RAW DEAL

Overdone the festive feasting? Cleanse your system, gourmet style, with these delicious detoxifying dishes – no cooking required…

January – once the month of inner padding in the form of soup, stew and hot chocolate – is now the o
fficial detox month. It’s when all your friends suddenly forswear drink until February and retire to their homes to mount an assault on the extra pounds gained over Christmas. If you’re not one of the detox divas, then January can be a lonely month, tinged with guilt.

Until Anya Ladra hit the scene, that is… She is the inspiration behind the delightfully named Raw Fairies – a London-based detox delivery company, who will ferry thinning, healthy food to your door – and now the author of the Raw Fairy cookbook, Raw Food Detox.

Cookbook is, of course, something of a misnomer: the point of raw food is that it’s just that, raw – and, you might think, pretty unappetising in the drear cold of winter. But the miracle of Raw Food Detox is that it not only all looks wonderful, positively inviting, but it also involves very little preparation. You too can lose weight and get healthy, without going to all the trouble of a boring diet.

Occasionally, Ladra suggests a recipe for crackers, or wholemeal pastry, which requires a piece of equipment called a dehydrator but, on the whole, this is a publication that celebrates the unadorned fruit or vegetable – and makes them look extremely delicious. NB: A high-speed food processor makes the whole thing even easier.

Raw Food Detox by Anya Ladra, with photography by William Lingwood, is published by Ryland Peters & Small, priced £14.99.

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GREEN PAD THAI

Serves 2-3

For the garnish

• 2½ tbsp cashews
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp chilli powder

For the green Thai paste

• 2½ tbsp cashews
• 1 lemon grass stalk, chopped
• 50g raw coconut chips
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• ½ fresh green chilli, chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 handful of basil, torn
• 1 tsp mild curry powder
• 4 tbsp coconut water, or water

For the marinade

• 1½ tbsp sesame oil
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ fresh red chilli, chopped
• 2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the pad Thai

• 1 large courgette, shaved into ribbons
• 1 bok choy, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 50g mushrooms, sliced
• Non-stick dehydrator sheet

For the garnish

Mix all the ingredients with a pinch of salt and spread on the dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 46C for 20 hours.

For the green

Thai paste Soak cashews in a bowl of cold water for 30 mins and drain. Put cashews in a blender with the other ingredients, add salt and blitz until smooth. Add water if needed.

For the marinade

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blitz until smooth.

For the pad

Thai Put courgette ribbons in a bowl. Stir in enough green Thai paste to coat. Marinate for 30 mins. Put bok choy, pepper, carrot and mushrooms in a bowl. Pour marinade over and mix well. Marinate for 30 mins. Divide between 2-3 plates and garnish with cashews.

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GREEN VEGGIE JUICE (pictured top)

Serves 2-3

• 1 cucumber
• 5 celery stalks
• 100g broccoli
• ¼ fennel bulb
• ½ courgette
• 1 apple
• 1 lime, peeled
• 3 handfuls fresh parsley
• 3 handfuls spinach or kale

Put all the ingredients into a juicer, blitz until smooth and serve in three glasses.

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PECAN COOKIES

Makes 8

• 240g pecans
• 6 soft pitted dates
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• Non-stick dehydrator sheet

Soak the pecans in cold water for one hour. Drain and put in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Pulse until combined but still chunky. Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape each piece into a round about 1.5cm thick. Arrange the cookies on the dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 46C for 15-20 hours, until dry but soft inside.

A dehydrator replicates the qualities associated with cooked food without destroying the benefits of raw food. Anya Ladra recommends the Excalibur brand with nine shelves and a timer. They cost from £109: www.ukjuicers.com and www.juiceland.co.uk