We’ve been trying Spoonfed supper’s recipes for the last few weeks. In their ‘Vital Spoon’ subscription service you get 7 seasonal recipes suggested for the week ahead, plus a clever shopping list that brings together everything you need, either for the whole week or day by day. You can delete recipes that don’t appeal and browse the whole collection for new ones: the shopping list will adapt. I’ve found it easiest to print off the whole week’s recipes in one go, but you can also look at the email that comes through each day for a reminder.

The recipes are easy to cook after work and you can opt for ‘family friendly’ recipes as well as those suitable for different diets and health conditions. There is a great emphasis on getting your 3 portions of veg in your evening meal, and DH’s only complaint was, “What no puddings!?” The site has a handy glossary if you’re unfamiliar with any of the ingredients or cooking terms. I now own a bottle of Agave syrup – but you’ll have to try out Spoonfed Suppoers if you want to know how to use it!

It took me a while to get into the habit of ordering food that fitted in with the recipes but I’ve got all sorts of exciting herbs and spices, the sort of things I’d been using less and less because of the children’s preferences for plain food! It hasn’t been entirely straightforward introducing the family to a new set of meals, but is worth it. DH is pleased to have some different food on the menu for a change, and I’ve been surprised that the children will eat quinoa and asparagus. DD, 9, has been the most resistant to change… she’d much rather have sausages than pork ratatouille with her jacket potato. I’ve been moderately flexible with her: see above left where she got fishfingers instead of salmon!

When you join Spoonfed Suppers you can add in the size of your family so recipes are calculated for the right number of people, and you can alter this by the day if not everyone will eat at every meal. This has lead to some issues with scaling the recipes: it is a- very helpful, but if you like to follow recipes exactly (rather than in my ‘sling it all in’ kind of way) and have a family of five you may go slowly mad when expected to add one and 1/4 green peppers, one and 1/4 onions AND one and 1/4 cloves of garlic to the dish!

So, if you’re inspired to get out of your culinary rut, you can opt for a free daily recipe and shopping list sent by email as part of the Sparky Spoon subscription. Or, opt for the even more fabulous (premium) membership Vital Spoon which is personalised:

• suppers handpicked to suit your health needs and lifestyle. Maybe you’re coeliac, pregnant or feeding a family. Maybe you don’t like pork or dairy. Whatever the case, you need a plan that fits you.
• We do the food moderating so you can ditch the diet and eat perfectly for your needs and look and feel amazing.
• interactive online features  are designed to make supper planning, shopping and cooking a complete breeze.
• the plan is seasonal, making your suppers fresher, tastier and cheaper.

These benefits are now available as part of the Vital Spoon membership for only £3.75 a month or £35 a year. Is it value for money? I’d say yes. The fee is equivalent to buying a foodie magazine each  month, and although you don’t get the editorial, you get the same inspiration but personalised for your family. As a busy working mum it saves me time having to do meal planning and I can easily input the shopping list into Tesco’s online service and get it all delivered, saving even more time. To start with I spent a little more refreshing my spice rack, but now I’d say I save money. I wouldn’t say that I have taken every product or service I have reviewed and made it part of family life, but I think I will continue with Spoonfed Suppers, at least until I’ve got the children enjoying a wider range of meals and have my interest in cooking back.



If you’re a mum of a 6-12 month old, you could win £50 worth of high street vouchers!

www.surveymonkey.com/s/acbabypackaging

The menu includes:

Asparagus, Egg and New Potato Salad on Monday in support of the Meat Free Campaign, Garlic and Thyme Turkey Steaks with Pesto Bean Salad on Tuesday, Lemon and Parsley Cod with Summer Greens on Wednesday, Chilled Summer Courgette, Pea and Bacon Soup on Thursday, Horseradish Spiked Beef Burger on Friday in warm up for the Independence Weekend.

All recipes take under 30 minutes to cook and contain less than 550 calories, less than 5 grams of saturated fat and more than 2 of your 5 a day. They are also packed with antioxidants and vitamins to promote a healthier, glossier you for the summer. And a shopping list will be sent this Friday, 25th June, to end those daily trips to the supermarket and ensure you are stocked up for the week’s meals.

Sign up for your daily email to make cooking at home quicker, healthier and hassle-free at www.spoonfedsuppers.com website.

Fish and Chips by Adam_T4

It’s January, it’s cold, New Year’s resolutions are proving hard and you want a treat. Try this LIGHT version of fish and chips from Tasty Diaries. Anne Laure of Tasty Diaries writes, “With 8,500 shops dedicated to it, there is no doubt fish and chips is at the very core of British culinary identity. It took me a while, but I learned to enjoy this dish. The trouble is every time I eat it, I feel afterwards as if my entire face is covered with a thick layer of fat. So I figured, there has to be a better way. The good without the bad. I researched it and found it. Try it, you’ll love it. Your heart too.”

You’ll need:

Busy time: 20 min, Total prep time: 30 min

Serves 4

1.  Prepare the fish:

2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees C

3. Peel (optional) and wash the potatoes. Cut lengthways into slices about 1 cm thick, and cut each slice lengthways into sticks 1cm or less thick.

