The Weekend diet should be composed of as much ‘plant’ food as possible: fresh fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts, brown rice and pulses. And remember, of course, 2 litres of water a day! I’ve divided up the recipe suggestions into two sections – one for an autumn or winter detox; the other for a spring or summer cleanse.
reminders and guidelines for an eating plan over the weekend
Peel, top and tail any vegetables or fruit – especially if juicing and using non-organic produce.
Keep the water from steaming or cooking vegetables and use it as stock.
Do not fry in linseed oil. Stir-fry ingredients in a little water first and when the food is cooked, take the pan off the heat and then add the linseed oil. This stops the oil from oxidizing and is healthier. You may substitute olive oil for linseed oil, but use half the recommended amount (cooking with olive oil is allowed occasionally for baking vegetables or making soups).
A little peanut butter, soya or coconut milk may be used in moderation in certain recipes, but the emphasis is on moderation!
Soak nuts, seeds and dried fruit overnight to make them more digestible. Or toast nuts and seeds in a wok/frying pan for one minute (with nothing added) to make them even tastier.
Tamari and black or cayenne pepper can all be used as seasoning – but, again, in moderation.
NOTE ON MEASUREMENTS
In order to simplify the recipes – and so that you don’t have to worry about weighing everything out pedantically, or get stressed as to whether a rented-cottage kitchen is well equipped – I’m using a cup for larger measurements. This is the equivalent of about 250 ml – just under 9 fl oz (or just under ½ pint), and should represent the volume of a standard coffee mug. (I’ll be using cups for ingredients like rice, as well as liquids.)
autumn/winter
breakfast
Breakfast can be as light or filling as you like. Even in winter my breakfast smoothie keeps me going for hours. But if you need something a bit more substantial you can go for porridge with a little soya milk, or any other cereal, as long as it isn’t made from wheat. There are plenty of millet, corn or quinoa alternatives on sale in health shops, but for maximum cleansing try to keep to a fruit, seed and nut only breakfast or the smoothie.
suzi’s smoothie
(per person)
1 apple or pear
1 kiwi fruit
2–3 strawberries, and a few blackberries, blueberries or raspberries – any berries including frozen ones
1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of lecithin granules
1–2 tablespoons of linseed oil
1 tablespoon of soaked golden linseeds, with the water
Handful of ground pumpkin & sunflower seeds
2–4 almonds and 1 brazil nut
Cranberry, apple or any fruit juice if you need more liquid
1 tablespoon of aloe vera juice (optional)
The linseeds should be soaked overnight.
Peel and chop up the fruit, as required. Put all the ingredients in a blender, and whizz up. Add fruit juice if the consistency of the smoothie isn’t quite right. Add a little dried fruit (a date or two) if you really need to increase the sweetness.
lunch
Lunch should be your main meal of the day during a detox, and the earlier the better. And I can’t think of anything better than steamed vegetables and brown rice when it comes to a cleansing meal – especially during the winter! In an ideal world, your evening meal should be a much lighter supper, such as vegetable soup (with a little brown rice added for bulk if necessary). There are sauce suggestions to jazz up the rice, and some alternatives if you really can’t bear it for three days. But, hopefully, you’ll at least try the steamed veg and brown rice.
So how much should you eat? You can choose any vegetables from the list and eat as much of them as you like. Within reason, you can also eat as much brown rice as you like. It’s so good at cleaning your gut, I don’t mind if you eat it all Weekend!
But, if you need a guideline on quantities, try to eat little and often – this is easier on the digestion than waiting till you’re really ravenous and stuffing yourself silly. Make each meal no bigger than the amount of food it would take to fill (generously) your two hands, and you’ll be helping your digestion even more. (And lucky you if you have huge hands!) If you want to eat four small brown-rice-and-steamed-vegetable meals a day, that’s fine. But everyone has a different appetite, and I don’t want you to go to bed hungry and miserable.
SUGGESTED VEGETABLES
These are the most nutritious ones, and they’re well suited to steaming.
