Weekly Meal Plan - #MealPlanningMonday Week 16 2017 - Easy Meals for a Holiday

Welcome to week 16 of #MealPlanningMonday.

This weeks meal plan is not my usual plan. As it is the Easter holidays we have got a bit of time away so this week there is no specific meal plan in place. We have got a couple of meals booked but the remainder of the week we will be cooking for ourselves. To keep costs down I will be doing a small shop to get foods and snacks that we may need. But as we are a family of five I am sure you can imagine how much stuff we take away with us so we do not have the room for a lot of groceries. Plus we cannot take perishable foods, we will need to purchase those once we arrive. So this weeks meal plan is going to be a list of meals that will be easy to prepare, foods that we can easily pack and meals that everyone will enjoy.

Here are my top holiday meals...

• Lasagne - Pasta dishes are great easy meals. When cooking lasagne you can buy some delicious sauces that allow you to easily make this classic dish. You can buy the tomato base sauce, white sauce and a box of lasagne sheets will easily pack.

Exploring Under the Sea

The Easter holidays are here and now is the time when a lot of us are either taking our first holiday of the year or start to plan what we can do over the year. As the children are getting older I find that we can do a lot more together as a family. In fact we have just made a purchase, which we see as an investment in our family, of a tent. This is going to mean so many more, new adventures for us. It is going to bring us closer to nature and the children will be making some amazing memories.

Picture courtesy of Pixabay

This has led us to thinking what we can do and where we can go. With this new found holiday freedom the possibilities are endless. I love to be by the sea and really want to explore more coastal locations. Our favourite coastal location has to be Northumberland. The northern county boast some of the most picturesque, idyllic coastal lines in the country. The crystal clear sea is somewhere that I am curious to explore more. Thankfully J shares my love of the water and as he matures I can see this being an activity that we can do together and have some one to one, mother and son time. Scuba diving has to be the best way to explore the sea!

#FoodieseekerFriday - A Taste of Carnival Vista - Guy's Burger Joint

Welcome to this weeks FoodieseekerFriday post. This week I am sharing my first "A Taste of Carnival Vista" recipe posts. Before we even boarded Vista I knew that I wanted to rekindle the holiday magic as often as possible once home. The best way for me to do that is to recreate some of the spectacular meals that we indulged on. Carnival pride on supplying food to please everyone and they certainly do not disappoint. They provide a wide variety of dishes that change daily in the Lido self service marketplace, have their speciality restaurants and the pool side, made to order, diners.

Today I am going to tell you about one of the inclusive diners, Guy's Burger Joint. As soon as we took one bite of the epic burgers that were served here we were hooked. They were unlike any burger that we have had before! Carnival have designed an authentic burger bar with the help of American best selling author, Food Network television star and restaurateur Guy Fieri.




Guy Fieri owns a host of all American restaurants that specialise in a variety of cuisines from a good old barbecue to Mexican burritos, from American kitchen to the burger joint. So when it comes to a good, authentic burger Carnival certainly went to the man who really does know his stuff!

Dreaming of Another Holiday!

Having just spent a glorious 8 night holiday onboard Carnival Vista Cruise as their Foodieseeker Family blogger I now have the holiday blues. Getting back into the routine of day to day life has left me dreaming of our next holiday. Ok, we do not have our next holiday booked or even planned, but that has not stopped me from looking and dreaming. I miss the calming view of the sea, I miss the bright blue skies, the Mediterranean heat on my skin, lazy days around the pool and delicious meals cooked for me.

#FoodieseekerFriday Holiday Clothes!

One of the best things about holidays has to be getting holiday clothes. I love getting new clothes! But I will admit to actually hating going out and trying on clothes. Since having the twins my shape has certainly changed and I find I need one size for my bottom half and a different size for my top. Plus sizes differ immensely from shop to shop. One size will fit in one but be too small in another. This can be really deflating and often leaves me feeling sad and self conscious. So this year for my cruise holiday fashion I have gone to Simply Be. I have often seen the adverts on television and have liked their clothes. But what really appealed was the easy payments that they offer. Buying holiday clothes for five of us can be so expensive! Being able to pay a monthly balance has made it so much easier as I did need a lot of extra items. I have not been abroad for six years and my other holiday clothes simply do not fit! So I have treated myself to a few key items which I will be able to wear both on holiday and when we are back home. I am going to be mixing and matching items and taking clothes that can be both dressed up and casual.

