July 24, 2019

Marks & Spencer Little Shop - Miniature Collectable Versions of Their Classic Food Hall Products: And They Are Free! (One With Every £20 Spent)

July 24, 2019/ Claire Spence

M&S Little Shop quite possibly has to be my favourite thing they’ve launched all 2019 so far, and it’s not even edible. My secondary school aged son and I are both older than the intended age bracket for this fantastic educational, fun venture, but both of us got a little carried away when we came across all the Little Shop products in our local M&S a week or so ago.

In fact he bought himself a tiny M&S replica trolley, and I bought myself a miniature shopping basket, as they were £3 each and we both thought they were too cool to pass up. Our local store had the full Little Shop display that day, with the accessories which go along with the blind bags which are given out, one free with every £20 you spend in the Food Hall.

Little Shop is a fun and educational event for kids (& big kids alike) where you can collect 25 different miniatures of classic Food Hall products. There’s Percy Pig, Cauliflower Popcorn, and the famous favourite Prawn Cocktail Sandwich. Each little miniature comes with a collector’s card with information about the product. For example if it’s fresh produce it could tell you where in the U.K. or Ireland Marks and Spencer sources it.

There is also a dedicated Little Shop corner of the M&S website, with more for kids to learn about sustainability or print out and play games related to the Little Shop theme.

The 25 products are blind bag items, so you will maybe have doubles, but there have been Swap Shops set up for this very occasion! M&S are having in store Little Shop Swap Meets where you can finally gets your hands on that tin of tuna, or bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice, and they are listed in every region of the country- including Northern Ireland! Full listing here.

The Little Shop world plans to be around until about mid-September, but I did spy on the FAQs section that they say if you have an idea for a product that would make a good miniature version, to let them know… so some how I don’t think this will be the final set of tiny takeaways for my trolley.

In the meantime, I still need the Little Shop loaf, the curry, the pizza……

August 17, 2018

M&S’s ‘Tastes of The British Isles’ Range Even Includes a Swanky Upgrade for Paddington Bear’s Marmalade Sandwiches!

August 17, 2018/ Claire Spence

It may be a little drizzly today, but there are still two weeks left of the summer, which means we can still fit in a couple more bbqs, right? Or at least some indoor ones, using some of the great British-sourced produce from M&S.

I called in store at their Bangor Bloomfield branch today to pick up some treats from the ‘Tastes of the British Isles’ range, sourced from farms across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and stretching throughout the whole Food Hall.

What first caught my eye was this tasty little rib rack that would suit friend of Marks & Spencer, Paddington Bear! He loves his marmalade sandwiches, and this is a marmalade glazed pork rib rack. Even Paddington can upgrade his dinner by shopping in Marks and Sparks!

There are lots of great deals on their meats right now too (check out all the offers here) including 2 for £5 on selected sausages, and 3 for £10 mix and match across fish and meats. Selected beef joints are down from £15 to £10, ideal for Sunday dinner.

Keeping in the chilled meats section I spied the rainbow of sausages! I’ll be taking this spread of food to Sunday lunch to share with my family so there will be something for everyone.

I’m a sucker for a novelty, so chose the Red Leicester & Smokehouse Ketchup Cheese Melt to try on the burgers.

The Skinny Slaw (above) I’ve tried before and it’s so good. Coleslaw is something I do avoid when I’m being healthy because it’s got so much mayo on it (says the person who just bought a slab of cheese) but this coleslaw is just as good and is so fresh and sweet. It looks pretty on a plate too.

M&S Cornish Cruncher cheese is one of my favourite cheeses, so these baps will be Super I’m sure. I’ll have to make sure I get one of the yellow ones on Sunday when we try them. I’ll be sharing my verdict on my Instagram.

The ‘Tastes of the British Isles’ desserts are classics and very hard to choose from. There are Bakewell tarts, Crumbles, Eton Mess, Rhubarb and Custard, and much more. I picked a few to try and as you can see they are even beautiful to look at, never mind to taste.

I feel like I should be putting on and afternoon tea like one of the posh hotels with a tea set and a layered tray with all my pastries , they are that pretty.

