Five January pick-me-ups

Christmas and New Year's Day are now over and either you are of the mind to wash away all those extra pounds, hibernate until the mornings start getting lighter or simply to feel better about the things you drink or eat, here are five great ways to beat the Winter blues.

Morning smoothies:  a great way to increase vitamins but also a brilliant alternative to breakfast too - especially if you are in a rush in the morning.  Try utilising some dried fruits (such as sour cherries or apricots - kept soaking in the fridge in apple juice) to give a little more substance and, if you need that spike of spice, add freshly grated ginseng, ginger or dried chili flakes which are a great way to wake up those taste buds.

Green tea:  an acquired taste for some, but if you're finding it hard even with the promise of all those extra anti-oxidants, try adding a bag of mint or blackcurrant tea to the mix as well.

Slow roasting:  already a fan?  Our bodies crave root vegetables at this time of year and slow roasting brings out their natural sugars and flavours.   Adding vegetable stock and blitzing in a food processor is an easy soup to make and you can make the flavours you want, use as little fat as you want and take any excess to work for lunch - also saving the pennies to beat the January blues.  Great flavour combinations would be ginger and beetroot, carrot and fennel seed and one of my particular favourites, parsnip and cumin.

Uplifting colours on your plate:  we are cheered by bright colours and best of all, foods which are deeper in colour tend to loaded in vitamins.  Use kale and red cabbage as much as you can and, although mentioned above with ginger, beetroot roasted and allowed to cool with steamed carrots is just heaven on a plate, try making a warm salad dressing with sesame oil and aged balsamic.

Let the sun shine:  it's a simple thing, I realise that many of us work during the day, but if you are an office worker and the sun is out, take a minimum of 30 minutes to take a walk in it.  Sunshine makes us feel good even if the temperature is minus 5, its still good to feel sunshine on your face.