BoyG has a locally sourced snack....

BoyG needed a little snack today to keep him going and he loves fresh strawberries so I gave him some fresh and locally sourced strawberries to eat.

Fresh as they went from the plant to his mouth in two minutes.

Locally sourced because they grew in our garden.

And best of all they are wild, just like BoyG is if we miss his snack!

Tesco - Not just any strawberries make the grade!

I had a berry good evening (sorry, I had to do that!) last week when I visited Tesco in Hatfield to learn a bit more about some different berries, including strawberries. As well as learning about them, I got to taste them!

When we arrived at Tesco, we were greeted with glasses of fizz, and lovely fresh strawberry and blueberry smoothies.

I learnt a lot, including how the strawberries make it from field to Tesco, how they are sorted in the different groups like value, and Tesco Finest. I also got some inspiration for different things you could try with strawberries. Some sounded very strange to me but I am always willing to try something new...

Some thing interesting I learnt was that Tesco stock 35 different varieties of strawberries, all of which make it to the shelves within 24 hours. No wonder they taste so fresh!

I always thought that the cheaper Tesco Value range was cheaper because it wasn't as nice as the Finest range. I couldn't be more wrong, especially when it comes to strawberries. The strawberries from each supplier are sorted out into the three categories and if they are not up to Tesco's high standards then they are rejected. The Finest strawberries are nice and big, heart shaped, a good red colour and nice and juicy. The normal Tesco ones are still fairly big and good looking but might not be the typical heart shape or might not be as bright or colourful. Then the Tesco Value ones are small and often a bit nobbly or funny looking. We had a taste test and had to taste strawberries and say which group we thought they should be in. This was fun and although it was obvious due to the size and appearance of the small strawberries that they belonged in the Value category I still gave them a go and tasted them. They were full of flavour and were very sweet. It has proved me wrong and I would now consider buying them in the future although my favourite were actually the Tesco range.

We were given a summer berry tart with lemon cream to taste as well as the berries. The recipe can be found on the Tesco real food website. It was delicious! We were also given a lovely goodie bag which contained all the ingredients needed to re create the dish.

When I got home from the event, I used some of the bits from my goodie bag to make a pudding for the boys. BabyG just had some fresh strawberries with his weetabix. BoyG who prefers a punnet of strawberries over a bar of chocolate had something he thought was heavenly. I simply combined fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries with some meringues and double cream. I have included a photo of BoyG's "Oh my goodness this is just soooo good!!!!" face so you can see what I mean.

I tried strawberries with ground black pepper, cinnamon, and balsamic dressing. It was certainly different! If you haven't tried it, why not have a go?

I was also inspired once I got home to try a strawberry salad. Sound strange? I thought so too but I tried it anyway and I have to admit it was a refreshing change to the everyday salad.

I had a wonderful time and I learnt a lot. I hope you have enjoyed reading about it and that maybe you will try something new and possibly out of your comfort zone....

Todays mini moment - Hellmann's Mayonaise - It has to be Hellmann's!

BoyG says it has to be Hellmann's!!

A tasty treat after a long day at nursery, my tired and hungry boy enjoyed chicken on a stick (his words!) with oven chips, cauliflower and sprouts. Veg chosen by BoyG himself!! He has to have a dollop of Hellmann's on his plate though to make his meal complete!