If you’re thinking of trying detox but wondering what on earth you can eat to keep full and interested, here’s a couple of tried and tested ideas. Also, there are varying degrees of strictness to the salad/veggie only rule – the strictest adherents would not have any sweet vegetables (carrots, sugar snaps etc) but a more moderate approach which I did was to include things like olives and houmous.

Spinach, Sage and Potato Soup

2 red onions, chopped / 3 garlic cloves, crushed / 15g fresh sage, shredded / 2 large potatoes (about 500g/1lb20z), diced / 1.4l vegetable stock / 250/90z spinach leaves

1) Fry the onions over a low heat for 5-6 mins until softened slightly. Be careful not to let them stick to the pan as you are not using oil or butter. Add the garlic, sage and potatoes, cover and cook over a very low heat for 10 minutes.
2) Stir in the stock, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and whizz until smooth.
3) Return to the pan and heat gently until warmed. Season to taste.

This made 4 bowls of soup so we refrigerated it and it tasted just as good reheated.

Spicy Vegetable Curry

This is a recipe which is actually meant to be eaten with chapatis (flatbreads) which is yummy once you’ve finished detox, or you can have it with rice. But honestly, it’s so substantial that eating it on its own is perfectly fine.

300g/10oz sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly cubed / 400g can peeled plum tomatoes / 400g can chickpeas, drained / 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes / 2 tbsp mild curry paste / 100g/40z spinach / 2tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1) Cook the sweet potatoes in boiling water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, chickpeas, chilli flakes and curry paste in another pan and simmer gently for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time.
2) Drain the potatoes and add to the tomato mixture. Stir in the spinasch and cook for a minute until just starting to wilt. Stir in the coriander, season to taste and serve

This serves 4, depending on what size portion you have. If eating it without rice or chapatis, you may want a little more, in which case you can always keep the leftovers, throw in another can of tomatoes the next night and it becomes a chunky soup!

English Garden Salad

500g/1lb2oz new potatoes, sliced thickly / 350g/120z runner beans, sliced / a bunch of spring onions, chopped / 240g tub sunblush or sun-dried tomatoes, drained / a good handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped / your own homemade French dressing

1) Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 7 minutes. Add the beans to the pan and cook for a further 7-9 minutes, until the potatoes and beans are just tender.
2) Drain the vegetables and rinse under cold running water to stop them cooking. Shake the colander to get rid of as much water as possible, then top into a large bowl. Add the onions and tomatoes and mix well.
3) Add most of the mint and dressing and toss everything lightly together. Tip into a serving dish, drizzle with a little more dressing and scatter over the rest of the mint.

Chinese style stir-fry

This can really be made up as you go along, depending on what kind of vegetables you like. I tend to use some broccoli florets, baby sweetcorn, peppers etc. In place of noodles you can use beansprouts. Simply heat some soy sauce in a wok or deep-sided frying pan and then stir fry the veggies over a high heat for a few minutes. Add some more soy sauce, some Chinese 5 spice (you can get it from a supermarket) and a little bit of vinegar if you feel like it.

Hopefully these give you some ideas/inspiration, if you have a great recipe with salad or vegetables only, I’d love to hear it