Riverford

🏅 Our veg boxes are officially award-winning! 🏅 Good Housekeeping have named us their favourite fruit and veg box for 2026 in their Good Eating Awards - and we're feeling very proud 😁 This is what they had to say: “According to our readers who use fruit and veg boxes, Riverford can't be beaten, thanks to its quality organic produce and sustainably sourced, home-compostable packaging. "The brand nails the basic ingredients – such as potatoes, carrots and onions – as well as more exciting seasonal items like mushrooms or rhubarb. The website is a great resource for using up unfamiliar veg, too. Once empty, leave your box out for your delivery driver to take away and reuse.” From the farmers who grow it, to the drivers who deliver it straight to your doorstep, a lot of love, care and hard work goes into making sure your veg is as fresh and delicious as possible. Thank you to the wonderful Good Housekeeping readers for recognising it!

Beyond cheese & pickle this British Sandwich Week - Emily Lloyd, Riverford Food Lead According to The Guardian, 56% of people in the UK eat a sandwich every day. So, this British Sandwich Week (18-24th May) I don’t think I need to convince anyone to eat a sandwich, but perhaps I can tempt you to try something a little more adventurous? When it comes to flavour and nutrition, sandwiches can sit at opposite ends of the spectrum. A “meal deal” cheese sandwich on heavily processed white bread will offer very little in terms of fibre or nutrients, and it’s unlikely to keep you full for long. However, a sandwich on sourdough, seeded, or wholegrain bread – filled with a mix of protein, fats, veg, and herbs – is not only far more exciting, but also ticks the box for fibre which supports digestion and energy release, while also keeping you fuller for longer. A veg-packed sandwich is also a convenient way to boost your plant points – aiming to eat 30 different plants a week is a good guide. Adding crisp salad leaves to the options below will give you at least four plants per sarnie. Not bad for “convenience” food! If you want to notch up the nutrition and keep lunchtime exciting, here are a few of my favourite, very filling, fillings: Herby chickpea & feta smash Mash chickpeas and feta cheese together with a fork – add herbs (parsley, basil, chives, dill, and mint work well), lemon juice, and olive oil. Season well. An alternative to egg mayo Cook eggs until jammy (around 7 mins for large eggs). Peel, chop, and mix with cottage cheese or ricotta. Add chopped coriander, finely sliced spring onion, and a good glug of chilli oil (the best condiment if you’re yet to try it). Season well. Tomato & basil tofu mix Crumble firm tofu (no need to cook) and mix with quartered cherry tomatoes, torn basil & mayo. Finely sliced red onion adds zing & subtle heat. Season well. Roasted veg hummus Roast some veg (peppers, carrots or tomatoes work well), then add to blender with chickpeas, olive oil, garlic & salt. Add extra flavour with harissa, pesto, or Moroccan spices. Finish with strips of roasted chicken, halloumi or mozzarella, and peppery leaves.

A cold salad that shows off rainbow carrots (you can use standard carrots too). This is fresh, zesty and coconutty - just what you want when the sun's out, and you're after lovely, light dinner. We used shredded chicken, but you could switch this out for prawns or tofu, depending on your preferences. Serves 2 as a meal, or 4 as a salad You'll need: 100g uncooked noodles of choice (we used flat, rice noodles) 3-4 rainbow carrots or standard carrots, peeled into ribbons 200–250g cooked chicken, shredded 40g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped Small handful mint leaves, torn Small handful coriander, roughly chopped Dressing: Juice of 1 ½ limes 2-3 heaped tbsp coconut cream (skimmed from the top of a tin) 1½ tbsp fish sauce (or soy/tamari) ½ tbsp soft brown sugar, or more to taste Optional finishes: Crispy onions or toasted coconut flakes Extra lime wedges Crispy chilli oil or finely sliced fresh chilli Cook the noodles according to packet instructions then run under cold water and drain. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the lime juice, coconut cream, fish sauce and sugar until smooth. Add the carrot ribbons and gently toss. Leave for 5 minutes to soften slightly. Add the cooled noodles to the carrots, lifting and turning them gently so they mix without clumping together. Add the chicken, half the peanuts and the herbs. Toss lightly. Taste and add more lime or sugar if needed, and a dash of soy sauce if it needs to be saltier. Divide between plates or a serving dish. Finish with the remaining peanuts, as well as crispy onions or coconut flakes, and a little chilli oil or fresh chilli if you like. Serve with extra lime on the side.

