There’s a VEGAN Chocolate Liqueur at M&S and You Can Get TWO Bottles for £16 Right Now: Plus All The Other Special Tipples To Make Your Christmas-Tree-Decorating Weekend Merry & Bright

£12 or two for £16

Can you believe your eyes? Marks & Sparks have made an all vegan chocolate liqueur, so if the temptation of a Baileys on ice makes you go back to plain vegetarian at holiday time, now you can stick to your guns and sip their Coconut Chocolate Vegan liqueur of an evening (see below).

Lots of the speciality drinks are on offer right now, which I will share with you in this post,  but with the liqueurs especially you can buy two bottles for £16, or even buy a crate online at £8 each here.

In the deal you can mix and match flavours, so you can try the exotic Yule Log Flavour Liqueur, or Salted Caramel, Egg Nog Cream, or Chocolate Peanut.

£12 or two for £16

£2

There are also offers on their mulled wines, both red and rosé (see further below), and their traditional Non Alcoholic Mulled Punch is a reasonable £2 a bottle. 

Mulled Rosé seems super posh, doesn’t it? 

The wines & spirits aisle in Marks & Spencer is a veritable treasure trove right now, with a tonne of different delicious concoctions to serve at parties and gatherings to wow your friends and family. 

As I said many of the speciality drinks have the bonus of being on offer too, so it’s well worth having a nosy in store if you have a few more gifts to buy, as they are great value, look substantial and festive too.

There’s up to 30% off Christmas drinks here, and you can save £3 off bottles of spirits and cocktails from this selection.

Another mix and match offer in store that I love, are these boxes of hot toddies in several different flavours (below). You can get 3 for 2. There’s Gingerbread Brandy Hot Chocolates and Salted Caramel Rum Hot Chocolates, £6 for a box of two, and they include the glasses.

You Just whizz them in the microwave for 45 seconds. It’s pretty cool that the cream in the drinks comes from a Northern Irish farm, just outside Coleraine too. 

So there’s plenty of choice of tipples for the adults for this weekend and the holidays beyond, but for the teetotal amongst us, and under 18s, there are lots of tasty, seasonal drinks in M&S to try too. 

There’s the Non-Alcoholic Punch I mentioned before, as well as two different Mulled Juices in the fridges that can be enjoyed hot or cold.

My absolute favourite however is the Spanish Clementine Juice. I buy it throughout the year too, but I challenge you to try it and not get the massive wave of nostaligia I always get when I drink it. It doesn’t taste like ordinary, fresh orange juice, it tastes EXACTLY like the orange you got in your Santa Stocking every year. It’s so sweet and delicious. The usual two for £3 applies to the mix and match fresh juices.

In the lunch and snack fridge section you can try a mini Clementine drink (below), as they have that and an Orange, Pomegranate & Cranberry variety bottle. They are £1.50 each with a portion of sale going to Shelter, the homeless charity M&S heartily support every Christmas period.

So make sure you check out all the fab offers in store this weekend, and the drinks gifts online . It’s a great weekend to pop into your local Marks & Spencer’s though, as they have the £10 Dine In Offer on all weekend.

Also I noticed all their beauty gifts are 50% off, which is huge, so if you still have some gifts to buy, M&S is your place. 

Sweet Potato Steaks & Edamame Burgers: Go Veggie This Weekend with 20% Off M&S New Range

I love a good veggie burger, and often pick them over regular burgers when eating out cause they are just so delicious. I make them at home too, but they are always the regular same tasting recipe wherever I buy them. 

Marks & Spencer has just launched a new Veggie Range, with products us meat eaters will be coveting, including three different fresh veggie burger varieties.  Lentil & Beetroot, Edamame Bean, and Sweetcorn & Chickpea.

I had the Lentil & Beetroot for lunch and they are incredible. I would challenge you to make them for someone who is anti-Veggie, and see if they even notice it’s not meat. The texture is spot on for a high quality beef burger. The only clue might be the Beetroot pink tinge!  

They've also launched some tempting falafel products, the beetroot variety looks so cool it’s almost worth buying for the Instagram-Factor.

It’s a great time to try the new products as the whole range has 20% off. Because the items are vegetable based and not meat, it means the packs of burgers are really great value, at £2.20 and up.

