Smoothies That Will Make You Smile

Tags

almonds, apple juice, banana, blanched, blender, blitz, blueberries, bowl, breakfast, carrot, cashew nuts, chocolate bar, cold water, cored, creamy, cucumber, drink, five a day, fresh, Frozen, fruity blend of passion fruit, ginger, goji berries, green apple, green grapes, gym, home, hunger, kiwi, lemon, mango, mid-morning, mid-morning snack, minerals, office, on the go, orange, orange juice, peeled, pick me up, post workout boost, preparation, raspberries, recipe, seeds, sliced, smooth, smoothie, spinach, strawberries, sugary energy drink, Vitamin C, vitamins, warmth, worth it, zing

Whether they are part of your breakfast, a mid-morning snack or post workout boost, smoothies are a brilliant way to get vital vitamins and minerals into your body, and reach that five a day. They can be eaten at home, in the office, at the gym or even on the go, and are way better than grabbing a sugary energy drink or bar of chocolate when hunger strikes.

You don’t need fancy equipment or special powders to make a great smooth, and we have put together some recipes that prove this point.

The Tropical Treat
If you kick your day off with this fruity blend of passion fruit, mango, orange and banana, not only will you be on top of your five a day, but you’ll get a blast of vitamin C, too.

You will need:
3 passion fruits
1 banana, peeled and sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 small mango, peeled, stoned and chopped (you can use frozen pieces too)
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
300ml of orange juice
Ice cubes

Scoop the passion fruit pulp into your blender, then add the chopped banana, mango and orange juice, blend with the ice cubes until smooth and drink immediately.

Go Green
This gorgeous green smoothie is great for breakfast on the go and also makes a great mid-morning pick me up.

You will need
1 banana, peeled and sliced
200g of fresh or frozen spinach, washed if fresh
1 handful of green grapes
1 green apple, cored but with skin left on
10 cm of cucumber, sliced with skin left on
250ml of apple juice
1 lime
Ice cubes

To make:
Put the banana and spinach in a blender and pour in the apple juice together with the spinach, grapes and apple, then blitz.
Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice into the blender, then add the ice cubes and blitz all the mixture until smooth.

The Seed Smoothie
This is a great smoothie if you are hungry and while it takes a little preparation, it is so worth it.

You will need:
20g of cashew nuts
20g of blanched almonds
45g of mixed seeds
2 teaspoons of goji berries
1 banana, peeled and sliced
100g of raspberries and the same of strawberries
100g of blueberries
Water
A lemon
Ice cubes

To make:
The night before, put the cashews in a small bowl and pour over 100ml of cold water, then cover and leave to soak overnight.

In the morning, put the seeds and goji berries into the blender and blitz until you have a fine powder, then add the soaked cashews and almonds, then blitz again.

Next put in the raspberries, blueberries, strawberries as well as the banana in the blender, squeeze in half the juice of the lemon, plus the ice and blitz until smooth.

You can either drink straight away, or put in a flask and enjoy later.

Ginger and Orange Blitz
This is a really lovely smoothie with zing and warmth.

You will need:
A 2cm piece of fresh ginger
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 small mango, peeled, stoned and chopped (you can use frozen pieces too)
200ml of fresh orange juice
1 lime

To make:
Scrape the skin off the ginger, then finely grate into your blender and add in the carrot, mango and orange juice. Blitz, add the juice of the lime and the ice cubes, then blend until smooth and enjoy.

The Big Purple Smoothie
If you love your berries, you will love this smoothie which is perfect if you are peckish and don’t want to eat cake!

You will need:
1 cup of blueberries
1 cup of purple grapes
1 banana, peeled and sliced
8 strawberries, chop off the stalk
1 large banana, peeled and sliced
1 cup of almond or oat milk
2 teaspoons of honey
Ice cubes

To make:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth and creamy. Pour into tall glasses and serve, or take with you to work in a vacuum cup.

Got a recipe you think we will like?

Send it over, we would love to try.

Team Pure Beauty

Advertisements

How to avoid weight gain this winter

Tags

a bootcamp, active, alcohol, amino acids, avocado, beans, bed, benefit, bloomer, body, body weight, boiled eggs and soldiers, bread, breakfast, busy, caffeine, carb heavy white toast, chickpeas, cortisol, counting calories, cycling, dancing, dark rye bread, exercise, experts, fat, fish, food cupboard, fruit, ggs, good fitness levels, gut flora, health risks, healthy weight, high protein meal, hobby, hot yoga, ibre rich wholegrain rice, lentils, life, lifestyle, mall changes, martial arts, mental health, mind, mood, no, nourish, nutritious, nuts, organic meat, pasta, phone, Poached Eggs, quinoa, salad, scrambled eggs, screens, seafood, seeds, sleep, smoked salmon, snacks, sofa, stress, sugar, sugary cereals, summer, swimming, temperature drops, the stress hormone, tummy, unprocessed foods, vegetables, warm, water, weight, weight management, wellbeing, whole, winter months, worries, worry

When the temperature drops and the nights are dark, it is easy to spend your time curled up on the sofa eating sugary snacks and keeping warm, rather than eating salads, heading outside and getting active like we do in the summer.

