I’m really enjoying this smoothie packed full of zingy berries, kefir and subtly flavoured with a hint of coconut. It makes a perfect breakfast, is great after a run or I have may have one as a quick lunch when I feel like something light and refreshing. It perfect for those times when you need a little energy boost or pick me up.

I’ve recently discovered kefir after being told to try it by a good friend of mine. It’s a cultured milk packed full of good bacteria which are amazing for your gut and supports digestion, metabolism and your immune and nervous systems as well as being beneficial for skin, bones and muscles! So if it does all that then I felt I had to try it!

You can make your own kefir by using live kefir cultures, mine were passed onto me by the same friend, but you can buy them online where there is loads of information and videos to help you learn what to do. I’m having mixed results at the moment, but I’ll keep trying!  Alternatively, and maybe more conveniently, you can buy kefir. The Bio-tiful Dairy kefir, pictured below, is produced from the Organic Riverford Farm Dairy and tastes absolutely delicious. I found it in Ocado but if you have Riverford deliveries you can add it to those.  Health food shops are stocking kefir and many more supermarkets are beginning to.

It can be used as a drink, is great for breakfast on cereals and in smoothies, makes a healthy snack and can be used in baking. I’ll often have a small glass in the evening before I go to bed. If you can’t find kefir to use in this recipe then substitute a good quality unsweetened live yogurt instead.

A quick word on seeds! I’ve tried this recipe with a variety of seeds, so you can use any of those listed in the ingredients list or a combination of them. My favourite is probably the flax and chia seeds mixed together but all work well. The hemp seeds being a little larger may not break down so well in a low power blender, so if this is the case you could use milled flaxseed instead.

100g frozen mixed berries

handful baby spinach about 25g

3 Medjool dates, pitted

2tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut

1tbsp either hemp, flax or chia seeds

ground cinnamon

200ml kefir or live natural yogurt

150ml water

Place all the ingredients in a nutribullet or blender making sure you’ve removed the stones from the dates.  Whizz the ingredients until smooth. Pour into glasses and enjoy.  This makes enough for two servings or one very large one!

You can use fresh berries instead of frozen ones just add a few cubes of ice to the ingredients before blending to keep the smoothie nice and cool.