I love butter beans and, unlike some other pulses, they don’t give you wind! They are a fabulous source of protein, high in fibre and mineral-dense. If you make too much of this purée, add chickpeas to it and you have a youthing houmous! MAKES ABOUT 250G / SERVES 4
100g dried butter beans
½ garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
Himalayan or Celtic salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 To cook the butter beans, soak overnight in cold filtered water. Rinse under filtered water. Pour them into a measuring jug and make a note of their volume.
2 Place in a large pan with double their volume of filtered water and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender. Do not add salt. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
3 To make the purée, place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse-blend, adding splashes of cooking liquid as you need them, until you have a purée with a consistency you like. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. This can take a lot of seasoning, but don’t go too mad with the salt.
High in fibre and with the ability to neutralise potential toxins, cauliflower is a must-have in any detox. This is a deliciously creamy way of eating it and is wonderful as a side dish with fish or chicken. SERVES 4
1 cauliflower
freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
250ml almond milk
1 Break up the cauliflower with your fingers or a knife, place it in a steamer and steam for eight to 10 minutes, or until soft.
2 Place in a blender with black pepper, the nutmeg and almond milk. Blend to a smooth purée.
If you want something more exotic than regular potato chips, sweet potatoes are the way to go. They taste deliciously vibrant, are rich in antioxidants and will keep your gut in great shape. They’re also thought to help your body produce sex hormones (via the carotenes they contain) and boost the thyroid, which is your metabolic marker and energiser. This is as youthful as it gets! SERVES 4
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp avocado or coconut oil, melted, to taste
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Begin by tossing the sweet potato wedges in the paprika and oil.
2 Tumble into a shallow roasting tin and bake for 20–35 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp outside but tender within.
Another great way of using cauliflower. Its detox effects will keep your liver healthy, your skin clear and your gut running optimally. Keep eating it in any way you can. SERVES 4
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
½ tsp coconut oil, melted
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
2 Whizz the cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. Toss in the oil and transfer to a baking sheet.
3 Roast for 15–20 minutes, until golden and tender.
I went to Greece when I was 17 and fell in love… with aubergine! Baked, stuffed, dried, in moussaka, you name it, I ate it. This dish is light but filling and mixes my favourite ingredient with nori seaweed, which is therapeutically powerful. SERVES 2
150g coconut flesh, chopped
1 medium aubergine
1 medium courgette
10g sesame seeds
10g black poppy seeds
15g pine nuts
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp mixed chopped parsley and basil leaves
1 sheet of nori seaweed
1 Blitz the coconut in a food processor until ground.
2 Slice the aubergine into long thin strips, about 5mm thick, using a mandolin or a very sharp knife.
3 Using a vegetable peeler, slice the courgette iengthways into ribbons.
4 Mix the seeds, pine nuts and coconut together with the olive oil, lime juice and herbs.
5 Cook the aubergine and courgette by dry-frying them on a hot griddle. Don’t over-cook them; they should remain firm.
6 Put a courgette slice on a board, place an aubergine slice on top, then put some coconut mixture in the middle and roll. Cut a strip from a nori sheet, wet it, and wrap it around the roll to hold it together.
7 Repeat to make more rolls, then serve immediately.
Avocado is pretty much a mainstay of my diet. I eat it as often as I can. I love the taste; while its creamy texture lends itself well to smoothies and salads and is simply delicious in this traditional guacamole. Avocado contains a rich supply of vitamins, twice as much potassium as a banana and is rich in omega fatty acids to keep skin youthful and hair luscious. SERVES 4–6
66g pumpkin seeds
2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
230g cooked peas
1 garlic clove
large handful of mint leaves
finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan or Celtic salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 Gently toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan.
2 Blend everything in a food processor for 30–45 seconds; the mixture should retain a slightly chunky texture.
Beetroot is a powerful detoxer that revitalises your whole system. It’s packed with iron, calcium, magnesium and other important minerals, bursting with wonderful antioxidants, vitamins and anti-inflammatories and full of fibre for great gut youthing. Made like this, you can eat a good amount of it on Mixed seed crackers, with fish or raw vegetables. SERVES 4
2 beetroots
2 spring onions, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 Put the beetroots in a saucepan, cover with filtered water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes, then drain and cool. Peel (you might want to protect your hands as beetroot stains), then cut into 1cm dice.
