Fruit smoothies and blueberry muffins... what's in the 2008 British shopping basket

All these items have been included in the latest version of the official shopping basket – the list of products used to measure changes in the cost of living.

Not so long ago, a hungry office worker's first thought might have been a sausage roll or bacon butty, washed down with a cup of tea.

By contrast, the latest measure of spending habits confirms a tide of Americanisation sweeping through our lives and high streets.

U.S.-style sweet muffins are now becoming as common a breakfast treat in the offices of London and Manchester as in New York.

And expensive fruit smoothies are increasingly being sold alongside the lattes and cappuccinos in U.S.-style coffee shops.

Health-conscious Britons spent some £1.4billion on their smoothies and fruit drinks in 2007 as they switched away from sugary, fizzy concoctions. The total was up 25 per cent in just two years.

The list of 650 goods and services is revised once a year to take account of where consumers are spending their money. The information is compiled by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to produce the national rate of inflation, which is a crucial benchmark for economic policy and increases in pensions and benefits.

Two years ago, the iPod leapt into the national shopping basket as music downloads via the internet replaced the high street music store and CDs. The new shopping basket drops Top 40 CD singles, which have lost out to the success of music downloads.

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They are being replaced by what the ONS calls non-chart classic albums by artists such as U2, Pink Floyd and Madonna.

TV repairs are out, largely because today's consumers are more likely to dump rather than fix a failing set.

Also disappearing from the list is the microwave oven, not because it is falling out of use but because most homes already have one and don't need to buy another.