Carrot juice

You can include a small glass in your usual meals, but juice is less filling and contains less fibre than eating a whole carrot. Have it alongside food rather than treating it as a replacement for vegetables.

Blend chopped carrots with a little cold water until smooth, then strain through a fine sieve or clean cloth and press out the liquid. The leftover pulp can go into soup, muffins or a pasta sauce.

You do not have to peel them: scrub the carrots thoroughly under running water and trim the ends. Peel them if the skin is damaged or you want a smoother, milder-tasting juice.

Pour it into a clean, airtight bottle and refrigerate it straight away; use it within two days for the best flavour. Shake before drinking, as the juice naturally separates.

A little lemon or orange juice brightens its sweetness; ginger, apple or a pinch of black pepper also work well. It is often blended with orange juice or used in smoothies with yoghurt and fruit.

Whole carrots provide more fibre: 2.4 g per 100 g, compared with 0.6 g in carrot juice. Juice is convenient to drink, while chewing the carrot gives you the whole vegetable and its pulp.