How to pack a healthy lunchbox

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A cheese sandwich, packet of crisps and an apple might be a throwback from the ‘80s but for many of us it’s whatever we can make quickly, or buy, that gets put into our lunchbox.

While we know we need to eat a balanced midday meal, the reality can look very different, often grabbing something on the go that will only leave us hungry and reaching for a chocolate bar come 4pm.

We have had a look at some easy, quick nutritious options that will keep hunger at bay and they taste pretty good too!

Pasta pack ups
We know people worry about carbs, but pasta can be a brilliant lunch staple that can be eaten hot or cold. Whether you go for white or brown, lentil or rice in bows or shapes is up to you, but there is so much choice out there you can have something different each day of the week. Salmon pasta, chicken pasta and veggie sausage pasta can be made the night before and eaten straight from the fridge at midday or popped in the microwave and you’ll have a hot meal in minutes. You can add veggies or salad as well as sauces and pickles to create a lunch that is healthy and nourishing and won’t leave you with a rumbling tummy come 2pm.

Rice salads
High-fibre brown rice is a really good way to ensure you are left feeling satisfied all afternoon. Just as with pasta, there are a lot of ingredients that can be added from sardines, egg, ham and cheese and if you throw in some cherry tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and nuts, you will be the envy of the office.

Protein pots
We all know that we need protein for a balanced diet, but we don’t always get enough to help us get through the day without flagging. Beef and broccoli, tuna and tomatoes and teriyaki chicken are all tasty, easy lunchtime eats. Mixed beans, spinach, sweetcorn and sweet potatoes can all be added to pack out the protein and prevent you from running on empty during the afternoon.

Have a wrap
If bread isn’t for you but you want some energy giving carbs, flatbreads and tortillas are a good alternative. Peanut butter and carrots, salmon and veggies as well as humous and peppers are good ideas and you can load them up with salad to help get to your five a day. Warning; take napkins as these can get messy but they are so worth it.

Soup on the go
If you are busy but want something warm and filling, soup in a flask is a good option. Yes, you can open a can and bung it in the microwave but Mexican bean, vegetable, carrot and coriander and chicken noodle are super easy to make and if you cook in batches and freeze you will have something ready and waiting for you to take to work. Add in an apple and a smoothie, and you will be keeping bugs and hunger away as you boost your immune system with vitamins!

Super sarnies
OK, we can’t go without mentioning sandwiches, but there is more to this lunchtime basic than white sliced as soda bread, pitta, olive rolls and wholemeal bagels are all there for the taking. Bacon, brie, turkey, cottage cheese and avocado are the ingredients of lunchtime dreams and make delicious, nutrient-dense sandwiches that will make you want midday to come around fast.

Something sweet
You don’t have to stick to savoury at lunchtime. A fruit salad, yogurt with sliced banana, homemade flapjack with dried apricots and even a square or two of dark chocolate will give you something sweet to enjoy without overloading on nasties.

Why not make a batch of blueberry muffins on a Sunday, put them in an airtight box, or freeze half, and you will have something sweet a tasty to add to your lunchbox all week long.

Team Pure Beauty

An apple a day

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The old saying goes, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ and while we aren’t sure this is 100% true, they are packed with natural goodness and they taste pretty too delicious.

Go out in the countryside right now, and you are bound to come across trees bearing fruit that is ripe to pick, but once you have got them home, what can you do with them if you can’t munch your way through them as they are? Well, we have a few ideas.

Apple juice
There is nothing quite as delicious as fresh apple juice. Take your washed apples, cut out any bruises and then use a juicer to blast your crop. Put your smooth blend into sterilised bottles and either store in the fridge for several days, or if you have a lot then you can put in the freezer – but we suggest going for plastic, recyclable bottles for this. Add ice and drink alone, mix with a little gin or add to smoothies for a really fresh, vitamin-packed drink.

Apple pie
Who doesn’t like apple pie? This is a really easy, comforting way to use up apples and why not make extra and freeze some for those crisp winter afternoons when comfort food is on the menu but the shops are shut. We would say go for shortcrust pastry, cut and cook your apples in a little water and sugar, load in the fruit in a pie dish with some spices and extra raisins and your pudding is good to go in the oven to bake.

