Marks and Spencer Vegan Meal Deal - Nutty Cauliflower Trio Veggie Pot

So just before Christmas I actually decided to go vegetarian and considering I made it through the festive period with no turkey and found it relatively painless, I'm hoping it should be something I stick with. The great thing about January for someone who is into healthy eating, is there's loads of new healthy products and plant based products on the market - it's like a new Christmas for a health freak like me!

One of the really exciting things new to January is that M&S are now doing a vegan meal deal. They've introduced their first vegan sandwiches, there's vegan nourish bowls, coldpressed juices and lots of interesting new snack options, all for £4. One the new snack options in the deal is this nutty cauliflower trio veggie pot. I suppose it's a veggie version of those egg and spinach or crayfish pots you see in all the supermarkets.

It's fairly simple; plain cauliflower florets, spiced cauliflower and a lovely cashew and cauliflower dip along with some seeds and some salad and rocket leaves. It's only 162 calories and makes for a much more nutritious snack option than a bag of crisps. One of the things I hate about the likes of Tesco, Sainsburys and the likes is their meal deals consist of you basically having to have chocolate or crisps. It's great to see healthier and more interesting options out there.

So how does it taste - really nice and fresh! The cauliflower florets are the perfect texture, cooked but definitely al dente and firm but the star is the cashew and cauliflower dip which is like a cauliflower homous, very thick and creamy and adds a nice richness to the rest of the pot. I'd happily buy a pot of this by itself.

At £4 I think this is a reasonable price for the meal deal and I'm happier to pay a bit more for some delicious, vegan and healthier options.

Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Nutrition per pot: 162 calories

Pret Protein Packed Superbowl

Expensive as it is, I do like to treat myself to a Pret now and then and like the fact they are first with new trends and offer genuinely healthy lunches on the go. The new protein packed superbowl caught my eye today as I was in need of a less carby lunch following a carb heavy breakfast and this ticked the box nicely.

It's all simple real food. Chargrilled chicken and egg form the protein basis and it's on a bed of lentils and quinoa - both pulses known for being good vegetarian protein as well as low GI. Chuck in some healthy fats from avocado, superfood spinach and then parsley, peas and lemon juice for flavour and a seed mix for crunch and extra protein and you've got a rock solid nutritional lunch right there.

Is it the most exciting taste ever? No, it is as you expect simple wholefoods but they do all taste great and complement each other nicely if not setting your taste buds nicely. What I like about Pret is that it tastes fresh. The avocado is firm but ripe and very creamy rather than mushy, the leaves aren't wilted but perky and crisp and the chicken in particular is very flavoursome and tender rather than the nasty stuff you get in cheap pre-packed salads.

It's just a good tasting healthy lunch and it really kept me going. I also bought a bag of kale crisps from there and this tided me over until dinner time with no need to snack. I can't afford to spend £5 on a salad every day but it was a good fit for me today.

Price: £4.99

Bought at: Pret A Manger

Nutrition per bowl: 411 calories, 16.9g fat, 3.9g sat fat, 3.6g sugars, 32.7g protein, 1.3g salt

Score: 7.3

Marks and Spencer Moroccan Spiced Butternut Salad with a roasted carrot dip

This was an easy choice for lunch as soon as I clocked eyes on it. Just look how attractive it is – the bright colours, the mix of textures, lots of big chunks of vegetables and lots of Middle Eastern flavours and spices for a big punch of flavours. This is exactly the type of healthy, convenient product I love – based on lots of vegetables (with this containing 2 of your five a day) and lots of interesting tastes rather than just salad leaves.

To list every ingredient and component of this would take a while because there is so much in it but it essentially breaks down into a couscous with a Moroccan style dressing, a generous helping of soft and creamy tasting carrot dip and large chunks of roasted and spiced butternut squash. That’s not to say there isn’t a whole load more going on as there’s onion, peppers, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, quinoa, spinach and dried apricot as well.