If you want to get a fibre fix at breakfast and give your gut some loving then these mango lassi overnight oats are for you… plus, they taste like sunny, tropical heaven. Mango lassi is an easy, Indian drink where mango is blended with yogurt and spices, often cardamom which we’ve gone for here, as well as a hint of ginger. To make it extra gut friendly, we used kefir as the yogurt (you can use regular natural yoghurt, possibly slightly watered down if it's thick), and chia seeds up the fibre and give it a lovely texture. One thing is for sure, you’ll look forward to waking up in the morning to these. Serves 2 You'll need: 250g peeled & chopped mango 400ml kefir 80g porridge oats 25g chia seeds ¼ tsp ground cardamom small pinch ground ginger pinch of salt 1-2 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional) topping - toasted coconut chips, pistachios or pumpkin/sunflower seeds Use a food processor to blend the mango with the kefir. To a mixing bowl, add the oats, chia seeds, cardamom, ginger and a pinch of salt. Pour in the mango and kefir mixture and give it a really good mix. Taste, and add honey/maple syrup if you want it to be sweeter. The texture should be like a loose porridge - it will thicken up. If it's already quite thick, add a little water. Transfer to two small bowls/pots and top with any toppings. If you want, you can eat it after an hour or so, but it is best left to sit for a number or hours or overnight. Store in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days.

Since we launched our campaign last week, we've been featured in national newspapers including The Guardian, The Times, The Independent and The Daily Mail, Guy's been on BBC R4's Today Programme, Sky News and BBC Spotlight, and over 40,000 of you have signed the @soilassociation petition against glyphosate being sprayed on crops before harvest. Will the UK government listen? We need to balance food production with the health of people and the environment. The benefits of glyphosate simply do not stack up. Continuing to spray crops just before harvest is a risk we do not need to take; the risk to our health and the environment are out of proportion to the benefit in reducing costs. It’s madness, and the UK government should be doing more. We do not need to ban glyphosate overnight. But we can take a clear first step to prevent it from directly entering the food chain by banning its use so close to harvest, as a pre-harvest desiccant. The EU has already banned it. Why is the UK lagging behind? 📽️ @transfixus_creative

Fish and chips. Jacket potato. Name two more iconic British foodie classics? We've taken them, and smooshed them together into one, and blimey guv, this is really something... Crispy fish goujons, a tartar-spiked slaw, and a buttery, spoonable pea and mint layer, which was so delicious it had us eating it out of the blender. All atop a perfectly cooked, crisp-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside jacket potato. Will you...? And big question - mug of tea, or a pint? You'll need: Large baking potatoes 8 breaded fish goujons 1 lemon, cut into wedges For the mushy pea & mint butter: 170g podded/frozen peas small pinch of bicarb of soda 5-6 large mint leaves 60g diced butter For the slaw: 1 little gem lettuce, roughly shredded ½ small fennel bulb, finely sliced 2 carrots, grated or cut into thin matchsticks 3 spring onions, finely sliced 4 tbsp tartare sauce Preheat oven to 200°C. Put the potatoes in a baking dish and prick a few times with a sharp knife. Rub the potatoes with water and sprinkle over some sea salt, to help the skin crisp up. Bake for about 1½ hours depending on the size of your potatoes, until the insides are tender and the outsides nice and crispy. Meanwhile, put a medium pan of salted water on to boil and add a small pinch of bicarb of soda. Add the peas and cook them for 4-5 mins until completely tender. Drain well and pop them into a food processor with the mint and butter. Season with salt and blend until fairly smooth. Taste and tweak the seasoning to your liking. Throw the lettuce, fennel, carrots and spring onions in a mixing bowl with the tartare sauce. Mix everything together well. When the jackets are ready, bake, air fry or fry the fish goujons until golden. To serve, split the jackets open and fill each one with a generous blob of pea butter, a pile of slaw, and then the crisp goujons. Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve immediately.

Shouldn't we be able to trust the supermarkets, and our government, to make sure that the food we eat is safe? Unfortunately, traces of glyphosate, the popular weedkiller regularly sprayed on crops before harvest to dry them out, are now being found in everyday food, from bread to cereals, oats, pulses and beer. Ten years ago, glyphosate was classified as “probably carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Hardly reassuring when our exposure through everyday food is regular and cumulative, and 83% of people are concerned about long-term exposure to chemical residues in their food. Research also revealed that 66% of people are outraged that glyphosate is used in the UK food system. Glyphosate is also linked to environmental harm, reducing soil health, polluting waterways, and negatively impacting wildlife including our pollinators. Despite all this, usage in the UK has risen by over 1000% since 1990 - an absolutely massive rise. This is not about blaming farmers. Many are working within a system where prices have been driven down to a level where herbicides like glyphosate feel like the only commercially viable option. But that dependence is part of the problem – locking farming into synthetic chemical use while damaging soil, water and biodiversity. We're asking the government to ban glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant (spraying crops before harvest). Head to our campaign page, via the link in our bio, to find out more, and to sign the @soilassociation 's petition.

