Join the club

There's nothing more satisfying than picking yourself up a bargain. A visit to Marks & Spencer Simply Food last night had me scouring the aisles for items drastically reduced in price. The section I usually attack first is the sandwiches section. Even with closing time looming this section is often populated with reduced sandwiches. However, the fillings don't fair very well with a junk food connoisseur and usually consists of Egg and Cress or Egg Mayo. On this occasion the Club sandwich caught my eye and at a reduced price of £1.25 from £3.00 it was too good to turn down.

Anyway, enough about discounts, after all this isn't a money saving blog. Let's move on to more important matters such as what the Club sandwich contains. Each half contains 3 slices of toasted oatmeal bread filled with chicken, bacon, mature Cheddar, vine ripened tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and seasoned mayonnaise. There are a lot of ingredients but they all fuse together very well with the seasoned mayonnaise and Cheddar having a prominent flavour. The cucumber offers a nice crunch in between the 3 layers of bread. It's the toasted bread that I'm not overly a fan of but it wouldn't be a Club sandwich without this.

As you can see from the nutritional information, it's a sandwich any junk food connoisseur would be proud of. Weighing in at 575 calories per pack with 26.7g of fat. Throw in a packet of crisps and an orange juice and you're looking at a whooping 1000+ calories lunch. Despite it being a favourite of mine this heavyweight sandwich is not recommended for regular daily consumption.

For a sandwich that's purchased from a supermarket this certainly ranks up there as one of the best and at the price I paid, it tastes even better. A deep filled sandwich at discount price to keep my pockets deep filled. Do you agree with me or is there another supermarket sandwich that can rival this?

Do you feel like chicken tonight?

I came across a news article tonight about a girl who has eaten nothing but chicken nuggets since she was two. Despite reading this article on a UK based news website my initial thoughts were that she probably resides in the US not UK. I must admit I was also expecting the girl to be obese but was surprised to see that she "appears" to look healthy which goes to show that appearances are deceiving after all.

It's astonishing that it's taken her this long to concede that her chicken nugget only diet is having a negative effect on her health. There is a plus side to all this though, least she's a cheap date for her boyfriend.

For those that aren't aware, chicken nuggets are generally produced from bad chickens grounded to the bone and combined with preservatives. There are many videos on the web that illustrate this and one particular clip I'm a fan of is Jamie Oliver's, from his US school dinners series. Unfortunately in the US version he fails miserably to convince the school children that processed meat is bad.

Admittedly I do find chicken nuggets tasty but as with everything else in life, they should be consumed in moderation. Alternatively, you can try making them yourselves and then you're guaranteed they'll be free of preservatives.

This is just another reminder that despite the fact I promote junk food products, it's very important to have a varied and balanced diet coupled with regular bouts of exercise. Go on, treat yourself then!

Meals on wheels

Laziness is an obstacle in life that we must overcome on a regular basis. The ever growing popularity of the Internet has hindered rather than helped our idleness. Gifts, groceries and even takeaways can now be ordered online and delivered to your door step thus removing the need for the little effort it requires your legs to carry you through the aisles of your local supermarket.

At work this week a trolley service has been introduced by a firm named Superior Sandwiches. Quite simply put, it's a lady (maybe a cleaner) pushing a trolley full of refreshments for sale around the office floors during lunch hours.

There are a wide variety of items available from pork pies to custard tarts, soups to yoghurts and of course the usual suspects like wraps and sandwiches. The three tiered trolley has attracted a lot of attention but either the quality or pricing has deterred the majority.

As good as food delivered to your desk sounds, they are not encouraging signs when several employees who could benefit from the brisk walk to the local convenience store are seen purchasing multiple items. To make matters worse, I noticed the lady do the rounds on our floor not once, not twice but three times. She's clearly discovered a few weak souls on the floor that she can capitalise from and fair play to her. As much I'm criticising the service, it's a welcome addition and there are occasions when this will be beneficial. Besides, their offerings are a far better option than the sandwiches available in our vending machine. 

Working in an office and being sat staring at a computer for numerous hours a day makes it even more important to get some fresh air at lunchtime. Despite the fact that I'm preaching this, I am often guilty of walking no further than 20 yards to the canteen.

Unfortunately for you readers I haven't sampled anything from the trolley service. Sooner or later though the laziness will overpower me. I just need to make sure I don't go for seconds!

Luncheon Meat

It occurred to me the other night that I'd not blogged yet this year and I know my readers in Singapore will probably be quite concerned that I'm not eating this year. Fear not Singaporeans, I am not on a diet!

