8 Detox Diet Soups

Corn and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
7 1⁄2 cups of vegetable stock
2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 medium sweet potato diced
1 lb corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
Sea salt
Lime wedges to serve

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large soup pan and gently fry the onion
until soft (approximately 5 minutes).  Add the garlic and
gently fry for another 2 minutes.  Add 1/14 cups of
vegetable stock to the pan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat
and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the cumin and diced sweet
potato and simmer a further 10 minutes.  Season to taste
and add the corn and remaining stock.  Simmer approximately
10 minutes.

Remove soup from heat and let cool slightly.  Transfer half
of the soup to a blender or food processor and blend until
smooth.  Stir the smooth soup into the pan and mix together
with the chunky remaining soup and gently stir together.

Serve into warm bowls with lime wedges on the side.

Fresh Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

3 lbs of sun ripened tomatoes
1 2/3 cups of vegetable stock
3 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Fresh chopped basil leaves (about a handful)
Sea salt to taste

A little crème fraiche and croutons to serve (optional)

METHOD:

Wash the tomatoes and place them in a large bowl.  Pour
boiling water over them and leave for 30 seconds.  After 30
seconds drain the boiling water and add a little cold water
to cool.  This process makes it easy to peel the skin.

Peel the skin off all tomatoes and cut each tomato into
quarters.  Place the tomatoes in a large pan and pour the
vegetable stock over tomatoes. Bring to a boil and quickly
reduce heat to low.  Simmer gently for approximately 10
minutes.  Stir in the tomato puree, vinegar and chopped
basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste and
simmer gently while stirring for a further 2 minutes.

Let soup cool slightly and then transfer to a food
processor or blender and process or blend until smooth.
Transfer the soup back to the pan and reheat gently taking
care not to boil.

Serve in warm bowls and top with a little crème fraiche and
croutons if desired.

Roasted Pepper Soup

You can make this soup without roasting the peppers to save
time but the roasting process gives the soup a rich,
excellent flavor, worth the time.

Ingredients:

3 red bell peppers, washed and deseeded
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed

3 cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon plain all-purpose organic flour
Salt and black pepper to taste
Diced red and yellow bell pepper pieces to garnish
Plain yogurt or crème fraiche to garnish

METHOD:

Preheat the grill.  Wash and cut the peppers in half and
remove stalks, core and seeds.  Arrange the peppers in a
non stick baking tray (skin side up) and place under the
hot grill.  Grill for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or
until skins begin to char.

Transfer the peppers to a plastic or zip lock bag, seal and
leave to cool.  Once cool (about 15 minutes) peel skins and
discard.  Roughly chop the remaining pepper flesh and set
aside.

Place the onion, crushed garlic and 2/3 of the vegetable
stock in a pan.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes
or until stock begins to reduce.  Sprinkle the flour into
the pan and stir to reduce lumping.  Add the chopped
peppers and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and
simmer for 5 minutes.

Let soup cool slightly and the transfer to a food processor
or blender.  Blend until smooth.  Transfer soup back to pan
and reheat gently, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spring Onion Miso Broth and Tofu

Note: You should be able to find most of these ingredients
in a health food shop or specialty section in your
supermarket.  You can substitute the bok choy with any
Asian greens.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spring onions (scallions)
A large handful of chopped fresh cilantro
3 thin slices of fresh root ginger (or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried
ginger)
1 small red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced (optional)
5 cups of vegetable stock.
1 cup of bok choy (also known as pak choi), thinly sliced
1 cup firm tofu cut into small cubes
4 tablespoons red miso
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce (also known as shoyu) or
for healthy version, use Bragg Liquid Aminos.

Instructions:

Cut the green tops off the spring onions and thinly slice
the rest.  Place the coarse green tops in a large pan along
with the cilantro stalks, ginger, dried chilli and dashi or
vegetable stock.  Heat the mixture gently until it comes to
a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain
through a sieve and return clear broth to pan. Reheat until
simmering.

Add the green portions of the sliced spring onions, with
the chopped pak choi and tofu.  Cook over low heat for 2
minutes. In a separate bowl mix 3 tablespoons of miso with
a little hot broth in a bowl and stir into the soup.  Add
additional miso and soy sauce to taste.

Stir the coarsely chopped cilantro leaves into pan and
along with the white part of the spring onions.  Cook
gently for 1 minute and serve into warm bowls.  Sprinkle
with thinly sliced chilli if using.

Creamy Carrot and Orange Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil (you can substitute low-calorie
spray for the olive oil)
3 leeks washed and sliced
1 lb carrots, washed, peeled and sliced

5 cups of vegetable stock
Juice of two oranges
Finely grated rind of two oranges
2/3 cup of plain yogurt
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro to garnish

Place the olive oil in a pan and add the leeks and carrots,
stir well until coated with oil.  You can also use low
calorie spray if you prefer.  Cover and cook over low heat
for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables
start to soften (don’t let them discolor).  Pour the
vegetable stock, orange juice and orange rind over the
vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover.  Simmer for
approximately 40 minute or until the vegetables are tender.
Let the soup cool a little then transfer to a food
processor or blender.  Blend until smooth.  Return soup to
pan and add 2 tablespoons of the yogurt.  Reheat gently
taking care not to let soup boil.

Serve the soup in warm bowls and place a swirl of yogurt
and garnish of cilantro leaves on the center of each bowl.

Garlic Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup of red lentils, rinsed and drained
2 onions, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
7 cups vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper

Instructions:

Place all ingredients except the salt and pepper into a
large soup pan.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat and
simmer for approximately 1 hour.  Stir occasionally to
prevent lentils from sticking to pan.  If soup thickens and
lentils are still not tender, add a little extra vegetable
stock.

Remove the bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup into warm bowls and serve with a whole wheat
or seed roll.

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
1 large parsnip, peeled and cubed
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves
4 thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoons dried thyme
3 rosemary sprigs or 2/3 teaspoons dried rosemary
5 cups vegetable stock
Sea salt for taste
Crème fraiche or sour cream to serve

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Pour the olive oil into a large
bowl and add the vegetables, thyme, rosemary and bay
leaves.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss well until
coated in oil.  Place the vegetables on a non stick tray in
a single layer.  Roast the vegetables in preheated oven for
approximately 45 minutes or until tender.  Turn them
occasionally to ensure they brown evenly.

Remove from oven, discard herbs and transfer vegetables to
a large pan.  Pour the stock over the vegetables and bring
to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10
minutes.  Remove soup from heat and leave to slightly cool.
Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender. Blend
until smooth.

Return soup to pan and gently heat through. Serve into warm
bowls and garnish with a swirl of sour cream or crème
fraiche.

Winter Vegetable Soup

Note: This is a chunky vegetable soup and you can omit or
add vegetables to suit your taste.  You can replace the

potatoes for sweet potatoes for a sweeter tasting soup.

Leeks and winter cabbage also work well.

Ingredients:

1 medium cabbage cut into quarters
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and finely sliced
2 celery stalks, finely sliced

2 parsnips, peeled and diced
7 cups of vegetable
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 zucchinis, diced
2 cups of cauliflower florets
2 fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Salt to taste, fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Instructions:

Slice the cabbage quarters into thin strips.  Heat the oil
in a large soup pan and add the cabbage, carrots, celery
and parsnips cook over low heat for approximately 10
minutes, stir often so vegetables don’t stick to pan. (you
may need to add a tablespoon of stock).

Stir in the stock and bring to a boil.  Add the potatoes,
zucchinis, cauliflower and tomatoes with a little chopped
fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring back to
a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for
approximately 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are
tender.

Serve into warm soup bowls and garnish with a little
chopped fresh parsley.