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Kale
Cauliflower
Spinach
Bok Choy
Swiss Chard
Green Beans
Mangetouts
Carrots
Fennel
Leeks
Okra
brown rice
Of course there will be cooking instructions on the packet, but here are some tips to help you cook perfect brown rice.
! RICE TOP TIPS
Don’t wash the rice because it has already been cleaned and you may remove important nutrients (remember it contains an oil that helps heal the gut).
Measure the rice by volume not weight. Fill a standard coffee mug with rice and use double this amount of cold water. That should make enough rice for two of you, or for two meals if you’re on your own. If you want to cook more than one meal’s worth just double the quantities: two mugs of rice with four mugs of water.
Use a wide, shallow saucepan with a lid (I use my wok). Once the water has come to the boil, turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting. Leave the lid on and don’t keep lifting it to peek, as this will lengthen the cooking time. Equally, don’t stir the rice – the grains are delicate and if you stir them during cooking they break, releasing the starch inside and turning sticky.
Brown rice usually takes 40–45 minutes to cook. Then take it off the heat and leave the covered pan to stand for a further 5–10 minutes. Fluff up the rice just before serving.
If you’ve cooked extra rice for another meal, leave it to cool right down before putting it in the fridge. This could take up to an hour, depending on the quantity you’ve cooked. The Food Standards Agency advises keeping cooked rice, in the fridge, for no longer than 24 hours but, by their own admission, they are erring on the side of caution because an extremely nasty tummy bug (called Bacillus cereus) can proliferate in warm cooked rice. My advice would be to cook enough for meals over 48 hours and keep the rice in a fridge, in a bowl covered with cling film or in a container with a lid, for no longer than two days. And make sure you heat it through very thoroughly if you’re using it for a hot meal. (To reheat it, put the rice in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and warm through on a gentle heat, shaking the pan from time to time.) Whatever you do DON’T leave cooked rice out overnight in a warm kitchen.
You may find plain brown rice just too boring to have three days in a row, so here are some suggestions to liven it up.
stir – fried rice
(per person)
Small piece (to taste) fresh ginger, finely chopped
2–3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup cooked basmati brown rice
Few dashes of tamari (to taste)
1–2 tablespoons linseed oil
In a wok or large frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of water till it’s simmering (preferably water the vegetables were cooked in). Add the ginger and garlic, then add the rice and stir very fast with a wooden spatula for a few minutes, until the rice is hot through. Add the tamari and oil once the pan is off the heat. (As I’ve already mentioned, this prevents the oil from oxidizing.)
You can add other herbs and spices that you enjoy to the cooking water.
If you need even more excitement, look at these suggestions, which complement brown rice and vegetables.
avocado sauce
(2 portions)
1–2 ripe avocados (1 big one or 2 small ones), peeled and diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
Juice of 1–2 lemons
Dash of Tabasco
Pinch of dried chilli
A little soya or rice milk (optional)
Put all the ingredients in the blender and whizz them up together. Serve the sauce with steamed vegetables and brown rice, either poured over these, or as a side dish. You can make the sauce runnier by adding a little soya or rice milk, or blend it briefly only so it’s thick and chunky.
green sauce
(2 portions)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Ginger (to taste), peeled and chopped
2–3 teaspoons rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 cup chopped fresh coriander
¼ cup of water
2 tablespoons honey
Put all the ingredients into a blender, or use a hand liquidizer, and whizz up till you get a smooth paste. Again, this can be poured over the rice and vegetables.
healthy tomato sauce
(4 portions)
1 red onion, chopped
2 cups water/stock
½ teaspoon fresh red chillies, finely chopped and deseeded
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, off the stalks
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 standard cans (2 × 400 g) chopped tomatoes (with juice)
Nori flakes or tamari as salt substitute and pepper (to taste)
Bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped or torn
Linseed/olive oil to taste
Cook the chopped onion in a couple of tablespoons of the water or stock till it starts softening. Add the chillies, oregano and garlic. Simmer for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and remaining water/stock. Leave to simmer for a further 30 minutes. Add salt flavouring (if required) and the fresh basil. Remove the pan from the heat and add a little oil to taste.
