The nation's dining habits... revealed!

How often do you eat out? I have to admit now I have a baby under a year old I can't remember the last time I went out for dinner, though we do manage the occasional lunch out usually for a family birthday! Have you ever thought about how much eating out in restaurants costs each year and does that make you want to make more effort to cook at home, or is the cost worth it for the experience and quality of food?

This infographic from Sunny reveals some of the nation's dining habits including our favourite cuisine - some of the stats might surprise you! #sponsoredpost


Provided by Sunny

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Meal Planning Monday 2019 Week 7

I've got laryngitis at the moment so we had to cancel the visit to my parents last week and plans for this week are a bit up in the air until I get my voice back! So I am going to plan meals as if we were going to be at home every day but hopefully we will get to visit my parents at some point.

Monday
Breakfast for baby S porridge
Lunch for baby S peanut butter sandwich and apple slices with cinnamon
Lunch for us hotdogs
Dinner for baby S butterbean and veg stew followed by quark and fruit
Dinner for us fish pie for me, chicken wrapped in bacon for him

Tuesday
Breakfast for baby S porridge with fruit
Lunch for baby S crumpet and soft cheese
Lunch for us soup and bread
Dinner for baby S lentil, coconut milk, butternut squash and chicken curry based on this recipe
Dinner for us rest of fish pie for me, sausages for him

Wednesday
Breakfast for baby S cereal with milk
Lunch for baby S cheddar and butterbean bites with bits of finger food
Lunch for us just me as my husband is out - I'll probably have a sandwich
Dinner for baby S homemade risotto from the freezer
Dinner for us chicken goujons and prawns in breadcrumbs and chips

Thursday Valentine's day
Breakfast for baby S cereal with milk
Lunch for baby S  baked beans and toast
Lunch for us full English with heart shaped toast if I can be bothered
Dinner for baby S something from the freezer (I've got lots of batch cooked meals for her)
Dinner for us TBA

Friday
Breakfast for baby S porridge
Lunch for baby S  puff pastry with tomato puree and cheese
Lunch for us puff pastry with tomato puree and cheese
Dinner for baby S something from the freezer
Dinner for us pasta and meatballs I didn't do last week

Saturday
Breakfast for baby S porridge
Lunch for baby S at a birthday party
Lunch for us at a birthday party
Dinner for baby S something from the freezer
Dinner for us  sole with new potatoes for me, chicken mini fillets for him

Sunday
Breakfast for baby S cereal
Lunch for baby S pitta bread, cucumber, her favourite finger foods
Lunch for us bacon sandwich
Dinner for baby S sole with potato and sweetcorn
Dinner for us chicken mini roast

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Why Iberian ham deserves a place on the British dining table

How much do you know about Iberian ham? I have to admit I was a little hazy - I knew it from restaurants and deli counters as a wafer thin type of cured ham from Spain but that was about it.

In fact it's the pigs that are Iberian. They have dark skin and look black rather than pink, with long slender hind legs. They live in freedom and graze on acorns in certain parts of Spain, which apparently gives the meat a unique taste.

It's quite interesting reading about the process to produce the ham from salting to washing, then the pieces are left for up to three month for the salt to permeate. The really unique bit is the way the hams are cured - hung up and exposed to the natural climate conditions for 18-24 months and after that aged in a cellar for at least another 12 months (usually 18). The secret of curing is passed down in families from generation to generation.

It's also part of the famed Mediterranean diet - Iberian ham is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, protein, zinc and vitamins B1, B3 and B12, according to the information leaflet I received.

I was sent some Iberian ham by Ibeham, a project promoted by the Denomination of Origin Guijuelo (Spain). There are plenty of recipes on their site suggesting how to enjoy the ham but I wanted something fairly pure and simple, so tried it on a piece of fresh bread with some mozzarella and a little olive oil.

The slices are so wafer thin they are almost transparent, separated in the packet by pieces of plastic so you can peel the ham off. Each slice has a ribbon of fat which dissolved on the tongue and the taste and texture were both top notch. There are a lot of recipes you can use this in but I just want to savour the flavour by itself!

If you can get hold of some proper Iberian ham - and you don't have to go to specialist shops, Waitrose has some - then I highly recommend it as a little bit of luxury if you're just having a sandwich, or a platter for guests if you are entertaining.

Thanks to Ibeham for the ham to review

 

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Review: Thomas Fudge flatbreads

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Meal Planning Monday 2019 Week 6

I didn't manage to do a meal plan last week as I had very little time and had to just wing it when it came to meals... which isn't that easy when you are trying to prepare healthy nutritious food for a baby, finish feeding her and realise you need to get your own dinner on and have no idea what you are going to cook! My mum is out of hospital and has been for over a week now, and is doing really well; we are going to see her and my dad this week.

