With only a few weeks left until bathing suit season arrives, it’s usually around this time of the year that many of us decide to get in shape for the summer. So we’ve put together a healthy smoothie recipe to help you stay in shape.

Perhaps the biggest temptation this time of year involves Christmas drinks, so we thought we’d ask our resident smoothie guru, Janice, to put together a delicious detox smoothie to help you replenish the lost antioxidants after a night of drinkie-poos.

We’ve chosen a smoothie over a juice, because put simply, they’re healthier. When you juice fruit, all of their precious antioxidants are left behind with the flesh and the skin, leaving you with a juice full of sugar.

A smoothie, on the other hand, retains the majority of the fruit’s antioxidants because it’s crushed and much of the flesh remains. This also makes you feel full because you’re consuming the fruit’s flesh, too.

As a word of warning, though, keep an eye on how much fruit you’re using to make your smoothie. As a general rule we should only eat about two or three pieces of fruit per day, because of their high sugar content. So while a fancy fruit smoothie made from a plethora of different fruits sounds very healthy, it may not be.

To get you through the Christmas party season, Janice’s detox smoothie-of-choice is packed with full of nutrients, including papaya for vitamin C, kale and spinach for magnesium and calcium, and banana and apple for a kick of antioxidants.

Ingredients
1 cup papaya
½ cup kale
½ cup spinach
1/3 banana
½ green apple

Method:
Throw all the ingredients in the blend, and blend until smooth.
Enjoy!
Serves 1