Peperami Lunchbox Chicken Tikka Bites [@NLi10]

 The junk food place had lots of spare packages of these so I figured I'd give one a shot.

I think they come from a multipack

And they are designed for children's lunchboxes - which is surprising as I didn't think small kids liked chicken tikka, and I didn't think big kids...

...would appreciate the tiny portions!

I almost put some money in shot for scale here - but I figured that it's obvious enough.

These are spicy little chicken chunks, but no matter how small your small person is I think they'd need a sandwich or similar alongside them.  Maybe these are more to replace the crisps in the lunchbox.

Tesco Christmas Sandwich - Pigs UNDER blankets & Chick/Bac/Stuff [@NLi10]

It's luxury Christmas Sandwich time again! Halloween has been and gone, and now the orange packages give way to red and green.

First to hit the reduced section was this one from Tesco - which is actually two Christmas Sandwiches in one.

The Pigs are under blankets for efficiency, and the other sandwich has all the meats.

That's a lot off effort to simulate a Christmas lunch at my desk - no wonder this should be £3

The sausage and bacon pair is pretty good - the seasoning was added by me.  A decent amount of filling and as long as you don't want any vitamins you are sorted.

Here we see the premium poundshop peri peri grinder in all it's glory!

Bacon again! This time with a bit of chicken and the stuffing used as spread.  This side needed cranberry - but was again suitably festive.

Can't wait to be fed up of this before actual Christmas which seems very very far away.

Bagel Spot & Shake It Well - Birmingham [@NLi10] @bagel_spot

 I try not to go out and buy lunch when in the office - it can get expensive! I bumped into a friend who was unexpectedly on site today and we made lunch plans.  A new Bagel shop has opened near work that's just a little too far to get to and back in a normal quick lunch so we made a special trip.

The shop is small but exactly what you need - and it looked like you could eat in too at the back

And look at those juice varieties - I've only had about half of these before so will have to keep popping back.

£5.99 gets you a stacked bagel of your choosing, and a large portion of freshly cooked fries - a good size for a lunch.  I opted for the jerk chicken - taking a risk on the heat levels by adding spicy mayo.  All perfect - great flavours, definitely worth the walk.

In addition to the can with my meal I picked up a Shake It Well juice - Guava Berry Bravo Juice - which appears to be another Birmingham based juice company (what can I say - we need all the Tropical we can get!).  This was a great companion to the meal and I want to try more of these flavours too.

All-in-all a successful trip - It'll take a great effort to stop this becoming a weekly visit!

Bunny Bao Buns (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

I think this is my first bao bun; I know NLi10 has tried them, and written about them, but I am pretty sure I haven’t bought one before. These were from Marks and Spencer and the Bunny Bao Buns looked so cute that I couldn’t resist. It is, after all, the year of the rabbit, and I think bao buns are Chinese?

 

This particular bun contains a plum sauce with vegetables and is quickly heated in the microwave to cook. I gave it a try and was very impressed with it. Not only was it cute, it was also super tasty. The filling was heavy on the plum sauce, and that worked for me. As I really like texture, the crispy vegetables and soft dough were a winner. It was such a nice combination. The bao buns were just spot on; they had such a nice soft and pillowy texture. The vegetable filling is also well seasoned, adding a nice balance of flavours. The bao buns are also filled with plenty of vegetables, making them satisfying and healthy. I will buy these again, they are perfect for a quick working-from-home casual lunch and perfect to heat up between meetings.

jake & NAYNS' BBQ Chilli Jackfruit Burrito - microwave Vegan lunch by @NLi10

 jake & NAYNS' (their capitalisation) seem to be a cool, hip new brand that are willing to sell me exciting things for lunch - lets get started!

I've not really had much Jackfruit - I tried it in Las Iguanas and it was decent enough - and it's show up in some imitation meats since - but this is the first time I've seen it in the lunch aisle.

They are Bros and and have high impact street food. I'll remember to look both ways before eating this.