What works so well about this is that individually each component is delicious but also they also work together so you can eat the bits separately or mix them together. It’s really hard to pick what my favourite part is – maybe the roasted butternut squash –it’s soft but firm with a lovely earthy smokiness from cumin and paprika that complements its sweetness. But then the roasted carrot dip is delicious – I would buy a pot of this just by itself as a houmous replacement, its sweet and savoury and has a really thick luscious texture.

And that’s not to say I wouldn’t eat the couscous by itself either – with garlic, chilli and more lightly spiced Moroccan flavours, it’s fragrant and packs a real flavour punch with is accentuated by the mish mash of different textures, bites and flavours studded throughout.

The portion size is exactly right and made a great healthy lunch. Suitable for vegetarians, it’s certainly more interesting than a tuna nicoise or Caesar salad!

Bought at: Marks and Spencer

Nutrition per pack:

Score: 8/10

Marks and Spencer Spirit of Summer - Crayfish, Rice and Quinoa Protein Pot

Protein is in as we all know and protein pots are one of the trendy new products in all the supermarkets following them being introduced in the likes of Pret. The protein pot isn't a full lunch or a snack but a little pot focused on protein typically 200 calories or under and also popular with the 5:2 diet crowd. Protein pots typically started out as basically pots of ready hardboiled eggs with some spinach in but as Pret and restaurants continue to innovate, M&S continues to try new things with a crayfish, rice and protein pot.

It's 134 calories and currently included in the Spirit of Summer lunch/sandwich meal deal as a snack option - definitely a more nutritious choice than a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar (although probably less enjoyable). Quinoa is a grain with more protein than others and also very on trend and then you also have the crayfish and some edamame beans for some more protein in the pot.

There's also a bit of spinach and some salad leaves and to make the whole thing more enjoyable a coconut, lime and chilli dressing. If I'm honest it's not the most exciting thing to eat in the world but it is tasty and a very easy way to get a boost of protein. The dressing, like most I have tried at M&S, just works and brings the whole thing to life. With exotic, creamy coconut, zingy lime and a bit of mild heat, it saturates the rice and quinoa giving the whole thing a very light, summery and uplifting feel.

It is also more filling than any other snacks as a result of the protein so perfect for everyone looking to make a healthier choice although it's hard to choose this when M&S have so many other delicious (and naughty!) goodies.

Bought at: M&S
Nutrition: 134 calories per pot

Score: 7/10

The Strand Dress Me Beautiful Feta, Sweet Potato, Pomegranate Salad (Boots)

Boots as I've said before is my prime choice for lunch on the high street - they just offer so much more healthy and interesting options and are pretty good at getting the newest and coolest brands in. On my most recent trip there it looks like Boots have launched a whole new range called The Strand. This crosses things from salad to sushi to bircher muesli pots and it all looks quite upmarket with its smart black packaging.

This salad honestly in appearance looks as good as anything from the likes of Eat and Pret and really stood out. It's a huge box of salad in a smart clear tray and looks so much more attractive than the other ready made salads you find in supermarkets.

The base is red salanova leaves with shredded beetroot and then topped with chickpeas, roasted sweet potato, spinach with a sprinkling of feta cubes and pomegranate seeds, a few sultanas and a little bit of red onion. It's a wonderfully colourful and vibrant salad and certainly beats a bit of limp lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Its also coated in a lovely tomato and harissa dressing which blends Middle Eastern spices like chilli, coriander and caraway seeds with a little honey for sweetness.

Its just enough to add flavour without drowning the leaves in gloop. There's plenty of sweet potato and chickpeas and everything works really well together. Spicy, tangy coated chickpeas and sweet potato pare s well with the fresh, crunchy leaves, salty bursts of creamy feta and sweet juiciness and acidity of pomegranate.

