A morning smoothie seems like a good idea... nutritious and ready in a jiffy. But will it be substantial enough to hold off hunger pangs til lunch? Yes, if Sara Davies' post-exercise recipe is anything to go by.

The entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den icon shared the go-to morning smoothie she 'swears by' after her followers asked for the recipe - not only is it surprisingly high in protein... but it contains one very unexpected ingredient... cannellini beans.

Sara's smoothie recipe includes 200ml soya milk, 150g Greek yoghurt, cacao and honey, along with half a can of cannellini beans. 'Simply pop everything into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy!' she says.

The crafting guru says she tries to get her protein from real foods rather than protein powder - and it's the cannellini beans that give this smoothie a big protein boost. 'Basically, I’m not a massive fan of protein powder, and where possible, I try to get my protein and other nutrients from food sources instead,' she says. 'That’s why I love this smoothie so much!

'It’s packed with almost 30g of protein, but it comes from the cannellini beans and Greek yoghurt rather than protein powder. It’s also really easy to drink, super creamy and, most importantly, it stops me getting those hunger pangs I usually get after a morning exercise session!'

She is a huge fan of cannellini beans - saying they are a 'brilliant' natural source of protein and make her drink 'nice and creamy.'

'Drain and wash them,' she instructs. 'Whizz that bad boy up. 30g of protein, 13g of fibre, about 300 calories, it’s nice and creamy, not a bit of protein powder in sight.' Cacao powder, she adds, is 'great for fibre and chocolatey flavour' - it also contains plenty of iron, and antioxidants, too. Time to get blending!