So-called healthy juices are expensive to buy ready-made, and often the main ingredient isn't what you think. Registered nutritionist Eli Brecher says one of the most popular ginger shots on the high street is 75% apple juice and only 25% ginger - but you won't have this problem when making juices at home.

You can make something truly nutritious by swapping ginger for beetroot as the core ingredient in your homemade juice. It makes for more than just a less fiery and intense flavour; it also has better benefits for people seeking to lower blood pressure and increase their vitamin C intake. A recipe shared by Good Food suggests starting the day with a glass of beetroot juice for breakfast to "pack in some vitamin C." You can even make it a day ahead and keep it in the fridge.

Research, including some funded by the British Heart Foundation, has linked beetroot juice to reduced blood pressure. While the studies have only included small numbers of people so far, it is known that nitrates found naturally in beetroot can help keep blood pressure in check.

The BHF notes that other fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, celery, kale, bananas and strawberries, are also sources of nitrates.

Beetroot juice recipe

Ingredients

• One small beetroot, quartered, stems removed
• One large apple, quartered
• One carrot
• Half-thumb-sized piece of ginger
• Two tsp apple cider vinegar

Method

A juicer is recommended for this recipe, but you can achieve the same smooth liquid texture with a blender and a sieve.

If you have a juicer, feed all the ingredients into a glass, stir it well, and serve with ice. To blend the ingredients, chop everything into chunks and tip into a blender with 200ml of cold water.

Blitz until the liquid is as smooth as you can get it - don't worry if it looks thick.

Strain the smoothie mixture through a fine sieve - you can even line the sieve with a clean J-cloth for a thinner juice - into a bowl.

Pour the juice into a glass and serve with ice. Drinking the juice as fresh as possible is best, but it can be made a day ahead and chilled for 24 hours. Stir well before serving if you choose to store it.