IT MIGHT seem like longer, but later this month we’ll mark the first anniversary of the first lockdown.
Monday, March 16, was the first night where we really did stay at home and since then, we’ve craved all kinds of home comforts.
And new research shows that one staple is comfort food, with the cheese toastie top of the pops in lockdown three.
The number one comfort food in the survey is a cheese toastie (25%), followed by pizza (17%) and jacket potato with cheese (12%).
Although 30% of respondents said they were snacking on cheese, which is a healthy and nutritious food in moderation, less healthy foods are getting a good look-in too, with 65% snacking on chocolate, 63% on crisps and 47% on sweets.
Four in 10 people have admitted that they are finding it harder to stick to a healthier diet during the third lockdown than the first two lockdowns, with 53% citing a lack of motivation and just over half of people (51%) blaming the cold days and long nights.
Dorota Dziedzic, assistant brand manager for Jarlsberg, which commissioned the research, said: “Our survey highlights how much harder the UK population is finding lockdown 3.
“People found it easier to maintain a healthy routine in the first lockdown in the spring, but this one has hit people harder and, as our survey shows, there is a real lack of motivation to stick to a healthier diet this time, particularly as winter makes us crave comfort food – and this winter is record-breaking in its low temperatures.”
The nation’s favourite lockdown toastie is cheese and ham (21%), followed by BLT (18%), with the traditional cheese toastie and tuna melt toastie in joint third place (12%). Cheese and pickle and chocolate spread are in fourth and fifth place respectively with vegan cheeze toasties in sixth place.
Dorota adds: “The comfort that cheese brings to food and feelings has come across loud and clear in the survey with cheese making the top three in the poll of most favourite comfort foods: cheese toastie, pizza and jacket potato with cheese.”
