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St. Swithin (or Swithun) was a Saxon Bishop of Winchester, and is known for the popular rhyme:

St Swithun’s day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St Swithun’s day if thou be fair
For forty days ’twill rain no more

Today, (July 15) is St Swithin’s Day so today’s weather - quite nice! - is what we can expect for the rest of summer. Hurrah!

And this is science-backed. Around the middle of July, the Jet Stream settles into a pattern which usually holds fairly steady until the end of August. The weather we get now is likely to dominate for the next month or two.

Quite where the legend of St Swithin comes from isn’t entirely clear. He was buried outside the doors of his Cathedral when he died, saying he wanted to hear the rain falling, so it may come from that.

As with most Saints, he wasn’t left to rest in peace. His head was removed Canterbury, while an arm ended up in Peterborough. His tomb was then destroyed during the English Reformation.

Anyway, that’s the end of the history lesson - we reckon our crackers are just the thing for 40 days of picnics!

With warmer weather here at last, it’s time for a barbecue.

Whether you have a large lawn or a small patio, there’s space to cook up some tasty treats for family and friends. Meat lovers are well catered for, of course, with beefburgers, chicken or sausages - or sometimes kebabs - as the staple offering.

meanwhile vegetarians can opt for halloumi, while vegan options including tofu, cauliflower steaks and grilled aubergine. Yum.

AND, just to raise our hand here, our ready meals offer a tasty back-up option, while our crackers and crispbreads are perfect for the cheese course.

So as well as dusting down the barbecue don’t forget to make room for a small picnic table laden with Easy Bean goodies…

Enjoy!

Times are changing - men in the UK are increasingly likely to be found in the kitchen looking for new tastes and food combinations. Gone are the days of meat and two veg every day as men look for more exciting tastes and wholesome alternatives to meat.

That’s where Easy Bean comes in. Our one-pot ready meals are wholesome, delicious and wonderfully authentic. Packed full of pulses and chunky veg, each 320g pot provides 2 to 3 of your five-a-day. They are naturally low in fat and salt and high in fibre.

Christina Baskerville, our MD points out: “Easy Bean meals are quick and simple and yet they help you to eat well and are very filling. Packed full of goodness and as a slow release source of carbohydrate they certainly offer man-sized portions. They taste delicious on their own or combine them with rice, a baked potato or some crusty bread.”

Christina offers these five - tongue-in-cheek - manly reasons to eat beans and pulses.

1. More protein than other non-meat ingredients.

2. High in fibre, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre helps to lower cholesterol. Insoluble fibre improves digestive health.

3. Full of complex carbohydrates with a low Gi index. This means they take longer to digest, leaving you feeling fuller for longer.

4. Low in fat.

5. A good source of energy-boosting iron.

Easy Bean’s one-pot meals are based on authentic recipes from around the world. Cooked in small batches in the Easy Bean kitchen (without the use of starch thickeners) they taste as good as homemade.

Men -  time for a spot of hunter-gatherer behaviour down the supermarket!

School summer holiday planning is likely to be well underway in households up and down the country – and with self-catering an increasingly popular option, mealtime planning is a must.

Cooking can be fun but there are also times on holiday when you want an easy option – the great news is that the Easy Bean range combines easy with super-tasty and good for you.

For evening meals why not offer a selection of our one-pot meals served with jacket potatoes and rice with a side salad or two. There’s something to please everyone in our range. How about New Mexican Chilli and African Palava – a great combination.

For lunchtimes, our crispbreads come into their own. Easy to pop into a picnic hamper and delicious served with cheese, meat, egg or veggie toppings. This time around, carrrot sticks, chopped peppers and sweet apples make the perfect light meal.

Hungry inbetween times? OK – of course ice-creams are allowed as a holiday treat but our crackers are also moreish and filling.

That’s the holiday food sorted – now you just have the packing and the getting there!

Thank you to a self-described “seriously happy customer” who wrote us a note - and a poem!

She says: “I’ve been eating your tasty meals for many months now, and I just love them. Thank you for all the work you have put in to making my stomach very happy. I thought I’d write a little poem to show my appreciation”

Here is it.

Easy Beans, you are a dream,
No other meal is so supreme,
Bringing me joy and bursting with flavour,
Easy Bean, you are my saviour!

A new street market is opening up in the picturesque town of Sherborne in deepest Dorset – and of course Easy Bean will be there!

The Sherborne Independent Market will be along the lines of the hugely popular nearby Frome Market with an eclectic mix of artisan stalls providing a range of locally produced foods, drinks and crafts.

It will take place on Sunday, 16 June. Come and say Hi and try some of our delicious one-pot ready meals and tasty crispbreads!

Today is the day to celebrate eggs. Why today? well, the story goes that June 3, 1921 saw a new road opened in Washington State specifically for the transportation of eggs and poultry from a small town to the bigger markets.

Someone in that small town - Winlock - is being crowned Egg Day Queen as we speak!

We can all get behind a celebration of eggs, a good source of vitamin D and protein, which can be cooked in lots of ways and, as it happens, taste delicious in combination with an Easy Bean Crispbread. We are great fans of a lightly boiled and sliced egg served with slices of red pepper, lettuce and a dash of mayonnaise on the classic Seeds and Black Pepper Crispbread, we’d love to hear your favourites as well.

The can’t be many country fairs where you can see one of the biggest shows of rare breeds, watch teams battle it out in Chinese Dragon Boat races and get some expert tuition in archery, all in one day!
But those are just some of the activities on offer at the Sherborne Castle Country Fair in Dorset this Sunday.
There will also be a wide range of local and regional produce on sale to enjoy during the day or take home. Our own Lizzie will be selling Easy Bean Crackers and Crispbread in the Food Hall to provide tasty and health snacks, so drop by and say hello, we’d be delighted to see you.
And enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend everybody!
Sherborne Castle Country Fair and Rare Breeds Show
Sunday 27 May, 10am - 6pm, free parking
Sherborne Castle, New Road, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 5NR

Help save the planet, live a healthier life and save money  –  what’s not to like about vegetarianism?

This week is National Vegetarian Week, a few days set aside every year to celebrate the meat-free lifestyle.

It’s a popular choice nowadays, especially among young people, who may also be time-poor and welcome a quick and easy solution (Clue: Easy Bean meals!).

Quite a few of our products are vegetarian, like our New Mexican Chilli or Sambar Dahl one-pot meals, for example, as well as our crispbread range of course.

Some are vegan – so they don’t include any dairy products such as cheese or eggs either.

But the main thing is they are all mouth-wateringly tasty, so vegetarian or not, there’s something for everyone in the Easy Bean cupboard – at any time of the year!

Come and see us on Sunday (10am – 4pm) 2019 at the Shaftesbury Food and Drink Festival where we will be selling our Crispbreads and Crackers.

Not to be missed, it’s a day jam packed with food, fun and frivolity.

As well as us, there will be stalls the length of the town with dozens of producers, plus live cooking demonstrations and live music and dancing. Did we mention arts and crafts as well.

And of course, the famous Cheese Races down Gold Hill - not for the faint hearted!

It’s a full day out – with added Easy bean goodness. See you there.

http://shaftesburyfestival.co.uk/