Says hot or cold - but we have a microwave now so hot it is.  Leave in the cardboard for best results

I'd hate to see the worst results!

Despite seemingly being too damp in some places and too dry in others (and looking like an absolute mess as a result) it was actually really nice.

It was also possibly the most filling lunch snack that I've ever reviewed.  No afternoon snacks required and I turned down evening meal extras.  Maybe I did something wrong, and maybe there are more delicate ways to heat this - but - if any of the smaller local places that I usually buy things from get these in (I got this at Sainsbury's) then I'll try the range and let you know.

Nicely surprising.

Tagliatelle Carbonara for Lunch - but in a microwave?! Rana (@NLi10)

I like the Rana range so while in Sainsbury's I picked this one up to have while my partner was out.  Upon closer inspection it isn't really an evening meal kit - it's a bung in the microwave for lunch kit.

This isn't a problem - I have lunch alone too - and if this works I can take it to the office (if I can find them again).

Packed 1 is 'fresh' pasta.  I stay away from fresh pasta usually, but this seems like a decent reason to use it.

Pack 2 is the salsa fresca (fresh sauce I believe) which is ham & cream essentially.

Pack three is the green white and black dust to add at the end to taste.

Make a nest.

Add the paint (& stir) then nuke in the microwave (back inside the box - clever) for 4 1/2 mins

Add the powders and mix and stand for a minute and eat!

And the verdict?  If you put this in a proper bowl you could just about get away with serving this in a low grade restaurant (think Italian chain) and it's actually better than some Pub carbonaras I've had.

I mean - it's not Italy standard (except for that one place...) but I was pleasantly surprised and with a bit of preparation I could easily have these at work and be very satisfied.

I didn't use all the cheese as I prefer the pepper, but even then it made me very thirsty - next time I'll bring some San Pel!

Korean Inspired Gochujang Pork Limited Edition Wrap - on a Tesco Meal Deal (@NLi10)

I like picking up odd things for lunch - and often let the Yellow Stickers of Destiny guide me.  Today in my Special (discount) Diet we take a Tesco wrap, and add a drink - and Olives which I didn't know were in the meal deals but make me so much more likely to do the thing.

I chose the  Korean Inspired Gochujang Pork Limited Edition Wrap as it sounded quite exciting - and then I opened it...

...They've tricked me into buying pulled pork - GAH!

Pre-chewed food like pulled pork really isn't my thing, but they've tried pretty hard with all the extras here.  

First we have a little spicy mayo, then a few shredded veggies and pickles - but most importantly they haven't spread it all evenly so you get lovely little pockets of fairly exotic flavours, on a lunch break in Birmingham! 

For £3 for the drink, olives and a wrap I can't really complain.  The healthiness of the deal is of course, down to your individual choices.

Greggs Festive Fabulous Bakes (Iceland) By @Cinabar

What says Christmas dinner better than a Greggs bake filled with roast dinner flavours? I actually bought these Greggs Festive Fabulous Bakes in Iceland not Greggs but had them in the freezer for a quick lunch. They oven baked easily and the pastry browned off nicely in the oven.

 

The first thing I noticed about these Greggs Festive Fabulous Bakes is that the meat inside the bake is chicken not turkey, I like chicken but if you are going to go for festive theming I fell this was a missed opportunity. Everyone knows it is turkey at Christmas. The bake itself though was still lovely and tasty. The pasty was soft and crispy with a a nice buttery edge. The flavours inside were good, the chicken was moist, the bacon was a nice touch and I loved the herbs giving a stuffing like flavour. I’d happily have these Greggs Festive Fabulous Bakes again and keep some in the freezer for quick lunches, there isn’t really any need for the ‘festive’ label it is just a nice chicken roast dinner flavour in a bake.

Rustlers BBQ Rib - No Mc, but essentially the same (@NLi10)

Continuing the series of things to eat for lunch in lockdown we have the Rustlers imitation McRib

I went through a phase of these as a child, before the good chicken things were released, but it wears thin fast.