All you need to do for the next two sauces is pop all the ingredients into a blender, and whizz them up until you get the consistency you prefer.
sundried tomato sauce
(2 portions)
A small jar (250 g) sundried tomatoes, drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons linseed oil
Add any herbs you like. (I love this with fresh basil.)
spinach & basil pesto
(2 portions)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Nori flakes or tamari and pepper to taste
¼ cup sunflower seeds
⅓ cup pine nuts
1 bunch fresh basil
2 cups fresh spinach
1–2 tablespoons linseed oil
The next three side dishes will make brown rice and vegetables a protein-complete meal, and a lot more exciting. Pulses such as chickpeas are needed to turn a carbohydrate-based meal – such as brown rice and vegetables – into a protein-rich meal. It won’t hurt you to live without animal protein for three days. You’ll be getting enough protein from the seeds and nuts you’ll be snacking on between meals, and more than enough from the following dishes. If you intend to follow this plan for much longer than three days, it’s definitely worth giving these suggestions a whirl.
tahini sauce (my favourite)
(per person)
1 tablespoon tahini paste (lightest and runniest you can find)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice of 1–2 lemons
A little soya or rice milk (if needed)
Just whizz up in the blender and pour over the steamed vegetables and brown rice.
hummus
(2 portions)
1 standard can cooked chickpeas, drained
Juice of 1–2 lemons (to taste)
1–2 teaspoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1–2 tablespoons olive or linseed oil
Parsley for decoration
Tamari and pepper (to taste)
Again, just put all the ingredients into the blender and whizz up. You can drizzle a little olive oil over the hummus once it’s blended, and keep it in the fridge. This is a protein-packed side dish, which can be eaten with raw vegetables (and salads in summer) or served with hot rice and vegetables.
dhal
(2 servings)
1 cup dried red lentils
Tamari (to taste)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 fresh chillies, deseeded
1 tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon linseed oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Fresh coriander (to taste)
Wash the lentils in a sieve in cold water until it runs clear. Put them in a pan and cover them with cold water to about 2 inches above the lentils. Bring the water to the boil – skim off the foam that appears. Then simmer the lentils until they become mushy; if they get too thick, add more water. Add tamari and half of the turmeric powder. Split the chillies into four and add these and the chopped tomato to the lentils. Meanwhile heat 1 tablespoon of water/stock in a separate pan. Put in the cumin seeds, remaining turmeric powder, onion and garlic and cook till soft. Then add all these to the dhal, plus the chopped coriander. Simmer on a low heat for 40–60 minutes, with the lid on. Add water if needed to prevent sticking. Add the linseed oil when the pan is off the heat.
vegetable dishes
You’ll notice olive oil creeping into these recipes. You can’t use linseed oil for cooking, so use olive oil instead for roasting vegetables, and for some of the soups. You can always add a little water (but NOT when the oil is already hot and on its own in the pan, as it will spit) to make it go further.
crispy broccoli
I’m including this recipe because it’s yummy and broccoli is simply the best, nutritionally! You can try this with any other vegetables to spruce them up a bit.
(1–2 servings)
1–2 head broccoli, broken into florets
Olive oil
Nori flakes and pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Just pop the broccoli florets into a baking tray, and drizzle the oil and sprinkle the spices and sesame seeds all over them. Bake on a medium heat till they’ve gone all crispy – usually for 10–20 minutes.
You can also do this with any vegetables you have left over after steaming them.
ROOT VEGETABLES
Carrots (top of the crops!)
Turnips
Parsnips
Swede
Celeriac
Sweet Potato
Root vegetables will be in season at this time of the year but they don’t steam very successfully (apart from carrots) and need to be baked in lots of olive oil to be really interesting. They are also very high in starch and quite challenging for the digestion. However, in moderation, they are a good substitute, especially if you can’t tolerate brown rice. Roots can either be baked as above, or boiled and mashed up with a little olive oil and flavourings.
suzi’s mild vegetable curry
This is really a cross between a stew and soup and is a good one to make when you have loads of vegetables that you want to cook in one go. Perfect for a detox weekend!
