A Bowl of Organic Fruit (simple recipe ideas)

Blueberries are quite expensive, but many people buy them in punnets, and if not eaten, this causes food waste. Those who buy blueberries throw away around 336 each year, due to buying too many (most are sold pre-packaged) or not eating them quickly enough.

Homemade Blueberry Compote (The Simple Veganista) is a great way to use up leftover berries. You can cook up fresh or frozen berries with lemon and sugar, to make a tasty topping for porridge, pancakes or vegan ice-cream.

Only rinse blueberries just before eating (the ‘silvery bloom’ is what protects them). Once bought, they only keep in the fridge for a few days.

Who Should Avoid Eating Blueberries?

Most people are fine with eating blueberries, though should be avoided for babies, young children and those at risk of choking.

Avoid if on certain medications (blood thinners, blood sugar, kidney stones and G6PD deficiency – check paper inserts). If making drinks, avoid unpasteurised juice for pregnancy/nursing, children and weak immunity.

All fruit pips/seeds (and citrus often combined with blueberry recipes) are unsafe near furry friends. Read more on food safety for people and pets.

Due to acids, it’s best to avoid composting citrus fruits, as they could harm garden creatures (just bin to break down naturally). Same with tomatoes, rhubarb and alliums (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots and chives).

If using tinned ingredients, fully remove lids before recycling (or pop ring-pulls back over holes, to prevent curious wildlife getting trapped inside).

Why Are Blueberries so Popular?

Blueberries have soared in popularity in recent years, their sweet taste meaning so-called affluent ‘yummy mummies’ feed them as a ‘healthy treat’ to children. People on diets often ‘pop some blueberries’ as a snack, over a slab of chocolate or cake!

Pack’d sells organic frozen blueberries (certified by the UK Soil Association) in paper packaging. This is a good way to avoid plastic punnets, support organic farming and avoid food waste.

However, although they can be grown in England (the season is from July to November), farmers have mostly  given up growing them, as they have been squeezed out by cheap imports. Today, nearly all punnets sold in supermarkets are from Peru (which also has cold winters).

One farmer gave his surplus crop to charity, and is now consider selling off his land for building development. This is what happens, when parents choose expensive imported fruit, instead of local organic produce.

We looked up the ‘finest’ range of blueberries from a major supermarket online, and found that the punnet contained a combination of fruits from ‘Chile, Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, South Africa and Zimbabwe and UK’ . Why so, if this high-priced item could be supplied by local farmers? And they aren’t even organic, with reviews like ‘squishy and tasteless’.

Cinnamon Blueberry Banana Smoothie

This cinnamon blueberry banana smoothie (The Simple Veganista) is a wonderfully healthy start to the day. It contains organic nut butter for protein (or use sunflower seed butter for nut allergies).

If you make a lot of smoothies, it’s worth investing in a small quality one that’s easy to clean. Know that it’s UK law for stores that sell electrical appliances, to recycle your old one.

A good excuse to take that rusty big old blender to the store, and replace it with something smaller and more modern, that will get used!

Homemade Blueberry Quick Bread

This blueberry bread (Rainbow Nourishments) is simple to make with a few ingredients. Quick breads are really cakes, as they contain no yeast. You can use frozen blueberries (you don’t need to defrost them for this recipe).

Homemade Blueberry Muffins (or Cake)

These blueberry muffins (Rainbow Nourishments) are simple to make, pop the batter in silicone cupcake liners. They only need a few ingredients (no egg replacer required) and have a crunchy sugar topping. You can add optional cinnamon (keep nutmeg well away from pets).

Also try Anthea’s lemon and blueberry cake, which only needs seven basic ingredients. It’s not too sweet, needs no frosting, and has been designed so that the blueberries don’t sink to the bottom!

You could vary this cake recipe by subbing blueberries with raspberries, or adding grated apple with cinnamon in autumn (or even folding in orange zest and cinnamon for winter). In spring, swirl rhubarb compote on top.

