Nobody can deny that James Bond hasn’t suffered in the course of his duties. Among other unpleasantries, he’s had his most intimate parts thrashed with a carpet beater, his finger’s been broken, he’s wrestled a giant squid, and, to top it all, in Thunderball (1961), he’s obliged to drink carrot juice at Shrublands health farm. For a while, he accedes to the health-food regime, but, having been assigned a mission to recover stolen atomic devices, he realises that he can’t go to work on carrot juice and tells his housekeeper May to prepare a diet-busting lunch of four scrambled eggs, four rashers of bacon and hot buttered toast.

Carrot juice is among the vegetable-based drinks recommended by Alan Moyle in his book Nature Cure Explained, a copy of which Bond reads shortly after arriving at ‘the Scrubs’. The recipe below represents carrot juice (well, more of a smoothie) in its most basic form, but, as Alan Moyle himself suggests, it can be combined with other vegetables, such as tomato. A dash of ginger would also liven the drink up.

Single serving

• 2 medium/large carrots
• 150ml water
• A slice of cucumber

Peel the carrots and slice the ends off. Grate the carrots and place in a blender. Add the water and blend for about 30 seconds. Strain the juice through a sieve into a bowl or jug, pressing the pulp with a spoon to extract more liquid. Pour the juice into a glass and garnish with a slice of cucumber.