If you have noticed that every third person you talk to at the moment has a cold, the flu or a sore throat, you are not alone. My family kids me that my signature smoothie recipe is really a superfood and I serve it at this time of year to ward off all the bugs that come home from school.

There is no real recipe as the ingredients really do depend on what you like and what you have to hand. The basics though are a massive dose of fruit made cold and creamy in a blender with a little plain yogurt. Eat this for breakfast, as a dessert instead of ice cream or as an after school snack.

 

1 banana, sliced and frozen

1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries or raspberries

½ cup plain unsweetened, preferably whole milk yogurt

½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice or half a peeled orange

 

Load the ingredients into a blender and blend at high speed until smooth. Adjust the ingredients as necessary to provide the consistency you like. For example, if you want an ice cream substitute for dessert, use more frozen bananas and the whole orange, for a cold drink, increase the amount of juice and yogurt. Garnish if you like with some finely chopped almonds and serve in stemware with a spoon.

I have found that kids will adopt this recipe as their own; it is cooking without the fear of getting burned, which is great for adults so long as they clean up the kitchen.

I’m pretty sure that a smoothie a day   combined with a regimen of hand washing will keep most of us healthy!