Welcome!
We’re delighted to introduce you to the first issue of Shop+, a digital lifestyle magazine that you can access through your local independent convenience store every two months.
Whether you want the lowdown on the latest products you can pick up from your local store, ideas on TV and film releases to add to your ‘must-watch’ list, money-saving tips, simple dinner recipes or a quick quiz to get your grey matter working, there’s all this and more in every issue.
Plus, with every issue, we’ll be giving away £1,000 to one lucky reader! Find out more on the competition page.
With Shop+, you can save money, eat well and live better.
Happy reading!
Louise and the Shop+ team
What’s new in store
Easter treats
M&M’s Crispy Bunny
New to convenience-store shelves for Easter 2025, this cute milk chocolate bunny has a creamy filling and contains M&M’s Minis.
Cadbury Easter Favourites Pouch
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cream Egg
There’s already a ripple of excitement among shoppers about this new egg from Terry’s. The milk chocolate egg has a truffle-like orange cream centre.
Featuring treat-size bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs, Mini Dairy Milk Eggs and Creme Eggs, it’s ideal for sharing with the family or using for egg hunts.
What’s new in store
Milky Way, Twix and Bounty Crispy/Wafer Rolls
After being discontinued in 2022, Milky Way Crispy Rolls have made a return. And joining them for the first time are Twix and Bounty Wafer Rolls.
Snacks & drinks
Starbucks coffee
Starbucks has launched two oatbased ready-to-drink coffees
– Cappuccino and Caramel Macchiato – as well as a toffee & honey flavour limited-edition called Blissful Retreat (contains cow’s milk).
McCoy’s Hot ‘n’ Spicy
Get ready to jump on the ‘spicy’ trend and ignite your tastebuds – if you dare – with McCoy’s new Hot ‘n’ Spicy flavour crisps.
A sweet treat for Easter
Cadbury Flake Cake
Prep time: 60 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes
Serves: 16
INGREDIENTS
• 200g self-raising flour
• 25g Cadbury Bournville cocoa powder
• Half a tsp bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt
• 75g Cadbury Bournville, broken into pieces
• 275g light brown sugar
• 50g butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150ml sour cream
• 300ml double cream, whipped
• 200g Cadbury Milk Chocolate Spread
• 5x4-packs of Cadbury Flake
• Cadbury Mini Eggs to decorate
• Easter chicks to decorate
METHOD
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line 2x9inch sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
Step 2:
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a small bowl and set aside. Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water.
Step 3:
Using an electric whisk, cream the sugar and butter together. Gradually add the beaten eggs, with a little of the flour after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, sour cream, milk and melted chocolate.
Step 4:
Pour the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes or until firm. Leave cakes to cool. Sandwich cakes together with whipped cream.
Step 5:
Place Cadbury Milk Chocolate Spread in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water and heat until just melted. Drizzle the chocolate spread over the top of the cake, allowing it to run down the edges.
Step 6:
Break the Cadbury Flakes in half and place them around the cake. Break a couple of Flakes into smaller pieces and sprinkle on top. Finally, add Easter chicks and Cadbury Mini Eggs on the top to decorate.
A quick and tasty meal for tonight
Chicken Fried Rice
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
• Ben’s Original Egg Fried Microwave Rice 220g
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 50g frozen peas
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
METHOD
Step 1:
Heat the oil in a wok on a high heat. When hot, add the chicken breast pieces and stir fry until golden.
Step 2:
Add the peppers and carrots. Stir fry until they begin to soften and the chicken is cooked through.
Step 3:
Add the frozen peas to the pan with 1 tbsp of water and cook until the water has evaporated. Add in the spring onions and Ben’s Original rice, stirring constantly.
Step 4:
Stir the soy and sweet chilli sauce into the fried rice until coated.
Step 5:
Serve immediately, topped with spring onions and sliced chilli (optional).
Make this recipe vegetarian by stir frying chopped tofu instead of chicken
Eight ways to extend your budget this Easter
Be traditional, without the price tag Easter Sunday can get expensive quickly –especially if you cook a roast dinner. Try cheaper cuts, different meat/vegetarian options or a hearty casserole. Also look at what alternatives the frozen aisle has to offer.
Change your cooking habits
The average oven uses up to 2.4kWh of electricity per hour, but air fryers use significantly less, as do slow cookers. Both will also create a succulent result for your roast.
Establish your own Easter traditions Easter is not all about chocolate, but traditions. Start traditions that can be done at home, like an annual family movie date you can all look forward to.
Spring clean and make money
We could all stand to declutter our homes, and thanks to sites such as Vinted, eBay and Facebook Marketplace, you can sell them on and make a little money ahead of Easter.
Utilise AI for new recipes
Groceries can be expensive, so planning ahead is crucial, as is getting creative. Ask AI software like ChatGPT for budget-friendly recipes to try.
Set your budget
For your final payday before Easter, make a note of all your bills and outgoings, and set a realistic budget for the period. Remember, you don’t need to spend lots to have a good time!
Find free events
Lots of local parks, churches and community groups will host events that are free or cost a minimal amount to attend. Check out what’s going on in your local area.
Get creative at home
Organise a treasure hunt using items you already have or decorate hard-boiled eggs and have a competition for the best one. You could also go on a nature trail or a hike, or bake or cook something new using ingredients already in your kitchen.
1 Bring plants into your workspace
3 Make a seasonal recipe
2 Create a spring reading list
4 Get outside daily – go for a walk or do some light exercise
GET AWAY
Where to head in April
Destination: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Flight time: 14hrs+ from UK airports
Appeal: Festival fun
Affordability: £££
Songkran Festival runs for three days from 13 April every year to mark Thai New Year. Chiang Mai is known as one of the more enthusiastic locations of the festival. It includes several cultural celebrations, while tourists and locals are challenged to drench each other with water by any means necessary! Be aware that April is one of the hottest months of the year in Thailand.
