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.