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Welcome to our new and improved blog space for SPAR. Check out new recipe ideas and tips to help you start your 2017 on the right foot!
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7 Baked Bean Recipe Ideas Every Student Needs
Budget recipe ideas are your saviour while living life as a student. And baked beans lead the top of the list due to their value, nutrition and versatility.
4 Asian Meal Ideas From Across The Continent
South, East, Southeast, or West Asian cuisine? With a versatile palate on offer, we run down 4 Asian meal ideas you simply have to try at home.
The Nesting Period: Preparing Your House For a Baby
The nesting period can be a stressful time for some, and quite cleansing for others. However you tackle it, a little guidance along the way can help.
Brilliant BBQ Tips
Fancy hosting a BBQ? Get insider tips on how to host the perfect BBQ this summer including cooking and preparation advice. Click here to find out top BBQ ideas with SPAR.
Beer Pairing of Food & Snacks
Knowing how to pair your beer and food can make a big difference – even if you haven’t noticed it yet. Once you’ve given it a try, you’ll never go back.
How To Make Party Platters
Hosting a party? Or just experimenting with new foods? Cater for veggies, meat eaters and dessert lovers alike with our tasty guide to sharing platters.
Quirky Picnic Ideas
Tired of ham sandwiches and solitary apples? Picnics can be so much more, so check out our 6 different picnic ideas to revolutionise al fresco dining.
Staycations: Hidden Bank Holiday Stays
Looking to get away for the bank holiday Weekend? Find quirky places to stay with SPAR, from glamping and treehouses, to boats and windmills.
Your Ultimate Guide To Pasta Types
Struggle to tell the difference between tortellini and tortelloni? Didn’t even know there was one? Get clued up with our ultimate guide to pasta types.
12 Months of Healthy Eating Inspiration
Get 12 months of healthy eating inspiration with SPAR. From meat-free Mondays to heart healthy food ideas, we've got something for every month of the year.
What To Pack For A Quick Trip
Clothes and shoes sorted? Now it’s time to think of the essentials. From food and toiletries to self-catering essentials, prepare for your next trip away.
Summer Festival Essentials Guide
Forgotten something in the midst of your festival fun? Your nearest SPAR store will help supply you with everything you’ll need for your festival weekend.
How To Make Homemade Pesto
Love pesto but not too sure how to make it? Follow SPAR’s easy step-by-step guide for making homemade pesto and create instantly flavoursome dishes.
How to Make Chilli
Curious about how to make Chilli? Our Guide to cooking chilli has you covered!
Food Trends Over the Years: 6 Decades of Eating Habits
Remember Smash? Fondue? Take a trip down culinary memory lane with our free food trends infographic!
5 Unusual Father’s Day Gift Ideas
Find unusual and interesting ways to treat Dad this Father’s Day, from TV-inspired fancy dress parties to quirky revamps of his favourite breakfast dish.
Easy Veggie BBQ Recipes
Cook a Veggie BBQ this Summer with our delicious recipes
The History of SPAR – let’s take a trip down memory lane…
Take a walk down memory lane with us as we celebrate our 60th Anniversary
How to Make French Toast
Looking for the best way to make French toast? This eggy bread heaven is a much-loved breakfast treat - find out how to make it here.
How To Prepare Avocado
Looking for the best ways to prepare avocado? From cutting and slicing to pitting and storing, learn how to best prepare avocado with help from SPAR.
Mother’s Day Meal Ideas For Morning, Noon & Night
Looking for meal ideas for Mother’s Day? Surprise the most important woman in your life with a homemade meal for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
15 Different Types of Pancake You Need To Try from Across the Globe
See pancakes like you’ve never seen them before with our breakdown of pancake types from across the globe. Which will you be trying on Pancake Day?
Starter to Dessert: Valentine’s Meal Ideas That Are Sure To Impress
Whether you’re an experienced rustler upper of fine cuisines or it’s your first time trying something outside the realms of simple suppers – there are Valentine’s Day meal ideas for all tastes and abilities to try this year.
How To Cook The Perfect Steak
When it comes to cooking the perfect steak, you can keep things simple or go complex. One of few foods that has so many different variations on how you can tackle it, knowing how to cook steak starts and ends with your taste buds.
5 Super Romantic Valentine's Breakfast Ideas
Been wanting to try making your own pulled pork but not sure where to start? Our How To guide is here to lend a helping hand. Let’s get cooking.
