Fresh peach yoghurt

The peaches are so luscious here in France, so ripe they literally fall apart in your hands. And so cheap! I'm using them every which way I can. My favourite start to the day is a peeled peach, roughly cut up and mixed with plain yoghurt.

You're lucky if you can get peaches that ripe at home of course but you do occasionally find them. And if you can't you can easily substitute less ripe fruit, cooked with a little sugar or honey until soft. Apricots, mangoes and plums are good this way or you can mash up some strawberries or bananas and fold them into the yoghurt.

I always buy plain yoghurt (cheapest in big tubs) rather than fruit flavoured ones in which the fruit content is generally negligible. I remember checking out childrens' yoghurts for a book I was writing (The Healthy Lunchbox) and finding that some contained as little as 1% real fruit. And loads of sugar.

You can also whizz up ripe peaches with milk to make a fabulous topping for cereal my friend and fellow blogger Signe of Scandilicious told me the other day. For two servings she says you should whizz up four ripe peaches (peeled and cut up) in a blender with about 350-400ml of milk and a pinch of cinnamon or ground cardamom. Use it straightaway or it will separate. If you whizz it with ice cubes it also makes a brilliantly refreshing drink.