Make use of seasonal free foods

August through to October is the traditional harvest time in the UK, and it's a time of year when many wild plants bear their fruit too.

Two great examples of abundant, tasty and free fruit that can be harvested at this time of year are elderberries and blackberries.

Elderberries are often known as the Englishman's grape and analysis shows that they contain many of the same nutritional elements, with elderberries being even richer than grapes particularly in Vitamins A and C.

Blackberries are a childhood favourite of many and are found in copious quantities all over the UK. There seems to be a particularly good crop this year, so my suggestion is to get out this weekend and pick as many blackberries and elderberries as you can and make yourself some nice crumble or pie - the excess fruit can always be frozen for later in the year.

I've always seen blackberries as the only redeeming factor of brambles, and I make it my business to get as much revenge as I can by gorging on the ripe fruit in return for all the cuts and rips I suffer through the rest of the year. A nice apple, blackberry and elderberry crumble would be just right for pudding...

Just type 'elderberry recipes' or 'blackberry recipes' into your favourite search engine for some tasty ideas for cheap (and low carbon) puddings. This food is growing wild, so as long as you don't drive a 4X4 or sportscar to go and pick them, using this food resource should save carbon emissions and money too.

Added By:David Lockie