Plums are one of England’s most popular fruits, often served fresh or in jams, pies or crumbles. They are good served with olives, vegan cheese, spicy or chocolate dishes.

Easy Stewed Plums (Veggie Desserts) are poached in orange juice syrup and brown sugar, infused with cinnamon.  Serve with vegan ice-cream or custard.

Plums are choking hazards for babies and swallowing difficulties. Avoid for kidney disorders (due to oxalic acid).

Keep recipes away from pets, due to fruit pips/seeds and fresh dough. Read more on food safety for people and pets.

How to Buy, Store & Prepare Plums

• Buy plums in season from August to October (not all are purple).
• To remove the skin, drop plums in boiling water for 15 seconds, then into cold water.
• You can eat plums raw, or poach/stew stem. or roast in the oven.
• Keep plums at room temperature (no more than a few days). Or store them in the fridge (as long as there is air circulating).
• Dried plums (prunes) are good for icky digestive systems.

It’s surprising considering the abundance of cherries in England, that cherry pie is not (like in the USA) more popular. Cherries are expensive but delicious and make a lovely filling when served in a pie with vegan custard or ice-cream.

This cherry pie recipe (Willow’s Kitchen) is super-simple to make, packed with fruits and sweetened with coconut sugar.

Keep fruit pips and seeds away from pets (and also fresh dough). Read more on food safety for people and pets. To avoid palm oil, make your own pastry with vegan butter (like Flora, which has no palm oil).

This recipe has a homemade pastry base, or use a simpler recipe at the post above. The pitted cherries are then combined with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla.

If you eat a lot of cherries, it’s worth investing in a cherry stoner, which can also be used for to remove olive stones.

You simply add the cherry mix over one half of the rolled-out dough, then cover with the other half (after cutting it into strips and weaving into a lattice shape).

Chill the pie  for half an hour (sprinkle on optional sugar) and bake until done. There won’t be many leftovers!

How to Buy & Store Cherries

Red cherries have a lighter flavour, but most interchange nicely in recipes. Look for ones with bright firm skin, and only wash them just before serving (they only keep a few days in the fridge). Look in farm shops for organic cherries with low food miles.

Vegan Black Forest Trifle

Black Forest desserts are inspired by the traditional colours (black and red) of the national dress, in the beautiful German area of Bavaria. Cherry and chocolate also makes a tasty dessert combination!

This homemade black forest trifle (Rainbow Nourishments) is a show-stopping dessert made from layers of vegan chocolate cake, chocolate custard, macerated cherries and whipped dairy-free cream. It’s a lot easier to make, than it looks!

Germany has a strong tradition of healthy food (naturopaths have the same status as GPs in Germany).  It has the highest ratio of vegans in the world (Berlin is the most vegan-friendly city on earth).

This strawberry rhubarb crumble (Cupful of Kale) can be made as is, or just use rhubarb alone, though it won’t be as sweet.

Avoid rhubarb for kidney stones or liver problems (even a history). Check medication , before eating.

Keep rhubarb away from pets (due to soluble oxalate crystals). Read more on food safety for people & pets.

Rhubarb is one of England’s favourite fruits (even though it’s not a fruit, it’s actually a seed!) Related to buckwheat, it’s too bitter to eat raw, but cooked it’s delicious with sugar, and just as popular in Scandinavia).

If you’ve never tasted rhubarb, it’s difficult to describe as it is unique. Someone once described it as a cross between a ripe strawberry and a tart Granny Smith apple?

How to Buy & Store Rhubarb

There are two types of rhubarb:

• Forced rhubarb (January to March) is grown in pots in Yorkshire’s ‘rhubarb triangle’ region (Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield). It’s said the eerie ‘cracks’ of the stalks, means you can hear it growing!
• Maincrop rhubarb (March to June) is more tart.

Look for healthy looking rhubarb, often the leaves have already been removed.

