyed my own attempts to introduce fresh basil into homemade foods. But Lara thought that this tomato sauce was a great accompaniment to pasta and found it to be a light and smooth sauce that tasted great.
Ocado Fresh Mashed Potato
Lara loves mash and this was smoother and thicker (and less lumpy) than anything I would normally make at home. Lara enjoyed the mash most as a vehicle for meat!
Laverstoke Park Buffalo Meatballs
Surprisingly, Lara rated these cute little buffalo meatballs far higher than a pork alternative. The buffalo meat tasted really strong and "meaty" and I think Lara enjoyed the texture and the small bite size of the meatballs which were perfectly seasoned. We'll definitely be trying buffalo again together as a family.
Good Little Company Good Little Sausages
Lara raved most about these tasty little gluten-free pork sausages. We all tried some of these for dinner afterwards and I think Mummy, Daddy and Holly all agreed that they were very yummy and good-looking sausages (if a little salty).
All of the products above are available for home delivery from Ocado.
Recent research from Ocado suggests that UK parents spend up to £2000 a year buying kid-friendly meal options but Ocado believe that parents shouldn't need to buy different foods for adults and children and that, with a bit of constructive input from taste-testers like Lara, it is possible for them to stock great food options that are loved by kids and adults alike. This is music to my ears - part of my Mellow Mummy mantra is that mealtimes should be fun, not stressful and, ever since the very first day that I started weaning Lara (almost exactly 5 years ago) I've tried to ensure that, wherever possible, my girls have eaten exactly the same meals as us.
Lara tried out a range of different Ocado products, the same set that were recently tested by other members of the Ocado kids taste testing panel. She had great fun rating each food for look, smell, texture and taste. It was a real challenge for her to isolate her senses and really think hard about the adjectives she could use to describe how the food made her feel. Here are her highlights:-
 |
| thinking of the correct word to use to describe taste! |
These cute star and moon shaped paste pieces are just as groovy for grown ups as for adults. Lara enjoyed the firm, traditional italian pasta texture and taste and, after she had finishes, I cooked myself up a bowl of them - fab! Lara rated the Garofalo pasta as "awesome" across the board.
Tideford Organic Tomato and Basil Sauce
I never expected Lara to enjoy a basil sauce because she has never enjoyed my own attempts to introduce fresh basil into homemade foods. But Lara thought that this tomato sauce was a great accompaniment to pasta and found it to be a light and smooth sauce that tasted great.
Ocado Fresh Mashed Potato
Lara loves mash and this was smoother and thicker (and less lumpy) than anything I would normally make at home. Lara enjoyed the mash most as a vehicle for meat!
 |
| sausage and mash testing! |
Surprisingly, Lara rated these cute little buffalo meatballs far higher than a pork alternative. The buffalo meat tasted really strong and "meaty" and I think Lara enjoyed the texture and the small bite size of the meatballs which were perfectly seasoned. We'll definitely be trying buffalo again together as a family.
Good Little Company Good Little Sausages
Lara raved most about these tasty little gluten-free pork sausages. We all tried some of these for dinner afterwards and I think Mummy, Daddy and Holly all agreed that they were very yummy and good-looking sausages (if a little salty).
All of the products above are available for home delivery from Ocado.
