York’s zen cook FLORENCIA CLIFFORD explains how to make a transformative breakfast juice.

Earlier this year I bought myself a good quality juicer and it is so easy to clean that every morning I raid the fruit basket and the vegetable drawer and drink one glass of fresh juice. The combinations are endless.

I have been trying to detox before my trip to Thailand, clearing my skin and preparing it for a sunshine overload.

Beetroot detoxes the liver and it is amazing for the skin, legend has it that Aphrodite ate beetroot every day to preserve her beauty. Beetroot purifies the blood and cleanses toxins, it has antioxidants and protects from premature ageing. It also has Lycopene which maintains the skin’s elasticity and protects it from harsh sun rays.

The fresh juice of carrots are an excellent source of pro-vitamin A, beta-carotene and alpha-carotene which protects your body from free radical damage. These nutrients turn into vitamin A when necessary and are stored within your liver’s cells.

After a cup of lemon water, try this combination juice for a week for breakfast, the results will astonish you.

Enough for two people
 

2 organic carrots

1 organic beetroot

1 or 2 organic apples

you can add a thumb size piece of ginger, peeled.

You will need a juicer to make up fresh juice. Before you start juicing, put a couple of ice cubes and the squeezed juice from your lime (minus the pips) into the bottom of the collection jug.

Wash and scrub your carrots, beet and apples then turn on your juicer and start with the beet. Next juice the carrots and ginger if you’re using it, then apples last. Allow the colour to seduce you into drinking the juice very slowly, savouring it, the taste of the earth in your mouth.

• Florencia Clifford is a zen cook and the author of Feeding Orchids To The Slugs: Tales Of The Zen Kitchen. For more, visit feedingorchidstotheslugs.wordpress.com