Once home, trim off excess leaves and store in a reusable silicone freezer bag (keep it open) or at least cut a few holes inside, to let the rhubarb breathe. Then store in your fridge’s salad crisper drawer.

Today ‘forced rhubarb’ is so popular, that growers outside of Yorkshire are supplying supermarkets, including many from Norfolk.

Due to acids, rhubarb and leaves (along with citrus fruits and all alliums – garlic, onion, shallots, chives and leeks) could harm compost creatures. So just bin scraps, to naturally break down.

How to Prepare & Cook Rhubarb

Rhubarb has to be cooked (discard and bin the leaves).

Bring to the boil in a pot with enough water to cover, then simmer for around 20 minutes. Then stir in sugar (and optional cinnamon). Serve with vegan custard or ice-cream.

More about Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Triangle

Let’s learn more about this, as it’s an interesting story.

Yorkshire has the ideal soil to grow rhubarb as cold weather up north has no effect (rhubarb is native to Siberia!)

Years ago, 200 local growers would send their rhubarb via ‘rhubarb trains’ to London’s Covent Garden market.

The crop has been popular ever since, apart from during the Second World War (when the rationing of sugar, meant it was too bitter to eat).

The Rhubarb Triangle consists of 9 square miles in West Yorkshire. At one point, the area produced 90% of the world’s winter forced rhubarb, from the sheds near the fields.

Forced rhubarb is grown in a very special way, without light (even harvesting is done by candlelight, so not to stop growth). Then once harvested, any root stock left is composted.

The novel The Body on the Train (published in 2019) has a plot of a man, whose murdered body is found on a rhubarb train, on arrival in London.

Homemade Vegan Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

These homemade vegan rhubarb ginger muffins (Wallflower Kitchen) are the ultimate ‘peaceful empowerment recipe’. When did England become a country made around giant store-bought American-style chocolate chip muffins? This is a far more homegrown snack, that you can make yourself instead!

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (rhubarb and spices like nutmeg are near animal friends).

Just bin rhubarb scraps (the acids could harm compost creatures).

Your grandmother would have recognised these ingredients, and your granddad would likely have grown the rhubarb! It uses flour, brown sugar, ginger and oil, along with some ‘new’ ingredients like plant milk and apple cider vinegar. Plus of course plenty of chopped rhubarb.

Nearly all of England’s rhubarb is grown in the Yorkshire Triangle, an area known for producing the best  crops,  due to unique growing conditions. Years ago, there was even a ‘rhubarb train’ that would send it down to London’s Covent Garden! You must always cook rhubarb, it can’t be eaten raw.

Read our post on zero waste baking tools for silicone baking trays and muffin liners.

These apricot crumble bars (Short Girl, Tall Order) feature layers of jam, with a yummy almond cookie crumble on top. Use ready-made jam to simplify (homemade jam needs sterilising jars etc).

Keep apricots away from young children, people with swallowing difficulties and pets (the stones are choking hazards, and fruit pips/seeds are all toxic to pets, due to natural cyanide). Read more on food safety for people & pets.

These bars will keep in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container, or freeze for up to a month.

Apricots are native to England, but not likely eaten as much as they could or should be. Originally from China, they are related to peaches and delicious in desserts and baked goods.

They are packed with nutrition, and super-tasty. Dried apricots are also nice, but choose organic (the other ones that are bright orange, are usually artificially coloured). Organic apricots are dark brown, but taste much nicer.

If you’ve never tasted apricots before, they taste like a cross between a peach and a plum.

How to Buy & Store Apricots

Choose apricots that are ripe or nearly ripe, avoiding ones with green spots.

Once bought, store in a ventilated container in the fridge, for no more than a few days. You can also ripen them in a paper bag, at room temperature.

Fresh apricots are in season from May to September. Try them in place of apple for a fruit crumble.

How to Prepare & Cook Apricots

You can remove the kernel by running a knife blade around, and twisting to remove the stone.

You can usually interchange apricot recipes with peaches or nectarines.