2 Mix with the spring onions and lemon juice.
Fenugreek has a bittersweet maple syrupy flavour and is often used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. It can reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol and blood sugar levels, so helps to protect against diabetes. This curry is deliciously hot (thanks to the nigella and chilli) as a side dish, but just add some broccoli, cauliflower or other fresh veg if you want to stretch it into a main to serve more people. SERVES 4–6 (DEPENDING IF IT’S A SIDE OR A MAIN)
2 sweet potatoes
2 onions
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tsp fenugreek leaves
½ tsp chilli flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)
1½ tbsp raisins (optional)
1 Peel the sweet potato and chop into 5cm squares. Peel and slice the onions quite finely.
2 Heat a pan (woks are good) and melt the coconut oil. Add the nigella seeds, wait until they crackle, then add the onions. Stir a few times, then add 50ml of filtered water. The onions should steam-fry for about three minutes, or until translucent.
3 Add the turmeric, fenugreek and chilli flakes, stir and wait for a minute. Add the sweet potatoes and 350ml more filtered water. Keep an eye on the mixture as it simmers; the water will reduce, but the curry should still be liquid at this stage. As the sweet potatoes begin to soften, add the raisins for a sweeter taste (if you want). At this point you can also add any greens you want, such as broccoli florets or chopped courgette, to make it more of a main course. Cook until all the vegetables are just tender, then serve.
This is a lovely way to eat courgettes and get vitamins A and C, knowing full well you’re also helping to reduce cholesterol and inflammation in the body. Yummy! SERVES 4
4 courgettes
4 garlic cloves
basil leaves
1 Wash the courgettes and slice at an angle about 1cm thick. Slice the garlic thinly at an angle.
2 Heat a cast-iron griddle pan. Put the courgette slices on it until they start to brown, then turn with a pair of tongs and repeat. At the last minute throw on the garlic slices until they also brown slightly.
3 Take the courgettes out of the pan and put into a bowl with the garlic and basil to serve.
To stay youthful, your immune system needs to be strong, which is where broccoli comes in. It’s also a mood food, rich in folic acid and other B-vitamins for your nervous system, and containing tryptophan which helps your body to produce the feel-good hormone serotonin. Sesame seeds can be allergenic, so leave them out if you are concerned; you could add 30g of baked whole chestnuts instead. SERVES 4
1 tsp coconut oil
220g pack of Tenderstem broccoli
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp liquid amino acids
¼ tsp chilli flakes, to serve
1 Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the broccoli. Pour in 1 tbsp of filtered water and steam-fry for two or three minutes, until almost tender.
2 Add the sesame seeds and fry for a further minute to toast. Serve sprinkled with the liquid amino acids and chilli flakes.
Tomatoes are such a lovely versatile vegetable. They contain lycopene which makes our skin less sensitive to UV light damage and so prevents lines and wrinkles. Plus they have vitamin K, calcium and chromium to help regulate blood sugar levels… and I have not even got to the antioxidant value yet! This is a fabulously delicious way to eat them. MAKES 4
4 firm vine tomatoes
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp avocado oil, plus more to drizzle
2 tbsp Creamy ‘cheese’
leaves from a small bunch of basil, chopped
1 tbsp Walnut ‘Parmesan’
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
2 Wash the tomatoes, stand them on their bases and slice off a ‘lid’. Slice a tiny bit off the bases as well, if necessary, so they sit straight. Scoop out the pips and flesh with a dessertspoon (reserve them in a bowl), being careful to make no holes as you don’t want your stuffing to melt out.
3 Finely chop the shallots and garlic and steam-fry with the avocado oil. Add the tomato insides and the ‘cheese’ and mix well together, then add the basil. Stuff all the mixture back into the tomatoes and sprinkle with the walnut ‘Parmesan’. Drizzle with a little avocado oil.
4 Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and cooked through and the topping is golden.
