Not just reindeer food...

...or, how to eat carrots without getting bored of them.

I try to eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg. For one thing, I know it is good for me, and for another, I can eat as much as I like on my weight loss plan, so it helps me to fill up.
However, some fruits and veg can be more pricey than others, so consistently cheap veg like carrots appear regularly in my shopping bag. They are one of those 'backbone' foods that are cheap, healthy and frugal. But if I served them up in the same way every time, my family would soon get sick of them. Here are a few different ideas for how to serve carrots, you will see how versatile they are.

Raw carrot sticks can go into lunch boxes as a snack in their own right. Teamed with a dish of hummus, or yogurt mixed with herbs, they can bulk out a meal by acting as a starter.

Grated carrot can be mixed into a pasta salad. Sometimes I mix it with a couple of spoons of mint sauce from a jar, and it makes a really tasty side dish, with a bit of a Moroccan feel to it.

Grated or finely chopped carrot can be mixed into any dish made from minced meat, to stretch the meat, bulk it out and add fibre and vitamins. It can also go into any tomato based sauce.

Roasted carrots are a favourite in my house. Just a splash of oil is fine. Shake some cumin, or coriander over for extra flavour. They are a lovely side dish served hot, but I always make extra because they are so good to take for lunch cold the next day, maybe mixed with a few salad leaves, or some cos cous. A bit of feta on top is perfect.

Roasted carrots can also be blitzed with some veg stck to make a tasty soup.

Steamed carrots, served just warm, and drizzled with a little olive oil, lemon juice and pepper make a lovely warm salad.

Carrot sticks, dipped into flour, egg and Parmesan, then deep fried are amazing!

My daughter makes a lovely carrot soup, with fresh coriander. A splash of single cream stirred in towards the end makes it extra nice, but a dollop of soft cheese will achieve the same creaminess, if that's what you have.