The easiest way to eat apricots is to simply stew them. They are very acidic, so use quite a lot of natural brown sugar, and cook in water until done. You can add a little natural vanilla sugar, if wished. Then just drain, and serve with vegan custard.

Apricot Compote for Porridge or Yoghurt

Slice your apricots, toss them in a small pan with a splash of water and a teaspoon of sugar or honey. Simmer for 10 minutes until they break down into a soft, jammy compote.

Spoon this over porridge, plant-based yoghurt, or granola. Use it as a quick topping—no extra fuss required.

Easy Apricot Scones

Chop fresh apricots and gently fold them into basic scone dough. The fruit keeps scones moist and adds delicate tartness. Bake until golden, then serve warm with vegan butter. These scones are perfect for an easy breakfast or a mid-morning treat.

Keep fresh dough away from young children and pets.

Blueberry and Apricot Muffins

Add diced apricots to your blueberry muffin mix. The fruit keeps muffins from getting dry and adds little pockets of flavour. For extra interest, toss in a handful of oats or chopped nuts. Pop them in the oven and enjoy a golden, fluffy snack.

Classic Apricot Crumble

Scatter sliced apricots in a baking dish. Sprinkle with a mix of oats, flour, vegan butter, and brown sugar for the crumble topping. Bake until the fruit bubbles and the topping goes crisp. Serve warm with vegan ice cream or custard.

Fresh Apricot and Vegan Goat’s Cheese Salad

Slice apricots thinly and pair them with peppery rocket, vegan goat cheese and toasted seeds. Add olive oil and a pinch of salt. The creamy cheese and sweet apricot balance each other perfectly.

Apricots are Hugely Popular in Armenia!

Wildly Tasty

Although we grow apricots in England, they are not celebrated as much as in Armenia, where they are frequently served in both curries and desserts. The national ‘tipple’ is apricot brandy, and even the duduk musical instrument, is made from apricot wood.

Armenia shares its border with Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Located in southwest Asia, it’s officially a European country of around 3 million people, just south of the south of the Caucasus mountains. People with Armenian heritage include Andre Agassi, Cher and Kim Kardashian.

Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as the national faith, and so still protects its hundreds of ancient churches. Yet in England, many ancient places of worship have been turned into office buildings or luxury flats.

This country is so safe, that locals and tourists often happily walk the streets at night. You can usually even ask a local person directions at night, without worries. There are uniformed police everywhere, so you’re never far away from a ‘bobby on the beat’, if you need one.

This simple vegan blackberry fool (Tesco) can be made with any winter fruits, or turn it into a summer version with strawberries or raspberries.

After cooking up your fruits with a little agave nectar (a sweetener) with lemon juice and water, blitz with a stick blender and add half to serving glasses, and chill.

Whip up Flora plant cream to peaks, then fold into the remaining berries (which have been mixed with coconut yoghurt. Spoon this over the cooked blackberries. Then spoon over more coconut yoghurt, and top with some more fresh blackberries.

Recipe for a Deep-South Blackberry Cobbler

This blackberry cobbler recipe

This beautifully simple raspberry cake (Rainbow Nourishments) is very easy to make, vegan and wholesome, and contains a tropical flair from coconut flakes.

Delightful for afternoon tea! You can interchange strawberry and raspberry recipes, but use more sugar for tart raspberries and less for sweeter strawberries.

People with sensitivity to pollen may wish to avoid raspberries (and people whose seeds get stuck in their teeth!)  Keep fruit seeds/pips away from pets. Read more on food safety for people & pets. 

Raspberries are one of England’s favourite fruits, but they do go off quickly, so use them up soon after purchasing (or visiting the PYO farm) or freeze to use later on.

To do this, wash and dry the berries, then freeze in a single layer on a baking tray, then transfer to a silicone freezer bag.

This recipe uses canned coconut milk (choose a brand free from monkey harvesting – Biona and Nature’s Charm are both good, sold in cans). Blending with plant milk stops the cake batter from being too ‘coconutty’.