Here are my key items to pack...

#FoodieseekerFriday - What To Pack!

Now that we are getting closer and closer to our holiday my mind is constantly thinking about what we need to take with us. What I will need, what the hubby will need and what all three kids will need. What they will need to occupy them on the plane and what they will need on the ship.

I will admit to getting stressed before we go on holiday. I am fine once we have left home but the build up to leaving can leave me quite stressed and anxious. So to help alleviate the stress I make lists for everything. Now we are really getting closer I have actually got items on my "things to buy" list ticked off at last. Clothes wise we are all sorted we just need to added extras.

Today I thought that I would share with you my top must haves when going on holiday...

#FoodieseekerFriday - Seuss at Sea and Fun for the Kids

For this weeks Foodieseeker Friday post I thought I would tell you all about the children's activities. As I am sat writing this I have two excited twins telling me to click here and there! To prepare the children for the Dr Seuss adventure on board Carnival Vista they already have Dr Seuss teddies and books so they are already familiar characters. In true Carnival style there are so many Dr Seuss themed activities, including the legendary Green Eggs and Ham!

The Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast with the cat in the hat and friends is going to be a breakfast like no other. The dining area will be brightly decorated and filled with all of the fun of Dr Seuss.

The menu makes this a truly unique breakfast. The menu is full of classic Dr Seuss style poems to describe the culinary delights that await, such as...

• Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham? "Would you, could you, on a boat? Try them while you float. Try them and you may, I say."
• Scrambled Super-Dee Dooper-dee-Booper, Special de luxe a-la Peter T Hooper Omelette's "We'll crack'em and shuck'em and chuck'em in pans. We'll mix in some beans and use fifty five cans. We'll mix in whatever you wish; feel free to create your own stupendous egg dish."
• Truffula Tree Pancakes "Those pancakes! Those pancakes! Stacked high as the trees. I've been searching my whole life for stacks such as these!"
• From There to Here, From Here to There, Funny Belgian Waffles are Everywhere "One berry, two berry, red berry, blue berry. Waffles with whipped cream, waffles without. Just tell us which one; no need to shout."
• Fox in Socks Steak and Eggs "Don't blab such blibber blubber! Try to say filet mignon topped with two fried eggs, Bearnaise sauce, chopped potatoes and grilled tomatoes. Now is your tongue numb?" 

Foodieseeker Friday - All About the Food and Drink!

Being the Foodieseeker Blogger for Carnival Cruise has meant that I have spent a lot of time looking at what food Vista will have to offer. I have already told you about the places to eat on Vista but today I thought that I would tell you about what meals I am looking forward to tasting!

We now have our tables booked to visit three of Carnival Vista's speciality restaurants Cucina del Capitano, Ji Ji Asian Kitchen and Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. You may remember that in April I told you about Cucina del Capitano and made my own version of Nonna's Linguine and Meatballs so this is a meal that I will definitely be ordering when we visit.

As I am terrible at ordering when in a restaurant I have decided that a bit of forward planning is needed. I simply cannot make my mind up when faced with so many delicious meals to choose from. I am known for taking a long time to decided and for changing my mind!

The first speciality restaurant that we will be visiting is Cucina del Capitano. As we all love Italian food I just know that we are going to love eating there. I have looked at the menu in the past but have revisited it and am planning to order:

• Appetiser - Antipasti - This is a favourite dish of ours, we love to start a meal with breads and olives so this will be a must have!
• Entrees - Nonna's Linguine and Meatballs - I cannot wait to try this dish, especially after I cooked how I imagined it to taste!
• Dessert - Magic Tiramisu - In my mind tiramisu is the ultimate Italian dessert and Vista's Cucina del Capitano's tiramisu sounds amazing!
• I am planning to accompany the meal with a glass of Cucina Chianti

Foodieseeker Friday - Making Plans

From now until the big departure I will be posting a weekly Foodieseeker Friday post. We are now counting down the sleeps until we go.

