Advent basics... answers and winners!

Whoop!

Merry after-Christmas everyone! You've waited so, so long, and here, at last it is. The answers to your basics dreams/challenge. First, the points breakdown!

In 3rd place, with one point, we have... CHARLIE!

Tied for 2nd, with two points each, we have... ERIN AND DAD!

And, finally, oh-so-brilliantly, in 1st place, with four whole points, we have... MOM! GRAND WINNER! Whoooooop!

And now, the answers...without ado, they are:

1) "Cleans, no added promises" = laundry detergent and/or dishwasher tablets!
(Good guesses, but no winners...)

2) "Less heat, great on meat" = mustard!
(ditto)

3) "All shapes and sizes, still brightens up a stir-fry" = sweet peppers
(Mom gets it!)

4) "A few less chunks, still full flavour" = salsa
(Chris is very close... but not quite)

5) "A little less refined, still smooth in sauces and batters" = flour
(Mom! Again! With Erin close on her heels)

6) "A bit less bitter" = bitter! (beer)
(Erin is closest...)

7) "From cows' milk, ideal on salad" = buffalo mozza!
(Erin! Though dad's answer is most educational, and mom was close)

8) "Simple flavour, still makes soup sing" = stock cubes!
(no points!)

9) "Just pure French brandy..." = French brandy!
(Dad gets it. Speed round)

10) "More thyme, just as tasty" = mixed (dried) herbs!
(Mom's closest?)

11) "Simple recipe, great for dunking" = digestive biscuits!
(Mom gets it, Chris gets joke points)

12) "Just needs a good shake" = salt!
(Charlie!)

13) "More of a mix, still good in your pud" = mixed (frozen) berries!
(Dad is closest...)

14) "Simply salted, packed with crunch" = Tortilla chips!
(Everybody is close; nobody close enough)

15) "More flakes than fruit, still tasty" = fruit and fibre cereal! (Essentially raisin bran...)
(Mom for exactness, Erin for close, dad for jokes)

16) "Maybe a blend of different butters" = butter!
(no winners, it was so easy it was hard...)

17) "Not all whole, still refreshing" = canned grapefruit!
(Um, Mom's closest? Charlie's recused...)

18) "Same colour, smaller size" = blueberries!
(this one was hard...)

19) "A bit smaller, still nutty" = peanuts!
(nope)

20) "All the sizes under the sun, still sweet and tasty" = mixed dried fruit (mostly raisins)
(Erin gets it! Because, remember Balmoral fruitcake...)

21) "In water, big and small, same great taste" = canned mushrooms! (my favourite)
(...)

22) "Smaller fruit, ready for ripening" = avocados!
(Yum! Nice try mom, but no...)

23) "Some jam, some chocolate, definitely jaffa" = jaffa cakes!
(Dad gets it, along with some nice informative tips)

24) "A little less filling, not just for Santa" = mince pies!
(You don't really have those in North America, so... good try?)

FINAL ADVENT BASICS!

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas everyone! Hip hip hurray! Etc! This will be the final advent basics entry. After this, you can all have a super duper Christmas (even if it's not _real_ Christmas until the 28th), and I'll post alllll the answers on boxing day. So. Final answer in before that. Then I'll tally scores and see who comes away the big, lucky, sains basics winner... .

So, without final ado, I bring you the only basic thus far we haven't actually bought:

"A little less filling, not just for Santa"

Christmas-eve-eve basics!

"some jam, some chocolate, definitely jaffa"

Advent Basics #22...

"smaller fruit, ready for ripening"

Advent basics SOLSTICE EDITION

"In water, big and small, same great taste."

20... 20... 20!

"all the sizes under the sun, still sweet and tasty"

Advent basics #19

(A bit late due to trans-atlantic travel)

"a bit smaller, still nutty"

Advent Basics Eighteen:

"same colour, smaller size"

Advent basics 17! ! !

(we are getting SO CLOSE! Who will be the lucky basics winner be?)

"not all whole, still refreshing"

Advent basics no. 16

"maybe a blend of different butters"

Advent basics 15?!

"More flakes than fruit, still tasty"

Advent basics: #14

"simply salted, packed with crunch"

Advent Basics #13

"more of a mix, still good in your pud"

Advent basics: 12!