You can use fresh or frozen (don’t thaw) raspberries for this recipe, ideal if you grow them or went overboard at the PYO farm. And shredded coconut is easy to find. The simple cake batter is a classic (mix wet and dry) and then bake the cake (time differs, depending if your berries are fresh or frozen).

Once cooled, top with more (toasted|) shredded coconut) and serve with tea and optional raspberry jam. You can store any leftover slices in the fridge for a few days, in an airtight container).

Raspberry & Tahini Smoothie Recipe

This raspberry & tahini smoothie recipe (Rainbow Plant Life) is one of several recipes you can try, in a post (with a chart) on how to make the perfect smoothie. Tahini is a jar of calcium-rich sesame seed paste, you can find in all stores.

Nisha says you need some of plant milk to make smoothies, because making them with water is ‘downright sad’. She also explains how to ‘hide’ some vegetables in there including cauliflower (due to its mild taste).

Once you know the basic formulas, you can whizz up something tasty, with whatever ingredients you have to hand. There’s even a chart to help you out:

1. Liquids
2. Greens
3. Fruit
4. Healthy fats
5. Superfoods
6. Extras

If you invest in a good blender to make smoothies, UK law says the shop selling it, has to take back old appliances for recycling.

One comedian says the main brand of smoothies in supermarkets has a cheek to call themselves innocent! The prices charge for what is essentially blended fruit are astronomical.

And the company is now owned by a big American corporation. He says the cheapest way to make a banana smoothie, is simply to put a banana in your mouth – then swish your head around to blend it!

Homemade Raspberry (vegan) Panna Cotta

This raspberry panna cotta (Vibrant Plate) is a super-simple recipe that only needs a few ingredients. Panna Cotta (Italian for ‘cooked cream’) is a popular dessert, but conventional ones are made with gelatine (animal bones).

This recipe subs the gelatine for coconut and agar-agar (a seaweed-based gelatine agent that’s easy to find in stores – also use to make vegan jelly).

Sweetened with maple syrup, this also contains real vanilla for aroma (don’t skimp, as ‘fake vanilla’ is often made from beaver extract, just like some perfumes).

If you want, you can sub with blackberries.

Raspberries are one of England’s favourite fruits, but they do go off quickly, so use them up soon after purchasing (or visiting the PYO farm) or freeze to use later on.

To do this, wash and dry the berries, then freeze in a single layer on a baking tray, then transfer to a silicone freezer bag.

A Vegan Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe (no bake!)

This vegan raspberry cheesecake

Vegan Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

Vegan Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

Homemade Raspberry Cake with Coconut

This homemade raspberry cake

This vegan peach upside-down cake (Rainbow Nourishments) swaps the pineapple chunks for more local peaches, for a plant-based treat that’s lovely with vegan custard or ice-cream.

Mash peaches for young children (avoid for sensitivity to birch tree & pollen). Keep peaches away from pets due to natural cyanide (nutmeg is also toxic).

You only need a few ingredients (fresh or canned peaches – drain the juice). You can also sub with nectarines (the same fruits, just without the fuzzy skin).

Use Floral melted vegan butter (no palm oil) and a neutral oil, along with plant milk and a little  almond extract or nutmeg.

Recipe for Vegan Peach Upside-Down Cake

This vegan peach upside-down cake

How to Store and Prepare Peaches

Ripen juicy peaches at room temperature, in season from July to September). Originally from China, peaches are particularly popular in the Deep South states of the USA (Georgia is known as ‘the peach state’).

Avoid peaches with mould or bruising and choose ones that yield slightly, when squeezed. Farm shops tend to sell loose produce (and peaches more likely to be organic and locally-grown).

To prepare, cut around the ‘dimple line’ with a sharp knife, then twist into two halves and slice (remove ‘fuzz’ with cold water). To remove tough skin, boil peaches for 15 seconds, then plunge into cold water.

Store fresh peaches in a silicone airtight container, away from other fruits in the fridge. To freeze peaches, wash and peel and remove pits, then pour water over and store in a freezer-safe container, up to a few months.