Nutritionally it's brilliant for a store salad with lower sugar and salt than most and it boasts 7g fibre and 11g protein as well as being vegetarian. I'm really impressed with this new upmarket range and look forward to trying more The Strand products.

Price: £3.75
Bought at: Boots
Nutrition per pot: 188 calories, 7.5g fat, 3.7g sat fat, 7.3g sugars, 7.1g fibre, 11g protein, 0.7g salt

Score: 7.5/10

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Marks and Spencer Crayfish, Mango and Rice Salad

Never one to pass a yellow sticker by in Marks and Spencer I bought this crayfish, mango and rice salad as a quick, easy and fairly healthy lunch. Now that it’s summer (well kind of) I crave tropical, fresh and vibrant food and this looked to fit the bill. It’s a mix of different rices, crayfish, mango chunks and peashoots and comes with a coconut and chilli dressing.

It looks very appetizing and colourful – anything with yellow in always appeals to me food wise and with yellow rice and golden mango it promises a taste of sunshine. There were a good amount of crayfish and M+S never usually skimp on the quantity of their ingredients. The crayfish is also part of the ‘Forever fish’ pledge about sourcing seafood sustainably. The peashoots looked fresh and light and overall you can’t knock the aesthetics.

The coconut and chilli dressing was absolutely delicious – slightly creamy but mostly light, spicy, zingy and just very vibrant. It paired beautifully well with the mango and especially the peashoots for a really light and refreshing tasting lunch. My main criticism was around the rice – it’s cooked well and adds need bulk and filling to the salad but it was slightly bland. I know M+S can do flavoured rice well so was a little disappointed that this was a little monotonous. The dressing wasn’t enough to soak into all of the rice and bar the odd burst of flavour from the dressing it wasn’t all that exciting.

Although not the tastiest salad M+S do, I would buy it again. It’s uplifting and light and nutritionally pretty good.

Bought at: Marks and Spencer

Nutrition per pack : 446 calories, 14.4g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 9.7g sugars, 1.45g salt

Score: 7/10

Marks and Spencer Spirit of Summer Quinoa, Brazil Nut and Avocado

Another one from the M+S salad range and the new Spirit of Summer – I can’t recommend these salad pots enough. They’re just a nice easy, simple, healthy lunch that is light, full of flavour and with lots going on. This quinoa, avocado and brazil nut salad pot was my latest lunch from the range and again there’s so much going on in this.

It’s just so colourful and vibrant and fresh looking with so many different ingredients for different tastes and textures. As well as the title ingredients there’s spelt, kale, sweetcorn, coriander, raisins plus a whole host of things I can’t remember! This one comes with a mango and Amarillo chilli dressing, which is deliciously. Slightly sweet with a good burst of chilli, it is a very summery feeling burst of flavour.

Everything about this worked for me – with so many different flavours and textures, each mouthful just was packed full of flavour and it just tastes healthy and good for you. Another winner from the Spirit of Summer salads!

Price: £1.99

Bought at: Marks and Spencer

Nutrition: 126 calories per half pack

Score: 8/10

Marks and Spencer Coronation Coleslaw

The fact I am posting a review of coronation coleslaw the same weekend of the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations is purely coincidental. Whilst I am a sucker for anything new, I don't start buying things just because of an event - Halloween, the World Cup or Queen's Birthday, I won't start changing what I would buy just because the retailers tell me. M+S as a sponsor of the patron lunch have a few new bits and bobs to mark the occasion but this cornation coleslaw is just part of the normal salad stuff.

During the summer I can be quite lazy lunch with lunches (that's a bit of a lie I'm generally a pretty lazy cook and tend to 'assemble' things on a plate) and like to just have fresh salad and a few cold picky bits so this coleslaw was perfect for one of these lunches.

Opening up the tub it looked really appetising - no wateriness but also not fatty or claggy either. The consistency is the perfect kind - not loose and runny but fairly substantial and the cabbage shreds are nice and chunky and also fresh tasting. M+S always do their salad stuff well and don't compromise on ingredients so the ingredients list is all pretty natural.

