I used to drink coffee like it was going out of fashion (which if you ask matcha, it has) back in the days when I was working in finance and Mrs H’s was just a twinkle in my eye. I gave it up before my wedding in December 2014, and although I’m partial to the odd decaf here and there, it wasn’t until the jetlag resulting from visiting Australia with a 6 month baby in tow that I felt it was necessary to get my caffeine on.

Mr H and I were going to a wedding of a good friend in Sydney the day after we arrived and I stupidly thought that having an iced coffee would help me power through (in fact it just made me feel jittery). But why am I telling you all this? I want to be honest with you guys – whilst I try to abstain from things that I like but don’t like me back, I don’t think it’s feasible to do it 100% of the time, which is why I prefer the term ‘active avoidance’.

So although caffeinated coffee clearly doesn’t work for me any more, I still love the taste of it, especially so when it’s paired with sticky dates and banana ice cream and blended into a shake. Now that’s what I call coffee. It’s actually inspired by the iced coffee in Australia, as unlike here in the U.K. they seem to add in a scoop of ice cream by default, which gave me a bit of a shock when I ordered one (and subsequently had to send it back, much to the bemusement of the waiter).

So instead of going and spending £5 in your local chain coffee shop for a dairy pumped and sugar spiked mocchachoccachino, why not make this instead! It’s such a treat!

Ingredients

• 1 shot decaf espresso (about 100ml), or the hard stuff if you’re brave
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 medjool date

This couldn’t be easier to whizz up – simply pop the ingredients in your blender for around a minute until you have a super smooth shake! Pour into your glass and enjoy!

Love, Mrs H xx