Have you been tempted to try Brazilian food recently? According to media reports the Rio Olympics has given people an appetite for it. Although many Brazilians are big meat eaters some of their vegetarian dishes make ideal detox recipes.
A lot of Brazilian food tends to be simply prepared as Brazilians like to taste the true flavor of the food they are eating. Ideal for a detox diet!
The first dish that springs to my mind is their black bean stew known as Feijoada. Traditionally this dish contains pork and black beans but the one below is purely vegetarian and great for detox.
Black beans are high in fiber so help to keep the bowels moving which is essential when you are detoxing to eliminate toxins processed by the liver. The fiber helps to keep you feeling full too. There’s nothing worse that feeling hungry when you are doing a detox.
Related Reading: Start Your Detox With A Bowel Cleansing Diet
Many studies have suggested that increasing consumption of plant foods like black beans decreases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease while increasing energy and helping to lower weight.
Black beans are high in flavonoids and phytochemicals which act as antioxidants needed for the detox system.
Vegetable Feijoada 
Serves 6
Ingredients
5 1⁄2 cups dried black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large red onion, diced
2 medium red organic bell peppers, diced
1 large ripe organic tomatoes, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 canned chipotle pepper, chopped
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 handful fresh cilantro ( coriander), chopped
1 teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan salt
4 cups cooked organic brown rice
Directions
1. Place the beans a medium saucepan, cover with plenty of pure water, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 1 hour until tender.
2. Drain beans and reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid.
3. Heat the oil gently in a large saucepan, add chopped onion, peppers, tomato, garlic, and chipotle pepper and saute for 8 – 10 minutes.
4. Add the beans, reserved cooking liquid, sweet potatoes, and thyme and cook for 25 to 30 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
5. Add salt, stilr well and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Reheat the rice, place into a serving dish or individual bowls, ladle the feijoada over the top and sprinkle with the cilantro.
You can add meat to this for the rest of the family if you like.
Enjoy!
Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad
Palm hearts are the inner core and growing bud of the palm tree. Fresh hearts of palm are crisp and crunchy but the canned hearts lose their crunchiness and are much softer. They are mild in flavor but are good in detox salads for a change.
The majority of palm hearts you get in supermarkets today are from farmed trees which have up to 40 stems as the harvesting of the hearts from one stemmed trees resulted in the death of the tree.
Palm hearts are rich in fiber so are good for intestinal regularity, a must when you detox and for general health.
They contain a variety of nutrients such as riboflavin, potassium, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, copper and zinc all needed by the detox system.
Ingredients
Serves 1
1 little gem lettuce, chopped
1 x 14 oz can hearts of palm, or 1 1/3 cups fresh, thinly sliced on the bias
1 avocado, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1/2 cup organic walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons organic avocado or extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Celtic or Himalyan Salt to taste
Freshly ground block pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a bowl whisk the oil and lemon juice together.
2. Place the sliced hearts of palm, avocado, onion and walnuts in a blowl.
3. Pour the oil mixture on top and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Gently toss the salad to mix well and serve in a bowl.
4. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and serve.
Enjoy!
Related Reading: How Detox Salads Could Save Your Life
Chili Salsa
This makes a good dip for raw veg or a dressing to perk up vegetables or a detox salad.
Ingredients
Makes about 1/2 cup
1 large onion, diced
1 large organic tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or 2 tbsp lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 – 2 tablespoon extra virgin organic olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 drops sugar free chili sauce, depending on how strong you want it
Celtic or Himalayan salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Mix all ingredients together seasoning to taste.
Place in fridge to chill and allow flavors to mix for about an hour.
Allow to warm up to room temperature before use.
Hot Brazilian Mixed Detox Rice
Brown rice is a gluten free grain that is rich in fiber so will help to fill you up and keep you regular.
It is a complex carbohydrate which means it is broken down into glucose slowly and absorbed into the blood stream gradually so it does not cause a spike in your blood sugar level.
Avocado oil is better for cooking in than olive oil and avocados are plentiful in Brazil. You can of course use coconut oil if you prefer.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
Rice Mix
1⁄2 cup long grain organic brown rice
1⁄2 cup organic wild rice
2 cups organic vegetable stock or pure water
1 tablespoon organic avocado oil or coconut oil
Celtic or Himalayan salt
Brazilian Mix
1 tablespoon organic avocado olive oil or coconut oil
1 1⁄2 teaspoons approx chili powder (depending on how hot your chilli powder is)
1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon honey
1⁄2 teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon finely grated organic orange rind
1⁄4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1⁄4 cup organic Brazil nuts, chopped
Handful fresh parsley or cilantro, finely chopped
To cook rice:
1. Place brown and wild rice, the vegetable stock and 1 tbsp avocado oil in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring once. Cover with tight fitting lid. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 45-50 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to stand in covered pot for about 10 minutes.
4. Fluff with fork, and add salt to taste.
To make Brazilian chilli mix
1. Mix together oil, chili powder, garlic powder, honey, salt and orange rind in a small bowl.
2. Pour this mixture into the hot rice and mix lightly. Fold in olives and nuts.
3. Place in serving dish and garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.
Serve with a dish of steamed vegetables
Enjoy!
Creamy Cilantro Avocado Dressing
Avocados are popular in Brazil. They contain many nutrients, healthy fats and a surprising amount of fiber so will also help to satisfy hunger.
Guacomole is probably the best known dish made with avocados but you probably already have a favorite recipe for that and there are hundreds of variations of it on the internet.
This avocado recipe is a little more unusual and makes a change from the usual olive oil and lemon juice dressings.
Although dairy products are ususally excluded on a detox diets a live yoghurt is usually good unless you intolerant of dairy.
Ingredients
Makes 1 cup approx
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/2 cup plain live yogurt or kefir or unsweetened coconut kefir
2 scallions (spring onions) chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
2 – 3 tbsp organic avocado oil
1 tablespoon organic lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste ( optional)
Put all ingredients into a blender and whizz up until smooth. You can thin out the dressing with pure water if necessary.
Use as a delicious dressing on a detox salad.
Cover any leftover dressing and keep in fridge for up to 3 days.
Related reading: Add Coconut Kefir To Your Detox Plan For Powerful Benefits
What do you think? Will you try out any of these detox recipes? Let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Black bean stew image by Stacy Spensley
Creamy Avocado dressing imabe by Artsy Footsie
