I love my vegetables and quite like most fruits, but for me, fruit can be a bit too sticky, sweet or sickly sometimes. That's why I wanted to get into juicing - so that I could up my fruit intake and get a boost of nutrients, using green veggies such as spinach, kale, celery or cucumber to balance out the sugar content.
When it comes to snacking and juicing, apples are a firm favourite of mine. I prefer to chop them up, either into slices or cubes if I'm adding to a fruit salad, and have never been too fond of the skin as sometimes it's just too tough for my liking.
I'd like Ethan to try more fruit, as he loves banana and seems to try a few more things at nursery, but at home, we either don't have very much fruit in on a regular basis or he hasn't seemed keen when we've tried something new. I think it's mainly down to texture and how easy it is to eat, as he's still getting used to biting things that need a little more munching to eat.
I didn't realise, but the English apple season began on 4th September and this year's crop of juicy orbs is 'outstanding' thanks to the early Spring and wonderful Summer weather we have enjoyed. Because of these factors, this year's crop has come into season three to four weeks early and you can now find English Worcester, Delbarestivale, Early Windsor and new Zari variety in shops, followed by Cox and Gala next week.
All this fine weather has helped this year's crop to be extra juicy with a great crunch to boot so, keen to up our fruit intake, we put some of the freshest apples to the test.
Sent to us by English Apples and Pears Ltd, which represents apple growers throughout the country, I was immediately taken by how fruity the apples smelled when we unwrapped them.
They had a lovely fragrance and colour and we wasted no time in slicing them up. I diced some of the slices for Ethan to try and nibbled on the remaining slices myself.
The apples were really flavourful and Ethan seemed to enjoy trying them too. It took him a little while to chew them properly, but he liked the taste and had a fair few pieces before deciding he was full.
The new crop this year continues a revival in the English apple industry, with some 166,000 tonnes of apples available and providing us with plenty of flavours to choose from - even if you're a little fruit fussy like me. Gala is perhaps the most popular variety in the UK, thanks to its high levels of juice, and accounts for one in four apples bought.
With a boost in sales, the UK apple industry is also using the new season to encourage more young people to join them for a fruitful career.
I love apples - you've made me feel guilty for not checking I buy British.
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