Hydrating detox vegetable soup

Give your body the nourishment it needs with this hydrating detox vegetable soup.

This detoxifying and delicious soup is packed with hydrating vegetables including lettuce, cucumber, celery and peppers. You’ll probably find the ingredients are already in your store cupboard and fridge, so there’s no need to go to the shops. It’s a perfect, light meal when you don’t feel like going outdoors, or a great choice to give your digestive system a break if you’ve overdone the mince pies.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the soup:

1tsp light olive oil or coconut oil

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

5 stalks of celery

3 medium-size carrots

2 red or yellow peppers

1 medium cucumber

1 head of romaine lettuce

150g red lentils

2tsp of vegetable bouillon powder

1 litre of BRITA filtered water

To serve:

Lemon juice

Yoghurt

Mixed seeds

Method

Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Warm the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and lightly fry the onions for two minutes.

Chop the celery and carrots. De-seed and chop the peppers, cut all into bite-size pieces and add to the pan. Continue to cook for five minutes.

Boil the BRITA filtered water. Meanwhile, rinse the red lentils in a sieve until the water runs clear and add to the pan with the hot filtered water, bouillon powder and garlic.

Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes until the soup has thickened and the red lentils are fluffy and tender. Add more filtered water if required.

Peel and chop the cucumber and finely shred the lettuce. Add to the pan, mix through and continue to cook for five minutes.

Leave the soup to cool briefly, and then blend to desired consistency using a hand or jug blender. Season to taste and serve warm with a swirl of plain yoghurt mixed with lemon juice and a sprinkle of seeds.

Recipe created by Laura Agar Wilson, courtesy of BRITA Taps