We went along and tried smoothies at Darlington Market's newest healthy food spot - here's what we thought.

Natural Health Bar is the market's newest stop, serving up everything from breakfast and meals to a tasty selection of smoothies from a van-style stall at the heart of the market.

The man behind the market is television chef Matei Baran, who was inspired to open the business after his dramatic weight loss several years ago, when he lost a staggering 11 stones in six months. 

(Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO) Matei, 48, who reached the quarter-finals of MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016, previously told The Northern Echo that "there is nothing like this in Darlington".

The opened on Thursday (October 17) with a "quiet" start, so we went along to try one of the smoothies in the name of supporting local business.

You can find the standout stall if you enter the market's left entrance and turn right. When we arrived there was a huge collection of people taking advantage of free samples - business was booming.

Looking at the menu, there was certainly a wide variety of smoothies to choose from, whether you like super green, berry or tropical.

Flavours include berry power (a blend of berries), super green (apples, celery, and spinach), and tropical blue (banana, citrus, blue spirulina, blueberries, and chia seeds) and are all priced at £4.50.

Our smoothies from the Natural Health Bar.Our smoothies from the Natural Health Bar. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) After making our choice (following much deliberation), I went for a 'sunshine', which includes mango, pineapple, passion fruit, banana and Greek yogurt. However, I requested mine to be without yogurt.

My fellow reporter Olivia Howlett went for a 'Berry Power' which includes raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and yogurt.

All the smoothies are made fresh to order and you can watch them being prepared behind the counter.

Taste wise the Sunshine was really sweet and thick so clearly includes a generous amount of fruit.  Personally, I think a splash of orange juice would have taken it over the top to make it a 10/10.

Menu at the Natural Health Bar.Menu at the Natural Health Bar. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) My only wish is that there was more of it - I think for £4.50 the size of the cup could be a bit bigger.

As for Olivia's thoughts, she said her berry smoothie was "creamy, refreshing and tasty".

She added: "I think the smoothie bar is a great addition to the markets as its something different that you'd expect to find in Borough Market in London.

Recommended:

Get more content including the stories that matter to your community from The Northern Echo for just £5 for 5 months for a limited time only here.

"The smoothie was great and also surprisingly quite filling, although maybe a little small for £4.50."

I think my next step will be to definitely go back and try their breakfast meals. 

So, if you're wanting an alternative; a lunch other than a bland sandwich and a calorific frappe, then pop down to the Natural Health Bar in the market for a real healthy treat.