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IT was interesting to read details of a new survey which discovered only 10% of children are getting their five-a-day and that 1 in 10 parents think chips count as one of their children’s five-a-day.

Look, I’m the last to sit here to shame anyone on their parenting skills – particularly as my response to reading that was ‘aren’t potatoes vegetables?!?’ (FYI, they are classed as a starchy food, LOL.)

The research helpfully carried out by children’s fruit snack supermarket brand Fruit Bowl, also noted that 1/3 of parents think fruit yogurts count, while 1/5 parents mistakenly believe a strawberry milkshake contributes – I mean #desperatetimes, right?

I personally battle to get my kids to eat most vegetables, so its interesting that less than half of parents know that tinned veg, frozen fruit and sweet potatoes count towards the recommended daily amount.

Additionally 4 in 10 parents think their child gets only 2-3 portions each day.

FIVE unexpected foods that DO count towards our five-a-day:
Baked Beans
Guacamole
Onions
Hummus
Spaghetti Hoops

FIVE foods that DON’T count towards our five-a-day:
Onion rings
Ketchup
Potatoes
Vegetable Crisps
Pickled Gherkins

Nutritional Therapist, Filomena Komodromou has shared her tips to get children eating fruits and vegetables;

1. Think colour – chop up some crunchy crudités such as carrots, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish, celery and serve with hummus or cream cheese for a healthy filling snack
2. Get them to help in the kitchen – even toddlers can help too. Peeling, chopping or grating can be done quite safely by children supervised by an adult.
3. Blend it up! Homemade smoothies are a great way of getting their five-a-day and sneaking in some veg too.
4. Add mashed banana or grated apple/pear to porridge
5. Make frozen fruit lollies or banana pancakes

Susanne Fraser, Marketing Manager of Fruit Bowl, added: “Here at Fruit Bowl we are a team of parents and know firsthand how difficult it can be to make sure our children get their five-a-day, every day, and we know it’s a struggle that lots of other parents have. By conducting this survey, we aim to highlight this and also show busy parents that there are easy solutions, tips and tricks they can use to give their children five-a-day.”

Fruit Bowl create everyday fruit snacks and treats – many of which contribute towards your 5 a day. #bonus

Available at Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-Op, Asda, Waitrose and on Ocado.

Just days after the Rumour Has It singer gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, she now has the second delight of having a dress named after her.

Peaks of London, who specialise in creating fashionable items of clothing for breastfeeding mothers, have christened a piece from their S/S13 collection, the Marilyn Adele dress.

Yay for Adele, now what do I have to do to get something named after me…?

Anyway, the elegant dress for special occasions is perfectly designed to allow breastfeeding mothers the best of both worlds – the chance to not look like a dowdy frump while giving hungry babies easy access.

And while the dress doesn’t come in Adele’s signature black, the style – over the knee, with a cinched waist and mid-length sleeves – is very much something you could imagine her wearing.

The Marilyn Adele dress retails at £150 www.peaksoflondon.com

I WOULDN’T say I’ve subscribed to the whole ‘new year, new me’ mentality, I’m just working on being even better than usual!

Jokes aside, I’ve been trying out the new Boots Good Gut range which put simply helps to create a ‘healthy gut environment’.

There’s something for everyone in the range – my nine-year-old daughter has happily been taking the Live Bacteria for Kids edition which comes in a chewable strawberry flavoured tablet. And with an added vitamin C boost it’s also good for the immune system (you know these kids pick up everything going at school).

Meanwhile I’m sold on the Live Friendly Bacteria with Skin & Hair Support which comes in a handy size tablet. I’m not great with taking tablets, but I found the size of this one reasonable and not unnecessarily huge like some supplements.

Another plus is that the range is vegan and does not have to be kept in the fridge. So basically, smiles all round #winning.

While it may be my job to be up to date on who was performing at this year’s V Festival and the names of celebrities set to grace the VIP areas, with my life currently being run by a three year old girl, my mind was focused on every parent’s event of the summer – LolliBop festival.

Where children and toddlers are the priority, this was my second year of coming along to ‘The Big Bash for Little People’ and I couldn’t have been more excited.

This year moving from Regent’s Park to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, it was also a perfect opportunity for those who never managed to visit the site during London 2012 to catch a glimpse of where it all went down.

The chance for your child to see their cartoon favourites  – Poppy Cat, Postman Pat, Hello Kitty, etc – come to life definitely makes for a fun afternoon. And it’s hilarious to see the likes of Dick & Dom and Justin Fletcher (aka Mr Tumble) treated like rockstars – with Fletcher obviously taking top billing!

This year there did seem to be even more activities for the children to get involved with – we tried our hand at windmill making, decorating bandanas and some glitter fun in Lalaloopsy Land – all without too much queuing or waiting.

In fact, the only nightmare queue experienced throughout the day was the one for food, which may have been a combination of the peak lunchtime hours and the fact that the burger van we’d chosen only had two women serving (something I only realised once I’d been in the queue for over half an hour)…

I think the Saturday we visited the event was at capacity and that was easy to believe as you fought through prams and toddlers on the run to get to each area.

I was certainly exhausted long before my little one was ready to go home and although it wasn’t exactly my idea of ‘fun’ (even as a parent, I’m up for anything that involves a glass of wine and some adult conversation…!) – I know my daughter had an amazing time and that’s of course what counts.

So, see you next year LolliBop.

www.lollibopfestival.co.uk