Tips of the Month/Recipes of the week

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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Summer is finally here, the sun is shining, and your garden is in full bloom. Your bedding plants and vegetable patch is well established, so in theory, now is a good time to sit back and enjoy your beautiful garden. Unfortunately, as any keen gardener knows, there are always plenty of jobs to do! Plants,
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Mix up your salads this summer – add raw vegetables at their peak, such as crisp sugar snap peas here. This salad is based on the classic Italian summer salad, but with extra veggies to make more balanced lunch. Tuna packed in olive oil is juicier and more delicious than tuna in water; just drain
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A basic spiraliser costs under a fiver (it looks like a pencil sharpener!) and can turn a courgette into a bowl of courgetti in a few seconds. If you don’t have one, simply grate your courgette instead. This is a take to work recipe, but of course you can make it straight into a bowl
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This is a very quick, stir-fry salad that is perfect for lunch or dinner. Make the best of fresh, local sprouting broccoli that is so tender and crisp that it barely needs any cooking; Carpenter’s own is fresh enough to snap! Quinoa cooks quicker than rice and contains protein; it is well worth having a
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As we move into summer there should hopefully be a lot more opportunities to spend time outdoors, so now is a really great time to start adding some beautiful plants and decorative pots to your outdoor spaces. Whether you have a garden, a patio, a deck, or a balcony, some well thought out container plants
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