I had with some fresh salad and a little frittata and it made a nice, light lunch. The coronation flavour really uplifts normal coleslaw. It's not heavy or mayonaissy but rather fresh with a nice very mild spiciness. The curry flavours cut through any richness and the use of a few sultanas and apricots adds further freshness and a mild sweetness that contrasts nicely with the savoury spice.

It made a nice easy lunch but also one that was a bit more interesting as well.

Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Price: £2.00
Nutrition: 280 calories per 1/2 pack

Score: 7/10

Marks and Spencer Rice, Aduki Bean, Mango and Coconut Salad Review (Spirit of Summer)

There is no question for me that M&S are the best place for packaged salads. They are just so much more tantalising, innovative and use tasty, fresh combos. Even the most salad dodging carnivore couldn't help but like their little £2.00 pots that are on a 2 for £3 mix and match. They make an ideal work lunch as they're self contained, healthy and uttetrly delicious. Though that's not to say they aren't also great spooned onto a plate as an accompaniment to all sorts of things.

Just the name and the beautifu vibrant colours of this rice, aduki bean, mango and coconut salad was enough to tempt me. So many contrasting colours and textures with nutty rice, wholesome beans, the sweetness of mango and the exoticness of on trend mango.

Frankly there isn't much more to say than this was perfect for me. I cam't fault it (except maybe a little more in there to make it a bit more filling and to justify the price tag). Everything just worked. The rice was sticky and creamy and soft through being infused with coconut cream, the beans had a melt in the mouth texture. The mango was soft and juicy and the little slivers of coconut added another hit of the summer in every moutthful. The little pot of zesty orange dressing complemented each element, tying it all together for a fresh, light and healthy feeling lunch.

I keep going back to this now that I've tried it. There's loads of other really interesting salad pots in the Spirit of Summer range but this is just so good, it's hard to not pick it every time!

Price: £2
Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Nutrition: 127 calories per half a pack

Score: 10/10!

Boots Roasted Beetroot, Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad Review

I’m a pretty big fan of Boots for their meal deal and options. Whilst Sainsbueys and Tesco seem to force you into buying crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks, Boots offers genuinely healthy and more interesting and fresh options. I picked up this cauliflower,  beetroot and quinoa salad as part of their meal deal and reading the ingredients list I was pleased to see how clean it was. There was nothing I didn’t recognize and there was no added sugar or weird ingredients.

Cauliflower, quinoa and beetroot are all pretty on trend ingredients and all worked with the goat’s cheese dressing that came with it. Containing crème fraiche it had a nice tangy punch which livens up the cauliflower and particularly works well the sweetness of the beetroot. Goat’s cheese and beetroot always make perfect bedfellows. If I had one criticism I think there is too much garlic in the dressing – it’s quite overwhelming and is so strong it overtakes the goat’s cheese which is pushed into the background.

It would also be nice if there was a bit more substance to the salad. With just quinoa and veg, it’s not hugely substantial and at 104 calories isn’t a lunch by itself. A few nuts, houmous or something like some cauliflower falafel would bulk it up a bit.

However, it’s great to see genuinely clean and healthy on the go options on the market especially as vegetarians are usually so undercatered for. Containing 2 of your 5 a day, it left me feeling uplifted and not weighed down.

Bought at: Boots

Score: 7.5/10

Boots Meal Deal: Santa Fe Salad, Metcalfe's Skinny Cinnamon Popcorn and Apple & Elderflower Vitamin Still Water

This rather brief review is a 3 in 1. Whilst travelling and on the hunt for something for lunch, I decided to give the Boot's meal deal a go. I'm a pretty big fan of its range because it offers so much more variety and some really cool and quirky brands in its selection unlike places like Tesco and Sainsbury's, which force you to choose from a more limited selection.