A 70s-Style Peach Melba Smoothie

This peach melba smoothie will take you back to the 70s, with this blend of fresh peach, frozen raspberries and orange juices, blended up with vanilla, almond milk and optional maple syrup.

If you invest in a good blender to make smoothies, UK law says the shop selling it, has to take back old appliances for recycling.

Vegan Peaches & ‘Cream’ Smoothie Recipe

Vegan peaches & cream protein smoothie (The First Mess) combines fresh and frozen peaches with plant milk and yoghurt, vanilla, dates, almond butter, vanilla protein powder and ice. Serves two.

Homemade Refreshing Peach Mint Cocktail

This peach mint cocktail (Short Girl, Tall Order) is super-simple to make, and all you need to do is blend the ingredients: vegan rosé wine along with frozen peaches (PACK’D sells ready-made frozen peaches in easy-to-recycle packaging if you don’t have fresh), fresh mint and some agave syrup (you don’t need this if your peaches are super-sweet).

A Glass of Peach Iced Tea, y’all!

Peach iced tea is a lovely recipe inspired by the Deep South. The peach tea is mixed with orange juice, then ‘marbled’ in glasses with a mix of raspberries, almond milk, vanilla and lemon, sweetened with maple syrup.

Strawberries are one of England’s favourite fruits (the only ones with seeds on the outside). Related to roses, they are one of the so-called ‘dirty dozen’ that are often sprayed in chemicals, so splurge on organic.

This strawberry milkshake (The Simple Veganista) is made with non-dairy milk, bananas, vanilla and maple syrup, topped with non-dairy whipped cream.

If the underside of punnets are stained, that means lower berries are crushed. Smaller wild strawberries tend to have more flavour. Lay on a plate and store in the fridge, removing an hour or so before eating. Don’t wash before you chill them, or they’ll get soggy bottoms! If freezing, cut and remove stems, then transfer to a silicone freezer bag.

Avoid whole strawberries (choking hazards) for small children and swallowing difficulties (use in smoothies or cut up). Keep these recipes away from pets due to ingredients like chocolate. Read more on food safety for people and pets.

A Simple Aquafaba Strawberry Mousse

This Strawberry Mousse (Full of Plants) only contains 6 ingredients, naturally sweetened with maple syrup. It’s light and airy due to aquafaba (vegan meringue, made by mixing sugar with canned liquid from chickpeas!)

A 6-Ingredient Vegan Strawberry Cake

This vegan strawberry cake (Rainbow Nourishments) uses potato starch as the secret ingredient, and is coloured naturally with beetroot powder.

You can if wished upgrade to Anthea’s frosted strawberry cake recipe (read our post on natural  vegan food dyes, if you want the cake to be a brighter pink).

Or for something simpler, try her vegan strawberry cupcakes. You can buy chemical-free baking cups from If You Care.

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

This vegan strawberry ice cream (Rainbow Nourishments) is super-simple to make. Addicted to Dates) is super-simple to make.

Made with dairy-free heavy cream, full-fat coconut milk, it also contains vegan condensed milk (Nature’s Charm is a good brand) that stops it from becoming too solid in the freezer, and gives a unique taste.

No-Churn Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

This vegan strawberry ice cream

GrowBar (grow your own tasty strawberries!)

Growbar Strawberry Bar makes it easy to grow tasty strawberries. Wild strawberries are smaller and sweeter, you won’t need sugar or cream to enjoy these! Alpine strawberries are also less visible to birds (though never use netting as it can harm, just share your harvest if they find them!

Before growing these flowers, read our post on pet-friendly gardens. Also never face indoor plants to outdoor gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows).

The bars are nestled in fertile coir (coconut fibre), packaged by a small team in South London. The film wrap is made from sugar cane waste, and easily recycled.

