Last Updated on 12/05/2024 by Jennifer

“GREEN FOOD IDEAS”

This is a rebuilding diet. It is used to alkalinise the body, lose weight, clear the skin and cleanse the liver. For 40 days eat only green foods. That means loads, steamed greens, avocados, sprouts, green olives and mung beans.Green fruits such as honeydew, green apples and green grapes can be included. Yogi ta can be drunk through this fast. Once a week, if you feel like you need protein eat a handful of nuts and a portion of cooked grains but don’t overdo it. When you break the fast first add fruits, then grains, and finally dairy.

FRESH VEG JUICES FROM THE JUICER

Drinking fresh vegetable juice is the quickest and easiest way to build up your immune system. Because juice has no fibre in it, within 15 minutes all the nutrition has been absorbed into your cells. We like to keep our fresh juices at least 80% veg, and we usually use apple to sweeten and a squeeze of lime or a piece of fresh ginger or turmeric to add another dimension. Some great veg juice are : oak choe, celery, cucumber, carrot, beetroot, fennel, kale cabbage, white radish. A good rule of thumb is: the greener the juice the healthier it is! 

 

GREEN MONSTER

1 cucumber

1 head off celery

A handful of spinach

Kale or green cabbage

2 apples

Juice of 1 lime

 

GREEN SMOOTHIE

1/2 Cantaloup melon

1 banana

1 thumb size piece of ginger

1 handful fresh spinach

Almond milk/water

 

 

Fruit Salad with Peanut Butter Dressing

This is a seriously good breakfast!

Start with the dressing and mix the ingredients together.

For the dressing

4 tablespoons peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)

2 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons oil oil, rape, coconut, sunflower – whatever oil you like

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

a pinch of ground ginger (optional)

a pinch of sea salt (optional)

a few tablespoons cold water (optional)

Then add the fruit.

• 1kg fresh fruit, whatever takes your fancy, ideally green for the green detox

For example:

Peel and chop the bananas and kiwis. Core the

• 2 bananas

apples and pears and cut into bite-size pieces. Take

• 2 kiwis

the grapes off their stalks.

• 2 apples

Put all the fruit into a bowl. Stir the dressing, pour it

• 2 pears

over the fruit, and mix gently.

a handful of grapes

1 punnet of berries

 

 

 

Green Vegetable Soup for example below

 

IRISH ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP from Happy Pear.

A smooth, sweet and substantial soup. Lovely hints from the white wine, rosemary and parsnip come through too.

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 of a celeriac

2 carrots

2 leeks

2 parsnips

2 potatoes

3 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

4 tablespoons white wine

70 g kale

2.5 litres vegetable stock or water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons finely chopped curley parsley

Peel and finely dice the onion, garlic and celeriac. Cut the carrots and leeks into 2cm slices and cut the parsnips and potatoes into bite – size pieces.

Pour the oil into a large family-size pan and put on a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celeriac and carrots. Add the salt ands pepper and stir. Cover with a lid, turn the heat to low, and cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the leeks, parsnips, potatoes, the leaves from the sprigs of rosemary, the bay leaves from the sprigs of rosemary, the bay leaves and the white wine and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times to prevent anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Remove the tough stems from the kale and roughly shred the leaves into bite-size pieces. Add to the soup with the stock and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

Remove the soup from the heat and blend until smooth, using a stick blender. If it seems a little thick, add a drop of water to reach the desired consistency.

 

LENTIL AND SPINACH SOUP

This soup works really well if you make it with yellow split peas or dried green peas, as well as with greens like spinach, cabbage and Swiss chard.

Serves 6-8

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

2 medium onions

2 cloves garlic

olive oil

a thumb sized piece of fresh root ginger

1/2 -1 fresh red chilli

10 cherry tomatoes

2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes

300g red lentils

200g spinach

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

200g natural yoghurt

 

To make your soup

Peel and roughly slice the carrots

Slice the celery

Peel and roughly chop the onions

Peel and slice the garlic

Put a large pan on a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden sppon

Cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onions are slightly golden

Meanwhile peel and finely slice thew ginger

Deseed and slice the chilli

Remove the stalks from the cherry tomatoes and slice the tomatoes in half

Put the stock cubes into a jug or pan and pour in 1.8 litres of boiling water from the kettle

Stir until the stock cubes are dissolved then add to the pan with the lentils, ginger, chilli and tomatoes

Give the soup a good stir and bring to the boil

Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on, or until the lentils are cooked

Add the spinach and continue to cook for 30 seconds

Season well with salt and pepper

 

Delicious served with a dollop of natural yoghurt on top.