4. In a mixing bowl, mix the oil, paprika, mustard and chilli if using (I don’t use it whenever I make these fries for my children – but I like the slightly bity kick they give the fries). Toss the fries into the bowl and mix thoroughly, ensuring that all the chips are coated with the spiced oil. The paprika will give the chips a lovely colour.

5. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on your oven tray and dispose the oiled chips on it, making sure they don’t touch each other.

6. Bake for 20 minutes in the middle of your oven until golden brown and crisp, turning them over after the first 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper when ready and serve immediately..

7. Prepare the fish:

8. Start preparing the fish once the fries are in the oven.

9. Prepare 2 deep plates, one with the milk and egg whites beaten together (discard the yolks or save for another recipe), the other with the flour, bread crumbs, spices and a pinch of salt.

10. Use a small grid that can sit on a dish if you have one. If not, use the oven grid (you will need to place a dish underneath it when baking to catch any drippings from the fish). Oil the grid and place next to the plates.

11. One by one, immerse each fish portion first into the dry mixture, then into the milk. Shake gently to allow excess liquid to drip down and coat the fish again in the dry ingredients.

12. Once coated, place each fish portion on the grid. When all the portions are finished, brush the top of each fish with sunflower oil.  Bake in the top of the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through and nicely golden on the outside.

13. Be extra careful when removing the fish as it can stick to the grid. The best is to take the grid out of the oven, place it is a safe place and proceed to remove the fish delicately with a large spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste.

14. Serve with the chips and mushed up peas.

http://www.tastydiaries.com/TD/Recipe_archive/Entries/2009/10/8_Oven_fish_and_chips.html

Anne Laure of Tasty Diaries writes, “A fun, quick fix for a no-fuss and delicious family or TV dinner. It is also a great way to get big and small people to eat almost raw broccoli! My children love it, especially as they have to eat these with their fingers, which hikes up their enthusiasm quite a bit. Add chicken bits if you don’t want a vegetarian dinner, and enjoy the stuffing, tasty, melting and cheesy inside its crispy coat.”

Tortilla sandwiches with cheddar, broccoli and HP sauce

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli

8 soft flour tortillas

HP sauce

200g grated strong cheddar

1 chilli pepper, deseeded and chooped finely (optional)

Busy time: 15 min, Total prep time: 15 min

Serves 4 (24 slices)

Wash the broccoli thoroughly and wipe it dry. Using the larger holes of your grater, grate it, including florets and stems. If you like larger, crunchy bits, slice it finely instead.

Place 4 tortillas side by side and spread on each the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of HP sauce.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat without adding any oil in it.

Once hot, place one tortilla on the dry pan, sauce side up. Sprinkle the broccoli and cheese and a bit of chopped chilli if using. Be generous with the ingredients, you want to obtain a filling on the thicker side.

Cover with another tortilla and allow to brown. When one side has reached a nice honey colour, turn the tortilla sandwich over and brown the other side.

The first tortilla may take 5 minutes to brown but be careful, once the pan is hot, things go much quicker. The broccoli should remain slightly crunchy, this is what makes these sandwiches so interesting.

Serve each tortilla cut into 8 slices with salad drizzled with vinaigrette, or with a nice tomato and coriander salsa.

For more inspiring and family friendly recipes, visit www.tastydiaries.com

I was impressed by the research and thought that has gone into sourcing the produce:

• Café Rebelde Zapatista Ground Coffee (£3.35) is sourced directly from the farming communities in Chiapas, South East Mexico. Funds from the sale of Café Rebelde Zapatista coffee are used directly for a number of water projects. An average water system for 300 people costs around £4,000. While one can be constructed in less than two months, its average lifespan is 20 years.
• Herbal Organic Fairtrade Biodynamic Egyptian Teas (30g £1.29) Essential has worked with the Sekem Foundation’s Egyptian farm since 1979 to grow and prepare bio-dynamic herbal teas that support development, education and training which has enabled the farm to grow from 70 to 2000 acres in this time as well supporting a kindergarten and school for the community.
• 490g Baked Organic Beans £0.99 & 400g Tinned Organic Tomatoes £0.99. The tomatoes for these foods are grown on small farms that form part of a 35 farm co-operative in the Marche region of Italy. The farms are all certified organic to EU standards and Organic Farmers & Growers Association also approves them. The baked beans are also sourced from this farming cooperative.
• 474g Organic Coconut Milk £1.19 Produced in Sri Lanka in the locality affected by the Tsumani. All of Essential’s coconut products (coconut milk, cream and virgin coconut oil) continue to support the general economy in the area affected by the Tsunami.

Eli Sarre, Sales & Marketing Director, Essential Trading says, “If we could encourage more Britons to change some of their basic items from their weekly shop to Fairtrade or organic foods, they could support over 200,000 families while feeding their own family nutritious, ethically produced food.” In this way, Eli believes people can reduce their ‘food footprint’ by giving back when buying their basics.