5 Everyday Foods That Are Gluten Free
Going gluten free for February, or need to start making changes to your diet? There are many everyday foods that are completely gluten free. Find out more.
How To Make Pulled Pork At Home
Been wanting to try making your own pulled pork but not sure where to start? Our How To guide is here to lend a helping hand. Let’s get cooking.
Becoming A Vegetarian
Considering becoming a vegetarian? Whether you’re taking the plunge to become healthier, try new flavours, or simply out of pure curiosity, there’s a lot to think about if you’ve been a meat eater for most of your life. The transition isn’t an easy one. So, what are our tips for going vegetarian?
7 Healthy Swaps & Junk Food Replacements You Need To Try
With New Year in full swing and resolutions starting to wobble, our 7 favourite healthy junk food swaps are here to get you through the slump just as well as a chocolate covered marshmallow with sprinkles.
High Protein Foods You Need to Know For a Healthier You This Year
There’s so much more to protein than just its muscle growth properties, making it a key part of a balanced diet, no matter who you are or your diet goals. And with so many high protein foods available – all diets and tastes can make sure they’re getting their fix. Find our top 6 recommendations in our list of protein foods below to get your protein morning, noon and night.
Watch how to make the perfect Gin Mojito!
A classic with a twist, gin mojitos bring a refreshing touch to the traditionally rum-based cocktail. Made with London Dry Gin and apple juice, and accompanied by the usual mint, lime, sugar and soda water – the gin and apple twist stays refreshing but brings welcomed warmth for the winter season, perfect for seeing out the New Year.
When Whisky met Christmas
The last of our festive cocktail recipes, Christmas Whisky brings together seasonal tones of ginger and cranberry, adding a Christmas spice to your favourite whisky. Simple to make, the subtle hints of cranberry from the juice and fresh berries mix with the ginger for a warming Christmas take on whisky on the rocks.
Christmas Prosecco!
A classic when it comes to seasonal cocktail recipes, Christmas prosecco brings a touch of sophistication to Christmas drinks. The rich berry notes and sharp mint garnish coupled with chilled prosecco and Chambord raspberry liqueur come together to create a fruity and refreshing burst of flavours, making the perfect pick me up come Christmas time.
How To Use Christmas Leftovers
5 Christmas leftover recipes you’ll enjoy more than Christmas dinner. Find a range of delicious Christmas recipes to make the most of all the food that didn’t quite make it to the dinner plate first time around.
Prepare For Christmas Dinner Like a Pro
Christmas dinner is a big deal, there’s no point denying it. With so much going on all on one plate, it can be difficult at the best of times, let alone if you’re doing it for the very first time. Fear not – we’ve put together our top tips for making Christmas dinner – so you can avoid the whole burnt turkey and rock-hard sprouts scenario
Watch: Lets Make Christmas Sangria!
Bringing summer’s favourite into the realm of Christmas cocktails, Christmas Sangria brings everyone together with its winter twist on the Spanish favourite – ginger ale. The warm fizz of the ginger ale combined with the fresh fruits and juices makes this Christmas cocktail recipe a firm favourite for any party or get together this season.
Watch: How To Make Mulled Wine
The Christmas cocktail classic, no list of winter cocktails would be complete without mulled wine!
9 Foods You Have To Avoid This Movember
Movember is great. Men growing their most impressive mustaches, all in aid of prostate cancer awareness. But, as anyone who’s ever grown a mo will know, with it comes the trials and tribulations of breakfast, dinner – and pretty much any eating in general really. While often an impressive feat of grooming, there are some foods that are just a no-go if you want to keep it that way.
Top 6 Bonfire Night Treats To Make At Home
Cold ears, sweet treats and woolly hats. Bonfire night is an excellent way of getting friends and family together as the nights draw in, and the novelty of the cold is yet to wear off. If you’re staying at home for Bonfire Night this year, there’s no reason why you can’t put on a spread for all your guests. And it certainly doesn’t have to take hours of preparation either. Here’s our top 6 Bonfire Night treats that are simple to make at home.
Know your nuts: Healthy Snacks For On The Go
Today’s busy lifestyles mean that you can often find yourself having to grab a snack on the go. While it might be easy to reach for the sweet treats to see you through the last hour of work or as a post-gym reward, healthy snacks provide a much more effective solution, without any of the guilt!