Smix sneaked in a British Classic- a very chocolatey Fudge Cake. We actually buy this cake often, he loves it. It only costs £2.80 and you won’t find a more moist cake without making one yourself.

Long time readers will know I have a ‘thing’ for the scent of violet, and the taste of rose, so although the Lemon Rose Presse isn’t strictly Taste of British Isles, it is Summery, and I had to give it a whirl, it is GORGEOUS.

Presse £2.20 : Jam £1.80 : Brittle £3.20

Rhubarb, Raspberry & Rose Jam, one thing I love about M&S is that they make products that you can’t get in other supermarkets. I am the type of shopper that will always try the new flavour over the old favourite. In other words if I go into a shop to buy a bag of crisps and there’s a new flavour, I’m always going to buy that rather than the same old one.

That’s why my Instagram is always flooded with weird and wonderful food products I’ve found in random little shops, or hauls from Euro or Asian Supermarkets.

So I love that Marks and Spencer are always trying unusual products like Sea Salt and Vinegar Caramels this summer, like Beetroot and Apple Coleslaw Skinny Slaw. They currently have grapes that taste like a Candy Floss, Mango, and Strawberries on sale in the Bloomfield Bangor Store.

Lastly, the ‘Tastes of the British Isles’ range reaches the takeaway section too, with sandwiches and rolls to choose from, as well as desserts. My favourite though is the Applewood Smoked Ginger Beer Gammon with Tangy Mustard Dip- how do M&S make everything sound so darn tasty even in the description?!

Their sausage rolls are pretty stellar too, I discovered that by accident one Christmas time when I got hooked.

So, I’ll keep you updated over on Instagram on Sunday on the feast including the Paddington-esque Marmalade ribs! Follow me on over!

April 26, 2017

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

April 26, 2017/ Claire Spence

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.

January 19, 2017

M&S Balanced For You: A Refreshed Menu of Healthy Eating & its 3 for £10 Right Now

January 19, 2017/ Claire Spence

If you don't put on weight over Christmas, you haven't done the holiday season justice. The average person puts on half a stone, which can easily be shifted in January with careful watching of calories for a week or two. I never begin trying to lose this weight on January 1st. There are still so many left overs to indulge in, and boxes of sweets to work through. Once we get about two weeks into January and Smix is back at school, I can turn to losing the Christmas chub.

A nice way to do it is with simple calorie counting and the Marks and Spencer Eat Well ranges. You watch for the sunflower symbol and know those ranges, including all the fresh fruit and veg, is a good choice for healthy eating sessions.

I usually skip breakfast and just have coffee, but when I'm trying to lose weight I actually add in this extra meal. It helps get your metabolism working and stops snacking cravings later on. M&S have these snazzy little on the go porridge pots, shown above, for £1. You can also buy packs of sachets of porridges for £2.50

There are several healthy eating ranges at M&S. Count on Us is a low calorie range of typical meals made with less calories. Fuller Longer is a range of meals with ingredients specially picked to fill you up with good stuff.

The range I chose from this week is Balanced for You. Again it focuses on keeping calories down, but also using great, healthier ingredients, so it's a bit of a mid way point between the previous two ranges.

It also has a selection of fresh new dishes this January, and who can resist prawn & crab macaroni cheese? Hard to believe this can be used as 'diet food'.

Lastly I chose Balanced for You for this post as the meals were all on 3 for £10 mix and match when I was in store on Monday. Means you can stock up on 6 meals to cover your whole week evening dinner for £20, taking one day a week off for dinner as a cheat meal.

So porridge for breakfast, Balanced for You for dinner, but what for lunch. When you are watching your weight soups are a great way to fill up at lunch. M&S are kings of delicious soups, and again their range just happens to be on offer, buy one soup, get the other half price. The beetroot soup is my favourite, but I'm keen to try the crab bisque.

I'll let you know how my weight loss goes!

December 09, 2016

Marks & Spencer Sweet Sweet Christmas Party Food 2016

December 09, 2016/ Claire Spence

Two weeks ago I showed you what Marksie's had instore for savoury party food this Christmas 2016. Flown in by Mrs Claus in her helicopter no doubt.

This time around I'm sharing the M&S Christmas party food sweet selection. Party food is on 4 for 3 this week, so again it's worth taking advantage of the offers as they will likely wind down closer to the big day.

