How much fruit & veg do you buy per week?

Because that's when they're "supposed" to be born.

But they're not sent to slaughter the day they're born - most lambs in this country aren't killed until about 7-8 months of age and they can be up to 18 months old and still be classed as "lamb" in the supermarkets.

Lamb isn't a seasonal meat in the same way fruit is seasonal - lambs are sent to slaughter year-round.

I know that, I live near many farms. They are being born now but not slaughtered now. The one I buy lamb from was selling Spring 2023 lamb from last September.

Because that's when they're "supposed" to be born.

I'm just pointing out the oddity of people moaning about fruit being available out of season but not finding it weird that lamb is available all year round.

It's either okay to interfere with nature and provide the same foods all year round... Or it isn't. 🤷‍♀️

Why should they only be available in spring? Do you mean they should all be born in spring then slaughtered at a year old?

All food is more expensive here but I am wasting less as I am solo so buying what I will use and I have ways to use it up that only I used to eat. So I am still spending on me what I used to spend on me and DH - but I am getting more organised and think it will drop more now I've found a decent sized supermarket and am getting other things organised to be able to cook properly more regularly.

@wubwubwub a lot of the out of season lamb will be imported from New Zealand. I personally don't buy it (daughter of sheep farmers) but others do. Just like out of season strawberries.

Yes, red and savoy cabbage go a long way!

I was away last week so while I still have onions and garlic, and 2 apples, I needed everything else.

So I got Brussels sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, sugar snaps, 2 peppers, 2 avocados, courgette, lettuce, a cauliflower, and 2 punnets of raspberries. And potatoes.

I'll probably get some more fruit as the week goes on.

The carrots, onions and garlic will last a couple of weeks, but a lot of that will be used up this week.

I also keep a couple of ti s of sweetcorn and tomatoes, frozen peas and broccoli, and I am looking to find frozen fruit (new city). My fridge here is a lot smaller than at home.

I try and have 10 small portions of fruit and veg daily (rather than 5 full sized ones that is recommended) - lots of stir fry type meals with handfuls of a few different veg or a few veg mixed into tomato sauce for pasta...I am finally getting back to my salads for lunch and I tend to mash raspberries into yoghurt for breakfast as well as drinking apple and cherry juice. I used to make a breakfast smoothies with almond butter, yoghurt, mixed seeds and mixed berries with apple juice to make it liquid enough to drink - I just haven't got organised enough here yet for that.

Because lambs should really only be available around spring if nature had it's way. March/April time.
So they aren't "in season" outside of spring.

So why is it ok to breed lambs all year round and have them available but not okay to grow strawberries to be available all year round?

It's just weird that people are like "ohhhh I only eat in season fruit, madness otherwise..." whilst gnawing in a lamb chop in October.

I buy loads of veg and don’t find it expensive.

But I see what is in special offer or cheaper and buy that.

I love watercress but bagged salads are costly so that is rare. I buy a big red cabbage which lasts ages in the fridge and use it for several lots of shredded cabbage and carrot salad with ginger dressing, and one meal of cooked spiced red cabbage.

Frozen leaf spinach (very economical from Iceland) , frozen petit pois, frozen blueberries are lovely with yogurt.

Cabbage is usually economical, if I buy a cauliflower then cauliflower cheese will be the centre of a meal rather than a side.

I have cut down a lot on meat and treat-like extras, but find veg very economical.

If anyone wants to attempt growing anything this summer.

butternut squash - grows like pumpkin. Pick around end September and you can store them easily somewhere cool until February time

Courgettes - grow like weeds.

Tomatoes - if you grow excess. You can freeze cherry tomatoes whole. Then just grab handful and roast from frozen

Berries worth growing as they are perineal. So once established grow back every year for free. And high value in shop

pick your own strawberry farms worth visiting in June if you don’t have space to grow own. Pick loads, freeze loads cut for winter. Make jams. Make compote

My mums use to make ratatouille in summer, when lots of cheap tomato and courgettes were around, and freeze it in pots for winter. My DH makes fruit compotes from any large amounts selling locally and freezes it to put on his porridge.

We are really lucky that we have street stalls near us that sell fruit and veg.

Yesterday we got
4 avocados for £1
5 peppers for £1
3 bunches spring onions £1
3 courgettes £1
Strawberries £1.50
Two broccoli £1.50
7 mandarins £1
5 onions £1
6 bananas £1

It's way cheaper and fresher than supermarkets so if you have them near you it's worth the visit.

2 adults and a 13 yr old. I'm the only fruit eater - DC eats an apple if asked to. DP eats strawberries once in a blue moon. DP eats next to no veg - DC eats raw/crunchy veg only. I buy : 2 packs of grapes
1 large punnet of strawberries
6 apples
Pack of sliced melon
Clementines
6 bananas
Packet of sugar snaps
Carrots
Cucumber
Pack of salad leaves
Punnet of small tomatoes
1 pepper
Pack of mushrooms
Ready prepared mashed root veg x1
Either brocolli or pack of prepared sprouts
A red onion
I also keep frozen sliced onion and mushrooms and frozen veg (last ages). Tinned tomatoes, tinned pineapple, tinned grapefruit, and tinned peas. All sounds very boring, but it's really only me, munching my way through, with DC having raw carrot, sugar snaps, cucumber, apple.
I buy it all in the supermarket as greengrocers have shut down and no markets near me.
I can only advise frozen and tinned, buy loose, as a cheap way of getting more into your diet OP, if the fresh is too expensive. It still counts, just not as nice 😢

Most sheep in britain are seasonal breeders, very very few british farmers will be lambing june-dec. But the kill point means lamb is available all year round, theres just peaks and troughs.

Lamb can be available at any time - sheep don't only get in lamb at particular times of the year! It is just British farmers prefer to arrange things so the weather is nice enough for young lambs to be reared out side. It is cheaper and easier.

One of the reasons New Zealand lamb is cheaper is lambs can be reared outside all year round.

Or lamb outside of spring...

Most lambs killed for meat are over six months old - the ones being born now aren't the ones we eat at Easter.

In a week we get through:

1 x broccoli
1 x beans
1 x mange tout
1/2 pack frozen sweetcorn
1/2 pack frozen peas
1 bag of sweet potatoes
4 x onions
4 x peppers

2 x tubs raspberries
1 x tub blueberries
2 x tubs cherry tomatoes
1 x pack big tomatoes
1 x cucumber
1 x tub pomegranate seeds
6 x apples

Indeed, uk farmers will lamb dec-may and lambs generally finish in 4-6mo but will be slaughtered as needed up to 18mo so lamb is in season all year. There will be a peak around august-oct though

Why spring? The lambs are being born now at farms around here, not sent for slaughter now. There is lamb for Christmas too.

You are not wrong. I only eat berries in season because they can be grown here whilst bananas, oranges can never be grown here and as much as I love berries they are expensive. Also home grown in season berries usually taste better.

Or lamb outside of spring...

By that logic, nobody should be eating bananas or oranges in the winter then, as they generally don't grow in the UK and need to be imported or grown in artificial environments?

Looks almost identical to our shopping although this week I bought extra raspberries and blackberries- gorgeous!

Don't give them the choice?
Where we live you can't get out ot season fruit and nobody would buy it.
Kids by the age of 6 know what is in season.