This week we spoke to Scandi food writer Signe Johansen about her beautiful book, Scandilicious in our Interview in The Hot Tub … but there’s no point in telling you about mouth-watering, healthy recipes unless you have a chance to try them as well!  So in her Raspberry, Vanilla and Ginger Smoothie Johansen, shows us how to kick start your day the tasty way!

“It’s a smoothie that packs a real punch on mornings when your tastebuds need a jolt: adjust the amount of fresh ginger to taste, depending on how fiery you like your smoothie, and if you don’t have any vanilla yoghurt, use plain yoghurt with a dash of vanilla extract instead.”

Ingredients: Makes two servings

• 75g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 200ml vanilla yoghurt
• 2-3 tbsp oats
• 1 banana
• 1-2 tsp grated ginger
• juice of 2 oranges
• 1 tsp peanut butter

Method:

Just put all the ingredients in a blender, blitz until smooth and drink immediately!

Variations:

* Experiment with different fruit combinations – instead of raspberries, why not use blueberries or blackberries? Ripe mangoes, peaches and nectarines are delicious in this smoothie and passionfruit is always a winner, but kiwi is most definitely not as it goes a horrible sludgy colour when mixed with orange juice!

* If you’re not a fan of peanut butter, try almond, walnut, cashew, brazil or macademia nut butter.

* Instead of ginger, play around with other spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg or even chilli (it may be a bit too fiery for some in the morning, but if you like Bloody Marys then why not?).

* Ring the changes by using apple, pomegranate, blueberry or cranberry juice instead of orange. If you like your smoothie quite tart, as I do, try adding the juice of half a lemon – it works really well with the ginger.