Another must-Instagram newbie is the Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Sausage.

Along with the meal ingredients range, they also have relaunched their veggie meal products like lasange, stroganoff, pasta bakes etc. Those can be found in the Ready meal aisle alongside the Asian takeaway dishes, whilst the other Veggie products are alongside the fresh and veg at the entrance of your local store. 

My other super hipster, impress your mates cool Veggie product to buy is the Sweet Potato Steak. I can’t wait to try everything out over the weekend.  

Lastly, don’t forget there are Veggie Percy Pigs, and a whole range of Veggie Colin the Caterpillar sweets.

Rustic Artisan Breads & Scrumptious Cheeses at M&S

There’s a whole new range of rustic, British artisan breads in store at the M&S Bakery counter. Paired with their wide range of cheeses, they make for a homely comforting afternoon snack.

M&S Pizza Offer for Autumn 2017 Is Their Best Yet! 2 Pizzas & 2 Sides for £10

Marks & Spencer's £10 Pizza Deals are legendary, second only to their Dine In weekend meals which should go down in history as one of the best ideas they ever came up with. 

Their pizza deal for autumn 2017 is beyond a bargain and should feed a whole family easily. You can choose two pizzas, and two sides for £10. 

The pizzas can be from their classic selection, but it's worth noting you can try their brand new Detroit style pizzas, which have just hit stores this week, in the offer also.

The Detroit Style pizzas are thin based and fully loaded. The Philly Steak has Colby cheese, green peppers, house sauce, mozzarella, mature cheddar and comes with American mustard mayo for drizzling once cooked. Three cheeses on one pizza!

All Fired Up is a classic American Hot, with pepperoni and red hot chilli sauce for drizzling. The Whole Hog is a pork lovers dream and the Meatball Marinara combines your two favourite Italian dishes in one delicious handheld snack.

With two sides to choose from, there's coleslaw, potato salad & fresh side salads, or for a real treat you can pick from Mac N Cheese Bites, Cheesy Pizza Fries & Spicy Chicken & Rice Bites. These can really bulk the meal up if there are more than three of you.

The offer is on in stores now, so the choice is really up to you. Any two pizzas, and any two sides for £10. 

I will update with some cooked pizza shots over the next few days as we work our way through these beasts! 

Fruit & Nut Salami, Chocolate Olives, Sparkling Rose and Coffee Flavour Drinks, & Nougat That Looks Like Gourmet Sushi- Curious Candy For Your Sweet Tooth From M&S Spirit of Summer 2017

Gastro Book £5

We are at the half way point of the summer holidays, but there's still plenty of time to be adventurous and try the inventive treats from the Marks & Spencer Spirit of Summer range for 2017. Mediterranean inspired goodies are to be found in every aisle and every food department. 

This week we were invited to try the sweet delights of the confectionary, dessert and drinks ranges. What struck me about the choices in the colourful fridges and tempting shelves were how unusual some of the products were. There are 'chocolate olives', which are milk chocolate coated almonds. 

Chocoate Fruit & Nut Salami at first sounds crazy, but then thinking about it- yes please. Peach Bellini Truffles and a Mocha, Lemon, Pistachio and more selection of Gelato Truffles make up the Spirit of Summer confectionary selection.

Summer Nougat £4

Jellies £3 : Fudge £4

Of course my eye was instantly drawn to these beautiful little packages of nougat and fudge. They look like gourmet pieces of hand rolled sushi, but sweet! Heaven! The nougat has apricot, pistachio & rose flavours, while the fudge has pecan, ginger & Valencian Orange nibbles to enjoy.

Smix just loves watermelon anything, so the selection of watermelon and lemon & blueberry juice jellies are perfect for his dessert. 

Lemon & Rose Presse £2

Agua Fresca £2.20 : Yoghurt £1.50

Continuing the watermelon theme, we picked up a freshly squeezed Agua Fresca.

If you like your flavours unusual, the Spirit of Summer drinks choice is inventive also. You can be adventurous with a sparkling lemon & rose presse, a coffee spritzer, or for a party with some surpirses why not serve some Olive Vodka, Murcia Lemon Buck's Fizz, or Peach Frizzante?