The longer and slower the curry cooks the tastier it becomes (and especially if you leave it overnight to marinate). Use a nice big saucepan and just keep adding chopped vegetables till the pan’s nearly full, making sure you add enough stock so that the veg is well covered by liquid. You can always add more stock and flavouring later, if it starts to look too thick.
(3–4 portions)
Broccoli, carrots, fennel, 1–2 sweet potatoes, okra, parsnips, leeks, kale – any mixture of vegetables you like, peeled and cubed.
Juice of 1 lime
1 mango, chopped into tiny pieces
Fresh coriander, chopped (to taste)
2 fresh red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
Ginger (to taste), finely chopped
2 teaspoons Garam Masala
2 cups (about 1 pint) vegetable stock (or more!)
2 tablespoons either coconut milk or almond flakes. (Add to taste.)
In a jug, mix the lime juice, mango, spices and herbs together and set to one side. Make enough vegetable stock (from leftover cooking water or from a vegetable stock cube) to cover all the cubed vegetables in a large saucepan. Add the mixture of juice, spices and herbs, and stir through. Simmer on a very low heat, with the lid on, for about an hour. After that, if possible, leave it sitting on the stove (with the heat off) till needed to give all the spices and herbs further time to seep into the vegetables. Heat the curry up, add the coconut milk or almond flakes at the last minute, and serve with cooked basmati brown rice. You might like to sprinkle sesame seeds over the stew to add a little protein.
thai sauce
If you don’t like Indian food, you can make a stew very similar to the above curry (and which will also see you through the Weekend) using Thai spices instead. Again, cook any combination of vegetables you like in at least 1 pint (2 mugs) of stock to make sure they’re well covered, adding this sauce.
1 onion, finely chopped
1–2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Galangal (a lovely sweet ginger) (to taste)
1 stick lemon grass, finely chopped
3–4 fresh lime leaves
Sweet basil (to taste)
1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon coconut milk
Put all the ingredients in the blender and whizz them up. If necessary, add more coconut or soya milk to make the sauce runnier. The sauce will keep in the fridge to use later. This is so much nicer than any of the shop-bought ready-made Thai sauces and the spices are all good detoxifiers! It’s quite strong, so add to your stew to taste.
soups for supper
red pepper soup
(2 portions)
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon chilli powder or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cans tinned tomatoes (with juice)
5 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon honey
1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 red peppers, deseeded and diced
½ cup coconut milk
Tamari and pepper (to taste)
Cook the onion, garlic, sweet potato, all the spices (apart from the chillies) and seasoning in a couple of tablespoons of water for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, tomatoes, vegetable stock, honey and chillies. Simmer until the potato is cooked. Take off the heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. In another saucepan, sauté the peppers in the remaining oil (just this once!) till soft. Add the peppers to the soup, plus the coconut milk and any more seasoning. Purée when cool. Serve hot with polenta slices – just delicious.
carrot and coriander soup
(2 portions)
1 large red onion, chopped
1–2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (set a couple of stalks aside as garnish)
6 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable stock
Cayenne pepper and tamari to taste
Fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, marjoram and chopped coriander and cook for a further minute. Then add the carrots and sweet potato and sauté for a minute or two. Transfer everything to a big saucepan. Add the vegetable stock to the pot and bring to the boil. Simmer until the carrots and the sweet potato are soft. Add seasoning to taste. Purée when cool. Reheat and garnish with coriander to serve.
healthy vegetable soup
(1–2 portions)
You can also make a filling and warming soup by first dissolving an organic vegetable stock cube in 2 cups (1 pint) of boiling water and, once the cube is dissolved, adding the stock to a saucepan containing any combination of chopped-up vegetables you fancy. Add garlic, herbs and seasoning and leave to simmer on a very low heat for an hour or so, making sure the vegetables are well covered by the liquid. You’ll notice there is no oil used in this soup, which makes it a little less tasty but much more cleansing! If you want to bulk the soup up, add a handful of pulses, such as lentils or chickpeas, and a handful of brown basmati rice. This would make a complete protein and carbohydrate meal.
