REVIEW - Lidl's Spiced Gingerbread

I'll never be able to pick just one favourite Christmas food, but I think I can safely say that gingerbread and gingerbread-flavoured things fall into my top 15 - possibly even top 10. I think my fondness for gingerbread developed during my childhood when I suffered from horrific travel sickness. Supposedly, one of the 'cures' or natural remedies for sickness and nausea is ginger; because of this, long car journeys or school trips were often accompanied by a handful of ginger biscuits - or a gingerbread man if I was lucky. 

Unfortunately for me (and those travelling with me) I still suffer from bad travel sickness and therefore quite often have to pack a packet of biscuits for the ride. However I enjoy gingerbread so much that I can't solely reserve it for times when I feel like I might be going to be sick!

Festive favourites

REVIEW - Sainsbury's Chocolate Treats

Does any household NOT have a large box of chocolates kicking around at Christmas? Even after filling yourself to the brim with turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and a big helping of Christmas pudding, there always seems to be room for a handful of chocolates snaffled from the tub.

We're usually fans of Celebrations or Quality Street, however this year my mum decided to go for something a little different and bought this tub of Chocolate Treats from Sainsbury's. At 800g, it's slightly heavier than the big brand leaders and also slightly cheaper (my mum picked up this tub when it was on offer for £3.50, and I think it's usually priced at £4). There are 10 different types of chocolates inside, including well-known favourites such as the strawberry creme and vanilla fudge, but also some that are a bit more novel (anyone for a popping candy truffle?).

REVIEW - Mr Kipling Gingerbread Whirls

Over the past month I've been searching fruitlessly for these Mr Kipling Gingerbread Whirls; I saw them very briefly in Tesco one time but on my next visit I discovered that they'd been replaced by shelves and shelves of mince pies. Even my mum couldn't find them online when she was ordering our delivery of Christmas food and so I'd resigned myself to having to wait another year before getting my hands on any. 

Thankfully, a visit to Morrisons by my mum the other day proved more successful than any trip to Tesco or Sainsbury's and (because she knew how grumpy I'd been about not being able to find some) she picked up a packet for me as an early Christmas present.

In all honestly, I like Viennese whirls but I don't LOVE them - however I've been so keen to try these out because I love anything gingerbread-related (be it food, drink, body wash or scented candles). I'll happily eat gingerbread all year round but I think that it tastes especially good at Christmas.

It's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas

LET'S EAT - All Bar One

I practically jumped at the chance to RSVP when I was recently invited for a group meal at All Bar One. I always pass it on my local high street but I've never yet had a reason to go there - it always seems a bit too nice and expensive for a meal out with friends. However with the temptation of a 'festive party buffet' and a chance to get a glimpse of cocktails served in teapots, I couldn't say no and decided to treat myself - it is Christmas after all!

Being a buffet menu, there were no set starters, mains and desserts - instead the menu listed a range of savoury canapé-style bites with one sweet choice for dessert. I didn't get many photos in All Bar One itself as the lighting was quite poor, but I did manage to get hold of a copy of the menu.

REVIEW - M&S Turkey and Pigs in Blankets Sandwich

I'm not the most frequent buyer of sandwiches, but I can't seem to get through December without trying at least one festive sandwich - from the numerous selection available! It seems that every store brings out about 4 or 5 different sandwiches for the festive season, with fillings ranging from turkey to brie to ham to vegetarian. Tesco have even gone a step further this year and have added a sweet sandwich to their range (chocolate and cherry filling, with a cinnamon bread), which I haven't been able to get hold of yet but have a burning desire to try.

In my opinion you generally can't go wrong with an M&S sandwich so, needing a quick lunch during a day-trip to London, I picked up their festive Turkey and Pigs in Blankets sandwich to try out. Normally priced at £3.30, I was lucky and got hold of a reduced one for £2.65 (which I still feel is possibly too extortionate for a sarnie). Nevertheless it sounded tasty: "British pork sausages and smoked British bacon, butter basted roast British turkey breast, cranberry chutney, spiced mayonnaise and spinach on sage and onion bread."