Bearing this in mind, it’s therefore not uncommon to put on a little weight during the winter months, but this doesn’t have to be the case. By making small changes to your lifestyle now, you will not only help your waistline, but your mental health and overall wellbeing could benefit too.

Always have breakfast
As tempting as it is to have an extra ten minutes in bed, having breakfast in the morning is not only a great way to start the day but can also stop you from eating more later in the day. Pass on the sugary cereals and carb heavy white toast, and instead look at having a high protein meal that will keep hunger locked up for longer. Scrambled eggs and avocado are a great idea, poached eggs with smoked salmon will throw in some amino acids. Of course there is nothing quite like boiled eggs and soldiers, but swap the bloomer for dark rye bread and you will be laughing.

Take care of your gut
You might not know this but many experts believe that our gut bacteria plays a role in our body weight. Think about taking a live bacteria supplement and this could not only improve your delicate gut flora but also help you to keep a handle on your weight too.

Don’t take on too much
Yes, we know that life is busy and you are pulled in every which way but stress isn’t going to do you any good. As well as making you worry, cortisol, the stress hormone, can affect energy expenditure and increase our consumption of foods that are high in fat and sugar. This can cause weight gain around the tummy and, with this, comes an increase in health risks, so we would suggest trying to reduce your stress levels for the sake of both weight management and long-term health. To ease stress, find a new hobby, say no now and again if you have too much on, and if you can, turn your phone off and step away from screens, even for just an hour and this might make a big difference to your mood.

Eat real food
Rather than being focussed on counting calories and restricting what you eat, instead eat whole, nutritious, unprocessed foods that will nourish your body and mind. Try to eat two pieces of fruit and have five servings of vegetable a day. Stop putting those white carbs in your trolley and instead, switch to fibre rich whole grain rice, bread and pasta, and you will find these not only fill you up but keep you regular too! Eggs, nuts, seeds, fish, seafood, lentils, beans, chickpeas, organic meat, quinoa and tofu are all good quality protein that are delicious and good for you, so get creative in the kitchen and see the difference these foods can make. As well as this, drink lots of water, keep caffeine and alcohol under control and get plenty of sleep.

Exercise
Step away from the screens if you want to maintaining a healthy weight and good fitness levels. We aren’t talking about going to the gym everyday, but doing something you enjoy which takes you mind away from your worries, and the food cupboard, is a really good idea. Whether it is hot yoga, swimming, dancing, martial arts, a bootcamp class, cycling or running, do it three times a week and if you do it with a friend, you will have to go.

Team Pure Beauty

How to Beat Blue Monday

Tags

21st January, amino acids, anxiety, anxious, bag, beans, below par, bleak mid-winter months, Blue Monday, breakfast, caffeine, cheese, coffee, cola, cold, coloured fruits and vegetables, concerntration, constipated, cucumber, daily fix, decaf, depressed, desk, doom and gloom, drink, eggs, emotions, fatty acids, fibre, fish, five a day, fizzy drinks, food, fresh, Frozen, gut, headaches, healthy digestion, herbal tea, hydrated, ice, January, juiced, lean meat, lemon, lentils, mental health, mentally, miserable, mood, nuts and seeds, omega 3 and 6, outside, partially hydrogenated oils’, payday, physically, portion sizes, protein, pulses, regular meals, resolutions, sip, sleep, small, soothing hot drink, soya products, squash, stimulant, tea, trans fats, tummy, water, wholegrains, winning lottery ticket, worried

With the 21st January, aka Blue Monday fast approaching, some of you might be feeling a little below per right now. It is cold outside, it’s still ages until payday and those resolutions that seemed like such a good idea on 31 December have been long forgotten, all of which can make you feel a bit miserable.

Fear not, it’s all doom and gloom. While can’t turn up the temperature or give you a winning lottery ticket, we do know that what you eat and drink can help ease the blues and beat the anxiety that makes life a little harder in the bleak mid-winter months.

Drink water
Yes, this one again. If you don’t keep hydrated you won’t feel at your best, your concentration will lapse, you may get headaches and you might also feel constipated and none of these things will help your mood. Cut down on fizzy drinks and high sugar squashes, and instead drink water with ice and add slices of lemon and cucumber to liven things up a little and keep a bottle on your desk and in your bag so you can sip during the day.

