It’s amazing really. Flavours find their way into the amniotic fluid, and a kids relationship with food begins before they are even born. Which is great, because studies have shown that little eaters are more willing to try foods they are already familiar with. Even though little ones may be familiar with a few tastes early on, their little taste buds are still brand new. And they still need to taste new things lots and lots before they develop a taste for them. A little one’s relationship with food is a multi-sensory one - they taste bananas before they are born, see them in the books, touch them at home and smell them when mum eats them…they might even see them singing on the TV. So by making the weaning journey a fun multi-sensory learning experience, there’s more chance little ones will be willing to try something new. And by learning to love new flavours with ongoing familiarisation - rather than one-off introductions - mealtimes will become less of a battleground. And your little one will be much more likely to have healthy and positive food habits as they grow. That’s what we’re all about at Ella’s Kitchen. It’s at the foundation of everything we do. We make familiarisation easier, with yummy healthy tastes in handy packaging. And we’re here to help along the way, to help your little one grow up to be a good eater.

1. AT

2. Yippeeee! Foodie Freebies
What’s it all about?
It’s amazing really. Flavours find their way into the amniotic fluid, and a little one’s
relationship with food begins before they are even born. Which is great, because
studies have shown that little eaters are more willing to try foods they are already
familiar with.
Even though little ones may be familiar with a few tastes early on, their little taste
buds are still brand new. And they still need to taste new things lots and lots before
they develop a taste for them.
A little one’s relationship with food is a multi-sensory one - they taste bananas before
they are born, see them in the books, touch them at home and smell them when mum
eats them…they might even see them singing on the TV.
So by making the weaning journey a fun multi-sensory learning experience, there’s
more chance little ones will be willing to try something new. And by learning to love new
flavours with ongoing familiarisation - rather than one-off introductions - mealtimes
will become less of a battleground. And your little one will be much more likely to have
healthy and positive food habits as they grow.
That’s what we’re all about at Ella’s Kitchen. It’s at the foundation of everything we
do. We make familiarisation easier, with yummy healthy tastes in handy packaging. And
we’re here to help along the way, to help your little one grow up to be a good eater.
We’ve put together this little restaurant at home kit to help you and your little one try
some fun sensory activities like those happening at our Weeny Weaning Restaurant.
You’ll also find the restaurant menus. So take a look and try something new to taste.
Have fun and enjoy the experience with your little diner. But before you do, take a peek
at our very grown up safety tips and terms and conditions in our ‘stuff for the senses’
section online.
Restaurant at home
We’re giving the first 1000 lucky shoppers a tasty 2®% off
all our restaurant menu items. So quick! Go to our online
shop, and pick out some tummy-tickling treats for your little diner.
Simply enter the code:
W33NYW3ANING
We’ll deliver your menu selections straight to your door. YUM!

3. Let’s get those senses sensing…
Activities
1. Sniffing things out
Your little one’s sense of smell will have developed
throughout pregnancy, which means they had already
started sniffing things out before they were even born!
But introducing more new smells and familiarising your
little one with them as early as possible will help them
recognise them as part of food sooner. It will also help
them continue to develop their sense of smell and the
core skills associated with their hand-eye coordination.
Solet’s get those little noses twitching…
See what you have in the kitchen and garden and make your very own smell-tastic activity area. Then offer
your little one the different smells one at a time, and talk about what their little sniffers are smelling.
At the restaurant the little diners have a sweet
smelling herby garden to enjoy. It’s filled with
everything from yummy basil and rosemary
to scrummy parsley and thyme. There’s also a
sweet smelling fruit and veg garden, with things
like lemons, bananas, apples and mangos, all
chopped up to release their lovely aromas.
You could take it outside and create a fragrant
space in the garden using herbs. They not only
smell great but also they are easy-peasy plants
to grow, and are a great way of introducing both
babies and toddlers to new foodie smells. Basil,
parsley and chives are yummy-smelling herbs and
are soft and safe enough for little mouths to have
a nibble on if they want. Yum!
When it’s time to eat, make time to allow your
baby or toddler to smell their food before eating
it. This gets their little taste buds tingling! And
encourage them to make a sound to show what
they think of it… yummy or not!
M
MMmmm
m
mmmm
If you haven’t got a garden, don’t worry. Plant
some herbs in small pots on a windowsill and smell
them as they grow!
Ripe fruits smell great and little ones can often
recognise them. Share a range of ripe fruit with
your baby or toddler and encourage them to have
a good sniff of the skin. Making lots of positive
noises will encourage them to follow.
Let’s eat

4. Activities
2. A touch of fun
When they are born, little ones already have a
fairly good sense of touch. Introducing them to
a variety of interesting textures early will help
them feel more confident when they are offered
yummy foods of differing textures, whether it’s
lumpy, bumpy or silky.
At our restaurant we have a furry, fuzzy, shiny,
rustly, touchy-feely area where little ones can
crawl, roll and run with their little fingers and
toes free to feel away.
Having explored their sense of touch,
continue the adventure and engage this sense
when interacting with food by providing
opportunities to feel the textured skin of a
range of fruits and vegetables. You could even
slice them open to allow little fingers to touch
the insides and see if they feel different.
Then let them lick their fingers. Yum!
Yummmm
mm
mm
Observe which fabric is most favoured and which
they don’t like. Place pieces of material softly on
their arms, hands and cheeks. Encourage them to
make lovely ‘ahh!’ sounds to reflect how this feels.
Have fun with fabric!
Also, you could make a selection of squishy
bags for your little ones to explore. Just grab
some ziplock freezer bags and put things inside
for your little one to feel, like pasta (dried or
cooked), chopped-up spongy mushrooms or juicy
berries to be squished by little fingers.
Include a selection of textures for your
baby or toddler to feel. But make sure the
bags are tightly closed, otherwise…ooops!!!
What a mess! Oh, and watch they don’t get
hold of the items inside.
Squeeze fruits to show the juice oozing out. The
fruits don’t have to be eaten unless they want to!
It’s more about getting them familiar with
the different textures before they are
offered them at mealtimes.
At home, remove your little one’s shoes and socks, and let them explore their very own textured landscape
made up of a selection of fun materials to touch, feel and squish! Like pieces of ribbon, silk, rough hessian,
velvet and denim. Even things like squares of carpet, fake fur and plastic bubble wrap will make
a touch-tingling textured floor for your baby to crawl over, or toddler to toddle on.
Let’s get those senses sensing…
Let’s eat