Jacket potatoes. We absolutely love them! But there's more to them than cheese and beans and tuna mayo (as much as we respect the classics.) We've road tested some epic new toppings, and we'll be bringing you the recipes soon...keep your eyes out, spuds incoming 👀 What's your favourite topping to load a jacket potato with?

In 1846, the year the protectionist Corn Laws were repealed, around 50% of UK household income was spent on food and about 70% of the price of a loaf would have gone to a local farmer for the wheat. This was the golden age of British farming, when Constable immortalised his hay wain, and landowners commissioned paintings of their prize bulls. Today, about 10% of household income is spent on food and less than 10% of the price of a loaf of bread will go to the farmer, who could be on the other side of the world. In the UK, agriculture generates just 0.6% of GDP but is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, and responsible for over 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. Free, globalised trade and unbridled capitalism gave us the cheap food that fed the landless, urban poor who enabled our Industrial Revolution, and, in time, our reliable cars and smartphones, but at a cost we are only belatedly understanding. At agricultural college in the 1980s, I was taught that glyphosate was a farmer’s best friend – a cheap, devastatingly effective herbicide that had zero mammalian toxicity, broke down immediately on contact with the soil, and posed no risk to the environment – all since proven to be untrue. Since 1990, UK glyphosate usage has risen 1,000% – partly because of its egregious use as a pre-harvest desiccant in non-organic farming, where it is sprayed on cereal crops just days before harvest. It’s such a persistent chemical that 28% of bread samples tested by Pesticide Action Network (PAN UK) were found to contain it. It’s in our breakfasts, baked goods, and beer, and what’s concerning is that 70% of the people we surveyed were unaware that traces of weedkillers like glyphosate can remain in food. This isn’t about blaming farmers. Many are working within a system where prices have been driven down to a level where glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) feel like the only commercially viable option. In this case, the reduction in food prices is infinitesimally small, but the risks, substantial. Pre-harvest desiccation was banned by the EU in 2023; Riverford, the @soilassociation @pesticideactionnetworkuk & many others, are campaigning for the UK to do the same.

You may have heard about our little campaign by now... It's fantastic that our call on the UK government to ban the harmful herbicide glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant has had such strong coverage from the media. Not only have we been featured in the Guardian, the Independent, the Standard and the Daily Mail, but Guy has been talking about glyphosate on the Today Programme, Sky News, LBC Radio and BBC Spotlight. There's obviously enormous interest in the fact that glyphosate is sprayed on crops ahead of harvesting, in order to dry them out, meaning that traces are showing up in our bread, biscuits, cereals and beer (and plenty of other food stuffs too). Not good, when it's been linked to cancer, and other health conditions, not to mention the damage it causes to the environment. You've been a huge help in getting the word out there too, and you can still add your voice by signing the @soilassociation 's petition, via the link in our bio. Please share, shout about it, and keep signing.

Glyphosate - it's not a safe chemical, for our environment or our bodies. We don't think that a herbicide that's linked to cancer, and various other health concerns, not to mention the damage it causes to our environment, has any place on our food. We're asking the UK government to stop it from being sprayed on crops before they're harvested, meaning that it now shows up in our everyday food, from bread to biscuits, cereals and beer. This is Grievous Biological Harm, and we shouldn't be subjected to it. Help us share our message loud and clear, and sign the @soilassociation 's petition, which is linked in our bio. You can find out more about our campaign to keep glyphosate off our food there too. 📹 @transfixus_creative

Get glyphosate off our food 📢 In the UK, glyphosate is increasingly sprayed on food crops just before harvest – not principally to kill weeds, but to dry crops artificially to make harvesting quicker and more predictable. Spraying crops with glyphosate-based herbicides, days before harvest, means that residues end up on the food we eat – from oats and barley in breakfast cereals, to chickpeas, lentils and soybeans on dinner plates, the maize we feed to our animals, and the wheat we use in bread and beer. Ten years ago, glyphosate was classified as “probably carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Hardly reassuring when our exposure through everyday food is regular and cumulative, and 83% of people are concerned about long-term exposure to chemical residues in their food. Glyphosate is also linked to environmental harm, reducing soil health, polluting waterways, and negatively impacting wildlife including our pollinators. Despite all this, usage in the UK has risen by over 1000% since 1990. We're asking the UK to ban glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant - this is already the case in much of Europe, and there's no reason why we should be lagging behind, at such a high cost to our health and that of the environment. Head to the link in our bio to sign the @soilassociation 's petition, and help us get glyphosate off our food. 🎥 @transfixus_creative