Keep an eye on caffeine
We know many people love a coffee first thing and a tea break mid-afternoon, but both of these drinks contain caffeine which might not help you if you are feeling blue. Caffeine is a stimulant and one which will give you a burst of energy at first, but then when you come down the other side it could make you feel anxious, depressed and disturb your sleep, especially when drunk before you go to bed. We don’t suggest you stop having your daily fix suddenly, as this could lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms, but it might be a good idea to start cutting back on tea, coffee, chocolate, cola and energy drinks and think about switching to decaf versions or opting for herbal teas which are caffeine free but mean you don’t miss out on a soothing hot drink.

Look after your tummy
You might not know this, but your tummy reflects your emotions so if you are feeling anxious and worried, your gut may suffer too. To help with healthy digestion, it is important to eat plenty of fibre which means loading up on wholegrains, beans, pulses, live yoghurt and you might want to consider taking a probiotic too.

Get your fruit and veg in
Eating a variety of coloured fruits and vegetables every day means you’ll get a good range of nutrients including the minerals, vitamins and fibre needed to keep you physically and mentally healthy. You might be interested to know that fresh, frozen, canned and juiced fruits and vegetables all count towards your five a day and if you are worried about portion sizes, one portion is about a handful.

Remember to eat protein
Protein is packed full of the amino acids that make up the chemicals your brain uses to regulate your thoughts and feelings, and it also keeps you feeling fuller for longer so you are less likely to reach for the mood interrupting sugary snacks later on. Lean meat, fish, eggs, cheese, beans, lentils, soya products, nuts and seeds are all good protein sources and it is pretty easy to fit them into every meal – so make sure you do.

Eat the right fats
We know we are told fats are bad and to be avoided at all costs, but this isn’t true. Try to avoid ‘trans fats’ or ‘partially hydrogenated oils’ and instead eat fatty acids, such as omega 3 and 6 as these are good for your brain function and mental health. Healthy fats can be found in oily fish, nuts (almonds and walnuts are a good choice), olive and sunflower oils, seeds (such as sunflower and pumpkin), avocados, and eggs all of which are tasty and easy to eat!

Eat on a regular basis
Now is not the time to skip meals as this will lead to a drop in your blood sugar levels and that can make you feel tired and irritable. Try to go for small, regular meals throughout the day, adding in healthy snacks, and always eat breakfast as this will set you up for the day. Wholegrain bread and pasta, brown rice, cereals as well as nuts and seeds are all a good idea but keep away from sweets, biscuits, sugary drinks, and alcohol as these won’t do your mood any favours.

Whatever you eat and drink make the sensible choice and we wish you a very happy, healthy 2019.

Team Pure Beauty

Get active the easy way

Tags

a swim, active, app, bad moods, bike ride, body, boosts your cardiovascular fitness, breakfast, breath, burnout, burns calories, busy, chore, circuits, community, daily step count, email, energy, everyday schedule, exercise, fitness kit, gather your thoughts, get up, go shopping, gym, health, healthier, home, intense workout, internal mail, interval training, legs, letters, level head, life, lift, local pool, lunch, meetings, moving, online workout, Pilates class, post box, run in the park, shop, shower, sit, snooze button, sofa, stairs, stand, stress, stronger, surprised, talk, tennis, time, tone, trim and tone your legs, tube, veg out, walking, washing, water, yoga class

No time to get to the gym?

End up doing the washing rather than playing tennis?

Got a to do list that takes you away from your Pilates class week after week?

We get it, life is busy but if you want to avoid bad moods, stress and burnout, you need to make time for you and your health.

Exercise is a key part to keeping a level head so we have had a look at how you can fit it into your everyday schedule.

We aren’t saying do ALL of these, but simply pick one or two and you will soon find you are feeling stronger and healthier and will have more energy than ever.

Exercise before breakfast
If you get up just twenty minutes earlier than usual, you will have time to have a drink of water, do a 10-minute intense workout and shower before anyone else has even hit the snooze button. Simply find an online workout or app that incorporates interval training, circuits or a weights session, and if there is a community you can be part of too, even better.

Walk to work
Any extra walking during the day will contribute to your daily step count. Walking burns calories, boosts your cardiovascular fitness, and helps to tone your legs too, so even if you park a mile away from work or get off the tube a couple of stops early, it all adds up and you will see a difference.

Get away from your desk
Meetings and extra projects can hamper your best efforts to exercise more but we all need a lunch break so use yours wisely. Whether you go for a run in the park, a swim in the local pool or a bike ride make sure you move away from your desk and take time out for you.

Get on your feet at work
If you use every opportunity you can to be more active during your day, you will be surprised at how much better you will feel. Stand rather than sit, go and talk to someone rather than sending an email, go up the stairs rather than taking the lift, take letters to the post box rather than using the internal mail, basically do anything you can to get your body moving.