Its worth noting you will find the party desserts in three different locations instore. So if you see a product in this blog you want to buy, but can't find it amongst the chilled fridge part desserts, try the frozen department and lastly the bakery section.

Pecan tarts £7 : Doughnuts £4 : fritters £4

A lot of the desserts have edible glitter on them, which I absolutely love. The pecan tarts have golden glitter, as do the chocolate orange brownie tarts. The brownie cubes have actual edible stars, while the Prosecco charms have a silvery sheen.

Brownie tarts £4 : Brownie star bites £4 : Viennese charms £4

This weekend there also is a Dine In £10 offer on. That's where you can get your hands on the glittery, chocolate mousse pine cones from the new M&S Christmas advert.

Still shimmering are the lustred macaroons, which almost look too good to eat.

Macaroons £7 : Pine cones in the £10 deal, or £4

If you want some traditional Christmas tastes, there are of course mince pies, Christmas cake bites or slices, and Stollen.

After all the chocolate the passion fruit profiteroles taste fresh & sweet. Finally we loved the mini red velvet cupcakes because they look like little Santa hats.

What a lovely festive spread you can put on with M&S. Remember many of these desserts can be frozen so you can use them for New Year's if you wish.

November 05, 2016

Sneak a Little Slice of Christmas into Everyday. Xmas 2016 Launches at M&S.

November 05, 2016/ Claire Spence

31st October, Halloween, 1st November, its Christmas. The population always seems split this month. There are those who think it's far too soon to think about Christmas, then there is festive loving folks like myself who are ready to dive straight in to turkey and cranberry everything.

Marks & Spencer's food hall is starting to turn holly berry red, with their Christmas party food and festive flavours appearing in every department. So I visited the Sprucefiled store to choose from the little items you can start adding to your day now, without having a full on turkey dinner. There are dozens of products you can pick for lunch and dinner to get you in the Christmas mood.

Pigs in Blankets £1.75 : Scotch Egg £2 : Mince pies £1.20 : Turkey wrap £3

Every year M&S bring out a Christmas lunch menu for their takeaway food. That includes sandwiches, salads, sausage rolls, wraps, juice and mini desserts for one. This is the 11th year that they have partnered with the charity Shelter, donating 5% of every sale to the homeless charity.

Soup £2.50 : Turkey feast sandwich £3.25 : Sausage roll £1.75

Club sandwich £4.50 : Juice £1.50 : Rolls £3.25

Profiteroles £2 : Cheesecake £2 : Macaroons £1.75

Moving on to the rest of the Food Hall, we see the traditional M&S crazy crisp varieties. Prosecco or Bucks Fizz handcooked crisps are pretty unusual, as well as turkey & maple syrup, but the flavour I'm most excited about is Blackstick's Blue cheese. I already love the blue cheese itself, and the spreadable cheese you can get too, so these are right up my street.

Christmas flavours are also reaching the shelves of the confectionary and biscuit aisles. Even Percy has had a Christmas makeover.

One last deal I have to mention. It's just arrived in store & I anticipate it selling quickly, so if you think it's a suitable gift you should think about buying it while there is a good choice available.

You get a lovely, thick felt stocking, which you can fill with three items of your choice for £10. There are sacks of minty sweets, chocolate skittle games, chocolate gingerbread men, snowball sweeties, winter caramels and various Christmas themed games.

I choose the decorate your own lolly kit, decorate your own biscuits, and the crazy chocolate cracker. For £10 you could divide the items as three separate presents, or use the stocking as a gift bag to give the selection of your choice to someone. Or, like me, you could pick them for yourself!

What's your favourite M&S Christmas product? Check out what else is in store on the M&S website.

September 19, 2016

What's New For Autumn and In M&S Right Now

September 19, 2016/ Claire Spence

I don't know about you, but I find in summer time I am more reluctant to fire up the oven to cook, and instead go with quick and easy food. Now the season is changing I'm craving more homely dishes, Sunday roast style.

So I went along to M&S, Sprucefield this time, to pick up some new, easy to cook products, and something for our family Sunday lunch yesterday.

