I REALISE that by now, eating more food might not be top of the agenda. I hope you are all suitably stuffed with turkey and managed to gobble down huge quantities of chocolate / Christmas pudding / mince pies over the festive period.

However, many of you will still have to plan something to plate up over the New Year, whether that be for a party on the 31st or a family gathering on New Year’s day.

First, Dales Butchers in Kirkby Lonsdale have some great ideas for that New Year breakfast, perfect for soaking up the celebratory alcohol and for preparing you for the busy day ahead.

Both haggis slices and home-made ‘champion’ black pudding is £7.68 / kilo. Award-winning Guinness and chili black pudding, which Mark at the shop said was ‘amazing’, is £8.28 /kilo. I imagine this would go down well with a cup of tea and some of Dales bacon.

Plumgarths Farm Shop, Kendal, have plenty of roast-type meat, if you are cooking a big New Year dinner. They also recommend their local beef top side which is £9.98 / kilo.

If you are putting on a New Year’s day buffet then you cannot go wrong with cheese and biscuits. At The Honeypot, Hawkshead, there is some Appleby Creamery organic brie (£7.99 / 200g wheel) and some Eden Smokie (£6.99 / 200g wheel). For a great accompaniment pick up some apricot, pistacio and sunflower seed toasts at £3.25 a box.

For the health nuts among you a dish of dates might be nice, 59 pence per 200g pack from Greenbanks in Kendal. And if you do not want to wait another year you can also buy some sprouts, (49 pence / lb) and chestnut s (£2 / lb), while you are there.

For an easy dessert to serve Grange Bakery have the answer - trifle. In a range of sizes, starting at £1.50 for a small one, these are fool-proof puddings. The bakery also still has some chocolate yule log (£4.50) - a chocolate sponge covered in ganache.

And of course, the drinks. Low Sizergh Barn, Kendal, suggest their range of High Cup fruit wines, produced at Townhead Farm and Winery in Murton, near Appleby. Flavours include damson, elderflower, raspberry, gooseberry, and the special festive spiced beetroot. Available in 70cl bottls, from £9.99 to £11.20.