 

 

 

 

 

GREEN SALADS

KALE SALAD

• 1 batch Roasted Chickpeas
• 1 bunch curly kale, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 small red beet, grated*
•  radish, very thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• Sea salt & Freshly ground black pepper

Carrot Ginger Dressing

• ½ cup chopped roasted carrots, from 3/4 cup raw carrots
• 1/3 to ½ cup water
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• Make the dressing and roast the chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the chickpeas with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with pinches of salt and pepper. Place the carrot pieces for the dressing in their own corner on the baking sheet to roast alongside the chickpeas. Roast for 25 to minutes, or until the chickpeas are browned and crisp and the carrots are soft. Set the roasted chickpeas aside. Transfer the carrots to a blender and add the water, olive oil, rice vinegar, ginger, and salt. Blend the dressing until smooth and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
• Place the kale leaves into a large bowl and drizzle with the lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Use your hands to massage the leaves until they become soft and wilted and reduce in the bowl by about half.
• Add the carrot, beet, watermelon radish, half of the cubed avocado, cranberries, pepitas, a few more good pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper, and toss. Drizzle generously with the carrot ginger dressing. Top with the remaining avocado, more dressing, the roasted chickpeas and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Season to taste and serve.

Notes

• Make the dressing ahead so it has time to chill in the fridge before adding to the salad.

Salad Variations

• Toss in some cheese. Sprinkle in feta cheese or shaved Parmesan cheese for a salty bite.
• Roast the veg. Add sliced roasted beets or roasted carrots instead of grated raw ones.
• Change the protein. Swap out the chickpeas for baked tempeh, tofu, or lentils.
• Add a grain like quinoa or farro for a heartier salad.
• Switch up the seeds. Replace the pepitas with toasted sunflower seeds, or try a nut like toasted almonds, pecans, or walnuts instead.
• Try a different dressing.

DRESSINGS

MINT AND BASIL DRESSING

Goes well on a simple green salad. Or over some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Works well combinations of leafy herbs.

75ml olive oil

75ml unrefined sunflower oil

25ml lemon juice

Leaves from 5 sprigs of fresh mint

Leaves from 3 sprigs of basil

1/2 teaspoon salt.

COURGETTE FRITTERS

These are easy to make and very tasty, the portion is quite small, so they work best alongside a salad.

Ingredients

300g courgettes

1/2 red chilli

The green tops of a bunch of scallions/spring onions (approx 6)

140g of tinned butter beans (35g per portion)

Small bunch of fresh mint/coriander (20g)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tsp lemon zest

9 tbsp gram flour (chickpea flour available online or in most health food stores

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

• Grate the courgettes into a colander, sprinkle them with a pinch of salt, squeeze in your hands for 30 seconds or so and leave to sit in the colander for about 10 minutes. This is to help the courgettes lose moisture.
• In the meantime, finely chop the chilli (remove the seeds if you don’t like it spicy) and finely chop the scallions greens/spring onion greens. Drain and rinse the tinned butter beans. Finely chop the mint/coriander leaves too.
• After leaving the courgettes to sit for 10 mins, using your hands, squeeze all the juice out of the courgettes and discard the liquid, place the courgettes in a large bowl.
• Add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix thoroughly mashing all the ingredients together. Use a potato masher/fork, if you don’t like to use your hands, to mash. Using your hands, take the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of the batter and roll them into small fritters (disk shape).
• Put a non-stick pan on a high heat. Add tablespoons of oil and leave to heat up. Once hot add the fritters and cook for a few minutes on each side till they go golden brown (approx 2 minutes on each side). Repeat until they are all cooked and lastly, enjoy!

 

Nettle Soup

Nettles are delicious once you get past all those prickles. The flavour is similar to a mild spinach, and nettles are amazing at fighting inflammation and contain a ton of nutrients like potassium, calcium, vitamin A, iron, magnesium, and the elusive vitamin B-6. The secret to utilising nettles is simply to cook them- once cooked, the prickles disappear and the histamines that make you sneeze and itch are removed.

The best time to harvest stinging nettles is in the spring when they’re young and tender. Avoid harvesting them after they’ve started to flower as the leaves can become bitter and tough. Use a pair of scissors or garden shears to cut the tops of the nettles, leaving a few inches of stem attached.

 

Nettle Soup

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

3 potatoes

1 leek
Several large handfuls stinging nettle tops
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
8 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Wild garlic or wild leek can also be added.

Directions

• Carefully pick nettles its best to pick them in an area away from cars and pollution– gloves are recommended. Take only the top 4-6 inches of new unblemished spring plants that are less than 18 inches tall. Remove the leaves. Rinse in cold water, blanche in boiling water for 30 seconds then rinse again in cold water. Handle with gloves or tongs.
• In a large soup pan heat the oil, add the onion and garlic and simmer until translucent.
• Add the carrots, celery and leeks and cook on a low heat with the lid on the pot for 10 mins, stirring to prevent veggies sticking to the pot.
• Add the vegetable broth, potatoes and nettles leaves in the soup pan and bring to a full boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. At this point we use an immersion blender and blend until smooth if desired.
• Add salt and pepper (and any other herbs you like) and simmer a few more minutes.

 

 

Easy Green Goddess Dressing

This homemade green goddess dressing recipe is so easy to make! It’s creamy, fresh, completely delicious—and a great way to use up your leafy herbs. Recipe yields about 1 1/4 cups dressing; multiply if desired.