Same deal as before - nuke the meat, toast the bun, squirt the sauce.

cold rib

Hot and toasty - lovely sauce!

Doesn't look amazing, but it's tasty enough.  The chicken one is nice enough that I had it again, but this is not as exciting.  I'd rather have the other lunch option that I've got at the moment (but am yet to write up).

So - maybe the secret to this one is in the magical rib sauce.

Terrible British Lunches - Rustlers Tex Mex Beef & Chickpea Combo Burger (@NLi10)

Here we have Exhibit 3 in the Terrible British Lunches series - the new Tex Mex Beef & Chickpea Red Pepper & Onion Combo Burger - with spicy salsa.  Even without eating the thing that's a mouthful!

Decent use by date - I got this about 3 weeks before deadline.

And packaged well enough to survive been shot into space - but easily recyclable.

Here is the pre cooking (microwave 80 sec) but grill-lined marked patty.  And it's not just beef.  This is an interesting hybrid of a daddy beef burger and a mummy veggie burger, with a lot of other Mexicana thrown in for good measure.  Smells too meaty for those that aren't burger fans - and it might just be a little too veggie for the pure carnivores.  For me though this exciting mix of styles and flavours was the reason for this whole series - this sounded exciting.

And while we toast the buns - doing the posh version of the 'recipe' we can read the box.

Cook patty, toast bun, add red goop. Sorted.  It's a decent wodge of a days calories too.  Lets see if it fills me up!

Splodge! smells good.

Its a bit wonky.

And - while its a lot more Texaco than Mexico - it's got a good flavour, and is a nice lunch.  It's not quite filling enough for me - like with the other Rustlers I need a decent chocolate bar at about 3pm to make it home - but it's certainly not bad - and at £2 it's a justifiable pick-up.  

The Mexican hybrid idea keeps this interesting, with the salsa adding needed variety to the fairly flat burger (like the bacon did on the last one).  I'm genuinely not sure which of these I'd rebuy first - but I think I'm likely to try them all.  

So not a meal - but not a crime against snacking either.  I look forwards to trying some other imitations of popular burger varieties!

Terrible British Lunches - Rustlers Bacon Cheese Burger Minus The "Cheese" (@NLi10)

 Back to the office we all go! I mean - I've been coming in to the Hospital throughout the pandemic - it's kind of essential, but back to the office everyone else goes.  And back to school.  Isn't the endless commute so much fun!

And what do we have for lunch now we are back?  Well - I'm still avoiding the supermarket but I'm craving something more substantial than the Huel drinks I have (although those are really nice and really filling too - my lizard brain just wants to chew again).

So I got these. Part 1 is here

After the surprisingly edible chicken - lets try the bacon cheese burger.

Still only £2 and the beef comes from multiple locations. Not at all suspicious!

Here is our kit - burger - sauce tube - and yellow square.  The yellow square shall not be eaten today.  I might be crazy but i'm not really a fan of that one.

You are supposed to toast the buns - which is great as it keeps the bread out of the microwave. tick!

How appetising is that? Are we sure this came in plastic from Nissa?

I forgot to get a picture of the naked meat, but here it is all stacked together.  The signature sauce looks a bit gloopy, but otherwise it's all fine.

And it smells like a real burger, and tastes like a real burger too.  The big mac I mean signature sauce is the same 1-part mayo, 2-part ketchup that the fast food places give you and pretend is a revolution, but as in the retail places it works.  The bacon is British style and uninspiring but adds the needed umami to the deep flavours of the beef itself.  And it was a really enjoyable lunch again!

A little more of a faff to make in a shared kitchen than the chicken was, but not impossible.  I did get a few looks.

And yes - like the chicken this is a terrible British lunch in nutritional value not taste, but again I was still hungrier than if i'd had my Huel milkshake instead.  But that's why I bought Wagon Wheels as well!