Happy Egg White Easter

Easter Sunday in the Almost Average Household has surpassed itself. We've certainly not had an average day, especially when we woke up to a blanket of snow which just kept getting thicker and thicker.

For the first time ever, the Easter Egg Hunt took place in the snow. Yes, the above photo of the eggs against the snowy background is for real and hasn't been superimposed!

Doesn't the packaging looks pretty? However, I feel the urge to shout a huge "shame on you" to Marks & Spencer, because even though the lid and the egg foils can be recycled, the plastic tube can't and if it wasn't for a last minute purchase and lack of alternatives, I would have just left it on the shelf in favour of a product with "waste-free" packaging. The saving grace is that I will reuse the tube for storing some of the kids' craft materials. But how many of these tubes are going to go to landfill?

M&S - I know you're following your Plan A but I really hope that you'll do better next year, especially as you're my favourite source for Easter Eggs and I don't want to go anywhere else as I am a creature of habit with discerning taste! Please, please, please give us recyclable packaging or even better no packaging at all.

Anyway, get ready to fall-over in in sheer amazement, as there's also been another first for Almost Mrs Average today! While the children were playing in the snow, I took some time out to make my very first Easter Cake.

Yes, I've been baking again!

I had been tempted to buy a cake in the shops, but the temptation to make my own was even greater and I was able to use some leftover ingredients from Christmas.

It was pretty easy but I can't take all the credit. Thanks to the Easter Cake recipe in the Gorgeous Cakes book by Annie Bell and the sheer capacity of my ever-faithful blender, the cake came out a treat. All I had to do was add the ingredients and bung it in the oven.

The one downside was that the recipe needed 4 eggs and 1 egg yoke. Yes, I had to read the recipe twice.

Why on earth did it need an extra egg yoke, it had four already!

Anyway, being a novice cake-maker I complied dutifully, which meant I was left with a spare egg white and there was no way I was up for making meringue as well.

So what on earth do you do with an egg white?

I searched and searched on the Internet, thinking that composting might be the answer, but it wasn't looking good. On previous occasions I might have just poured it down the drain, but the Zero Waste challenge has taught me to be more resourceful.

So...I eventually found a fabulous site, which was full of top tips, including how to use egg white, mixed with lemon juice to make a face mask.

It sounded a bit odd, but as The Rubbish Diet wasn't just for Zero Waste Week, I thought I'd give it a try and indulge in a bit of the old pampering.

So, I've slapped on the egg white and while I sit here with a face that feels like a chicken's bottom, but thankfully without the feathers, I'm going to delve deeper into the website which is called Extraordinary uses for ordinary things.

There are some interesting tips and the site is a surfer's paradise. I am now pondering what I can do with other things including my teabags. It looks like I'll even be able to get rid of a few grey hairs. Where will this beauty regime end eh?

And on that note...Happy Easter everyone and with all those chocolate eggs about, don't forget to watch your waist...

...and of course ....your waste!

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