Six things Tuesday

1. Christmas. It is nearly here. Are you organised? I'm going ok with gifts, but food is another thing entirely. I got off to a good start with my early chai-spiced chocolate truffles, and then came to a screeching halt!

Our mini Christmas table.
Yes, they are my birthday flowers!

2. We're spending Christmas itself in the Lake District and travelling there by train. So, I not only need to plan food but need to plan food we can carry and prepare in a strange kitchen. Help?

3. My brother submitted his PhD this week. I am so delighted for him, not least because his PhD was so much harder than mine. His involved lab work at all hours of the day and night, experiments that didn't work, and a lab relocation mid-research.

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Listography: Top 5 biscuits

Since discovering Kate Takes 5's blog last year (thank you, Lisa), I have enjoyed reading her 'top 5' lists of various items and products.

I have also, on a number of occasions, intended to take her listography topics and participate with a 'top 5' list of my own. Except, to date, I haven't. I just don't seem to get myself organised in a timely manner.

Until now.

A 'top 5' post on biscuits drew me right in, and here I am posting on the topic within a few days of Kate's original list going out. Clearly I just needed the right 'top 5' list to get me going! Interestingly, I don't actually eat biscuits very often, but they obviously hold an important spot in my food heart.

Without further ado, therefore, here are my top 5 biscuits (including a mix of vegan and non-vegan, because some favourites are from my pre-vegan tendency days)...

1. McVitie's Digestive biscuits. These make number 1 because they are so versatile. They work well by themselves, with a cup of tea, crumbled into yoghurt, and even as a base for desserts. They're also vegan to boot. Of English origin, they are readily available in Australia but not (accordingly to Wikipedia) so common in America. Wikipedia also stated that they are slightly similar to American graham crackers, an interesting fact as I've always wondered quite what graham crackers are.

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Chocolate digestive biscuits are also enjoyable (and apparently 52 are eaten each second in England!), but I prefer the plain ones best.

2. Fruit digestive biscuits. Sadly, these aren't available in Australia. We once had fruit Granita biscuits, which were virtually the same, but they disappeared from the Arnott's range some time ago. Effectively a digestive biscuit with currants and added spice, these would be my Number 1 if only I could get hold of them readily.

I think the closest available biscuits we have are the Paradise Rich Tea variety. However, the biscuit component of Rich Teas is harder than a digestive, and not quite as enticing. Still good, but not great.

3. Leda Minton dark chocolate mint biscuits. The dark chocolate coating is a relatively new feature of these biscuits. Vegan and gluten-free, they taste like a regular chocolate mint biscuit, but, I think, better. There is a decent biscuit base and a generous mint creme filling, and whilst the chocolate coating is fairly average (chocolate biscuit chocolate, rather than 'real' chocolate), it's on a par with most other commercial chocolate biscuit coatings, minus dairy.

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4. McVitie's Penguin chocolate biscuits. Another McVitie's creation and another non-Australian feature on my list, these are effectively English TimTams. I find them more chocolatey and less artificial than the Australian variety. They're also more fun. They come individually wrapped in different colours (I know this isn't environmentally friendly...), with a different Penguin character on each biscuit wrapping, and there is a joke or 'fun fact' on each wrapper. There's also a dedicated Penguin website where you can play penguin-type games, and read about conservation work being done in Antarctica (that at least is environmentally friendly...). In other words, I'm actually 5 years old at heart and chocolate plus child-focused marketing strategies will clearly work to reel me right in.

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These are available at an increasing number of Woolworths (in the international section) and at UK food stores, but you do pay for the privilege. I thus don't have them often, but it's always fun when I do.

5. Orgran Wild Raspberry Biscuits. These are vegan, gluten free, and comparably low in fat. They do taste like a 'healthy' biscuit, but I enjoy them and the nutritional profile provides an added bonus. Being 5 years old at heart, I like to nibble the top and sides off the raspberry centre, before moving on to the filling and base.

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Honourable mentions also go to Arnott's Malt O' Milk biscuits and Teddy Bear biscuits, which I loved as a child and still enjoy on occasion today, as well as Unibic Sponge Finger Biscuits, which have magical powers of absorption and are thus perfectly suited to dunking in hot drinks.

In contrast, you'll note that none of my favourites are cream-filled. I've never been a big fan, and with age I've come to like them less and less. I also don't like shortbread or Anzac biscuits, or anything plain but very crunchy.

What about you? Any favourite biscuit varieties?

This post is part of the Kate Takes 5 Listography on Biscuits. You can see her original post here.

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Foods I no longer seem to eat, or miss

Once upon a time, I ate the following foods regularly. Some of them I deliberately cut down on, and some I just seem to have stopped eating. But I am rather pleased to say that I don't miss any of them (or at least not much...).

I don't intend to imply that any of the following foods are 'wrong' or 'bad', or that others should stop having them. This is really just my own curious reflection on how much tastes can change, and I'd be interested to hear if others have had similar experiences over the years.

Diet Coke and other diet soft drinks

In my early 20s, I could drink 600ml plus of Diet Coke (or equivalent) each day. I thought of it as a good way of enjoying a drink when I wasn't hungry but wanted something more than water. I also thought of it as a better option than 'real' soft drinks, with the large amounts of sugar they contain.

