One day a week vegan - 'detox'

I recently asked my daughter what her favourite drink is.  She answered 'water.' 
I was surprised.  

Sometimes I need a gentle reminder...

I also needed some gentle detoxing, so I began the day with two glasses of water. One plain filtered tap water, the other hot, with the juice of half a lemon and a little ground tumeric. Apparently both lemon and turmeric flush the toxins from our body and aid digestion, so it's a great way to start off.

This was my one day a week vegan menu...

Breakfast

Carrot and apple juice

This is one of my favourite juices. Simply juice organic carrots to make the volume that you require, adding one small green apple per glass. About three large carrots ( bigger than the ones in the photo below) and two apples should be enough for two small glasses.The carrots make a smooth, velvety sweet drink, the sour apple adds a refreshing sharpness. 

Fruit porridge.

Measure four to five tablespoons of porridge oats per person into a small pan or porringer. Add double the volume of water. (For four tablespoons of oats, eight of water, or natural fruit juice.) If using fruit juice it will add natural sweetness. You could use a little honey (edit: whoops you wouldn't want to use honey on a vegan day...sorry)  or maple syrup. Stir and cook until a smooth creamy consistency. Serve with a variety of fruit. Pomegranates seeds are extremely effective for detox and purging.

Lunch

Half an hour before lunch drink a glass of filtered water.You could do this whilst preparing the squash. 

Warm butternut squash and leaf salad with  pumpkinseed oil and cider vinegar dressing

Ingredients for four people:

• a small butternut squash
• one medium sized red onion
• one large or two small cooked beetroots, or small ones could be cooked along with the squash
• a couple of handfuls of mixed leaves of choice per person
• a little ground cumin
• a few flakes of dried red chili pepper
• one or two cloves of garlic
• olive oil for cooking
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pumpkin seed oil and cider vinegar for dressing
• grainy mustard (opt)
• a little honey (opt)
• pumpkin seeds

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200c and then peel, deseed and cut a butternut squash into small pieces, about a quarter of a small one should be enough for one serving. 
• Place the pieces into an oven proof dish, drizzle with olive oil a touch of sea salt and then any fresh or dried herbs and spices. Chilli flakes, crushed garlic and a little cumin work really well. I love fresh rosemary too.
• Roast in the oven for about twenty minutes or so until tender. 
• Meanwhile prepare a mixed leaf salad. I like to include something peppery like watercress or rocket in mine.
• Thinly slice the red onion. Cube the beetroot to a similar size as the pumpkin. 
• Place the leaves on a dish, top with the drained squash, beetroot and onions. 
• Make a dressing with a little pumpkin seed oil and cider vinegar. You can pep it up with some grainy Dijon mustard and tiny bit of Manuka honey. Alternatively use a dressing of choice. The olive oil used to cook the pumpkin would work well with lemon juice. 
• Finally sprinkle with a few pumpkin seeds for a little crunch.

You may have noticed a few stray pomegranate seeds in the salad...I can't get enough of them. I love the slightly sour taste and they are so good for you.

Supper

n.b. The beans in this salad take a number of hours to cook so it's necessary to begin making supper earlier in the day or the previous evening. 



Half an hour before supper drink a glass of filtered water.

Warm Red Camargue Rice salad with Tamarind Barlotti beans.

Ingredients for four people:

• red carmague rice, the amount will depend on the brand of rice so follow the guide on the packet for portion size
• two cloves of garlic
• a few spears of asparagus
• a little red cabbage
• a couple of radishes per person
• a head of broccoli
• a handful of salad leaves
• 200g of dried borlotti beans
• a tbsp of tamarind paste
• sea salt
• not forgetting more pomegranate seeds...

Method:

• Wash the dried borlotti beans ensuring that they don't contain any small stones. Place in a heavy saucepan and add cold water. Cover by at least the volume of water again as when they absorb a lot of the water to re-constitute. 

• Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat. Add a little sea salt and a spoonful of tamarind paste. Cover and allow to cook until tender. Check every so often to avoid drying out. Add a little hot water if necessary but not too much as the cooking liquid will make a rich thick tamrind flavoured sauce. 

• Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet...this may vary. You may like to add some extra flavouring to it. I added the crushed garlic, sea salt and the asparagus spears towards the end of the cooking. These are a great vegetable for detoxing qualities.

• Prepare and other vegetables. They are all best served raw but you may prefer to steam them quickly. 

• When the rice is cooked place in a large serving bowl and add all the vegetables. Serve individually with a big spoonful of the beans and tamarind sauce. 

Red rice has a slightly chewy, nutty texture that you may find hard to get used to. But it's perfect for a detox day. 

 It's important to drink at least eight glasses of filtered water.


The following would make good snacks if needed

Snacks:

• nuts ( not salted)
• bananas
• fruit leathers, lavoshak
• pomegranate seed or blueberries

Drinks:

• green tea
• turmeric tea
• herbal teas:
• lemon and ginger
• fennel
• chamomile
• nettle
• rosehip
• lemon grass

In order to detox, water should be filtered and all fruit and vegetables organic if at all possible. All fruit and vegetable are good for you but I tried to select ones especially known for their detoxing qualities in this menu.

I hope you try out some of the ideas. Happy detox day...

debx

ps there's something not-quite-right with the spacing on this post it changes half way down. I've spent ages trying to sort it out but have had to surrender...I can't spare any more time...so please excuse this squashy writing...

dx