I have started hoovering up Christmas bargains – all those festive foods that are now heavily discounted, because no-one fancies mince pies in January. Why not?! Some of us didn’t over-indiulge in December so can still face a bit more port, stilton, mincemeat and Christmas pudding. I have just bought a 454g luxury (hmmm) Christmas pud from Lidl at half price. So, £1.99 from memory. Even the Duchy of Cornwall ones are now £4 (per 454g pud)  from Waitrose (so, all organic and definitely top quality, not that I am casting aspertions on the Lidl one…).

I eat my Christmas pudding for breakfast (not a whole one) with creme fraiche. It is, after all, only dried fruit, carbs, sugar and fat, which is what I would have for breakfast anyway if I was eating muesli. Ditto mince pies – I have no problem having mince pies and Greek yoghurt for breakfast. A real treat that I can look forward to, which actually gets me out of bed a bit quicker.

Stilton is lovely in a Stilton and Broccoli Soup (see below) or any veg soup – celery, carrot, potato and leek etc. They are all lovely with the addition of a bit of Stilton, or any grated cheese in fact. I would also put Christmas Stilton into any pasta bake or lasagne type thing. Or a winter slaw or salad with apple, walnuts or pecans and finely shredded red or white cabbage, plus a mustardy dressing.

I was also eyeing a half-price fully iced Christmas cake in Lidl just now. It does contain a lot of sugar, I grant you. But I would still be happy with a thick slice of that to get me going in the morning, provided I ate more healthily for the rest of the day with lean protein, complex carbs and veg etc.

Incidentally I also mentioned in my last blog that an 800g loaf of bread costs about £1.20. Well, I see Lidl has one for 65p, and it’s wholemeal. So I wouldn’t turn my nose up at that.  

Recipe: Post Christmas Stilton and Broccoli Soup

Ingredients: (serves 4)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled an chopped

2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs (or 2 tbsps fresh)
1kg broccoli, broken into florets
1.25 litres water
2 chicken or veg stock cubes

200g crumbled or chopped Stilton
freshly ground pepper
Method:
Gently fry the onion in oil for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and stir.  Add the thyme and the broccoli, and stir for a minute or so.  Add water and crumbled stock cubes (or powder) and bring to a boil, then cover and cook 10 minutes max until broccoli is tender. Liquidise in a blender with the Stilton, in batches.  Pour back into the pan, season with pepper (probably not salt as the cheese is so salty) then reheat. Serve hot.