Introducing our guest blogger: Mellow Mummy

April 25, 2013

At PizzaExpress, we believe that is extremely important to talk to people from all backgrounds and experiences about their food influences. We love to  hear how people eat at home, how they interact in the kitchen and also what they look for in a balanced diet.

Over the next month, we will be inviting some guest bloggers to share their food influences.

Today we would like to introduce you to Emma Button of the Mellow Mummy blog. We really enjoy reading Emma’s blog – especially the ‘cooking with kids’ section. ‘Cooking with kids’ contains recipes for kids to cook with parents. It is truly inspirational to read about techniques that help children get interested in food and get families cooking together.

Here are some words from Emma:
I’m Emma, I live and work in Berkshire.  I am a mum of two girls, age 1 and 4.  Motherhood had a fascinating effect on me; instead of making me stressed and worried, motherhood has calmed me down and made me take life at a much more relaxed pace.  By day I write banking software for a large US company and in the evenings, after the girls are safely tucked into bed, I blog about my mellow approach to parenthood. 

For me, teaching my two girls to cook from such an early age helps them to understand where the food they eat comes from. During the summer we can source a few choice vegetables, herbs and soft fruits from the garden – gardening with toddlers is so much fun – and turn them into meals right there and then. From garden to plate in a matter of minutes.

Understanding the science and the nature behind their food is a learning journey for children. Even before her first birthday, my daughter is exploring textures of flour, sugar, water and the resulting dough while her older sister is fascinated by the transformations that her raw ingredients make as we cook them. As we cook we chat about the origins of the meat, the starches and the vegetables we use. Learning every step of the way.

We will have some more posts from Emma in the coming weeks.

Getting creative at home with Moshi Monsters

August 9, 2012

Being creative is at the core of who we are here at PizzaExpress. From the pizzas we make, to our ties with music and the arts. We feel there is something truly special about letting your imagination be free.

This is one of the reasons why we teamed up with Moshi Monsters – an online pet monster community – to encourage people to create Pizza Art.

Pizza Art? It’s pretty simple and quite cool – Pizza Art is where we encourage you (yes, it’s not just for kids!) to be creative with fresh ingredients and make characters on your pizza base. We then ask that you to upload your artwork to our Pizza Art page.

Below are some uploaded artworks, you can view the entire gallery here.

Please note: No monsters were harmed during the making of Pizza Art.

Luvli Pizza Art by Lily, 7 years old

Moshi Monsters helped us out by making pizzas that look like our favourite Monsters (Diavlo, Luvli and Poppet). You can now make some Moshi Monsters at home and eat them too!

We love the idea of getting people, especially kids, into fresh ingredients by being creative and experimenting with cooking at home.

You too can be part of the action. For more information about our Pizza Art initiative visit our Pizza Art homepage.

Squiff Glump Pizza Art by Daniel, 6 years old