At some point my niggling concerns about artificial sweeteners got louder, and I started to think of Diet Coke in terms of what it actually is: a black fizzy liquid with no calories and a whole lot of unpronounceable ingredients, most of which could be better described as chemicals.

Somehow it was less appealing after that.

I didn't stop drinking diet drinks cold turkey, and for quite a long time after dropping Diet Coke I still drank other diet versions. These days, though, I stick with water, soda water or tea, and I very rarely want anything else.

Apparently Diet Coke isn't good for kidneys either. Who would have thought? [Source]

The last time I had a glass was when we went to Tasmania, and I had a Diet Coke on the plane. It must have been 6 months or so since I'd last drunk any, and I was quite surprised to find I didn't like it at all (it tasted artificial, funnily enough).

Regular / dairy ice cream

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I wouldn't say that I was ever a big ice cream eater, but I probably had it weekly or so until this year. In line with my frozen yoghurt soft serve obsession, I also enjoyed it in soft serve form if available.

Since trying to transition to a lower dairy intake, I've stuck to soy ice cream and frozen yoghurt (and frozen banana soft serve), and now I can't recall when I last had the real variety. It also doesn't seem to appeal anymore, so I suspect I'll be sticking with my new alternatives for now.

Other dairy desserts

In this category comes small individual mousse tubs, flavoured and sweetened yoghurt, and other products in the dairy section that contain gelatin and various varieties of artificial flavours and/or sweeteners.

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Dropping these was a conscious decision, after I realised just how many (= all!) contained gelatin. I do still have an occasional moment when I would like one - typically in relation to mousse - but the moments pass.  Most of the time I'm grateful that I've been able to find alternatives made from real food.

Instant hot drinks - hot chocolate and coffee varieties

Does (or did) anyone else use those instant sachets of hot chocolate / coffee / lattes? I remember when I first discovered them, and in my mind they were incredibly convenient. I thought they were the perfect way to have a cafe-like drink without the cafe-like prices.

They were convenient, in a sense, but the trade off was an ingredient list that I couldn't easily pronounce. These days, I have tea, higher quality instant coffee (if that isn't an oxymoron) and just splurge on cafe drinks if I want something more. I recently discovered a sachet in the back of the pantry, and thought I may as well use it up by drinking it instead of throwing it out.  However, I found it too sweet and just...not right. It's now hard to believe I used to have these drinks almost daily.

I will say that the advertising is still a little alluring [Source]

Iceburg lettuce

This might seem like a slightly odd item, and in truth I do still have it when I buy salads or sandwiches when out. However, I no longer buy this variety of lettuce myself, and I wouldn't choose it over other leaf options. These days I favour baby spinach leaves in salads / sandwiches / wraps made at home, and have the curly lettuce varieties too on occasion. Iceburg seems rather flavourless now.

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I'll follow-up this post at some stage with things I now eat but didn't used to...there are rather a lot of those too when I think about it.

Have your tastes changed over time? Or have you worked to eliminate foods that you now don't miss?

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5 things I'm enjoying this week

This post is inspired by Lisa @ Blithe Moment's 'Top 5 Random Things I Like' (inspired in turn by Kate Takes 5's latest listography) and Cityhippyfarmgirl's 'Loving This Week'.

I'm hoping they don't mind me borrowing their concepts :)

My top 5 things for this week are...

1. Summer fruit

This is the aspect of summer that I love. Peaches and nectarines now seem to be readily available, and I am enjoying them hugely. I also have a mango in the fridge, complementing the strawberries that have been around for a little while.


2. New running shoes

Up until 3 (ish) years ago, I didn't get my running shoes properly fitted. I had a vague sense that New Balance cross-trainers were good for over-pronaters (people whose feet roll in), and I stuck with them, choosing mostly by colour within that range.

I am rather embarrased about this now.

Eventually, when I was due for new orthotics and thought I would consult shoe people before getting them made, I tried getting my shoes properly fitted.

I haven't worn orthotics since, and I don't think it is a coincidence that the 3 years after this change have been the 3 years when I discovered I could, after all, run more than 10 minutes or so without my knees screaming at me.

I had Mizuno Wave Renegade shoes for each of those 3 years, and loved them. I also found (surprise!) that my body told me when I needed new shoes. After about 12 months, my knees, legs, and hips started hurting more, and I was reminded of just how much running shoes matter - and to replace them.

Despite my success with Mizuno, I thought I would check if there were any alternatives to try this year. I ended up going with these Brooks Ariel runners, which have a bounciness to them that makes me very happy.

Almost happy enough to forget about the cost.


3. Planning 2012 holiday/s

Despite the fact that we may not end up going on any of the possible trips we have tentatively thought of, and that one of them would be 10 months away if we did go, and that any plans I make now will no doubt change...I am loving having possible trips to think about, research, plan, and imagine.

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I think I would almost be happy just with the planning (although I will admit that the actual travel is pretty fun too), which makes me wonder if I should have been a travel agent. I kind of hope not, though, because I would hate to waste the 8 years of study I am still paying off.


4. Having my sister back.

Naturally :)


5. Under 6 weeks until Christmas!

This also means 5.5 weeks until I have 10 days off work, and 5.5 weeks until I need to have done all my Christmas shopping and card writing.

This may be a mix of enjoyment and slight alarm, but on balance, enjoyment is winning :)

What are you liking this week?

(And thanks to those who have already told me!)

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