It’s time to look after your tummy

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We cleanse our faces, brush our teeth and wax our legs, but when was the last time you looked after your tummy?

We might not be able to see them, but tummies are a massively important part of your body, take care of it and it’ll be your best friend, let things slip then you might find you feel sluggish, bloated and suffering with cramps and constipation.

None of us want to feel like this, so we have had a look at how to take care of your tummy, so you get on better than ever.

Take on water
If you do nothing else to help your tummy, it is important to drink plenty of water. As well as preventing constipation, water is needed because it helps to produce the clever digestive juices which break down your food and keep you gas-free. We know it isn’t always easy in the winter, but aim to drink at least two litres of water every day and remember that tea, coffee, fruit juice and water-based foods like cabbage, celery and tomato can top your water levels up, so add some of those to your daily diet too. If you find it hard to drink enough water, buy yourself a pretty stainless steel bottle, fill it with water before you leave home, and if you want a bit flavour, add lemon, mint or cucumber, rather than sugary squashes.

It’s on your plate
While a diet that is rich in fibre can help keep digestion on track and constipation, away, many of us don’t eat the recommended 30g of fibre a day. To keep things flowing, a diet that is packed with beans, brown rice, fruit and veg as well as oats and wholemeal bread, is a good idea. With supermarkets and farmers markets offering a huge range of fresh, seasonal food, it isn’t hard to hit the mark and this will help to keep your carbon footprint down too. Go easy on greasy chips, burgers and fried doughnuts, as these tend to be harder to digest, consider grilling lean meat and fish as well as drinking skimmed or semi-skimmed milk instead of full fat options.

Eat something sour
Enzymes help to breakdown and absorb food, and sour and bitter foods will naturally stimulate your digestive juices and get them really working. Rocket, kale or spinach served with a simple squeeze of lemon juice is one way to add this into your diet and is pretty tasty too. You can also drink a glass of mineral water with the juice of half a lemon, or half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar half an hour before you eat a meal, and not only is this refreshing and hydrating, it will also give your digestion a boost.

Go ginger
We all know that ginger tea and ginger biscuits are good for pregnant women suffering with morning sickness, but this handy root could help you too. Make your own cup of goodness by peeling a thumb-sized piece of ginger, thinly slicing it, and then let it steep in hot water with a slice of lemon for around five minutes. This can help soothe an upset stomach, ease cramps and nausea and also work on bloating. If you really can’t bear ginger, fennel seeds are worth a try. Using the seeds to make tea, or chew them as they come, and both can help deal with cramping and bloating, and they also come in handy when your eyes are bigger than your belly at the dinner table.

Jump up
If you sit down all day, then the chances are, you and your digestive system will be slow and sluggish. By taking regular exercise, not only are you helping stay fit and healthy, but it can also stimulate your intestinal muscles, and this will helping move your food through your digestive system more smoothly and prevent any congestion! Whether you walk the dog, jump on your bike, go to a yoga class or do a little kick boxing, not only will your tunny thank you, but you will also benefit from a burst of feel good endorphins and a leaner body.

Team Pure Beauty

In a pickle

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boil, bread and cheese, brown sugar, burgers, cast sugar, grill, jar, lemon juice, oven, over-ripe fruit, pan, preserving sugar, purple beauties, red onions, ripe damsons, saucer, sea salt, September, simmer, soft, tomatoes, wrinkles

As summer comes to an end and autumn begins, many of us are switching from burgers on the grill to jacket potatoes in the oven.

With a wide variety of gorgeous autumn produce on offer, this is the perfect time to get to work in the kitchen making chutneys, pickles and jams that will take you through to spring.

To save you slaving over books, we are sharing our favourite recipes that will make your mouth water and taste buds tingle.

Tomato chutney is an autumn kitchen cupboard staple and a great way to use up anything still growing on the allotment.

This recipe does take two days to complete, but is so worth it.

What you will need:
3kg tomatoes
500g red onions
1 large tablespoon of sea salt
500g juicy sultanas
500g cooking apples
500g organic brown sugar
1.14 litre spice pickling vinegar – we love Sarsons

Slice and skin the tomatoes and chop the onions as finely as you can, then place in a large bowl with the salt. Put a clean tea towel over the top and leave somewhere cool overnight.

Next day chop and core the apples and chop the sultanas too.

Mix the sugar and vinegar in a large pan, then stir as you bring to the boil and totally dissolve the sugar. Add the apples and sultanas and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the tomatoes and onions in a colander, add to the pan and return to the boil. Then simmer the liquid for around an hour, stirring now and again until you have a lovely thick, pulpy mixture.

Once cooled, put into clean, sterilised jars and enjoy with bread and cheese.

Damson Jelly is a fantastic preserve that you can spread on buttered toast or enjoy with colds meats and Sunday lunch.

To make a decent batch of delicious jelly you will need the following ingredients and a little bit of patience, as this can be a fiddly recipe to perfect:

2kg soft, ripe damsons
The juice of two organic lemons
A bag of preserving sugar
Water

Once you have washed the fruit put it in a large pan together with 300 ml of water. Slowly bring to the boil before simmering for around an hour or until the damsons are soft.

Very carefully sieve the hot fruit and catch the resulting liquid in a large bowl. Leave to rest for around three hours.

Next measure the cooled mixture into a pan and add 500g of sugar for every 500ml of liquid. Stir this over a low heat and once the sugar has completely dissolved, raise the temperature and boil until the ‘setting point’ is reached. To find the setting point, put a little jelly onto a saucer, cool slightly then push with your finger. If the mixture wrinkles it is ready, if not, return to the heat, boil for five more minutes and test again.

Put the jelly into sterilised jars, cool before sealing and use within a year, but we think it will be eaten sooner than that!

September is the perfect time for blackberry picking and these purple beauties are perfect for making jam.

To make traditional no nonsense blackberry jam, you will need around three hours of time and the following ingredients:

2kg of just ripe blackberries – if they are a little sharp they will set better than over-ripe fruit
100 ml water
3 tablespoons of organic lemon juice
2kg caster sugar

Put the blackberries, lemon juice and water in a large pan and simmer until the fruit has broken down and is soft and lumpy. This tends to take around an hour and a half.

Once ready, add the sugar and bring to the boil whilst stirring all the time. You can then start testing for the ‘setting point’ using the same method as above. Once ready, place into sterilised jars and seal immediately. Leave in a cool, dark place for 24 hours and then you are ready to enjoy with fresh bread or scones and cream.

Happy cooking and let us know how you get on.

Team Pure-Beauty