Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Detox Vegetable Curry

4th and final week of my detox! Peter says my skin is glowing and I’ve now lost 3.5kg. Yippee! I made this vegetable curry today and wanted to share it because it’s incredibly easy, and yet delicious. Again, it’s from Max Tomlinson’s book, Clean Up Your Diet.

gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, yeast-free, soya-free, egg-free, nut-free, seed-free, citrus-free

Preparation time 20 minutes     Cooking time 35 minutes     Serves 2

• 110g/4oz/½ cup brown rice, rinsed
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2.5cm/1in root ginger, grated
• ½ red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp turmeric
• a large pinch cayenne pepper
• 450g/1lb ripe tomatoes
• 300ml/10 fl oz/1¼ cups water
• ½ cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 75g/2½oz green beans, cut into 2.5cm/1in lengths
• a large handful baby spinach leaves
• 9–10 gratings nutmeg
• a small bunch coriander leaves, chopped, to serve

1. Put the rice in a saucepan and pour in boiling water. Cook, according to the packet instructions.
2. Put the onion and olive oil in a wok or deep frying pan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and spices and cook gently for a further 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes. Cut a cross in the top of each tomato and put in a large heatproof bowl. Pour over enough boiling water to cover and leave for 10 seconds. Remove the tomatoes from the water using a slotted spoon, and peel off the skin when they are cool enough to handle. Discard the seeds and roughly chop the tomato flesh.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and water to the onion mixture. Raise the heat to medium, bring up to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly then transfer to a liquidizer and blitz until smooth.
5. Put the cauliflower and sauce in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Add the beans and cook for a further 3–4 minutes, until the beans are tender. Stir in the spinach and cook for 1 minute, until just wilted. Season with the grated nutmeg.
6. Drain any excess water from the rice. Serve the curry on a bed of rice, with the coriander sprinkled over.

Beetroot, Carrot & Ginger Detox Juice

I’ve started a detox this weekend. I haven’t done one since before I got pregnant with Zoë and I fell like a really need to do one. Over the summer I ate lots of sugary foods and I’m really noticing the effect – I’ve put on weight and I’m feeling really tired, especially after eating, and I don’t feel refreshed when I wake up in the morning. Of course, when you have a small child, it’s hard to tell whether tiredness is due to broken nights or your general health. But the fact that I’m really craving sweet food and I’m also waking up at the classic sugar-rush time during the early hours of the morning are telling me that it’s time to detox.

I’m going to do a combination of the detox plans from one of my all-time favourite books, Clean Up Your Diet by Max Tomlinson and herbs from the A Vogel Detox Box. I first met Max about 10 years ago and he has been an incredible inspiration in my life ever since – and he recommended this detox kit. It is made up of tincture mixes of Milk Thistle, which is meant to help your liver function, which in turn helps your body to eliminate toxins, Solidago which is a traditional tonic for your kidneys, helping to reduce fluid retention and things like puffy eyes,  Frangula which is said to aid digestion and is a mild laxative and Calendula which is wonderful for boosting your immune system.

So, I’m going to cut out all alcohol, sugar, packaged, tinned or processed foods and red meat. And I’m going to seriously boost my intake of fruit and veggies and eat just organic chicken or fish. On top of that, I need to drink 2 litres of water a day, minimize my salt intake, do food combining, try not to eat after 8pm, and try to make lunch my biggest meal of the day. I’ll probably have a juice for breakfast every day and have a handful of nuts and seeds, too. And then I think I’ll try to do the protein/veggies combo – with probably a huge salad – for lunch and then the low-GI carbs/veggies combo – again with a large salad – for as early a dinner as I can possibly do. And I’ll snack on fruit and veggies during the day.

Here goes – wish me luck! This was my juice this morning. It’s a classic but I love it because of the taste and also the beautiful colours –

Ingredients:

• 3 beetroots, scrubbed and ends removed
• 4 large carrots, scrubbed and ends removed
• 2.5cm/1in piece of root ginger

1. Push the ingredients through an electric juicer and serve immediately.