Lentil & Bacon Soup - Marks & Spencer

Soup time is upon us and I'm feeling hungry as usual. Its safe to say I do as my body tells me when I'm hungry, I've always been told this is the right thing to do. Food is fuel, no matter what diet you are trying to follow you need to eat food that fulfills you and satisfy's your bodies needs.
I guess from that you can tell I'm still on the fitness wagon, just. I did a 5km run at the weekend, I felt so good for it! I felt energised and my motivation levels went up so much! I know I can do this I've done it before... but why is it when I got back from my run, all I wanted was a cookie?! Whats that about?? I know after running/exercise your body craves salt and sugars to replenish the loss during the run, but why did it make me fantasise about cookies? I don't even really like them. So I gave in, one cookie won't hurt, will it?

Today's souper treat is a can of lentil and bacon soup, made by Marks & Spencer. I'm really looking forward to trying this, I was sold by the wholesome photo stuck on the front of the can. Good old M&S hasn't failed me yet so hopefully this soup wont disappoint.

The verdict:

Just as I thought... WONderful! M&S has done me proud and made my lunch time one I will want to have again! And for £1 this really is a bargain soup.

The flavours are subtle, there is no spice but that's not what should be expected. Its a traditional combination of green lentils and bacon bits. I was a little dubious when I read through the ingredients, as when I started reading words that I didn't understand, It caused concern, what is it I'm actually eating? Thankfully for M&S the flavour of the soup has managed to sway my mind. Or have I been brain washed by the perfectly seasoned soup, with its chunky bits of vegetables and salty bites of gammon and bacon. All my doubt disappeared after each mouthful, I'm not sure this is a good thing but I'm going with it for now, I'm hungry after all.

Souper rating: 3 out of 5 - If I understood what some of the ingredients were I may have given this soup an even lower rating, but I enjoyed the soup and all its additives. It was my choice at the end of the day, and just like everyone else in this world who have that choice to eat it or leave it, I chose to eat. 

Tuscan Style Bean, Bacon & Pecorino Soup - Baxters

Woo hoo! It's Friday and I am definitely ready for the weekend, it's been one of those weeks...

Lunchtime! And I am ravished, I really cant wait for lunch today, I had an absolute disaster of a dinner last night. For some reason I thought I would be clever and multi task, I put together an array of fresh vegetables, seasoned them and popped them in the oven. I obviously thought my job was done as I went off to have a shower, do the laundry, play with and feed the dog. I thought my evening was falling into place quite smoothly, but that was until I saw smoke coming from the kitchen. I burnt the dinner. Lesson learnt. 

So I'm super hungry and have chosen to go with a Tuscan Style Bean, Bacon & Pecorino Soup from the new Baxters hearty range. I can't say I have ever tried a Baxters soup before, so i'm a Baxters virgin this Friday lunchtime! 

The packaging has a very rustic feel to it, making the hearty words feel very intriguing. I love lentils and beans so I have high hopes for this one.

The verdict:

Well this is definitely a hearty soup, but I would go a step further and say it is more of a heartburn soup... 

When I first opened the can, I thought, wow this could be really good, there's lots of beans, peppers and even slices of courgette, never seen them in a soup before. This nice surprise was soon on the decline one spoon at a time. It reminded me of a cheap ready made bolognese sauce that has way too much oregano in it. This flavour is just way to over powering and takes over any other entity in the soup. As for the Pecorino, where has that got to? I just couldn't find it or taste it, yet its in the title of the soup, along with bacon, which I can only assume has been used as a salty seasoning to compliment the oregano. 

Going back to the heart burn, the beans, I love beans, but these beans were really not soft enough. It's almost as though they needed soaking for an extra 24 hours. 

The soup overall was edible and was OK. As I didn't have any real expectations i'm not disappointed. In fact the soup provided me with some nostalgia, taking me back to my university days when I had no proper interest in food and would buy a microwavable spaghetti bolognese for a quick fix before a night of drinking commenced. 

Souper rating: 2 out of 5 - If you love oregano this is the soup for you. It hasn't done the great bean variety any justice, but it's heart was in the right place. Not bad, but not great.