(Wow! It's already December 12th?! This month is the best! Anyway, I thought it would be fun if, at the end of this advent-basics-off, when the true products behind the slogans are revealed, to tally up points for correct guesses/guessers. And, the the lucky person with the most points will win: A REAL LIVE SAINSBURYS BASICS PRODUCT! Just imagine the possibilities... . And now, with no further ado, today's slogan:)

"Just needs a good shake"

Advent basics, um...11?

"Simple recipe, great for dunking"

Advent basics #10

"More thyme, just as tasty"

Advent Basics #9

Today, a speed round, from a SB product we picked up yesterday, for the first time...:

"just pure French brandy..."

Advent Basics #8

"Simple flavour, still makes soup sing"

Advent basics #7

"From cows' milk, ideal on salads"

Advent basics #6!

"A bit less bitter"

(this slogan is in no way meant to reflect on C. Hooper, whose birthday also happens to be today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Not bitter at all!)

Advent Basics #5

"A little less refined, still smooth in sauces and batters"

Advent Basics #4...

"A few less chunks, still full flavour"




(A small aside today to say that doing this at the same time as all my marking has led to my giving students comments like: "Sometimes a little self-indulgent, but always funky..." [sic].)

Advent basics #3

"all shapes and sizes, still brightens up a stir-fry"

Advent Basics #2

"Less heat, great on meat"

Advent-Blogger

Okay. Let's face it. I'm no blogger. Not regular enough, not committed, all that. And that's fine. Because I've realized what I actually am. And what I actually am is: AN ADVENT BLOGGER.

Destined to blog like a chocolate calendar. twenty-four (five?) times a year in a neat little falling domino-stack of December excitement. So. See you back here each December? Cool.

And, guess what? It's December NOW! The first, in fact. Which means: ADVENT BLOGGER CALENDAR TIME! So, you all ask, what festive treats to be found "behind" these "doors" this year? The answer is both easy and thrilling. This year will be the year of:

Sainsbury's Basics Slogans.

For those who aren't a) British or b) Still living like an undergrad let me explain: Sainsbury's is a big grocery store here in the UK, and they have a "basics" line, where you can buy, for example, a bag (boxes are for the posh) of cornflakes for 31p. Or a jar of curry sauce for 17p. The packaging is always the ugliest possible orange-and-white design to signal off anyone with any money or taste, and always features a slightly self-effacing slogan. I freakin LOVE Sainsbury's Basics. WHAT A DEAL! So. This year, each frosty December morning, I'll post one of these most-oft hilarious slogans, and, what you can do, dear readers, is try to guess what kind of grocery product they represent. You can also guess the price if you want.

I will endeavor to only post products that we actually have in the house. Our very own little slices of shameful penny-pinching/best deals ever.  Merry Christmas everyone!

And, to get the ball rolling, here is slogan number one:

"cleans. no added promises."

Why not try a thing?

Hi Everybody.

I don't like the whole detox thing. It's down with dieting in my books; an unhealthy and unhelpful way of thinking about how things, particularly things in your body, work. Don't only eat maple syrup and hot peppers for a week to clear out your body, just make an effort to not pollute your body most of the time. Don't take a month off drinking so that you can justify binge drinking the rest of the year. And don't not eat what you want to eat. You want to eat it for a reason, your body wants something, you should listen. But listen like a parent. When your body says: I need chips. You say, what's that, body? You're craving carbs and salt? Okay, we can do that. Here, have a pickle in a pita. Or something along those lines.

So, it maybe doesn't make sense that I've decided not to eat sugar this month. This February (shortest) month. So, I though I should warn you all. I'm not doing it as a detox. Or as a diet. I honestly think that, in moderation, like all things, sugar is a _good_ thing. We have a good, uncomplicated relationship. So, why, Emma, why?

Because I like:

a) Science. I like to change one thing and keep everything else the same and see what happens. (That's science, essentially, right? Right.)  I want to see what will happen. Will I be hungry all the time? Will I even notice? I will I swell up huge? Get curly hair? Etc.

b) To make life longer: I mean, I plan on living a long time, yep, but, in this case, I'm talking relativity. Any time you make a fairly big change in your day-to-day life (moving, big hair cut, holiday, new housemate...) your memory demarks that time, apart from the otherwise often blended blur of your days, weeks, years. A friend of mine once shaved his head for this reason. It looked terrible. I asked, why? And he said, to make my life longer. I liked that.

So. See you on the other side.