Now that the holiday is getting closer I am thinking more and more about what we will need for our holiday. Being a family of five, and someone who does not pack lightly, I have a feeling that my lists are going to be long. But it is going to be important that I remember the holiday extras such as sun hats, sun cream and swimming aids for the twins. So far I have got the sun protection sorted and swimming aids are due to arrive. I will be telling you all about them in a future Foodieseeker Friday post!

Today I thought that I would tell you a bit about our accommodation on Carnival Vista and activities that we are most looking forward to.

Having children with a big age gap it was important that we would be able to have connecting rooms. This is exactly what the Ocean View Staterooms offer. So we will have the three children in one room and us adults in the other. This will enable us to let the twins go to bed before J and have their own space. It is important that J has this time with us in the evening as the twins do tend to take over.

27th May - 4th June 2016 - One Picture Everyday For One Year

What a week we have had. All week we have been up in bony Scotland for a holiday. We stayed in Aviemore which is in the Cairngorm mountains. This was a new part of Scotland that we have not visited before. The week has seen a lot of stunning sights, glorious sunny days, walks, distilleries and quality family time.

Here is my week in pictures...

Friday 27th May 2016

On Friday we set off on our holiday. We collected the children from school at lunch time and headed up to Scotland. As it was going to take a long time to get there we decided to stay over at Glasgow for the night.

Saturday 28th May 2016

On Saturday we set off on the final part of our journey up to Aviemore. On the way past we called in at my favourite distillery, Dewar's Aberfeldy and yes I left with some whisky! When we arrived at our holiday cottage we were delighted with where we would be spending the next 7 nights!

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 30th May 2016

Even though we are away I am still meal planning. Before we left I did an online shopping order to make life easier. The last thing that anyone wants to do on holiday is go to the supermarket! As I was doing a weeks shopping I thought that it would be easier if I had a rough idea of what meals we would be having.

The beauty of going away in a self catering holiday cottage is that you have the freedom to cook meals to save money on eating out. I will not be allocating meals to set days and am only planning for four meals as I am sure that we will eat out while we are away!

This is what we will be enjoying for meals while on holiday...

Week Commencing 30th May 2016

Cottage Pie

This is a great, family favourite meal that is easy to make.

Chicken Casserole

This will be a great dish on a dull day. Fingers crossed we do not have any of them but it is another meal that I can prepare and just leave in the oven.

Gammon and Chips

You cannot go wrong with a good gammon dinner. I will be using frozen oven chips for convenience and if there is any meat leftover it will be great for sandwiches!

Fish and Chips

This is another easy meal that does not take long to cook but one that everyone will enjoy.

I hope you all have a good week x

FoodieSeeker Friday - Carnival Vista Countdown!

Ok, it is official, the cruise excitement has well and truly begun! It is now less that 200 days until we set sail on Carnival Cruise's brand new liner for 2016, Vista! To say that I am excited is a slight understatement!

Preparation for the big holiday has really begun. Our passport photographs have been taken, our forms have been completed and they are ready to go in the post. If I am completely honest I still cannot believe that this is happening. This is going to be a dream trip come true. Italy is a country that I have always wanted to visit and I never thought that we would be going on a cruise together as a family.

As you probably know, Vista is Carnivals newest vessel. At the moment it is in the indoor preparation phase and soon to be going to sea trials. Then in April it will be delivered and ready to set sail with guests! Now that the vessel is almost ready we have got thinking about excursions.

When we set sail in the summer we will be going from Barcelona to Messina, Sicily Italy to Naples, Campri and Pompeii Italy to Rome, Civitavecchia Italy to Livorno, Florence and Pisa Italy to Marseilles France to Palma de Mallorca, Spain and back to Barcelona. As I type these destinations I am getting so excited. These are paces which I have wanted to visit for a long time. I used to live in Spain but I have never visited Barcelona. It has always been a must see for me as has Italy. So knowing that we will have the opportunity to spend time in these places certainly has got me thinking as to what we can do.

Whatever we decided to do will have to be child friendly. It has been a dream of mine to visit the Vatican, but unfortunately I do not think that this holiday will be the time to visit. The twins will only be four and will not thoroughly appreciate where we are. After all, they are children at the end of the day, so whatever we decide to do must be family friendly. As most children. the twins always need toilet stops and often want to do their own thing. So when it has come to excursions the ones that let you do as you want, in your own time certainly have been our preferred option. I envision us exploring the town or city where we are, the five of us, showing our children new cultures and simply taking in the atmosphere and discovering authentic places to eat. Who could possibly visit Italy without eating some authentic pizza, pasta and of course their tirimisu dessert!

