Mini Storecupboard Challenge: Day 1

The first activity for our mini Storecupboard Challenge is to make a healthy meal or snack using some stored fruit. Ideally make this at least a handful of fruit or a small glass of juice of some kind.

What kind of fruit might you have in a storecupboard, larder or pantry? Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

• Longlife fruit juice
• Tins, jars or cartons of fruit pieces in natural juice
• Jars of pure fruit spread or unsweetened puree
• Dried raisins, currants or sultanas
• Other dried fruit: dates, figs, apricots, prunes, cranberries, cherries

You might also have a few things in the storecupboard that are slightly less healthy forms of fruit, but they still have some good nutrients in them such as vitamins, minerals and fibre. For example:

• Tinned or bottled fruit in syrup or brandy
• Sweetened dried fruits (usually from the baking aisle in the supermarket)
• Candied or glace fruit or peel
• Juice drinks (not made from pure juices)
• Sweetened juices

It’s completely your choice how you have this fruit, but if you’re looking for inspiration it could be:

• A glass of juice with breakfast or before dinner
• Ingredients in a smoothie
• Something you add to breakfast cereal
• Sweet fruit salad ingredients
• Add to a savoury dish (pilaf, main course salad, mild curry or tagine)
• Cold or warm for dessert
• Added to flapjacks or snack bars
• Frozen into a lolly

That’s just to get you started, and I’m sure you can come up with loads of other ideas.

In the storecupboard here we have some longlife pure orange juice, some tinned prunes and some dried dates. I think we’re going to have fruit juice with a little water in it with our breakfast, because most longlife juice is concentrated and a bit too sweet.

We’re also having dessert smoothies with dried dates that have been chopped and soaking in boiling water and allowed to cool. They’ll be blended with fresh banana and pear, and the smallest amount of almond milk. That makes a super-thick fruit mousse that tastes a bit like banoffee pie without adding loads of sugar and pie crust.

What are you going to make? How are you going to make it healthy?