Normally my children have pretty healthy appetites, so when they tell me they’re not hungry that’s a sure-fire sign they must be poorly.
Over the past couple of weeks both my girls have been a bit ill – and my husband too – and so I’ve turned to the good old smoothie to make sure I get some sustenance into them. Even when they’re feeling pretty grotty, they can generally manage a glass or two of smoothie.
Of course these smoothies are too good only to have when illness strikes and they’re a brilliant way to use up those over-ripe bananas. You can also add any soft fruit you happen to have in. We keep a bag of berries in the freezer and I like to chuck in a handful or two of those. But here’s the basic banana recipe.
Simple banana smoothie
Serves 4
3 or 4 bananas
4 tbsp plain or Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp runny honey
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 pints of cold milk
Chop the banana into a blender or smoothie maker and add the rest of the ingredients. Simply whizz up until smooth and serve to your patients.
This was a bit of a tall order as for me the whole point of a mulled drink is that it’s warming and boozy. But eventually I came up with this little number and you know what, it’s really rather good. It turns out you can have a Christmas drink that’s warming and non-boozy after all. Which is probably a good idea when you’re in charge of hundreds of children under the age of eleven.
Bangers & Mash 