alternatives to rice
MILLET
Millet, as you’ve seen in chapter 5, is the king of the grains when it comes to detoxing. Millet usually needs more water to cook in than rice – 3 cups of water to 1 cup of millet – but check the instructions on the packet. You can add millet to soups and stews or cook it on its own to eat with one of the side dishes as a cleansing alternative to rice. To improve its texture and make it tastier, you might like to toast it in a little oil before cooking.
millet with squash
(4 servings)
½ red onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli, diced
¼ medium squash or pumpkin, peeled and cubed
2 cups millet
6 cups water
Seasoning to taste
Toasted sesame seeds
Put all the vegetables at the bottom of a large saucepan. Add the millet, water and seasoning. Cover the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir through and serve with tahini sauce or sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.
QUINOA
Quinoa doubles in size when it’s cooked, so you don’t need to start off with much of it.
quinoa and vegetable sauce
(1–2 servings)
½ cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
½ bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped
Any vegetables you fancy, chopped finely. Peppers are good for this dish.
1 standard can chopped tomatoes, with juice
Place the quinoa in a pan with the water and bring to the boil. Simmer on low for 10–15 minutes, then strain the quinoa and set it aside. Meanwhile, in another pan fry the onion in the olive oil until it’s soft, then add the coriander and chilli. After a further minute, add all the vegetables, cover and sweat for 5–10 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes. Try to time it so that the quinoa’s ready at the right moment, or warm it gently through. Serve with the vegetables on top.
POLENTA
Now this is a really tasty alternative to brown rice and, as it’s made from corn, is entirely suitable for use during the Weekend.
polenta with olives and sun-dried tomatoes
(2 servings)
4 cups soya milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
Tamari (to taste)
1½ cups polenta
10 black olives, stoned and finely chopped
6 sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch fresh basil, finely chopped
Combine the soya milk, olive oil and tamari in a big saucepan. Bring this to the boil, reduce the heat to low and then slowly pour in the polenta, whisking it constantly. After 3 minutes, add the chopped-up olives, sun-dried tomatoes and most of the basil. Stir for another minute, then take the pan off the heat. The mash should be creamy in texture, like porridge. If it isn’t, add more soya milk or water.
Transfer the polenta into a baking tray and smooth it out using the back of a spoon. Leave it to cool for a few hours. It hardens up to a quiche-type consistency and you’ll then easily be able to cut it into pieces. Heat it up by popping slices under the grill. It’s delicious as a snack and with soups (or served with a big salad in summer). Garnish it with basil leaves.
puddings
I haven’t mentioned puddings because there aren’t any really healthy substitutes for home-made apple pie or fudge ice cream! We’re trying to break the need for sweet things this Weekend, but if you’re really miserable and craving a pudding, snack on dried fruit and nuts – in moderation. As a winter dessert, pop a couple of pears or apples on to a tray and bake them until soft in the oven. Drizzle honey over them once they are cooked. Add some seeds, and you have a wonderfully healthy and warming winter pud!
spring/summer
You should be able to make raw fruit, vegetables, juices and cold soups the mainstay of your Plan at this time of year. There are also suggestions on more filling meals if you need them. Brown rice is still important for its cleansing properties so, even if you only use it in a salad, make sure you eat sufficient amounts of it throughout the Weekend, as well as nuts, seeds and pulses.
breakfast
Again, you can start the day with a handful of nuts, seeds and fruit or Suzi’s Smoothie. You may want to kick off the day with a juice as well.
juices
If you have a juicer, you can juice almost any fruit or vegetable you like. If you don’t have one, don’t panic –fruits will benefit you almost as much if they are liquidized or blended. But you can’t really successfully liquidize or blend raw vegetables. So if you’re keen to have juice-only meals this Weekend make sure you add a teaspoon of spirulina or freeze-dried wheat grass to your fruit blend to make up for the lack of green vegetables. (These ‘wonder foods’ are available at most health shops.)
SUZI’S 3 FAVOURITE JUICES
For these suggestions you will obviously need a juicer. Raw vegetables liquidized in a blender just won’t taste as nice. (However, if you don’t have a juicer and really want to try these, you can always chop the vegetables up into very, very small pieces, and make sure the juice is sweet enough by adding more chopped apple or a little honey. You may also need to add more water if it’s too thick to drink.)