When I sat and looked at the excursions that Carnival offer for our holiday I was amazed to see that they will be doing a whopping 75 excursions over the 8 days!

How will we be able to narrow it down?

There are so many places that I want to see and visit. I thought that today I would tell you about the tours that I think would be best suited to us as a family with an older child and smaller twins. Having children with a 7 year age gap it is essential that we do activities that please everyone and I truly believe that Carnival will definitely have what we are looking for!

Here are my favourite excursions that will be available...

We Are Carnival Cruise Lines Foodieseeking Family!!!

Back in June I attended BritMums Live which was an fantastic two day blogging conference. While I was there I decided to apply to become an ambassador for Carnival Cruise Lines.

If I am completely honest, when I completed the application form, I never imagined that I would be selected. So when I received an email on Tuesday that had the subject heading of...

"Winner! Carnival Cruise Line Funseeking Family Competition"

I was gobsmacked! I literally needed to sit down to read the email that had the heading below...

I am so proud that I can finally announce and scream from the roof tops that we have been selected as their Foodieseeking Family!

Over the next year we will be working with Carnival Cruise Liners and will be going on a dream holiday, a cruise on their brand new cruise liner the Carnival Vista! The Carnival Vista is to be launched in 2016. At the moment the ship is in phase 5 out of 9 of the building process and is to be ready for April 2016. It will have a guest capacity of 3,954, will weigh a whopping 133,500 tonnes, it will be 1,055 foot long and will have 1,450 people working on board! 

We have never been on a cruise before and simply cannot comprehend how immense it is going to be!

To say that we are excited is an understatement!

There have also been 4 other fantastic bloggers that have been selected. They are:

• Sunseeker Family - Nadine from Juggle Mum
• Funseeking Family - Laura from Tired Mummy of Two
• Thrillseeking Family - Kara from Chelsea Mamma
• Chillseeking Family - Sonia from Mummy Constant

As we are the "Foodieseeking Family" you can be guaranteed to hear all of the foodie news from Carnival Vista and I will be telling you all about our adventure from beginning to end. I will also be documenting this milestone for the twins as this will be their first time on holiday abroad!

So bring on the passports, the sun, the fun and food!

Thank you so much Carnival Cruise Liners for selecting us as your ambassadors. I truly cannot wait to work with you all!

Our Soft and Fluffy Moments with Roberts Bakery

Going away last week was the perfect time for us to find our Soft and Fluffy moments in each day. Roberts Bakery have challenged us to fill a jar of our Soft and Fluffy moments and to look back on them to remember our summer. To document our summer I have naturally taken plenty of pictures!

Here are our Soft and Fluffy Moments...

Seeing this beautiful view while having a ride on a train at Castle Howard 

14th August - 22nd August - One Picture Everyday For One Year

Wow what a week!

You have probably noticed that on the social media front things have been very quiet. This is due to us going on holiday for a week and discovering that we have absolutely no signal in the village that we were in. We did get the odd signal while out and about but had a real break from everything online. I did miss it a lot but at the same time the break has done me good. Now that we are back I am raring to go again!

Last week I did a shorter round up of our week, therefore this week is is slightly longer.

Here is our holiday week in pictures...

Friday 14th August 2015

Easy Holiday Food and Giveaway

Well the holiday season is most definitely here. Unfortunately the weather is not great for holidays in the UK. But no matter what the weather is like an important part of holidays, whether you are here or abroad, is food!

When going on a self catering holiday it is important that you can prepare easy, tasty meals. Nobody wants to spend a long time in the kitchen on holiday!

That is why I thought that I would combine a new holiday giveaway with my top quick and easy recipes that can be made while on holiday! The easiest meals to prepare on holiday have to be pasta or rice based one.

Here are our favourite pasta and rice dishes...

Roasted Red Pepper and Tuna Pasta Sauce

Must Have's For a Summer Holiday

At last the time of year that we all love is upon us!

The summer holidays are about to start. The children are about to break up for the 6 weeks holiday and everybody seems to be planning what they are going to do, where they are going to go and who they are going to see.

