A Little Bit of Green

'This year I'm going to try and be healthier.'

This sentiment is echoed across the country at the start of every year: and to be honest, it normally lasts around a month and a half before we're back to our old ways, eating pot noodles, pizza and popcorn on the sofa while ignoring the year's gym membership we inevitably signed up for the first week of January.

A lot of people just try to tackle too much at once, and changing your diet and fitness habits doesn't happen overnight - taking baby steps is very important. When I first decided that I was going to completely overhaul my diet, it was daunting, but I started small by swapping out some of the things I was eating for healthier alternatives before trying different foods and tackling new recipes. I wanted to eat more fruit and vegetables, rather than crisps and chocolate, so I looked at ways to introduce them into my diet - and the most prominent way of eating more of my 5 a day was smoothies.

2014 was the year of the Green Smoothie: everyone from Miranda Kerr to Elle MacPherson was proclaiming how great they were for detoxifying the body and clearing the skin, and I was naturally intrigued - and then converted.

As a vegetarian with a low iron count it's incredibly important for me to be eating food rich in iron. Spinach is a great source of iron so anything with spinach in it is a winner, and in smoothies you can't even taste it - particularly in banana based smoothies, if it wasn't for the vivid green colour you would have no idea there was anything other than fruit in your glass. There are recipes all over the internet for different green smoothie recipes but I'm today I'm going to share one that is simple, tasty and works for me.

Green Blueberry, Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Time to make: 5 minutes

Cost per portion: £1.62

Calories per portion: 175

Portions of your 5 a day: 2+

You will need:

• 125ml milk (I use almond milk, but you can of course use cows milk)
• 50g strawberries, chopped in half
• 25g blueberries
• 1 banana, chopped roughly
• 35g spinach (approximately a third of a 100g bag)
• A blender

Blend the spinach and half of the milk - I often do the spinach on its own first as some machines can struggle to finely blend both the spinach and the fruit at the same time. 

 Add the fruit and blend again until smooth. If you're using a hand blender, it may be wise to strain your smoothie before serving as sometimes hand blenders fail to fully blend both the spinach and the fruit if you're blending them together. I used my Russell Hobbs blender because its all-in-one blender and portable bottle means it's brilliant for on the go smoothies. Either pour into a glass or a bottle and you are good to go!

Yes, I'm fully aware that this is not the most aesthetically pleasing drink, but I promise you you can't taste the spinach at all. The antioxidant properties of the blueberries are supposed to help protect against heart disease and boost memory, and the blended spinach is a great way to get more iron into your diet. This smoothie is the perfect pick-me-up on a Monday morning before school, college, university or work!

Have you tried a green smoothie before, or are going to try one now? Any particular recipes you like? Let me know in the comments below!