Wonky veg!

We're on a journey to becoming a low waste family. It certainly isn't happening overnight but it's so important to remain focused on the way we want to live. 

There's much work to be done and so much to learn. Every change we make to our lifestyle is a step in the right direction, even though we already do a lot of things, we now need to concentrate on more changes. 

Plastic is a major issue...it is everywhere! We've already reduced how much plastic we use but food shopping is a nightmare.  There's way too much unnecessary packaging on fruit and veg. A year ago I was having a weekly organic veg box delivered but it was so expensive and items we're getting substituted so I cancelled it. Since then I've bought from the supermarket online and chosen loose fruit and veg. Sadly some weeks this would arrive in a plastic bag, which is so annoying. 

I'm not loyal to any supermarket but I have my favourite for quality. It is more expensive but worth it. However I tried a different one this week for my groceries to try out the wonky veg box. It cost £3.50 and was full of potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, parsnips, a Savoy cabbage and a swede. The potatoes and leeks were quite small but apart from that everything was 'normal' I will definitely buy it again as it was good value. I bought other vegetables because I didn't know what to expect from the wonky box. The fridge looks so colourful with all the different veg in there. My plan is to slowly introduce more veg into our diet while reducing the meat. We've already cut the amount of meat we eat but more could be done. 

There are some vegetables that I struggle to enjoy so I'm looking out for recipes to make them more exciting. The children are fussy about veg but eat a lot of fruit. Time to get the vintage cookery books out!

The next step is to bring our vegetable patch back into action. I'd love to grow our own vegetables again and salad in particular. Lots of hard work and planning but I'm really motivated to get things moving. It was such a delight to see the children shelling peas for our tea yesterday. They love helping me. A few years ago Daisy planted peas and home grown is so much better. Plus both children love digging!

Exciting times ahead!

Mandy x

Birthdays and holidays!

Last week we were on the beautiful Isle of Wight for our holiday. We had some lovely days out, visiting a windmill, water mill, donkey sanctuary, steam railway and Blackgang Chine, plus a wonderful day on the beach. 

Now we're back to reality but it's the summer holidays! Lots of fun packed days ahead before the new school year begins.

Today I've been remembering my grandad who would have been 94 years old. He died when he was 56 and I was only 11. I still miss him every day.

Henry turned 4 a couple of weeks ago and Daisy's birthday is fast approaching, but tomorrow we celebrate another special birthday. Our dog Jake will be 18! We've been so lucky to have this many years with him. 

Sadly our lovely hen 'Sandy Chick Chick' died the day before we went on holiday. It was very sudden and the children were devastated. She was 12 and had a wonderfully happy life. She even laid an egg that morning. She used to join me in the kitchen all the time and the children adored her. We miss her dreadfully.

I have lots of projects planned and a huge 'to do' list but we are loving the slower pace of the summer holidays. Tomorrow we have a doggy birthday cake to bake and I bought some special flour at the mill to bake bread. Home baking brings me such joy.

Mandy x