Chocolates £2 : Drinks x4 £2.30

For grab from the fridge & go, handbag-sized chilled cans, there are Spirit of Summer Sparkling Grape, Sicilian Lemon & Grapefruit mini-cans. There's also an orange flavour if you prefer. 

There are some more interesting flavour combos in smaller snack packs, like the Hazelnut Coffee Vanilla Custard Chocolates. 

Lastly, for the ultimate summer dessert, it's got to be cinnamon sugar dusted, oven-warmed churros, with a side of hot chocolate sauce.  Hopefully those will stick around after summer 2017 is gone.

Churros £4

More Sausage For Your Sizzle- 3 for £10 BBQ & Grill Delights From M&S

Much as I love a good old fashioned sausage, I'm rather partial to the wealth of fancy BBQ treats Marks & Spencer have on offer each year. King prawn skewers, chilli & halloumi kebabs, smoky ham & cheese warmed on the BBQ grill.... I'll take one of everything please!

Handily, M&S have a number of offers on right now that means you can try more of the products. The BBQ Grill meats are all 3 for £10 mix and match, so for one bundle I got the two different skewers above, plus the Lemon & Herb Salmon Flatties. Then a second £10 selection of 12 Cornish Cove & Bacon Posh Puppies (hot dogs), BBQ Beef Brisket in a chilli glaze, and the Mixed Slider Selection- 4 chorizo pork & 4 Moroccan spiced lamb mini burgers.

Chorizo sliders, Moroccan lamb sliders & Cornish Cove and bacon Posh Dogs on the grill!

M&S also have a range of delicious BBQ Grill sides, which fall under the 2 for £4, or 3 for £6 offers. I picked the Smokey Spiced Potatoes (above) and the Sweet Potato Wedges (below). These can simply be placed in the oven to cook while the meat is BBQed.

Weird Judy, BBQ Defender

Marks & Spencer is the home of exotic salads, and their long running 2 for £4 offer on the mini boxed fresh salads includes the new recipes for Spirit of Summer 2017. The Orzo Pasta below is excellent, it will be a summer-long repurchase for me. 

Hopefully we will have lots of sunny weather for BBQs! 

M&S Spirit of Summer 2017 is In Store Now- 20% Off Meals, Deli & Salad Offers, Plus a Summer Meal Deal for £7

Spirit of Summer has arrived in store at  Marks & Spencer and there are a selection of offers to take advantage of to try the new dishes and meals.

The first is the £7 Summer Meal for Two. It's a main, a side and a salad, for two to share. There are chicken, fish and meat options, but I really found myself fancying the vegetarian offers. I chose the tomato & mozzarella stuffed peppers, above, but there were also very tasty looking stuffed aubergines. It was tricky to choose, which became the theme or selecting items for this blog post. There is a lot of fab new products on the shelves in the Spirit of Summer 2017 range, dishes and ingredients I haven't seen in supermarkets before even, so choosing is tricky, due to wanting to try everything at once!

After oven cooking and trying the mozzarella stuffed peppers, I HIGHLY recommend them. The pesto drizzle was heavenly. I'll be buying them again. 

So it's handy to be able to choose from the deli 3 for £7 deal, and the new Spirit of Summer deli dishes are included. There are also summer meat selections in the 3 for £10 offer and I had to try the new calamari with pomegranate dressing. 

The new summer deli items are from all over the world so there are a lot of exotic tastes to try. Last summer season the ranges seemed fixed in the Americas for flavours, but Spirit of Summer 2017 is all new, and already I'm loving the variety this year a lot more. 

Another deal you can take advantage of right now is 20% off a wide range of the summer meals and desserts. This includes much of the range that doesn't fall under the deli or meat deals. For example the lamb flatbread was only £2.40 with the offer, which is a bargain for a fancy pizza for one. 

The new desserts I haven't investigated too much yet, but there are cakes, cupcakes and fridge desserts in the 20% off deal. The Valencian Orange & Almond cupcakes are a delight. I'm fond of anything with almond, and the flavours balance each other nicely. Perfect for afternoon tea.

Finally, the small square salads are 2 for £4 and there are a good half dozen new dishes to choose from. The feta, tomato and morello cherry salad was a must try for me. The green courgette salad was fresh and light and would make a great side for an early BBQ.

Let me know what Spirit of Summer treats you've tried this week, @rudedoodle on Twitter.