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I love walnut bread, but at £1.19 for a small loaf it’s pretty expensive and I therefore have to ensure that when I do splurge I use every morsel….and because it’s yummy and I can’t bear to leave a crumb!

1. Simply sliced and eaten with quality butter, I like Lurpack.

2. Toasted with a little quality cheese.

3. Blended and used as breadcrumbs to top pies/pasta bakes.

4. Chopped chunky and dipped in olive oil and balsamic (I like raspberry vinegar too.)

5. Sliced and used for an open sandwhich.

6. Cubed, doused in olive oil and baked. Use these croutons in a nice salad, I like chicken and bacon salad or a simple green salad with parmesan and pine nuts.

7. Cubed and doused in olive oil with a slug of balsamic, bake, then plop into a nice bowl of tomato soup.

There’s been a lot of coverage recently about an impending recession, the american mortgage crisis, and the rising price of food and fuel. Is there anyone who hasn’t given at least a quick thought to their monthly budget and looked for where they could trim some fat? I have, and I’ve also been wondering how I’m doing with my food budget compared to everyone else. This isn’t an opportunity for one upmanship, I’m actually more interested in finding those who are spending less, and how?

Please answer the following questions either on your own blog (and link here, so I can find you) or in the comments.

Here are the questions and my answers.

1.) Predominantly, where do you shop? Tesco

2.) How often do you shop? Weekly

3.) How much (on average) do you spend? £60(this includes household products and nappies)

4.) How many people are you buying for? 2 adults, one infant

5.) Do you do any of the following - meal plan, make a list, have a budget? Yes to all

6.) If at all, how have you tried to lower your spending on food and household items? I started meal planning and buying online to keep my costs down, recently though I have had to increase my budget from £50 to £60 as I was really feeling the squeeze.

Thanks for taking part.

This is a picnic with a difference though because all the food has to have a summer theme.

Summer Picnic

Ideas for your picnic;

A yellow iced biscuit for the sun

A breadstick with a slice of cucumber makes a tree

A square of wholemeal bread with peanut butter is a sandpit

A bit of cress for bushes

Iced gems for flowers

A baby tomato for a ball

A gingerbread boy for you (that’s you kid…not you!)

1. On a chopping board or plate arrange your summer picnic picture, take a photo, and then eat it all up….don’t forget to wash it all down with some pond (water!).

*More inspiration by email (over to the right)