The great fruit robbery

Recently I went through a phase where I completely gave up fruit. It was not a success. Although it sounds mad, my reason for doing this was because of a book I had read on quitting sugar. The book just made sense to me as someone who is very much aware they are addicted to sugar. The theory was in order to rid yourself of sugar addiction that you need to cut out sugar, all sweeteners and any fruits or vegetables high in fruit sugar. I had given up so much in the last while that it didn't seem like that would be all that difficult. 
Clearly I had once again underestimated my lack of willpower and my childlike propensity to feel bereft upon realizing I couldn't have any treats for 8 weeks. Having tried some of the recipes the book provided and having none of them turn out vaguely edible I remained in that place where I had sort of given up sugar but was still baking occasionally with coconut sugar, eating the odd bar sweetened with xylitol and occasionally breaking down and full on binging on sugar, none of which were part of the prescribed sugar free diet.
During all this time, I did manage to somehow abstain from all fruit but given my other transgressions this is hardly an achievement of sorts.

Anyway when I made yet another attempt to give up the sugar habit I surmised that it might be better if I cut back on baking with coconut sugar ( or at least made a valiant effort to cut back) and allowed fruit to creep back into my diet. And this is where the great fruit robbery comes into play. As it so happens my favourite fruits to eat are raspberries, strawberries and blueberries and they are happily low in fruit sugar so I'm not likely to be hit by a huge sugar crash if I do binge on them. Calling it binging when it's berries just sounds silly. The thing is I get beyond angry in the run up to Easter when walking into my local supermarket I can buy 3 easter eggs €5 but have to spend €6 just to get two punnets of berries. It's not only the cost but when you look at the stingy sizes they offer you for the €6, its hard not to leave them on the shelf while mumbling to yourself about daylight robbery. Unfortunately I find if I leave them on the shelf, I will just spend the rest of the day wishing I had some yummy, juicy berries.
Now as if this wasn't enough on its own, the last four or five times I have parted with my hard earned cash for some berry deliciousness, I have been left disappointed and in many cases angry. Not because in some cases I am getting less than 10 strawberries in a punnet but the quality of fruit I'm after buying is awful. I have had half mouldy raspberries, mushy blueberries and strawberries that would probably collapse if you were to blow on them ( I would recommend not trying this out). This leaves me in a position of eating the fruit anyway but not enjoying a bite or compounding my anger by being forced to pin something I paid silly money for. 

The guy I'm flatsharing with gives out to me from time to time for throwing out food and will usually eat anything I don't want. Just the other day I was about to bin some particularly disgusting looking strawberries ( I had purchased them earlier that same day) when he stopped me and said I wasn't to waste good fruit so I passed them his way only to watch him take one bite before spitting them out and declaring them rank. 

For now I think I will take a break from berries and I'm sure my wallet will thank me.
The hard part will be not turning to my good old frenemy, chocolate, in their absence.