Three ways to drink your greens

Savoury greens

Sometimes when I get home and I'm completely knackered, cooking up a meal is the last thing on my mind. It's then that I turn to this. I know it might sound like a weird concept but it's kind of like having a cold soup – it makes a great quick dinner or lunch and is brilliant if you're on a cleanse, as it really fills you up and tastes surprisingly great.

Ingredients

1 avocado

large handful of chopped kale

large handful of baby spinach

1 lebanese cucumber

juice and zest of 1 lime

½ small chilli

2cm piece of ginger

handful of coriander leaves

250ml (1 cup) water, plus extra if necessary

pinch of chilli flakes, to serve (optional)

Method

Scoop out the avocado and throw it in your blender with the kale, spinach, cucumber, lime juice, chilli, ginger, coriander and water. Whiz everything together until smooth (if you find it too thick, just add a little more water).

Pour into bowls or glasses and top with the lime zest and a few chilli flakes, if you dare.

Serves 2

Broccoli business

Ingredients

large handful of chopped kale

60g (1 cup) roughly chopped broccoli

3 celery stalks

1 lime

2cm piece of ginger

1 Lebanese cucumber

Method

Pop the kale, broccoli, celery, lime and ginger into the juicer, followed by the cucumber to push everything through.

Pour into glasses and away you go.

Serves 2

Super green

I love, love, love green smoothies, and this is my new favourite. It's easy, so creamy and my go-to pick-me-up if I'm feeling burnt out.

Ingredients

large handful of chopped baby spinach or kale

80g (½ cup) cashew nuts, soaked for 2 hours or overnight, then rinsed

1 avocado

1 frozen banana

1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

2 tablespoons maple syrup

500ml (2 cups) almond milk

pinch of ground cinnamon

cashew nuts, to serve

Method

Throw the kale, cashews, avocado, banana, vanilla seeds, maple syrup, almond milk and cinnamon into the blender and whiz it all up until silky smooth (add a little extra almond milk if you feel it needs it – I like mine thick but it's about making it perfect for your tastebuds). Pour into glasses or bowls and top with a few extra cashew nuts.

Serves 2

Edited extract from Lola Berry's Little Book of Smoothies and Juices, Pan Macmillan, $24.99.