After much festive eating of rich foods and celebrating with drinks, I always look forward to the new year when I re-focus on healthy living. A great way to break out is with a detoxifying diet. I like to spend a few weeks making detoxifying soups and drinking liver-stimulating teas to remove waste and prevent more toxic buildup.
The key to eating a detox diet is picking light foods that don't further stress our digestive systems. It is great to eat many of these foods on a regular basis to support our organs and regular body functions, which equal everyday health. The following are some soups and teas that will help the process:
Beetroot soup is a fantastic detoxifier of the liver and helps remove all that bad cholesterol from our overworked bodies. This is one of my faves because it is quick to make and can be eaten hot or cold. The key to this one is to not let it cook past 30 minutes as doing so affects the taste and, more importantly, the nutritional value.
Ingredients - 3 raw beetroots, 1 Tbsp cold pressed olive oil, half small onion chopped, a clove of garlic chopped, half tsp of ground cumin, 7-10 oz. organic tomatoes, 300 ml vegetable stock or water and salt and pepper.
Method - heat oil in pan and add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add chopped beets and cook for 5 minutes. Add stock, cumin and tomatoes and simmer until beets are tender, about 20 minutes. Blend the cooked soup and then add the salt and pepper. You can strain the liquid out or eat it as is.
Broccoli soup is another super detoxifier with high fiber and a superb source of vitamin C. This is also an excellent soup for providing alkaline vegetables.
Ingredients -1 bunch of broccoli roughly chopped, 1 clove of garlic minced, 1.2 litres of chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste.
Method - Boil broccoli in stock until soft and then add all but 1/4 of the stock to a blender. Blend until smooth and then add reserve liquid until it has reached the desired consistency.
Herbal teas through out our day also aid in the detox process and the following teas are a good choice.
Choose lemon and ginger tea which act as a diuretic, heal and soothe the digestive system. Lemon helps rheumatism and fever. Nettle tea is a brilliant tonic that acts as an expectorant, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, an important source of beta carotene, vitamins A, C, E, iron, calcium, phosphates and minerals.
This cabbage soup is a highly acclaimed soup used for detox and weight loss.
Ingredients - 1 head of green cabbage shredded, 2 cans of diced tomatoes,?2 green peppers, chopped?3 carrots, sliced?1 bunch of celery, chopped?2 onions, diced?2 cups broth (vegetable, chicken or beef)?2 cups vegetable juice.?Your choice of seasonings.
Method - Spray a large pot with cooking spray and saut茅 the onions until soft. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer until all the vegetables are crisp tender. Enjoy daily for one week.
