Once you pop…

Popcorn. It’s something I just never think of eating outside a cinema. 

Even in the cinema it’s not always my first choice; multiplex popcorn is hardly a culinary delight. I generally just have a fizzy drink and – if it’s available – some Ben and Jerry’s. Those options are much quieter for my fellow audience members and far more delicious.

Yet good old Marks and Spencer has gone a good way to changing my mind and making popcorn seem, well, indulgent. They have a healthy snack range with a cupboard full of treats that all come in at fewer than 100 or fewer than 150 calories. Among them is this:

Chocolate and pecan popcorn at just 130 calories. Yes, even with chocolate! I’ve got a real sweet tooth and this really hits the spot without making me feel guilty. And hey, it’s got to be better than a bag of crisps, right?

Now I’ll admit there doesn’t seem to be very much chocolate drizzled on the top and the pecan nuts are few and far between, but the rich toffee coating on each kernel is enough to pack in the flavour and make this humble cinema snack all the more luxurious.

There’s a strawberry and white chocolate version too but I’ve not sampled it as I’m not keen on freeze dried berries.

Of course, this being Marks and Spencer food, it is a little pricey. When I bought these they were around £2.50 for five bags and, to be honest, the bags aren’t that big but the goodies inside are so rich and decadent you probably won’t care!

It’s a yes from me provided I’m feeling rich.

Crunchy brunchy: Rumblers oat clusters and yoghurt

It’s another foodie delight today as I’ve just discovered these handy little tubs. I have to eat breakfast but some mornings I just don’t feel like eating it straight away, yet that leaves me with no time to actually eat it until I get to work.

Then there's the second problem of having something portable to take to the office. I can’t really take cereal and milk, especially as my office milk police will hound anyone that uses the milk for anything other than splashing into a hot drink. 

Usually I’ll take a bagel but when I stumbled across the Rumblers on a trip to the supermarket I was happy to find something a little different to add to my breakfast repertoire. It was only a pound too.

Once you peel off the wrapper there are two compartments; one with granola style oaty mix (and a foldable spoon hidden away) and the other with a foil-topped tub of nice runny yoghurt.

I, for one, was glad of the runniness. I often read magazines that suggest I have a yogurt poured over cereal but, to be honest, you can’t really do that with normal pots of yoghurts. They just don’t make the cereal soggy enough. Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief that this does the job perfectly.

There were little curls of chocolate in too which some British folk may turn their noses up at, but as a fan of continental breakfasts I was very pleased. Luckily it’s just a small amount so I don’t think your blood sugar will be sky rocketing. It had a delicious vanilla flavour that tasted suitably fresh for the morning.

If I wanted to be picky I could quibble with the fold up spoon. I mean, the handle was covered in melted chocolate curls making the meal a bit messy, and it was also prone to folding itself back up, but they are only minor points. On taste I’d give it a nine out of ten.

The best, most important, thing? It kept me full until lunch time with no need for a sneaky snack. Yes I could hold on to one of the Graze box punnets for another day.

Picky eating: Graze Box

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying to up my game when it comes to eating healthily. I’m not the sort of girl who can push a salad around my plate then claim I’m full; I need three square meals a day, plus snacks. It’s the snacks that are often my downfall, especially at work when the vending machine is calling.

So when a colleague of mine started getting Graze boxes delivered to work I was intrigued. Turns out this company will send you boxes of four healthy snacks – including nuts and seeds, dried fruits, crackers, breads, olives, dips and even a bit of chocolate. You can have the boxes delivered as often or as little as you like and you can go online to rate the snacks they send, so if you get dried apricots through the post (blergh) then you can bin them to ensure they never darken your door again.

I have to say I have been enjoying them and the free time I get from no longer having to plan snacks to take to work with me. The boxes are a bit expensive (£3.49 for four tubs, free delivery) but when you think of the cost of a bag of nuts or fruit in the supermarket it doesn’t seem that bad and they do get bonus points for making things more convenient for me. I’m a bit of a cheapskate so

It’s only been two weeks of my five week trial but so far my favourite has been a punnet of olives and one they call Jaffa Cake, which has four whole buttons of dark chocolate in amongst orange sultanas and hazelnuts. Each of the snacks I’ve had are less than 200 calories, although most are around the 120 calorie mark.

I’m going to keep up with my self-imposed trial and see how I go from there, but I’ve resisted the dreaded vending machine and feel better for eating less junk food.