If you are using a juicer, you don’t need to peel your fruit and veg and can even include the rind and pith of the lemon. (But if you’re using a blender, make sure you’ve peeled, cored and diced all the ingredients.)
Quantities are per person.
detoxifier
4 carrots
¼ large cucumber
1 cup spinach leaves
1–2 teaspoons aloe vera juice
OR:
4 carrots
1 apple
1 head broccoli
1 stalk fennel
2 sticks celery
Fresh ginger to taste
A little lemon to taste
liver supporter
This is a mixture of the ‘liver flush’ and a juice that will help support the liver.
½ raw beetroot (peeled)
2 sticks celery
2 apples
4 carrots
¼ lemon (including the rind and pith)
½ grapefruit
Fresh ginger to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
(Don’t worry if after drinking this juice you notice your wee or poos are a bit red – it’s the effect of the beetroot, and it’s quite normal!)
afternoon pick-me-up
4 slices pineapple
½ cup filtered water
½ cucumber
2 red apples
1 heaped teaspoon spirulina or wheatgrass
Fresh ginger to taste
summer soups
gazpacho
(2 servings)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3–4 tomatoes, peeled and deseeded
1 red pepper, deseeded
1 cucumber
1–2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
3–4 tablespoons olive or linseed oil
2 cloves garlic
½ carton tomato juice
Tamari and pepper to taste
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Fresh parsley and basil, marjoram or thyme
Purée or blend the chopped onion, tomatoes, half the red pepper, and half the cucumber and transfer to a large bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, tomato juice, and seasoning to taste. Finely chop the spring onions, the rest of the cucumber and red pepper and fresh herbs and sprinkle over the soup. Refrigerate for two hours. Delicious and cooling in the summer and quite filling. Add sunflower or sesame seeds instead of croutons!
spinach and avocado chilled soup
(2 servings)
1 large packet (500 g) fresh spinach
2 cups soya milk
2 cups vegetable stock
2 big ripe avocados
Dash of Tabasco
Juice of 2 limes
Tamari and pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish
Chop the stalks off the spinach, wash the leaves and place them in a pan with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the soya milk and stock. Bring to the boil, cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool, then purée and pour into a bowl. Peel and stone the avocados and purée them with a little of the soup. Stir this into the rest of the soup. Cover the bowl with cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Before serving, add the Tabasco and lime juice, and any seasoning required, and garnish with parsley.
cleansing watercress soup
(2 servings)
3 cups vegetable stock
3–4 spring onions, finely chopped
Mixed fresh herbs, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced
2 bunches watercress, chopped
½ cup soya milk
Lemon or lime juice to taste
Tamari and pepper to taste
Heat one cup of stock in a large pan. Add the spring onions and herbs, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato and the rest of the stock to the saucepan, cover and simmer for another 20 minutes, or till the potato is cooked. Add the watercress to the pan and simmer for a further two minutes. Take the pan off the heat and add the soya milk. Stir well and leave till cool. Then blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Reheat, and add the lemon or lime juice and seasoning to taste before serving. Or refrigerate for two hours to serve chilled.
cooked veg dishes
vegetable skewers with thai satay sauce
Allow enough vegetables to fill 2 skewers per person.
Cut into cubes aubergines, courgettes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, peppers, onions and tomatoes – any combination you fancy. Put them on skewers, brush them with olive oil and pop the skewers under the grill for a few minutes on each side.
For the Thai satay sauce, mix 2 teaspoons of peanut butter (as organic and salt-free as possible!) with 1 teaspoon of the Thai sauce in the Winter section, and up to a tablespoon of water or soya milk to thin it, if needed. Either pour this over the hot skewers, or dip the cubes into it, one by one! Serve with a portion of brown rice for extra bulk.