Monday
Breakfast for baby S Porridge with red berries
Lunch for baby S Chicken, potato waffles, veg
Lunch for us sausage sandwich
Dinner for baby S  pork with butternut squash and broccoli
Dinner for us steak and chips

Tuesday
Breakfast for baby S toast
Lunch for baby S banana pancakes
Lunch for us  pancakes
Dinner for baby S jar of baby food I opened yesterday that she didn't want followed by sugar free jelly
Dinner for us sole with lemon and parsley sauce for me, chicken chargrills for him 

Wednesday
Breakfast for baby S quark with fruit or possibly just milk depending on when we leave
Lunch for baby S finger food of cheese, pitta, cucumber etc followed by malt loaf
Lunch for us with my parents
Dinner for baby S sole with veg followed by a fruit pot
Dinner for us McDonalds which I know my husband has been wanting for a while, as we will have had a long drive

Thursday
Breakfast for baby S quark with fruit
Lunch for baby S cheese toastie followed by malt loaf
Lunch for us cheese and ham toasties
Dinner for baby S homemade risotto
Dinner for us  sausage casserole 

Friday
Breakfast for baby S crumpet with Marmite
Lunch for baby S sausage casserole
Lunch for us soup and bread
Dinner for baby S something homemade from the freezer
Dinner for us burger and chips

Saturday
Breakfast for baby S porridge
Lunch for baby S crumpets with soft cheese
Lunch for us crumpets and hot cross buns
Dinner for baby S pasta and meatballs with garlic bread
Dinner for us pasta and meatballs with garlic bread

Sunday
Breakfast for baby S porridge
Lunch for baby S pitta, cheese etc
Lunch for us sausage and egg muffins
Dinner for baby S something homemade from the freezer
Dinner for us TBA

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A Unique Valentine's Day Gift - Engraved Silver Marmite Lid

What do you get for the man who has everything? OK not everything, but if there's something my husband decides he wants, one click of a button and it turns up the next day from Amazon Prime. It takes a lot of thought at birthday and Christmas to come up with something he will like but hasn't already bought himself, and I try hard to find slightly quirky or unusual gifts from independent retailers or online gift companies (one stocking filler I got him this year was a doorstop for his 'man cave' (study) carved with the word 'hodor').

Game of Thrones is all very well but not the most romantic inspiration when it comes to Valentine's day (I don't even watch the show but can tell most relationships on it have met a nasty end). Marmite may also not seem the most romantic of gifts - until you think of the famous advertising strapline: 'Marmite - you either love it or hate it'. Believe it or not, that advert was devised in the mid 90s, and has lasted so long that it's become a metaphor for anything people have strong feelings towards.

People who love Marmite, love Marmite. It is a sign of true love for them to say they love you more than they love Marmite!

So what better way to say I love you this Valentine's day than with a jar of Marmite? Well how about this: a personalised engraved silver Marmite lid that is a beautiful keepsake, and actually fits on top of your jar of Marmite so you can either keep it in the larder or on your bedside table (the engraved lid that is, not the Marmite - unless you really love it).

There are a few different places that sell engraved Marmite lids but this one from The Engravers Guild has a beautiful design of a cupid and hearts and the words 'I love you even more than Marmite' along with the recipient's name. You could even get your own name as a keepsake for yourself!

Made of solid 925 sterling sliver in a UK silversmiths, the lid fits a standard 250g jar of Marmite. The engraving is done with a diamond-tipped machine cutter so it will last a lifetime making this a really lovely keepsake for your valentine. This one, the sterling 925 silver, retails at £79 including the cost of the engraving and a gift box.

The Engravers Guild has some other options as well including a Brexit/Remainer version, a plain silver lid (£59.95) which you could have engraved with a message for a birthday or Christening or anything else, or one finished with 9 carat gold for £140 if you want to treat your love to something even more lavish.

I love the way it has turned out - you can see more of the details on the lid in this close up photo above.
Standard delivery is 3-5 working days but they also offer a next day service if you've left it a bit late - and the lid is of course delivered with a jar of Marmite!

Thanks to The Engravers Guild of London which offers a range of personalised gifts for the complimentary engraved Marmite lid. All opinions are my own and this is not a paid-for post though I was sent an engraved lid free of charge.

 

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Baby Hand Print Get Well Card - A little bird told me you're not feeling so chirpy

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