Shoptalk: How good was your smoothie?

RIGHT, that's it. Wake up your system in the nicest possible way. Celebrations over, give the last of the chocolates away and start on the new healthy you.

This is the year that you are going to eat those five portions of fruit and veg a day, isn't it? And the easiest way to start is by drinking a smoothie. Smoothies are fruit juice for the 21st century - not just the juice but the crushed fruit as well. Not only do you get the vitamin C but you get the healthy fibre too. There are dairy smoothies too, made with yoghurt.

What's more, they taste delicious. Can anything this good also be good for you? Yes. Oh bliss.

GOOD

TESCO 99P FOR 250ML

Honey and vanilla dairy smoothie tasted a bit cough mixture-ish, but still very good. We preferred the strawberry and banana fruit smoothie made with reconstituted apple juice, strawberry puree, apple puree and fresh orange juice, plus sugar - which we could probably have done without.

PJ TUMMY LOVE £1.59 FOR 250ML

Crushed peaches and bananas with fruit juice from concentrate and a dash of bacteria to do your insides good.

PJ SEASONAL £1.39 FOR 250ML

Crushed strawberries, bananas, oranges, grapes and apple juice.

PJ FROOTIES 69P FOR150ML

Resealable pouch drink aimed specially at children. 100 per cent crushed fruit, juice and nothing else. Strong strawberry taste. Excellent idea for lunch boxes.

BETTER

MARKS & SPENCER SMOOTHIES FROM £1.20 TO £1.50 FOR 250ML

Wide variety of flavours, some with added ingredients such as echinacea and multi vitamins or guarana. The bio yoghurts were particularly good - our favourite was the vanilla bean and maple syrup. BUT a number of them had added sugar, including, bizarrely, the low calorie version.

BEST

No contest. The best smoothies we tasted were those made by Innocent. They are fresh and fruity and have some life about them. A world away from some of the dead fruit juices that lurk in our fridge. They taste wonderful and almost wake us up in the morning. Innocent rules, OK?

True, they are not cheap. Bought in the health food shop - also available from some supermarkets and Boots - their prices ranges from £1.59 to £1.79. They do smoothies - crushed fruit; thickies - crushed fruit and yoghurt; "really lovely juice"; and super smoothies, designed to have extra special benefits, like their detox super smoothie with lemon, honey and ginger, to help you get over the party season.

They don't use concentrates - everything is made from crushed fruit, meticulously listed on the side of the bottle. So a strawberry and banana smoothie, for instance, contains:

two-and-a-half pressed apples

six crushed strawberries

half a mashed banana

and a dash of orange juice.

Their boysenberry and wild blueberry thickie contains:

fresh bio yoghurt

eight crushed boysenberries

half a pressed apple

some nice honey

and 21 crushed wild blueberries.

This is a wonderful quirky company who absolutely refuse to be dull and worthy but believe in entertaining you while doing you good. They have jokey messages on the side of the bottles and a website where you can easily waste half a day (www.innocentdrinks.co.uk). They invite e-mails from customers. Or if you're bored, they ask you to ring the Banana line.

"We receive about 60 or 70 calls a week from consumers who ring to praise, suggest recipes, report innocent sightings and occasionally complain or even consult us on their love life," says Rowena from Innocent.

One message on the side of a bottle invited people to come along to their headquarters "Fruit Towers" and dance for them.

No takers so far, says Rowena. "But we did have a girl who came in to sing. We've also had a birthday party for a 70-year-old consumer, plus presents ranging from ice cream to cakes."

Well yes, maybe that relentless quirkiness could get a bit tiresome but in the world of big business it seems unexpectedly fresh and natural - just like their drinks.