SOS Fruit

It wasn't until my elder daughter left to go to university that I realised exactly how much fruit she ate. Now that she's gone the rest of us are struggling to get through our weekly organic fruit box. This afternoon as I was carrying out one of my irregular inspections of the contents of our fridge I came across not just one, but two punnets of red grapes. If they'd been seedless they would have been devoured by my younger daughter, but she doesn't like having to spit out the pips and, to be perfectly frank, neither do I. So they'd been left to grow slightly soft and wrinkly.

Not wanting to waste them I pressed them through a metal sieve to extract the juice. It was a bit strong on its own but was perfect when diluted half and half with tonic water.

My husband then fried some tired looking apples to go with our pork chops for dinner.

Tomorrow I must remember to look out a recipe for a cake involving pears.

Buttering us up?

I've been drawn to the latest Lurpak ads, which advocate a return to an 'old fashioned' way of life - homecooked food, quality over presentation, the celebration of simple pleasures, the virtue of patience and zero waste. I love them!

Unfortunately for Lurpak they have not persuaded me to switch to their brand. I'll stick to my local butcher who sells a very acceptable variety wrapped in environmentally friendly paper.

Surprisingly, although Lurpak's website features a tempting selection of recipes, it says nothing about the recyclability of their packaging.

Week 5 - Plastic Wrapped Bakery Products

During the week we breakfast on toast or cereal, with the occasional boiled egg. At the weekends we like to treat ourselves to something more exciting - invariably croissants. The trouble with the croissants from our local Tesco Metro is that they are encased in plastic. They sit in a preformed plastic tray which is then placed in a plastic bag, neither of which is recyclable in our area and are destined for the landfill. However, one of our local bakeries sells loose croissants and the deli sells almond ones which are wickedly delicious. Unfortunately both of them are further away, but the extra distance might help to work off some of those calories!

When I'm feeling energetic I make pancakes which the girls devour with crispy bacon and maple syrup. I remember attempting croissants once, but also remember them failing to live up to my expectations.

I've been trying to cut down on shop bought bakery items and bake my own, which are not only less wasteful but also better for us. The girls take a biscuit or a cake to school with them in their bento lunchboxes every morning and always need a snack when they come home in the afternoon. I try to go for recipes containing oats or fruit, with a bit of chocolate thrown in. Flapjacks are a perennial favourite and this week I made tiffin which is ridiculously easy and doesn't even require cooking, if you don't count heating a few ingredients in a pan.

If anyone has any good recipes to share I'd love to hear from you.

Perhaps someone could also let me know what the rules are regarding the posting of recipes. Is it alright to do so if you acknowledge the source?

Weekly Weigh-In = 165g

I'm very pleased with this and hope I can keep it up.