How times change. When I was growing up, you only got one type of milk and that came from a cow. Today you can get goats’ milk, almond milk, cashew milk, soya milk you name it and it seems you can milk it.

My local Sainsbury’s now has a complete dairy-free section in the chiller. Now, if I was living in some trendy London ’burb, I’d understand, but I live in an ordinary town. Yes, it’s in the Home Counties, but it’s not exactly hip and happening like say, Brighton. However, I then looked back to a recent issue of The Grocer and found a quote from the Lactofree brand manager at Arla who said that retailers are beginning to understand that a key area of growth for them is from free-from products in the chiller. And apparently the brand has already teamed up with Tesco to create designated Dairy Alternatives chillers. Well, that’s told me. I must say I am not a fan. I tried almond milk recently and let’s just say I won’t be drinking that again. However, if you haven’t already dipped your toes in the dairy alternative pond, it might be time to do so.

Moving on, and one thing that I’m definitely a convert to is turmeric. Who knew it had so many healthy properties not me, that’s for sure. But having a touch of arthritis in one knee I turned to turmeric and haven’t looked back. It’s not cured but it’s definitely less painful.

Anyway, the reason I am mentioning turmeric is that I have discovered a range of Zingers from a company called James White. Described as ’Little drinks with a big zing!’, they really are great. My local Sainsbury’s (again) has started stocking them in the juice aisle so I invested in a few.

There are four varieties: Ginger Zinger (26% pressed ginger, 57% apple juice and water), described as a caffeine-free alternative to an espresso; the Xtra Ginger Zinger, which with 40% ginger juice is said not to be for the faint-hearted; the Lime Chilli Zinger which combines pressed lime juice, hot chilli and apple juice; and the Turmeric Juice Zinger, which is an alternative way to get your turmeric inside you.

The manufacturer says: "These pocket shots hit the spot" and I can definitely vouch for that.

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