I popped into the Marks & Spencer food store on Ecclesall Road this week. Not somewhere I usually go, but good for a treat, which in this case was a special packed lunch for my older boy for a school trip. All the other kids were getting fish & chips, and of course he couldn’t have any, so a premium lunch was required to make up for that. I have promised we can have family fish & chips on Friday instead, from the lovely Neptune’s at Banner Cross.

So whilst I was in M&S, I picked up few a few new (to me) products to try. M&S are getting in on the sandwich thins trend with this very soft and generously seeded version. I love their crispy toasts, so I got two kinds to try: apricot and cashew, and date and walnut. I also found a noodle pot, which wasn’t in the free from section, and some interesting looking sweet potato crisps with Harissa. (I quite like harissa – it’s most frequently used in my house to spice up scrambled eggs at the weekend.)

So yesterday I got to work on the sandwich thins for my packed lunch. These were super soft – a really great texture – and had a pleasing amount of seeds. I really rate thins because they have a great structural integrity, which you don’t tend to get with a sliced loaf. Also, I tend to find gluten free bread rolls too dense and heavy. These were great and at £1.80 they are very competitively priced.

This evening I tried the Pho noodle pot. These pots make a lovely filling, warm lunch at work, or are also great for a 5:2 tea, which I did today. There’s enough in them to make me feel I’m getting a decent meal for only 265 calories – bargain! And I put it in a bowl to kid myself it was more than just a convenience food. 🙂

I thought the flavour of the broth was good – quite meaty with the tamarind coming through. There were plenty of vegetables (rehydrated of course) and tonnes of noodles. This was also very reasonably priced at £1.75.

I doubt the crisps will survive past tomorrow, but I will save the crispy toasts for the weekend to enjoy with a with a bit of cheese…