As our side of the earth starts to warm up, with longer days and plenty of sunshine, it’s the perfect time to cleanse out the accumulated excesses of winter. Here are four of my favourite detox tips and recipes that not only taste fantastic but have supportive therapeutic benefits, too.

Coriander pesto

There is nothing quite like the taste and smell of fresh coriander. Western herbalism traditionally uses the seed as a digestive aid. The leaves, called cilantro in America, possess a number of therapeutic qualities such as anti-inflammatory and cleansing, possibly even of heavy metals.

I’m so grateful this recipe found me as it is truly a taste sensation. The ingredients provide a gastronomic delight and a huge array of health and detoxification supports. First, there’s vitamin C in the lemon juice. Then dulse, a tasty maroon seaweed, provides a matrix of minerals with a particularly high dose of calcium. Flaxseed oil delivers a splash of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Brazil nuts are a fantastic source of the antioxidant selenium, which like the zinc contained in the pumpkin seeds is a common nutritional deficiency due to our depleted soils. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds provide additional magnesium for the nervous system (among other things) and cysteine to boost internal antioxidant action. The garlic supports blood cleansing.

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup Brazil nuts
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 cups packed fresh coriander
• 2/3 cup flaxseed oil
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp dulse powder
• Sea salt to taste

Tear the coriander and place, along with the flaxseed oil, in a blender. Blend until the coriander is chopped. Add the garlic, partially chopped Brazil nuts and seeds, dulse and lemon juice. Mix until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Add a pinch of sea salt to taste if needed (the dulse is fairly salty) and blend again. Store in dark glass jars if possible. It freezes well, so buy the coriander in season and fill enough jars to last the year.

If you’re a lover of all things pesto, you will be impressed. It’s amazing that something this good for you can taste so wonderful. Use it in salad dressings, over vegetables, on crispbread and in many other ways.