"Good Morning, Sunshine" Juice & Thrown-Together Vegetable Soup

I had a few days of overindulgence with old friends, homebakes and lots of lovely wine. It was fantastic at the time, but I woke up yesterday feeling bloated and somewhat guilty. My body was crying out for ‘real’ food after the succession of fried food, puddings and crisps over the past few days.  I love to juice – it always makes me feel very virtuous and its tastes pretty good too - so started the day with a juice that could turn even a Monday morning frown upside down!

The better your juicer, the better quality juice you get. I don’t have a fancy juicer so I know that I don’t get the best out of the fruit and vegetables I put through it. To combat this, I try to use the pulp that’s left over in both sweet and savoury recipes. I used the vegetable pulp from this juice in a pot of veggie soup I made up for lunch.

Here are my recipes for this juice and soup combo (I admit they aren't exactly complicated but despite that these dishes are pretty darn tasty!)

“Good Morning, Sunshine” Juice

Ingredients

3 Carrots, scrubbed

1 stick of Celery

2 Oranges, peeled

½ Lemon, peeled

Ginger to taste (I used about an inch of root)

Method

This is less a recipe and more an assemblage of ingredients! The juice is zingy and refreshing and it’s the perfect Monday morning pick-me-up after a weekend of indulgence.

Juice the carrots and celery. Remove the pulp from the juicer and put aside – you will use this in the soup later.

Juice the oranges, lemon and ginger.

Enjoy!

Veggie Soup

Ingredients

2 Onions, chopped

3 Carrots, peeled and chopped

1 stick of Celery, chopped

1 Celeriac, peeled and cubed

2 Tomatoes, chopped

Carrot and Celery pulp (from the  “Good Morning, Sunshine” juice – you don’t need to include this but I didn’t want to waste the veggie goodness!)

Olive Oil
Vegetable Stock Cube or Pot

Dried Herbs: Basil, Herbs de Provence, Oregano

Fresh ground Salt and Pepper to taste

To serve, 2 slices of Sourdough loaf

Method

I make soup with whatever is in the cupboard and fridge, hence the inclusion of two random tomatoes! It’s still snowing intermittently up here (though not lying, thank goodness!) so a hearty bowl of warming soup is just what is needed!

Sautee the onions in a glug of olive oil. Once softened, add the celery, carrots and celeriac. Cover and allow to sweat on a medium heat for five mins.

Add the chopped tomatoes and mixed carrot and celery pulp.

Add the stock cube/pot with 500ml of water.

Season - I used freshly ground salt and pepper and a mix of dried herbs (1 tsp Herbs de Provence, 1 tsp Basil, 1/2 tsp Oregano)

Simmer for 20 mins (or until the celeriac is soft enough to blend)

Take off the heat and blend (I used my trusty hand blender!).

Enjoy! I served this soup with some sliced sourdough loaf and it was a perfect cold weather treat! If you prefer a thicker soup, add less water or add in some more root veg to thicken the consistency.

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So there you have it - a tasty juice and soup combo to help restore a Highland lass back to normal after enjoying a few days of excess!

If you try either of these recipes let me know how you get on in the comments below!