To use, just unwrap the Growbar and place with the brown protective paper facing up, in a container with plenty of space to expand. Gently pour half a litre of water into the tray, then position indoors on a warm bright sunny windowsill (not facing gardens, to avoid confusing birds).

The seeds should be 18°-22° to germinate. Water regularly to keep it the colour of rich dark ginger cake. When the seedlings produce 4 to 8 leaves, gently separate into little flowerpots, where they will continue to grow on the windowsill (or plant in a sunny weed-free spot in the garden).

The bar will grow:

• Mignonette (perennial) is a very sweet Alpine strawberry
• Alexandria (perennial) is a tasty aromatic heritage variety

These vegan banana milkshakes (Ela Vegan) are made with frozen bananas to give an ice-cream texture, then blended with plant milk, organic peanut butter and natural vanilla.

If you make a lot of mylkshakes, buy a good glass blender so the motor won’t burn out. It’s UK law that whoever you buy from, must recycle your old appliance.

Check medication if you have potassium issues (including kidney failure, high blood pressure or heart failure (you’d likely have to eating bunches of them to take you over recommended limits). Read more on food safety for people & pets.

For baking recipes, keep fresh dough away from young children and pets.

Bananas are obviously not local, but they are without doubt one of the favourite fruits in England. Often because they are portable and easy to eat, filling and full of fibre and potassium (why athletes eat them, to prevent cramp).

Although they don’t ‘look watery’ (say like watermelons), bananas are in fact 75% water, so very hydrating too.

Unlike most fruits, they don’t grow on trees. But are the fourth most valuable agricultural crop on earth. Leftover crops from harvesting are used to make everything from paper to banana leaf coffins.

Did you know you can use banana skin as shoe polish? Just rub the inside peel on your shoes, then wipe off with a cloth.

How to Buy & Store Bananas

Most supermarkets have a confusing option. You can buy Fair Trade bananas (not in plastic packaging). Or organic bananas (but in plastic packaging).

This is because stores that sell both types need to legally cover the organic produce, so it’s not contaminated. So the easiest option is to find a farm shop that sells all-organic produce, then you’ll find bananas that are both fair trade and organic.

Failing that, buy organic and leave the plastic packaging at the store. Or deposit it in the supermarket bag bins (not always recycled, but at least it prevents littering).

Most farm shops also sea-freight bananas, to save on carbon emissions. Recently the major supermarkets ‘ran out of bananas’ due to tropical storms (and air strikes can affect supermarkets that fly in their bananas, instead of importing by ship).

Many supermarket bananas are also sell not-ripe, so they are either impossible to eat, or go off quickly.

Some companies like Abel & Cole sell Fair Trade organic bananas (without plastic) that support farmers in the Dominican Republic. Unlike air-freighted bananas, these take four or five weeks to travel by boat after picking. So they should be ripe, by the time they arrive!

Store bananas in a cool dry place. Do not refrigerate.

Due to tryptophan (an amino acid that produces serotonin) they are good for depression and insomnia (try eating half a banana before bed, as a ‘sleeping pill’).

How to Prepare & Cook Bananas

At the risk of treating you like an idiot, just peel and eat!

Many recipes (like smoothies) call for frozen bananas. To do this, peel and slice them before you freeze, so they are easy to add to recipes. Freeze the discs on a tray, then transfer to a labelled reusable silicone freezer bag (use within 6 months).

How to Bake Bananas

Baked bananas are a lovely simple dessert, that does not require a recipe. Just slice bananas lengthways, toss in a mix of brown sugar, maple syrup and optional rum, then bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts and serve with vegan vanilla ice cream.

How to Make Vegan Banana Split

This is a very similar recipe, simply no cooking involved. Again slice the bananas, then top with vegan glace cherries, roasted nuts, toasted coconut, whipped vegan cream and dark chocolate sauce, and serve with vegan vanilla ice cream.

A Homemade Banana Bread Recipe

Quickbreads are one of the world’s best snack ideas. So it’s surprising that not more are eaten in England, as many use traditional flavours. This banana tea bread (Rainbow Nourishments) only needs 7 ingredients.

