This is the last post of the summer detox series, if you haven’t read my previous posts, have a look at the lunch detox here and the breakfast detox here. I promise that these recipes are simple and easy enough to whip up without much effort on your part. After all, that’s the whole point of a detox to allow your body, to refresh, relax and recharge.

We are doing a soup for dinner to mix it up a little and also to really soothe and nourish the system after a long day of work, childcare or whatever you may have been stressed with.
The three vegetables, we will be using for this detox is Japanese radish(aka daikon), celery and carrots – with a few pieces of minced garlic.

Again, the focus is on liver detoxification to promote a healthier and well functioning system. The theory is our liver is a master metaboliser and filters our entire blood volume every 3 minutes! The liver neutralises all the chemicals our body has been exposed to and hence when we consume appreciable amounts of vegetables and fruits, our cells receive potassium which flushes out excess water and toxins and creates an alkaline environment. The liver is being worked hard during detox diets and thus it copes by creating bile to further eliminate toxins and by eating foods high in antioxidants and flavonoids we can help the liver achieve better function.

Left: Japanese daikon, minced garlic Right: carrots, celery

Japanese Radish(daikon) – This is one of my all time favourite vegetables to eat cooked, raw or juiced all year round. Japanese daikon, can be easily found at any local supermarkets, it looks like a very large white carrot with a thin translucent skin. It’s become such a trendy superfood with properties that protect the heart, lower cholesterol and is even touted as a slimming powerhouse.

It’s medicinal healing virtues clear internal heat, assist with kidney, liver detoxification and bowel function, relieve coughs and reduce mucus production. Being rich in vitamins A, B, C, D & E it also contains enzymes that aid with digestion and help your immune system create interferons which guard against pathogens.

Daikon is best eaten raw to maximise it’s full health benefits, I really do love it slow stewed in soups as I find that it soothes and promotes bowel movement in such a great way (in traditional Chinese medical theory – it is believed that if your gut is clear of toxins, it will help protect and prevent against many kinds of disease from asthma to allergies and other autoimmune conditions of the guts and joints) and the added bonus is if you are feeding it to little ones at home – they will surely find it delicious eaten this way too!

Celery – I take celery almost on a daily basis, juicing is my favourite way to maximise the nutritional benefits found in celery (organic is best if your budget allows) which include antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that help improve blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels as well as prevent heart disease. In soups, celery provides high quality dietary fibre that boosts digestion and weight loss and can improve the overall health of your liver, skin, eyes and brains.

Carrots – The high antioxidants in carrots have shown to lower cholesterol, boost bile production and increase the body’s ability to breakdown fats (apparently carrot fibres bind to fat molecules). And as a great source of insoluble fibre carrots help the body perform natural detoxification processes more efficiently.

Garlic – Wisconsin based nutritionist Karen Hurd recommends a daily dose of garlic as an easy way to remove heavy metals from the body. She adds that heavy metals are very attracted to chemical compounds in garlic, nothing that they will actually unbind from soft tissue to bind with the sulfur present in garlic. A daily ritual of raw garlic or cooked garlic can help keep your system free of heavy metals.

I hope you had a chance to try out this short detox program – and again I’d like to stress that I designed this program to be easily achievable and help you gain the physical and emotional vitality – you may have lost in the last year.

However, the best judge on how well your detox is going will present itself in how well or rejuvenated you will actually feel. And of course once you are off the detox, if you make subtle changes with your diet to include more nutrient and fibre rich foods the effects of the recharge will remain longer and hopefully give you that energy boost and clear head you were looking for.

Tag me at #taystesg if you tried out this summer detox!

Clean and soothe detox tri-vege soup dinner

4 portions (for a detox over 2 days)

Ingredients

3 stalks celery
5 cloves garlic minced
450 g daikon
1 carrot

1.5 to 2 litres of filtered water

Flavouring choices for the soup base –  1)Salt and pepper, 2)Miso stirred in at the end or 3) add tomato paste with a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Instructions

Prepare vegetables, chop celery, slice carrots and daikon. Mince the garlic cloves.

To a pot with 1.5 to 2 litres of water add the vegetables and garlic. Simmer on low heat for 25 mins.

To finish detox tri-vege soup use either one of these methods for flavouring the stock.

1)Salt and pepper 2)white or red miso stirred in at the end after fire is turned off 3)tomato paste with a dash of worchestershire sauce.

Serve!