5. Activities
3. Seeing is believing
Although your little one wouldn’t have been able to
see too much when they were first born, you’ll have
probably noticed how fast their sight developed in the
first few months. Opening babies’ eyes to lots and lots
of different foods of varying shapes and colours is a
great way of helping them engage with them.
Take a look around and collect up some of
the most colourful foods of lots of different
shapes and sizes - you can find. Include a
varied selection of food like bright orange
carrot, green cucumber, yellow banana and
ruby red strawberries. They will appeal
to little eyes and reinforces a positive
association with food.
At our Weeny Weaning Restaurant we have an
exciting colourful area filled with lots of fruits
and veg for little ones to look at, to get their
taste buds tingling.
You could fill the bottles so they’re nearly full
with water. Add some small berries such as red
currants, blueberries or raspberries to make
them bright and colourful, and to add a different
dimension to the bottles. Give the bottles to your
little one and let them play. Roll them across the
floor and watch them discover what’s inside!
Colour is an important part of the eating
experience. You could get crafty and make some
coloured cards and find fruits or vegetables of
the same colour. Play a matching game to see if
your little one can match the cards to the same
coloured fruit or vegetable.
Or go that extra mile and make a bubble bottle.
It’s easy. Collect some empty plastic bottles
with tight-fitting lids and fill them a third
with water. Add a squirt of washing-up liquid
and give the bottles a good shake to make lots
of bubbles. Try adding a few drops of food
colouring to make different coloured bubbles.
Let’s get those senses sensing…
If they’re eating chopped
and minced food, show
them the different shapes
and colours, like the bright
green peas, before they’re
mixed in with their other
food at mealtimes.
Having explored their
sense of sight, continue
the adventure and
engage this sense each
time they interact
with food…
…If your baby or toddler
is still eating pureed and
mashed foods, have a
selection of colours on
offer for them to taste
and see which ones they
like most.
Let’s eat

6. While you’re making music with
food, why not have a good old
sing-along to our free Tasty
Tunes, sung by Rachel Stevens.
Activities
4. Sounds good
Your little one’s hearing started to develop before
they were even born and continues to develop in the
months after birth. It is really important in helping
them learn to talk. As you’ll have probably discovered,
sounds can also be used to create excitement and
anticipation when trying new foods.
At home this is easy. Why not make some
foodie instruments of your own. Simply
recycle plastic bottles of different shapes
and sizes (make sure they all have tight-
fitting lids). Grab a handful of dried foods
like lentils, beans, cereal, pasta shapes or
rice, and then let the noise begin!
At our restaurant we have a special noisy place
where our little diners can make their own foodie
music with different toys and
fruit ‘n’ veg-struments.
Or why not spend some time listening to the
different sounds foods can make? Like carrot
sticks... show how to snap them in half to make
a cracking sound. Or use toast fingers to make a
crunchy sound when bitten into. Or try rubbing
hard cheese along the tray of their high chair
and hear the squeak!
Having explored their sense of
hearing, continue the adventure
and engage this sense each time
they interact with food…
…Babies and toddlers will mimic what
you do. So making lots of appreciative
sounds while eating is a great way of
encouraging acceptance of something new.
At mealtimes, why not combine sounds with
lots of positive facial expressions?
Let’s get those senses sensing…
Let’s eat
Go to Tasty Tunes!

7. Our yummy scrummy menu!
red peppers, sweet
potatoes & apples
parsnips parsnips parsnips
sweet potatoes pumpkins
apples + blueberries
sweet potatoes sweet
potatoes
spinach apples & swedes
carrots carrots carrots
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wonderfully warming Beef
Stew with spuds
fabulously filling Fish Pie
with mash
vroom vroom Veggie Lasagne
with a sprinkle of cheese
chick-chick Chicken
Casserole with rice
punchy Pork Roast Dinner
with apples
lovely Lamb Roast Dinner
with all the trimmings
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full of sunshine Thai Curry
with lots of veg
super scrummy Salmon
Risotto with a sprinkle
of cheese
seriously comforting Cottage
Pie with a pinch of cinnamon
lovely Lamb Roast Dinner
with all the trimmings
totally cool Caribbean
Chicken with mangoes
perfectly pleasing tomatoe–y
pasta with plenty of veg
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Mains
Shop the menu

8. mangoes pears + papayas
peaches + bananas
mango yummy yoghurt
greek style
mango smooth & creamy
fromage frais
berry yummy yoghurt greek
style
banana smooth & creamy
fromage frais
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2.
3.
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6.
berry yummy yoghurt greek
style
banana super smooth &
creamy fromage frais
the Green one smoothie
mango super smooth &
creamy fromage frais
the Red one smoothie
mango yummy yoghurt
greek style
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2.
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6.
berry yummy yoghurt greek
style
banana super smooth &
creamy fromage frais
the Green one smoothie
mango super smooth &
creamy fromage frais
the Red one smoothie
mango yummy yoghurt
greek style
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www.ellaskitchen.co.uk
Our yummy scrummy menu!
Desserts
Shop the menu