Tips of the Month/Recipes of the week

The Great British Public loves a good local farm shop. It’s a chance for everyone to buy their produce direct from growers rather than selecting pre-packaged fruit and vegetables in a sterile supermarket environment. Farm shops are good for everyone, so let’s find out why! Carpenter’s Nursery has been selling fresh fruit and vegetables direct
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Perfect for any day when you know you will need something warming and nutritious to eat at lunchtime. Kids love this too, so it’s a great meal for a packed school lunch in a food flask. Serve with crusty bread to dip in. The butterbeans are a good source of protein, making this more feeling
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Looking for a super speedy, warming lunch packed with flavour? These yummy pots of goodness are simple to throw together and are the perfect way to use up veggies and other ingredients that might be lurking in your cupboards and way better for you than certain dehydrated ready-made noodle pots! The ginger, garlic and chilli
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As we count down the days until Christmas, now is an excellent time to start preparing your garden for some colourful spring bulbs. Flowers bring a garden to life and none give more bang for their buck than spring bulbs. Daffodils, tulips, crocus and alliums all look beautiful in spring. But, if you don’t have
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Cauliflower and chickpeas taste amazing when roasted, and together are really filling – you won’t need any bread with this salad. The chickpeas and feta give you plenty of protein, and you can add generous handfuls of whatever leaves you have in the fridge; rocket and mint work really well. Feta cheese is lower in
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Just because the weather is dark, wet, and miserable, it doesn’t mean your garden must follow suit. The weather might be rubbish with plenty of rain and chilly autumnal temperatures, but if you introduce some colourful winter bedding plants into your garden, you can look forward to gazing out on a riot of colour. Everyone
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Sturdy kale makes a great base for a packed lunch, and even benefits from being left to marinate in a dressing for a few hours, becoming easier to chew and digest. As well as being one of the highest anti-oxidant foods available, kale also contains more calcium than milk, which is so important for bone
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Have you ever dreamed of having your own fruit orchard? Imagine being able to pick fresh apples, pears, plums and redcurrants, direct from the plant, instead of paying over the odds for fruit from your local supermarket. The good news is that you can grow fruit at home, in containers, and it isn’t difficult at
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If you know you haven’t eaten enough veggies in the last day or two, this very quick soup will fix everything. You don’t need to use vegetable stock for this; the vegetables and lemon add plenty of flavour. The soup is best eaten on the day it is made. Makes 1 lunch 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
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A couple of minutes grating and chopping and you have a generous bowlful of delicious, juicy veggies that only need a light citrus dressing. It is lovely with barbecued or grilled salmon or chicken or with hummus in a pitta bread for an easy lunch. You can also just eat it on its own, with
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Inspired by the bright colours of summer veggies, this super-fresh sandwich will help you reach your seven-a-day. Use whichever bread you prefer, Simmons seedy sourdough works well or Findlater’s Gluten-free Oated Cob loaf. If you’re making this for a packed lunch toasting the bread helps to stop it going soggy. Makes 1 sandwich For the
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Grilling chicken gives chicken a lovely flavour and texture, and this marinade works quickly to add plenty of zing. You can make these juicy skewers this night before and in the morning pop in your lunchbox with whatever salad bits you may have. Low in calories and carbohydrates, courgettes are also a good source of
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