colourful baked vegetables
(2 servings)
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 aubergine
2 courgettes
1 large red onion
4 tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Tamari and pepper to taste
1–2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon, or 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
Deseed the peppers and slice them into quarters. Cut the aubergine, courgettes, onion and tomatoes into small chunks and put them all in a baking tin. Sprinkle plenty of crushed garlic, tamari and pepper and pour a little olive oil all over them, and bake at a low to medium heat till cooked and slightly brown – usually about 45 minutes. You may need to add a little more oil to stop the veg from burning. Once cooked, dress the vegetables with lemon juice or brown rice vinegar and a little more olive oil. Leave them to cool in the pan in the marinade. Serve with basmati brown rice and a dollop of hummus or tahini sauce on top.
salads
First of all, here are a couple of dressings that should make you enjoy even more those lovely and healthy summer salads.
cheat’s mayo
I can’t tell you how delicious this is and there isn’t a trace of an egg in it. If you’re missing your mayonnaise or creamy dressing and are going to eat a lot of salads over the Weekend, try this. Make sure you only use silken tofu or it’s quite revolting!
1 teaspoon capers
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon French mustard
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
Tamari to taste
1–2 tablespoons olive or linseed oil
10 oz silken tofu (usually ½ large packet)
(Soya milk or water to thin mixture if necessary)
Just combine all the ingredients in a blender and adjust the quantities for taste and texture.
french dressing
2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
Dash lemon juice
½ teaspoon honey
Pinch mustard powder
1 clove garlic, crushed
Tamari to taste
3–4 tablespoons olive or linseed oil
Put all the ingredients in a screw-top glass jar (put the lid back on!) and shake vigorously. You can keep the jar in the fridge for the Weekend – just give it a good shake before using it.
a medley of raw vegetables
Make up a platter of raw carrot batons, broccoli florets, green beans, sliced peppers – anything you fancy! – and serve it with hummus or any other side dish, plus one of the suggested dressings.
suzi’s summer salad
This is my favourite summer salad.
(2 servings)
1 packet mixed salad leaves
1 bunch watercress
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ green pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 ripe avocado, sliced
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
Combine the mixed salad leaves, watercress and carrot in a large dish. Arrange the pepper and avocado on top of these. Sprinkle over the spring onions and sundried tomatoes. Add your favourite dressing.
suzi’s summer salad #2
(2 servings)
1 small packet fine green beans
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 stalk fennel, finely sliced
1 small cooked beetroot, peeled and finely sliced
½ cucumber, finely sliced
1 packet mixed salad leaves
2 spring onions, chopped
Steam the green beans and broccoli and leave to cool. Arrange the finely sliced carrots, fennel, beetroot and cucumber on a bed of salad leaves. Sprinkle the chopped spring onions and drizzle one of the suggested dressings all over. Add slices of avocado and some sesame seeds or pine nuts to make this salad more substantial. You can also substitute any other green vegetables you love for the beans and broccoli.
aduki bean salad with avocado sauce
(2 side portions)
1 standard tin (410 g, 220 g drained) cooked aduki beans, drained and rinsed
½ cucumber, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
Fresh basil and chives to taste
Avocado sauce (as explained in Winter section)
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, and add the avocado dressing.
mixed pulses salad
(2 side portions)
1 standard tin cooked mixed beans
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and add a dressing to make a tasty and cleansing side salad.
quinoa salad
(2 servings)
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 red onion
1 red pepper
½ cucumber
3 tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped mint
French dressing
Rinse the quinoa well and strain. Put it into a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring this to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 10–15 minutes. Then take the pan off the heat and leave it to cool. Strain if necessary. Peel the vegetables and dice them into tiny cubes. Mix these and the herbs into the cooled quinoa in a salad bowl and drizzle the dressing over.
brown rice and shitake mushroom salad
(2 servings)
1 red onion, chopped
1 punnet shitake mushrooms, sliced
2 big tomatoes, diced
½ cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 spring onions, chopped
1 cup cooked brown rice
Sauté the onion in a little olive oil, till golden and soft. Then add the mushrooms and sauté till cooked. Leave them to cool, before combining all the ingredients in a bowl and adding dressing.
puddings
If you’re really missing your pud and need something sweet, you can have a little ‘live’ yogurt with honey, or chopped fruit, or seeds and nuts. Or all of them combined, which would make your pudding almost a meal in itself!