Vanilla shake

Creamy, sustaining and soothing, this shake will pep you up if you’re feeling slightly tender after an illness and are in need of a bit of oomph to get you back to speed. Look for good-quality vanilla protein powder, or you could use soya or hemp protein powders instead.

300 ml/1¼ cups coconut drinking milk

100 ml/⅓ cup plain bio yogurt

1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder (see page 18)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 small bananas, peeled and chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground flaxseeds (see page 16)

1–2 teaspoons camu camu powder (see page 15)

SERVES 2

Put the coconut drinking milk, yogurt, protein powder, vanilla extract, bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground flaxseeds and camu camu powder in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more coconut drinking milk if too thick.

yogurt The ‘friendly’ bacteria present in live yogurt aid digestion and benefit the internal flora of the gut, particularly valuable after a bout of food poisoning or a course of antibiotics.

coffee Coffee is a doubled-edged sword and can have both bad and good effects on our health. The good news is that it is rich in antioxidants, and is an anti-inflammatory as well as an energy and brain booster, but do drink it in moderation.