When I was asked what would be the one thing that I could not go without on a summer holiday I really got thinking about exactly what was important.

These are the things that are important to me...

Good Food!

Good food and drink is a must have! There is nothing worse than going away and having a week of bad food. Food is an important part of a holiday as while away we tend to indulge more in our food and drink. We like to go to restaurants that serve food that is different to what we would usually have. Holidays are also a good time to try new food and be a little bit more adventurous!

Our Holiday at Center Parcs Whinfell Forest

Last week we spent an fantastically relaxing week away at Center Parcs.

We normally visit the Sherwood Forest resort but this time we ventured to the other side of the country to visit the Whinfell Forest resort. We are huge fans of Sherwood Forest and hoped that Whinfell Forest would be as great. It certainly lived up to our expectations! We had such a relaxing break and came away feeling well and truly recharged.

We spent the week with my parents which was lovely for all of us. It is a huge help for the hubby and I to have the children's grandparents there to lend a helping hand, the children adore having them around, we always have lots of giggles and I also enjoy having the quality time with them!

As always we decided to hire bikes for the week. For us, having the bikes is part of the Center Parcs experience. Riding through the forest is all part of the fun and the escapism from day to day life. No cars, just riding the bikes and walking. Plus Joseph loves having the freedom to go on bike rides to the park, the twins have so much fun in the trailer and the hubby and I feel a little less guilty after all of the over indulgence.

Holiday From Your Holiday!

Any mum will know that planning a family holiday is manic.

Finding the right place to go, the right family accommodation, planning meals while away, activities to do, the packing, the list goes on and on.

At the moment we are getting ready to go on a holiday of our own. I always find the run up to holiday the stressful part. Remembering to pack everything, knowing what we will need while we are away, scheduling posts so Hijacked By Twins keeps ticking over and making sure we have a shopping delivery arriving on the day we return.

Knowing how stressed I get, I was delighted to receive a pamper kit from Al Fresco Holidays and knew that having a pamper evening would help to relieve some of the pre holiday stress.

Snaptrip For Last Minute Holidays

After Christmas it is always great to start the new year with holiday plans. It gives us all something exciting to look forward to.

Past of the excitement of booking a holiday is looking for the ideal place to visit. Having small children we like to stay in the UK. Being a larger family we tend to look for cottages for the extra space. However with so many holiday cottage websites it can be an endless search. This is where Snaptrip come in. Snaptrip are a holiday cottage website which not only have the biggest collection of last minute cottage deals but you can also book in advance.

Snaptrip offer up to 50% off last minute UK self-catering breaks but also offer the best price guaranteed for advance bookings.

Finding the right cottage for your break couldn't be easier. You simply put the area that you wish to visit, or if you are open to all areas leave it blank, add your holiday dates, the length of your stay and number of bedrooms, hit search and enjoy looking!

To save you going back and forth from cottage to cottage seeing where they are based on a map Snaptrip have included a map of their site so that you can easily see where the cottage is based. This not only saves you time but you are able to narrow down which cottages are in the best location for you.

All of the prices that are on Snaptrip include any booking fees so the price that you see is what you will pay. Insurance, if you choose to take it out, will be extra.

The cottage details that are on the site are thorough so you know exactly what you will be getting when you arrive. There is even a map at the bottom where you can navigate around the area to plan what you all want to do whilst you are away. This enables you to get the most out of your holiday. This also helps you to decide if it is the right area for you to visit.

Once you have selected your ideal cottage you can start to book your holiday.

When you have completed the booking information form Snaptrip will personally telephone you. No payment is made via the website. All of the properties on Snaptrip are represented by different management agencies. This personal touch gives you confidence that you have selected the perfect holiday destination.

We have recently booked our summer holiday via Snaptrip and have been delighted with the whole booking experience.

If you are looking for either a last minute holiday or looking to book in advance I would thoroughly recommend looking at Snaptrip. Snaptrip is the site where you will find the best range of the UK cottages in one place. Save time and save money by going through Snaptrip!

Snaptrip are offering Hijacked By Twins readers £25 off their holiday when they book through Snaptrip. Simply quote Hijacked By Twins when you book and £25 will be taken off the price of your holiday!

Disclosure: I have been compensated for my time writing this post. All views and opinions are my own and 100% honest.