The obligatory Christmas sandwich

REVIEW - Cadbury Festive Friends

Was my childhood deprived? It seems that Festive Friends feature in almost everyone's childhood Christmas memories - but not mine. Whilst I have fond memories of Cadbury's selection boxes, chocolate fingers and After Eights, Festive Friends were not something that seemed to be a part of our family Christmases. I only became acquainted with them a couple of years ago, no doubt picking up a box just to find out what exactly my childhood had been missing. 

Not remembering much about them, I picked up a box in Sainsbury's the other night when I was aimlessly browsing along the Christmas aisle. My box was £1 which is pretty much the same in any supermarket you go to. Cadbury don't give these biscuits a particularly exciting description ("biscuits half covered in milk chocolate") but the packaging is cute and suitably festive so we can overlook that.

A key feature of all childhoods... except mine

RECIPE REVIEW - Paul Hollywood's Mince Pies

I can't feel truly Christmassy until I've eaten a mince pie. I'm one of those people who complains about seeing them in stores in September, but is inwardly delighted at the thought that mince pie season is fast approaching. I confess that I'm bit of a mince pie snob and won't willingly eat many of the shop-bought varieties (I hate the pastry lids, which I always find really dry). You can't beat a classic homemade mince pie, fresh and warm from the oven with a liberal dusting of icing sugar over the top.

If I've got a bit of time, then my favourite mince pie recipe to make is Mr Paul Hollywood's - he makes the most beautiful pastry! The recipe comes from the BBC GoodFood website (just here) and recommends that you need 45 minutes of prep time before these can go in the oven (inevitably I always take longer as I tend to faff around).

REVIEW - Cadbury Snow Bites

For me, Christmas food is all about the mince pies, the roast dinner and the chocolate. COPIOUS amounts of chocolate. Chocolate consumption begins on December 1st with that first opening of the advent calendar and gradually increases over the following weeks. I find it usually peaks a couple of days before the day itself, when I start stress-eating it as I fret about presents I haven't bought/presents I haven't wrapped/cards I haven't sent. Chocolate is everywhere - brave the Christmas aisle in any supermarket and I'd say a good 70% of it is chocolate.

I try to refrain from buying *too* much chocolate in the lead up to Christmas (mainly because I know that a. I'll probably be given a fair amount for Christmas and b. buying it in the post-Christmas sales is more fun) but I was shopping at lunchtime yesterday (never good) after a Zumba class and was desperately in need of some sugar. Sugar in the form of Cadbury's Snow Bites, those delightful balls of solid chocolate covered in a crispy sugar shell and absolutely drenched in icing sugar.

Aka festive mini eggs

REVIEW - Mr Kipling Frosty Fancies

Christmas must be Mr Kipling's favourite time of year. Not only do his sales of mince pies sky-rocket but he also gets to roll out the festive classics, such as his Festive Bakewell Tarts, Gingerbread Whirls and the good old Frosty Fancies.

I do like French Fancies and won't turn them down if they're in front of me, but they're not really something I would go and deliberately buy for myself. My mum brought these with her as a gift when she came for a recent visit, hence why they ended up in my food cupboard. Now that I think of it, my last packet of French Fancies (the Halloween witches' hat editions) were also a present from my mum - maybe she likes giving them as gifts, who knows!

"Exceedingly merry"

REVIEW - M&S Christmas Spiced Buns

With just one more full day to go until the advent calendar can be opened and Mariah Carey is playing on every radio station, I think it's ok to start reviewing festive treats. We'll ignore the fact that I ate these at the start of November - in my defence I was passing time whilst waiting for a train and they were reduced in the M&S Simply Food store. Although I love nearly all M&S food, I am particularly fond of it when it has a little yellow sticker on it.

I got these reduced 'spiced festive buns' for £1.55 but sadly in my excitement I didn't actually note the original price. I imagine it would be somewhere around the £2 mark, in line with their other similar buns such as the classic 'iced and spiced'. The buns come in packs of two and are described as spiced and fruity iced buns with a sweet brandy sauce centre.

The festive food is upon us