Made without yeast, they are far simpler to make than real bread, and delicious alone or slathered with vegan butter (Flora has no palm oil). Serve with a nice cup of tea!

Homemade Vegan Banana Pancakes

These maple pecan banana pancakes (The Veg Space) are simple to make. Or make with sliced banana, and drizzle melted dark chocolate on top. Or turn them into fruity pancakes with fresh berries and a splurge of vegan vanilla ice-cream.

The secret to good pancakes is not to over-mix the batter. Don’t worry about a few lumps, otherwise if you over-whisk, you’ll end up with rubbery pancakes.

Banoffee Pie (invented in a Sussex restaurant)

This banoffee pie (Rainbow Nourishments) is super-simple to make. With fresh bananas, vegan biscuits and melted vegan Flora (no palm oil).

To avoid palm oil, make your own pastry (keep fresh dough from children/pets). Read more on food safety for people and pets.

Banoffee pie is one of England’s favourite desserts (very rich, so only for those with a very sweet tooth). Made from bananas and toffee, it uses condensed milk in a pastry shell. Invented in a small East Sussex restaurant, it’s been around since the 70s.

There is a story that the restaurant was so popular due to this dessert, that celebrities would arrive after performing at a nearby theatre. One arrived and it had closed, and apparently asked ‘But don’t you know who I am?’ The restaurant politely said ‘Yes, but we close at 10!’

It is said that (along with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), banoffee pie was the favourite dessert of Elvis Presley.

Easy Banana Cake with Cashew Frosting

This easy banana cake

3-ingredient Easy Banana Pudding

This easy banana pudding

8 Ingredient Maple Banana Bread

This 8 Ingredient Maple Banana Bread (Rainbow Nourishments) is a sweetened version of one of England’s most popular quick breads (made without yeast). This is a great recipe to use up bananas, the blacker ones have extra sweetness (and banana is a natural egg replacer, so no fake things needed).

Maple syrup is expensive, but just a splurge will give a beautiful brown sugary taste. Banana bread is easy to digest, but you could spelt flour for even better digestion (just add a splash more plant milk).

Before baking, read up on food safety for people and pets.

Bananas (though not local) are one of England’s favourite fruits. Despite their opaque appearance, they are mostly water and also packed with potassium, so good for aching joints (that’s why tennis players eat them, during their breaks!)

Supermarkets usually sell fair trade bananas (not in plastic) and organic bananas (in plastic – they have to legally do this to avoid being contaminated by non-organic produce). So the best bet is to visit a farm shop to find all-organic produce. Then you’ll find fair trade organic bananas sold loose –  a win-win-win!

They are also more likely to be sea-freighted, than flown in by air. This is because farm shops and organic box schemes care about the planet, and how and where food comes from.

A Recipe for Easy Healthy Banana Pancakes

These healthy banana pancakes

A Homemade Banana Split Smoothie

This banana split smoothie (The Simple Veganista) will take you back to childhood nostalgia. How have we gone from a country that enjoyed banana splits and knickerbocker glory, to giant American-style plastic-wrapped overpriced muffins, for a treat?

Keep nuts and chocolate away from pets. Read more on food safety for people and pets.

This is super-simple to make, and a great way to use up ripe bananas, before they go off. Just whizz them up with fresh or frozen organic strawberries, pineapple, vanilla, plant milk and a little cocoa powder. Then top with vegan whipped cream.

Farm shops are the best places to buy bananas, because then the Fair Trade ones will also be plastic-free. In Supermarkets, organic bananas have to be wrapped in plastic, to avoid being contaminated by non-organic ones (you could always remove the packaging, and leave it in the recycling bag bins).

If you like making smoothies and shakes, invest in a good blender with a glass jug, so the motor doesn’t burn out. It’s UK law for stores selling electrical appliances, to take the old ones back for recycling.

If you want to make the real deal, check out this recipe for a 5-minute banana split recipe.