I also love how most of the Boot's options are slightly more healthy and, in my opinion, this coupled with the breadth of choice more than justifies the additional 29p it costs compared to other meal deals. It was a tough choice (especially when choosing from the wide variety of snacks) but I eventually settled on the Santa Fe salad, a bag of Metcalfe's Skinny Cinnamon popcorn and the apple and elderflower vitamin water.

Intially the salad looks slightly underwhelming and not that appetizing with a lot of lettuce. However, hidden beneath this is actually quite a generous layer of deliciously sweet mixed bean salad with a little bit of a kick to it.

There's a good helping of tomatoes and sweetcorn too and lots of lovely shreds of creamy cheese that is slightly salted and works well with the crisp freshness of the leaves. The cheese is in quite thin strips that help keep this under 200 calories yet still packs a subtle punch. My only criticism was the scant supply of Mexican spiced chicken, which was full of flavour and I would have liked more of.

Score: 7/10

The cinnamon popcorn was nice but didn't exactly blow me away. I do like Metcalfe's but felt this didn't live up to what I was expecting. I love anything cinnamony so was sure I'd love this but felt the coating wasn't strong enough.

Every now and then you'd get a piece fully smothered in the sweet spice, which was really delicious with a lovely warming sensation but, on a lot of the pieces, the scent and taste was too underwhelming. It still made a healthy snack though at only 117 calories and isn't as sugary as most treats.

Score: 6.5/10

The apple and elderflower vitamin water I chose more for taste than health as I'm pretty sceptical about these type of claims and realise plain water is probably the best thing you can drink. It's a lovely vivid green colour and has a really nice smooth apple flavour that has a subtle tang but is mostly refreshingly sweet. Elderflower, which can be quite a tricky flavour to get right, was distinct and provided an interesting, sharp aftertaste. The whole drink was also pretty thirst quenching.

Score: 7/10

Overall, I really liked the Book's meal deal. It offered value, a great choice with some hard to find brands and was a healthier alternative to a lot of lunch deals out there.

Price: £3.29
Available: Boots

Marks and Spencer Beetroot, Quinoa and Wheatberry Salad

As the days (in theory) get warmer, I increasingly want fresh salads for lunch. However, as well as nutritious it needs to be delicious. Iceberg lettuce and cucumber just won't cut it. This beetroot, quinoa and wheatberry salad from M&S looked to provide something a bit more interesting. The vibrant, intense colour alone is enough to stop you in your tracks.

As well as a really cool colour, it's the variety of shapes, sizes and textures that make this appealing. The dark, sweet beetroot comes in both soft, juicy chunks and elegant little strips and the grains are soft and bubbly and don't stick together. This salad also packs in sweet, sharp apple and savoury pecan nuts and also comes with a little pot of cider vinegar dressing for even more oomph.

I also added some fresh tomato and pepper but frankly the salad pot has enough interest to carry itself. The beetroot is very mellow and sweet, complimenting the fruity bursts of refreshment from the crisp apple. However, it doesn't get overly sweet as the plain, calming presence of the quinoa and wheatberries offsets and tempers the fruit and veg.

The star of the show for me was the pecans. There were plenty of generous sized pieces proving crunch and nuttiness. The pecans must have been toasted as they have a lovely savoury flavour with a very subtle hint of honeyed sweetness. Every bite of these nuggets again counteracted the salad and fruit for a lovely mix of tastes and textures.

I only ended up using half the dressing as I found it very sweet and a bit too intense. However, a conservative splash added a little extra kick to the salad.

This box in itself made an adequate lunch with a bit of bread. But this would also be good for sharing at BBQs or spooning onto a plate as a little side element to a main meal.

Price: £2 or 2 for £3
Available: Marks and Spencers

Pros: Interesting grains, lovely mix of flavours and textures, generous with both quantity and quality of ingredients
Cons: Dressing was a little on the sweet side and a bit too strong