Ease-Out: Day 2 Menu (Carrot and Coriander Soup)

Day 2's pretty basic by normal standards, but if you've just finished the Master Cleanse (without cheating!) this will be your first contact with food in at least 10 days. Make sure you take it slowly and make eating a mindful process; this is important both because your stomach is smaller than usual, and because you need to take this chance to change your relationship with eating. Without further ado, it's ease-out day 2!:

BREAKFAST: light, soft fruit and fresh fruit juice

LUNCH: soup or broth

DINNER: soup or broth

(Drink plenty of water, herbal tea, and fresh fruit juice throughout the day)

If you want to make fruit even easier on the digestive system, you can give it a whizz in a blender. Add some ice to make a smoothie-type drink, but whatever you do, don't add dairy products like you might with a normal smoothie. The term 'soft fruit' is pretty self explanatory. Berries are especially good, as they're high in antioxidants and relatively easy to digest. Fresh fruit is best at this stage, but later on, you can stew apples in water or freeze grapes to make them into a more interesting treat.

The soups need to be pretty smooth and light at this stage of the cleanse. Although tinned or packet soup is more convenient, it would be better to set aside time to make your own, out of preferably organic ingredients. If you don't have time or are a hopeless cook, opt for soups from the refrigerated section of your supermarket; they are fresher and will have a greater nutritional value than canned or dried versions. Today, I'm opting for carrot and coriander, a light and nutritious soup (and one of my personal favourites!). At home, I would be able to give it a whizz with a hand blender, but since I don't have one at uni, I've chosen this recipe especially because the vegetables are still soft and easily digestible in the finished product:

Carrot and Coriander Soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 450g carrots
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (I use Carotino)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 handful fresh coriander (only if using a blender)
• 1 sweet potato
• 1.2l vegetable stock

1. heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes, stirring continuously
2. stir in the ground coriander and the sweet potato, cooking for a further 1 minute
3. pour in the stock and the carrots. Bring the soup to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover
4. cook for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Serve straight away, freeze, or keep refrigerated for 3-5 days
5. (if using a blender) chop the fresh coriander and add to the soup. Blend until smooth, then return to the pan to reheat for serving

Bon Appetit! This soup will last me a couple of days post-cleansing, and is a great low calorie option with plenty of nutrition. I've used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes because they contain more beneficial ingredients, but if you've only got normal ones, they taste just as good in the soup! 

So, this is what I'm eating for the second day of my ease-out process. In fact, since I'm only cooking for myself at uni, it's what I'm probably going to be eating for the next couple of days! I hope you enjoy the recipe and find it a useful way to introduce your intestines to eating again. See you later, when I'll let you know how my willpower's holding up!