Long-haul
Destination: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Travel time: 1hr 5mins-1hr 30mins from UK airports / 4hrs on Eurostar from London
Appeal: A city in bloom and a party atmosphere
Affordability: ££
Alongside it being a peak time for tulips, Amsterdam also celebrates King’s Day – or Koningsdag – on 27 April. The celebration is one of the biggest and most colourful events in the Netherlands as the city goes orange. Stroll through the Vrijmarkt (one of the world’s largest flea markets) or one of eight free events held at various locations, such as Amstelveld.
GET AWAY
Where to head in April
Destination: Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Appeal: Beautiful scenery and puffins
Affordability: £
Between April and August, it’s puffin season at Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire. Visitors can also see guillemots and razorbills. The best place to stay is St David’s Peninsula, a colourful coastline. If you drive an hour to Martin’s Haven and take a 15-minute boat ride to Skomer Island, you can spend hours puffin spotting and taking in the incredible views.
Closer to home
Destination: York Chocolate Festival, Parliament Street, York
Appeal: A chocoholic’s dream Affordability: £
If you have a sweet tooth, York Chocolate Festival could be right up your street. Running from 16-20 April, the festival includes a market filled with chocolatiers, confectioners and savoury products with a sweet twist. There’s also a walking trail, Easter egg hunt and chocolate workshops, offering fun for all the family. Entry to the markets and demos are free, while specific events have various ticket prices. A weekend away
BIG-SCREEN RELEASES
Mickey 17
Release date: 7 March
Age rating: 12A
From the director of Parasite, Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17 is an American science-fiction black comedy film, based on the 2022 Mickey7 novel by Edward Ashton. It follows Mickey Barnes, played by Robert Pattinson (Twilight), who signs up to be a ‘disposable employee’ that can regenerate after death with most of his memories intact. After one of his ‘regeneration bodies’ survives a human expedition to colonise a distant world, he’s forced to go head-to-head with Mickey 18, a new multiple. The cast also includes Mark Ruffalo (The Adam Project), Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Toni Collette (Hereditary) and Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead).
Image credit: Warner Bros
BIG-SCREEN RELEASES
Snow White
Release date: 21 March
Age rating: PG
Snow White, from Walt Disney Pictures and Marc Platt Productions, is the live-action remake of the 1937 cartoon. The movie stars Rachel Zegler (West Side Story [2021], The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) as the title character, and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), and is directed by Marc Webb, director of The Amazing Spider-Man. Similarly to the cartoon, Snow White is a musical fantasy film that sees the return of the beloved seven dwarf characters, as well as Disney’s original villain and her Magic Mirror to determine who the fairest of them all truly is.
Image credit: Walt Disney Pictures
COMING TO THE SMALL SCREEN
Daredevil: Born Again
Release date: 5 March
Where to watch: Disney+
After six years, Charlie Cox is reprising his role as blind lawyer Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again. While Murdock fights crime in the courts, former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavours. When their past identities begin to emerge, the men find themselves on a collision course.
The Residence
Release date: 20 March
Where to watch: Netflix
The Residence is Netflix’s latest mystery drama mini-series created by Paul William Davies. In the eight-episode series, Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black) stars as detective Cordelia Cupp, who has her work cut out for her when a dead body appears at The White House’s state dinner and there’s more than 100 suspects.
COMING TO THE SMALL SCREEN
The Studio
Release date: 26 March
Seth Rogen (The Fabelmans) stars in this comedy, playing the newly-appointed head of an old-school Hollywood studio struggling to keep up in the new streaming-heavy landscape. Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) also stars, alongside a raft of famous faces playing themselves, including Zoë Kravitz, Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese.
Your Friends and Neighbors
Release date: 11 April
After being fired and coming to terms with his divorce, a hedge fund manager (Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Top Gun: Maverick) starts stealing from his neighbours’ homes in Westmont Village. The result? Uncovering secrets and affairs hidden among the wealthy neighbourhood that are more dangerous than he first thought.
Easy
Easter craft for kids
Make cute and colourful Easter cards with these easy-to-do, low-cost potato prints
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Activity time: 20-30 minutes
Drying time: 30 minutes
WHAT YOU NEED
(keep out of reach of children)
Step 1
Easy Easter craft for kids WHAT TO DO
Cut a potato in half and use a knife to carefully carve out some shapes. This could be spots, stripes or, if you have Easter-themed cookie cutters, you can press one into the potato and use a knife to cut the shape out.
Step 2
Blot the potato stamps on a paper towel to remove excess water. This will help the paint to stick.
Step 3
Paint different colours onto the raised parts of the potato.
Step 4
Use the potato stamp to make patterns on the card.
Step 5
Add your own words
Add your own words to the greetings card to personalise.
Easter quiz
Hop to it and test your knowledge with these fun Easter-themed quiz questions (answers on final page)
What is the name of the Thursday before Easter Sunday?
In which city was the UK’s first chocolate egg produced? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
In which Disney film does the inquisitive rabbit Thumper feature?
How many Creme Eggs does Cadbury produce in the UK each year?
In which country did the Easter Bunny originate?
What is the rabbit called in Margery Williams’ 1922 classic children’s book of the same name?
How many marzipan balls are traditionally on a simnel cake?
Where is Easter Island located?
Editor
Louise Banham
Contributor
Tamara Birch
The Team
Head of Digital Luthfa Begum
Head of Marketing Kate Daw
Head of Design
Anne-Claire Pickard
Production Editor Ryan Cooper
Production Coordinator
Chris Gardner
Head of Commercial Natalie Reeve
Finance Manager Magdelena Kalasiuniene
Managing Director Parin Gohil
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