Chicken & Bacon Caesar Pasta + Feta & Butternut Squash Salad (Some Tesco lazy lunches)

The moment you step into the Tesco Express at St Margarets, you are greeted by shelves of ready-to-eat sandwiches, salads and pastas, conveniently-placed to be picked up and brought to the cashiers in three strides.

But that rarely happens because there are far too many choices.

Egg & Cress sandwich: "I'm only £1.50 yo."

Cheese, Bacon and something else sandwich: "BACON."

Caesar salad: "I'm healthy and you're not."

3-types Cheese sandwiches: "Give me a second chance! :c"

Reduced-fat Egg & Cress sandwich: "I'm still £1.50 and you know you need my low-fat-ness."

Bacon and sausage sandwich: "BACON."

Chicken and Bacon Caesar Pasta: "You know you want pasta. You know it."

After staring at the shelves for days, I finally make my choice and head apprehensively towards the counter, my thoughts still lingering curiously on that box of microwaveable hoi sin duck noodles.

Thanks to the plastic fork provided, I have one less fork to clean. In other news, the pasta is creamy, satisfying, and possesses the piquant tastes of caesar dressing and worcester sauce. It also has a generous amount of bacon and chicken which passes it as a lunch item. A filling and tasty buy at £2.

Am I the only one who can't stop looking at the second picture? Not because it's my picture, but because of the feta cheese cubes which practically wobble in your face. I bought this because I know that nothing can go terribly wrong with feta cheese and lemon dressing, and also because I've never had couscous before, and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

I later discover that the little bits are bulgar wheat and quinoa, which are soft, tiny seeds, instead of the pasta-based Moroccan couscous, and are fun to eat, as they feel very light, and do not need to be chewed much, really. The salad also includes edamame beans, cubes of roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, peppers and seeds, which are a fun motley of textures alongside the crunchy spinach leaves.

I really like this salad and recommend it to anyone who feels like they need to redeem their gluttonous selves with a salad, yet want something to delight the gustatory senses.