As it is January I've been making a conscious effort to bring my own lunch into work. On Monday I had prepared Fried Udon with Luncheon Meat otherwise known as Spam. This brings me on to the product of Luncheon Meat, something that you're certain to find in the cupboards of a Chinese household. However, as controversial as it may sound, us Orientals don't opt for the Western option. Instead, we purchase our own variation from the East, Ma Ling "Premium" Luncheon Meat.

OK, you got me there, as it says on the tin it's produced in Holland but the essence is that of the East. Personally, I have no preference as to which brand I purchase but I do find that Spam is slightly saltier than the Eastern alternatives. Either way, Luncheon Meat is a great accompaniment to noodles, fried rice or in my case sandwiches too cooked or uncooked. If you've never tried it, give it a go, it's the future! It's meat in a tin, forget Tuna that's far too healthy!

For those of you intrigued by the lunch I prepared on Monday, below is a photo. Pan fried with garlic, onions and soy sauce it only takes a few minutes to cook yet even less to devour!

Chocolate Jenga

The Christmas period hasn't quite ended yet and I'm still feasting away on a daily basis. On Tuesday, I was invited to a friend's house party and was welcomed by quite an impressive spread. Here is a list of some items that were on offer; cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, sandwiches, home made burgers, pizzas, chicken wings and home made potato wedges. For dessert there was a home made chocolate sponge cake too.

However, despite all that's been mentioned, the item that most caught my eye was the chocolate finger Jenga tower. Constructed from a combination of milk and white chocolate Cadbury's fingers, it was stacked at about 20 fingers high. It was certainly the party piece that caught the attention of all the guests that evening.

After much admiration though, it was time for the game of Jenga to begin. It was suggested that the culprit who removes the finger that causes the tower to tumble should consume the remaining fingers but that idea was quickly dismissed by the majority. It's certainly a challenge worth considering for future parties though. I'd like to add that rather than adding the finger removed from the tower to the top of the tower as you would do in a conventional game of Jenga, we simply ate the finger.

In case you're wondering, I removed my finger with consummate ease, opting for a white chocolate. Unfortunately the girl that whose turn was immediately after mine wasn't so skilled and the tower tumbled in what was only the 6th turn. Everyone then seemed to dive in like vultures and below is what remained. There was an attempt to construct a smaller tower from those remains but it wasn't worth the effort.

The tower was certainly a (brief) talking point of the night prior to it's demolition. I personally think it could actually be used as a ice breaker at a party. Maybe you'll consider creating a chocolate finger Jenga tower in your next party or a variation of it? Feel free to share any other food related party games or show pieces you've seen before.

What's on your chips?

Christmas is looming and for most people they've been winding down with everything done and dusted. Myself on the other hand has just returned from helping out at my parent's chippy for the Christmas Eve rush. You'd have thought that most people would be saving themselves for the big feast tomorrow but it appears as though they favour warming their stomachs alla Joey Tribbiani.

It became apparent to me tonight that despite the fact it's not on the menu salt and pepper chips is requested very often (and we happily oblige). What has become of people and where did this all begin? Is salt and vinegar simply not enough? There are also an array of sauces available; curry, gravy, sweet and sour and even tomato ketchup but yet folk like to be different and creative. Cheese is another popular addition to chips but more commonly served in kebab shops.

Historically, the two condiments of salt and pepper have been used in spare ribs or chicken wings and they are often very popular appetisers in Chinese takeaways and restaurants. I'll admit there is often slightly more to it than just salt and pepper, with the addition of diced chillis, onions and peppers. As you can see in the image above, this is also the case with salt and pepper chips.

In case you were wondering, I did end the night with a portion of salt and pepper chips to share with my brother. So tell me folks, what's on your chips?

Who ate all the pies?

Quite clearly... it's me that's eaten all the pies! Today my dinner consisted of a Pieminister Moo Pie that is basically a steak and ale pie. I first came across the Pieminister brand at a friend's house and at the time they were only available from Ocado. However, recently I've started to notice them showing up in my local Tesco and the Junk Food Connoisseur just couldn't resist.

The Pieminister range is certainly in the Premier League of pies where as Holland's I'm afraid to say would be lucky to get into the Championship. At £2.99 each they aren't exactly cheap and is certainly something you should only be treating yourself to occasionally (read on for more reasons).

The filling within the pie is very generous, the steak very tender and sauce was exceptionally tasty. I generally prefer my pies to be slightly moist but the filling is more than sufficient and additional gravy wasn't required. At 643 calories, the Moo pie is rather epic and with some additional trimmings it can easily top the 1000 calories mark for a single meal.

As mentioned above, the Pieminister range is available from Ocado/Waitrose and most recently Tesco. Their website states that the pies are also available in pubs and restaurants.  They have a large range of different fillings and also produce sausage rolls and sweet pies. I'm having a difficult time deciding which filling to try next, suggestions welcome!