6 Simple Breakfast Ideas
With the clocks going back on Sunday 30th many look forward to an extra hour in bed – but true creatures of habit know that their body waits for no clock. So, get up an hour ‘earlier’ and use it wisely to whip together a cracking breakfast from our quirky breakfast ideas below!
5 Hot Toddy Recipes You Have To Try
The perfect winter warmer, Hot Toddy is one of the most soothing, aromatic Bonfire Night cocktail recipes you can make – perfect for cold nights outdoors with friends and family. Easily made and with minimal ingredients, you can whip up individual glasses for anyone looking for deep winter flavours and an accompanying hit of whisky for warmth. But how do you make a hot toddy?
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Own your week: 7 quick and easy dinner ideas
When it comes to dinner time we want our food to be 3 things. Quick, easy and tasty! Our new range of Deliciously Easy Meals have been designed to be just that! So with dinner sorted in under 30mins you’ve got more spare time for those little tasks that always need your attention! Here’s 7 rewarding life hacks you can do whilst you cook that’ll ensure you get the most out of your week!
5 Quick And Easy Christmas Recipes To Try This Year
Discover our top 5 Christmas food ideas for some quirky twists on dishes to serve throughout the big day. From breakfast right through to evening snacks and drinks, we’ve got a varied selection of simple Christmas recipes you can try this season
10 Tweets About Chocolate That Speak The TRUTH
How will you celebrate International Chocolate Day? We’re planning a pain au chocolat breakfast, hot chocolate elevenses, a chocolate fountain for swimming… err, yes. We’re excited. In anticipation, here are some tweets to get you in the mood (although, are you ever not in the mood for chocolate?)
Party Excuse #4,362 - Host Your Own Olympics Closing Ceremony!
If you are the kind of person who needs an excuse to throw a party, the Olympic Games are a golden ticket. Especially this year, as it’s the best year ever for Team GB – yahoo! Go team!! So call your friends and watch with pride – this is our guide to hosting the Ultimate Olympic Closing Ceremony!
The Perfect Afternoon Tea Checklist
t’s Afternoon Tea Week! If you don’t plan to be rolling about the Ritz guzzling cucumber sandwiches, check out our cheat sheet for having a spread at home that even the fanciest of guests will love
Game On: How To Fake Your Way Through The Olympics
Don’t know your taekwondos from your taekwondon’ts? You’ll need to buck up your ideas Sonny Jim because the Olympics are back! Never fear though – we’re there for you with a handful of hacks to get even the newest of sports fans through the next few weeks (without a leotard in sight)!
Lawn and Order – 8 Ways to Maximise Your Garden This Summer!
You don’t have to have green fingers to enjoy your garden this summer! If you’re less flower bed, more stay in bed, here are 8 easy but awesome ways to enjoy the garden this summer!
Holiday Horror Throwbacks: Five Things We (Don’t) Miss
As kids everywhere across the UK finish for summer holidays we couldn't help but take a look back at all the highs and lows of summer holidays as a child. Here's 5 Holiday Horror Throwbacks we know will bring back memories!
5 ways Wimbledon showcases the best (and worst) of British
For two weeks every ‘summer’, we all go tennis-crazy as Wimbledon rolls around. Some love it, some hate it, but it’s all delightfully British. Check out these five features of the big tournament that can be loved and loathed in equal measure
Euro 2016 with SPAR
The ultimate soundtrack to Fatherhood
Celebrate Father’s Day with a musical tribute to the ultimate dad… This one's for you, Pops/Papa/Daddy/Old Man! Listen to the playlist here
The Football-Phobe’s Guide to Actually Enjoying EURO 2016
Dislike football? Then read this! Fool everyone by speaking the lingo; “Classic Zlatlan” “What do you think of Rooney in that deeper role?” Full article here
Summer Cocktails
Sport not your thing? Try our delicious range of easy to make cocktails, perfect for the Saturday night get together!
Summer Kick Off Party
Here’s our guide to throwing an effortless start of summer party
Essential Euro’s get-out-of-work guide
The Euros... a time to enjoy a month of the beautiful game - except the biggest group stage match is at 2pm! Keep Calm and check our guide to getting out of work.
The Great British BBQ
After having our first taste of summer this month we've decided to present our guide to hosting a truly epic BBQ for your friends and family.