The Best Foods for a Seasonal Irish Detox


These seasonal Irish foods will help you detox. Read our tips and advice for gentle system cleansers!

The guilt of gluttony, have the scales tipped not in your favour? Do not be alarmed. We can say with confidence you are not alone.

Jaded and listless, cold hands, cold feet, skin feels dry or chapped, or maybe you feel bloated? These may all be signs you would benefit from a bit of a detox.

The good news for detoxers is that there is no need for the full on Spartan approach. Seasonal food is our constant message at Good Food Ireland. Plenty of vegetables currently in season make ideal healthy system cleansers. You don’t have to go hungry. 

We’ve made a list of seasonal foods you should include in a winter detox.

Kale is he king of detox foods. A superfood, one of the most nutrient dense choices you can make. Juice it. Steam it. Stir fry it.

Carrots are also a great detox food, crispy, crunchy and sweet. We recommend having them in a comforting soup.

Beetroot Juice is trendy. Borscht is a beetroot based soup made with meat stock. Some alternative health experts recommend meat broths in detox diets. So, a little light meat stock in this soup won’t go amiss.

Dark coloured veggies are good detox chums. Purple sprouting broccoli is in the shops now. Stampede your way there to get some. Steam it lightly or stir fry with oyster sauce, Red Cabbage is also in season. Shred and cook with apples in apple juice and cider vinegar.

Spinach is also a detoxer’s friend. This Dark green veggie indicates lots of vitamin A and antioxidants. Wilt it lightly and stir into a veggie curry.

Celery is one of the veggies often included in fresh vegetable soups and juices.

Foods preserved by fermentation offer health benefits in the form of friendly bacteria for the gut. Jp McMahon of Aniar is a great believer in fermentation as a preserving method. Foods preserved from other seasons for winter use, can be found on his menus.

Oily fish like mackerel, herring and salmon are all particularly good from winter waters. Also they’re all good sources of Vitamin D. Daylight is in short supply this time of year and this can deplete Vitamin D stores. So stock up on Vitamin D rich fish at  O’Connell’s and Ballycotton Seafoods in the English Market, Cork.   

Herbal teas, warm baths and a roaring fire are perfect for feeling cosy while you cleanse. Exercise by walking, ideally in daylight, stretching and yoga, rather than high impact gym based activities. Most importantly be sure you keep warm and eat warm foods.

Find fresh local seasonal vegetables in our food and farm shops:

The Village Greengrocer, Co. Cork

Urru Culinary Store, West Cork

Country Choice, Co. Tipperary

Kate’s Farm Shop, Co. Wexford

Glasrai and Goodies, Co. Kilkenny

Cavistons Food Emporium, Glasthule, Dublin

Rua Shop, Cafe and Deli, Co. Mayo

The Apple Farm Shop, Co. Tipperary

Alternatively, let someone else do the cooking. Take yourself out to Cornucopia in Dublin, where healthy balanced veggie and vegan based dishes are the order of the day.