Go home via the gym
Once you get home and change out of your day clothes, going out again might seem a chore. Take the temptation to veg out on the sofa away, and hit the gym, pool or a yoga class on your way home and you will feel so much better for doing so.

Shop until you drop
Yes, you heard us, go shopping! Even if you don’t buy anything, a walk around town (minus visiting the burger bar) can be a good workout and it could tempt you to buy some new fitness kit and do even more exercise.

Mow the grass
You can either see mowing the grass as another job on your list or as a quick workout that will help trim and tone your legs! Put on your music, get a good rhythm going and you will soon be in the swing of things.

Walk after dinner
Rather than slumping front of the TV or checking your emails, go for a walk after dinner. You can use this time to chat with the kids or your partner, or if you are walking solo, simply gather your thoughts and breath as you let go of the stress of the day. Stretch the walk by one minute every evening and you will soon be going places.

Got a tip for easy ways to exercise, let us know, we would love to hear it.

Team Pure-Beauty

Eat well on a budget

Tags

bananas, batch make, beans, big shop, BOGOF, braising steak, breakfast, cans, cereals, chickpeas, creamy sauces, crips, curries, eat sensibly, fibre, fish, fizzy drinks, freeze, freezer, Frozen fruit and vegetables, great tasting meal, green tea, healthy, hearty vegetables, highly nutritious diet, home, important, lentils, low-fat, lunch and dinner, meat, microwave meals, need, non perishable items, nutrients, nuts, pasta sauces, plan, recipes, salt rich dressings, save money, seal, shin, shopping bill, shopping online, shoulder, slow-cooker, smoothies, social media, stock, sugar tax, sweetcorn, takeaways, tinned tomatoes, vitamins, waistline, waste, Water with lemon and cucumber, work, yogurts

We all know how important it is to eat well and have a highly nutritious diet, but doing that a budget doesn’t always seem possible.

We have had a look at how you can eat well and save pounds on your waistline and shopping bill.

Have a plan
Boring, maybe. Effective, definitely. Having a weekly meal plan means no last-minute microwave meals or takeaways because there is nothing in the cupboard. You can cover breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day of the week and will find that in no time at all you will no longer reach for the crisps when you come home from a hard day at work because you don’t know what to eat.

Buy what you need
Doing a ‘big shop’ might not be helping your quest to be healthy or to save money. Buy what you need for the next few days, then that is what you have to eat meaning you will have less waste. You might also find shopping online, using the cheaper and free delivery slots, helps you stop going buying the BOGOF offers you don ‘t need instead stock up on cans and other non perishable items that can be cheaper when bought in bulk.

Shop late in the day
You will be amazed at the fresh produce that is reduced at the end of the day to ensure it sells. Bananas, fish, meat, yogurt and bread are all up for grabs at a knock down price so be savvy and save money.

Freezer happy
Freeze any unused food, batch make curries and pasta sauces and if you aren’t going to eat something before (see above) the ‘best before’ – freeze it.

Buy frozen
Speaking of frozen food, you will find you waste less if you go for these options in the supermarket. Frozen fruit and vegetables are just as good for you than the fresh varieties as they are picked at the peak of freshness and frozen to seal in their nutrients. You will find many frozen fruit and vegetables come pre-chopped, ready to use and in handy portion sizes which not only help you eat sensibly but also save waste.

Don’t be a brand snob
Yes, the big brands have a good reputation but things like tinned tomatoes and sweetcorn, cereals and nuts will taste just as good whether they are the supermarket’s own option or the shiny famous choice. Go on, give it a go.

Be pulse happy
Beans, lentils and chickpeas are some super cheap but also packed with fibre, vitamins and are low-fat too. Using them to replace mince or chicken in meals like chilli con carne or chicken curry and you instantly have a cheaper, healthier and even tastier option.

Buy meat for less
If you spend longer cooking your meat, you can go for cheaper cuts like braising steak, shin or shoulder. Putting these in a slow cooker with hearty vegetables and stock is a great tasting meal at a good cost and if there are leftovers, have them for lunch the next day.

Cook from scratch
Forget creamy sauces and salt rich dressings and instead prepare your food from scratch. Social media has a wealth of great recipes that are easy to follow and as you tuck in you know exactly what you are eating.

Think about what you drink
With the new sugar tax now launched, there is one more reason to cut out the nutritious poor fizzy drinks from your diet. Water with lemon and cucumber is a great hydrator, smoothies offer a fruity punch and green tea is a sensible coffee swap.

Eating the healthy way doesn’t have to cost the earth but it certainly can help save some money.

Team Pure-Beauty