A friend recommended Dr Schulze’s SuperFood Plus powder to me a few months ago, raving about how much energy she had when she started taking it every day. Struggling with tiredness since being on the crutches, I thought I’d give it a go. I got her to order it for me online.

The first surprise was it cost £38.50 - the second was that it was bright green.

And it was also – as I discovered when I had mixed one tablespoon in a glass of fruit juice – utterly disgusting.

‘How on earth do you drink it?’ I asked her. ‘It’s not so bad when you get used to it,’ she said. ‘Fruit juice masks the taste better than mixing it with water’.

I resolved never ever to drink it with water.

After a few weeks I stopped taking it. I hadn’t noticed any great energy changes, and I figured that the sinking feeling I got every morning when I realized I had to take it, was outweighing any would-be benefits. I also have to admit that I probably didn’t notice any great energy changes because I didn’t actually take it every day.

Then I had a nutrition consultation to get advice on eating to combat the arthritis which is causing my pain and limiting my walking. To strengthen my bones, the nutritionist recommended taking oils, eating lots of green vegetable and drinking almond milk.

‘I already do’, I told her smugly. ‘Do you make it yourself?’ she asked.

I promptly shut up.

I told her about the SuperFood stuff, now gathering dust in the cupboard, and she practically slapped me in frustration.

‘That’s what you should be taking. Start taking it again, immediately. But not in fruit juice made from concentrate. That’s full of sugar and acts like acid in your body. Make your own juice and mix it with that.’

So I resolved to give it another go. First of all I had to break cobwebs off my juicer, then stuck in two carrots, two apples and a big knob of ginger, and added the SuperFood powder.

I had forgotten how unappealingly the powder clumps when it hits liquid and after a while of bashing the lumps with a spoon, I thought I might as well de-cobweb the smoothie maker too. And after giving the juice-SuperFood combo a whizz through it, all the lumps were removed and it was actually very tasty. And it looked much better than usual. I particularly liked the bright orange froth on top of the dark green liquid.

But the best bit is, after a couple of weeks of taking it diligently every day, I did notice a boost in my energy. After that it was easy to knock it back every morning – there’s nothing better than seeing results to strengthen resolve and develop good habits. So Dr Schulze, all is forgiven. 

Like the sound of it? You can buy it on the Herbs Hands Healing website. I definitely recommend it.

PS I've also discovered spirulina powder, produced by a brand called naturya. It's a blue-green algae - I know, but stay with me - cultivated sustanably in open air fresh water ponds, and a source of protein, essential amino acids and minerals. It's got a similar texture to the Dr Schulze powder but doesn't taste as strong. Best taken in smoothies - wield a big spoon to batter down the lumps.

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