There was an interesting selection of meats, with duck, rabbit and wood pigeon to choose from. I went for the rabbit, which is perfect for slow cooker recipes. M&S also has a wide selection of potato and other vegetable sides. I love the ease of these, no chopping or peeling.

For Sunday lunch for four I picked this hearty rack of pork. These are priced by weight, so you can choose a piece that is the right size for your family. The tangy apple sauce accompaniment really made the meal delicious. My parents said it was the nicest pork they've had in a long time.

Now here's what I'm talking about. The Cook Menu is a range of meals you simply put in the oven without preparation that 'elevate the everyday' dinner time offering. There are salmon, pork and chicken varieties, pre-seasoned and with their own sauces and vegetables included.

Look at how colourful they are even before going in the oven. They are meant for one person per pack and are on offer right now, I think it was 25% off.

Finally I had a look at what's new in the lunch department. Lots of avocado choices which made me happy. If you want to check out what else is new, visit the Marks & Spencer website.

My next M&S blog post will be the Halloween 2016 run down, which I know you are all looking forward to as I'm getting lots of hits this week on last year's post. Hang in there, soon!

July 29, 2016

Quick! The Sun Is Out! 10 Exotic Alternatives to Just Sausages & Burgers For Your Blazing BBQ This Weekend, from M&S

July 29, 2016/ Claire Spence

£4 or mix and match with other BBQ packs 3 for £10

I've been waiting all spring and summer for good weather to do an M&S BBQ themed blog post, but as every week passed, the drizzle and rain continued. Last night I was organising today's visit to my local Bangor, Bloomfields Marks and Spencer with my PR contact, the lovely Stephanie, and I suggested in lieu of the needed weather, how about I went ahead and shared the amazing BBQ range with you guys anyway? I could highlight that the meats & accompaniments are glazed and infused with great flavour already, so that grilling or oven cooking indoors will give you meals with that delicious BBQ flavour, without having to stand outside over the grill with a brolly up, for that smokehouse taste we love this season.

So that was the plan, but I woke this morning to blue skies! Now the food hasn't been BBQed yet, so maybe I'm jinxing it, but I'm going ahead with a post to show you whats in store on offer straight out of the bag, in case you want to rush to your local M&S right now to catch this rare sun with a BBQ of your own tonight. I will add cooked food photos in due time. (Now added!)

The good news is that all the meats, fish & veggie options are part of the 3 for £10 mix and match offer. Most packs on their own to buy are £4.00-£6.00, so you are saving a couple of pounds, especially if you like the exotic seafood options, like I do.

Now my title says I've picked the interesting, non-burger and non-sausage BBQ foods, but I have taken pics of the burgers and sausages M&S have available too, as you need those for the less adventurous palettes. Of course as its Marks and Spencer's the burgers are the just plain burgers, but more later.

First, some seafood. There was also a pair of sea bass that came wrapped in corn husking to cook on the grill that I liked the look of.

3 for £10 or : Shrimp Sliders £5 : Salmon Skewers £5 : Prawn Skewers £5

Vegetable Kebabs £3.50 : Mexican Coleslaw £1.80

Peri Peri Sauce £1.75 : Mexican Wedges with Nacho Cheese dip £4 : Beef Skewers £4

BBQ Tear & Share bread £2.60 : Mango Coconut Chicken Flatties £4.50 (or mix and match 3 for £10)

Now the hot dogs! M&S are known for their summer 'Posh Dogs', delicious, plump bangers with accompanying brioche style posh dog buns.

I found these mini posh dog skewers with pineapple & jalapeño and garlic & herb sausages to try, in the 3 for £10 mix, or £4.00. The posh dog mustard is £1.50

Cornish Cove (cheese) and bacon Posh Dogs next, £4.50 and Fried Onion rolls to stack them in for £1.80. The sunny yellow sauce is part of a range of refrigerated sauces I think you add to meat while you are cooking for an extra kick. They are £1 each.

So finally, burgers. M&S have a good range of different types, Aberdeen Angus, Steak & Cheese, Venison, Peppered Beef, and my choice, Chorizo burgers, all in the 3 for £10 offer. Watch out for the cheese toppers in several flavours for £2, and the Ultimate Burger Buns in the bakery and bread department.