Fruit contains a rich array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidant nutrients – our bodies need to be flushed with nutritious fruit packed with antioxidants. Thus, we can protect our skin from UV damage, promote cell turnover and encourage healthy hair and nails.

But sometimes an apple isn’t completely satisfying. The ladies who make Smoochie smoothies have come up with the right solution. They purchase lovely fruit, wash it, cut it up and blend it together to produce eight delicious Smoochie varieties. It’s just fruit in a bottle with no sugar or additives, aimed at making your life easier and providing you with a delicious, nutrient-rich snack or meal.

Unlike plain juice, smoothies contain whole, pureed fruit, complete with soluble and insoluble fibre such as lignin and pectin, which reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Even a basic strawberry-banana concoction is rich in potassium – this is good for overall health.

Smoochies are packed with phytochemicals and naturally occurring nutrients that help protect cells from damage. Smoochies are also great for dieting because their fibre and liquid content gives a sense of fullness, an important part of managing your diet. Also, Smoochies do not contain preservatives.

How do you spot a good smoothie? First, look at the texture – the thicker the smoothie, the higher the proportion of whole crushed fruit. Don’t go for ambient smoothies. If a smoothie is being stored at room temperature, it will have been pasteurised and sterilised, killing all the natural vitamins and enzymes.

Avoid smoothies made with concentrated juice as these will have been reconstituted with water. Also, watch out for added sugar in dairy or yogurt-based smoothies. These often contain a small amount of fruit and a fair amount of added sugar. Even non-fat frozen yoghurts contain sugar.

Be suspicious of smoothies with added vitamins and water. Also, don’t go for trendy gimmicks. Smoochies retain most of the vitamins and micronutrients naturally present in the fruit.

Some smoothies have added herbal medicine ingredients. If you want to take herbal remedies, it is more sensible to buy them in a health food shop, rather than swallowing them in unspecified quantities in drinks.

Look out for additives

• Sucrose and fructose: These are fancy words for sugar. Smoochies don’t include sucrose, fructose or sugar as they’re sweet enough.

• Preservative 202: The scientific name is potassium sorbate and it’s used to increase shelf life.

• Acidifying agent 330, E330 or citric acid: This organic acid can be derived from citrus fruits, but is usually artificially produced. These additives are regarded as safe but they should not be necessary in a fruit smoothie.