Caitríona Redmond: The very small changes which will add up to make my life better this year

Plus a recipe for blueberry muffins

Blueberry muffins by Caitríona Redmond

With dark and cold days, there’s little point in heading to the allotment and it gives me a chance to review what I grew last year and go through my seed stash.

In 2023 I had a disaster of tomato growing and have been relying on tinned and jarred tomatoes for the first time in 18 months. This year has to be better. Every year I look at the allotment and resolve to change and improve. In our 10th year of growing I don’t think I have ever decided that I have my growing plans under control.

As I take a look at the seeds I’m also looking at what I’ve spent on food up until December and what I would like to change. Luckily enough I have my notes from a year ago and can compare.

In January 2023 I resolved to buy less convenience foods; a laudable intention. That was until I had a very painful accident with my ankle in March and ended up off my feet for months. Sometimes convenience food has its place, and my family were fed. Fed after all is best.

This year I intend to go more with the flow.

I decided I would try some meal kits in 2023 and that was a disaster. Unless a very clever company starts making healthy meal kits for families bigger than two adults with hungry teens. The meal kit for our family of four (two adults, one teen, one preteen), held three main meals and cost €65. That’s equivalent to half of my grocery budget for the week. I think I will keep my money and buy more eggs and pasta with plenty of spare change instead.

Through 2023 I bought a ridiculous amount of small glass and plastic jars with herbs and spices. That has to change. We used to have a packaging-free shop locally where I could buy what I wanted by weight, then decant into a clean washed jar when I got home. Unfortunately, the shop is long closed and I got into the habit of buying individual jars again. There’s far better value to be had by buying in bulk so I will wash and dry my existing jars, relabel them, and find a new retailer.

These are all very small changes which will add up to making my life a bit better this year. I will have less packaging and less waste which is always a good thing. Plus, I may have to review my seed order again. Now that’s something to look forward to.

Why you should hold onto your receipts

Some people have a meticulously organised folder, others have an envelope stuffed with crumpled pieces of paper, and certain people who shall remain nameless have a ‘doom corner’ or ‘doom drawer’ where their receipts languish. Not forgetting those who simply opt out of receipts or turf them in the bin when they get home.

Holding onto your receipts in some form is always a good idea. If you have an issue with any food you’ve bought you’ll need to either return it to the store or provide proof of purchase.

Using receipts you can track what you spent for big occasions such as Christmas, and figure out if the size of turkey and ham were the right fit for your family. You can hold them in a folder to refer to when ordering at the end of this year.

If you find that there are too many pieces of paper flapping about in your home, take a photo and store the image in a separate folder on your phone or computer to return to at a later date. I’m a fan of this as it creates less physical clutter.

Blueberry Muffins

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond

This is a great recipe to batch cook and freeze.

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 30g self-raising flour

• 150g frozen blueberries

• 350g self-raising flour

• 150g caster sugar

• 150g butter at room temperature (this is important)

• 3 medium eggs

• 75ml whole milk

Method

1. Preheat a fan oven to 180°C.

2. Mix 150g of blueberries with 30g self-raising flour. Set to one side to use later.

3. Mix together flour and sugar in a large bowl. Using your hands rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until you get a breadcrumb-like texture.

4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Crack in three eggs and pour in 75ml of milk. Using a fork draw the batter together. No need for a stand mixer for this recipe.

5. Once you have a batter, stir in the coated blueberries.

6. Divide into muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through.