According to bellybytes.com, frost improves the taste of parsnips and some other root vegetables because the cold weather turns a lot of the starch into sugar. So why not sign up for a fortnightly delivery of vegetables when some of your favorite roots are at their best? Starting in January Riverford Organic Vegetables, will offer a “roots and greens’ box, aimed at thrifty cooks, to help families eat well through the credit crunch.

An award-winning Yorkshire bakery has launched a range of delicious, organic Christmas hampers. The Side Oven Bakery, based at Foston-on-the-Wolds in East Yorkshire has created the hampers in response to customer demand for its best-selling Christmas Stollen, mueslis, juices and cordials.

Green & Black’s, the luxury chocolate and biscuit maker, has launched its deliciously indulgent Organic Shortbread Collection for Christmas – its seasonal range of luxury gifts and treats.

Christmas is a time to surprise and delight and this year is no exception. Cadbury biscuits have created a fun packed Seasonal range that won’t break the bank. With something for everyone, you’re sure to find the ideal Christmas treat; whether you’re looking for chocolate goodies to give as a gift, delightful stocking fillers or simply something a little bit different to offer to guests during the festive season.

Sherry and Christmas, it’s like pudding and brandy butter and sleeping in front of the Bond film on the telly – a UK institution. My parents had one bottle of Bristol Cream which along with Warnink’s Avocaat and Stone’s Ginger Wine lay unloved and stuck to the floor of the drinks cabinet the rest of the year round. Granny used to have the Bristol Cream before lunch and soon after that a choking fit which would last all through the prawn cocktail starter.

The Good Oil is made from hemp seeds. Yes the same plant strain whose dried leaves fuelled a thousand counter revolutions, or would have if the people smoking it had managed to get it together to get out the house. Of course hemp is not just a drug it is an ancient plant whose tough fibrous stalks made the ropes that fitted out the British fleet for centuries and the rope that made the noose for the pirates.

There is a way to have your cake and eat it – no sugar and with only natural, healthy ingredients – Loseley, the Rolls Royce of yoghourts, are made using fresh Channel Island milk and Jersey cream, both of which are rich in calcium to build strong bones and teeth. They also contain real fruit which we all know is good for our health. Best of all, they taste delicious and are a great way to finish off a meal or to have as a healthy snack between meals.

In Alba – the heart of Italy’s Piedmont region in the mountains near Turin – the foods of Cascina San Cassiano are created using exclusive, deliciously fresh local ingredients with NO preservatives and NO colourings. A number of the products are preserved using grape seed oil – making them not only delicious but light and healthy too!

During the holidays, family and friends often make surprise visits, landing on your doorstep with arms full of presents. You might have all the ingredients for your big holiday meals ready, but what do you serve those unexpected guests? Loseley Natural foods has some suggestions for keeping your refrigerator stocked with a few supplies that will make it easier to get snacks ready in a hurry.