Apple crisps
Whether you have eating or cooking apples, you can make fruit crisps with your harvest. Slice the apples thinly, take out the core and pips, then place on a lined baking sheet with a little ground cinnamon and bake for about half an hour, turning over halfway through. Let them cool and store in an airtight container, and enjoy as a mid-afternoon snack, add to cereal or use them to top ice cream dishes.

Apple purée
If you have a lot of apples, making them into purée could be a good move and save any waste. Peel and core the fruit, then add them into a pan with about 1cm of water. Add some lemon zest and a little sugar, cover the pot and gently cook on a medium heat until the apples are soft and a little mushy. Freeze in pots, taking out what you need, when you need it and enjoy with roast pork, ham or add to some creamy custard for a sneaky treat.

Baked apples
The baked apple is the perfect last-minute dessert that looks wholesome and tastes divine. This simple winter pudding is budget-friendly and even more delicious when it is served with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of honey. Wash your apples and heat your oven to 200C. Mix cinnamon, brown sugar, orange zest, and lemon juice together then spoon the juice onto each apple, then bake for around half an hour. They should be soft and sticky when served but mind little mouths because the apples will be hot!

So, what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

Team Pure-Beauty

Keep calm and get flipping

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Pancake Day, officially known as Shrove Tuesday, is heading our way and we are super excited!

The great thing about pancakes is that as well as tasting great they are easy to make and a really sociable way of cooking. Family and friends can all help with making the batter, fillings are a totally personal choice and of course, everyone likes to get involved with the flipping.

To avoid pancake disasters on the day, we suggest you get some practice in over the next week. For a basic, but brilliant batter, you will need:

140g plain flour
200ml whole organic milk
2 large free range eggs
Table salt
25g unsalted, melted butter
Vegetable oil (it has no taste)

With everything ready, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl. Create a shallow hole in the middle of the mix then add the milk and break your eggs into the hole and slowly whisk it altogether. Add the water, whisking constantly, until you have a smooth, lump free batter.

Keep the batter covered and leave it to settle for around 30 minutes, after this time you can whisk in the melted butter, again until your mixture is smooth.

Put a little oil in a non-stick pan and place on a medium heat.

Once hot, pour around two tablespoons of your batter into the pan and swirl around the based ensuring it is evenly coated.

The idea is to create a thin, delicate, crepe so you only need to cook for around one minute on each side.

If you are brave enough, flip your pancakes and hope for the best but for the more cautious cooks out there, use an egg slice to turn.

Once you have a stack of pancakes, it is time to get to work with toppings.

Sweet, savoury, healthy, naughty, skinny, loaded, sugary, veggie, fruity or plain, you can be as creative as you like when it comes to pancake fillings and toppings.

We are torn between sweet and savoury here at Pure Beauty, but our favourites, in no particular order, are:

Melted cheese and baked beans.

Fish fingers with lettuce and mayo – yes, really!

Ham, onions and blue cheese.

Peanut butter and ice cream.

Strawberry jam and whipped cream.

Chocolate sauce and marshmallows with a scoop of cookie dough ice cream.

Courgettes with feta cheese and red pepper.

Chicken and garlic mushrooms.

Soft fried egg and spinach with black pepper.

Rhubarb compote and organic, vanilla ice cream.

Kiwi fruit and blueberries with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Bacon with cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

Pulled pork with apple sauce.

Smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Banana and mango with crème fraiche.

Cooked apples with salted caramel sauce.

And of course, sugar and lemon.

Don’t forget, you can change your batter so it is gluten free, or use whole wheat flour instead of plain.

Pancakes are perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, so don’t keep them for just one day of the year, enjoy them all the time.

Have fun making your pancakes and let us know your favourite fillings.

Team Pure Beauty

Five Super Soups for Autumn

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autumn, bacon, chicken, cold, comfort, decleor, dermalogica, ham, minerals, nutrition, pea, soup, tomato, vitamin A, Vitamin C, wild rice, winter

One of the best things about the changing seasons is the different produce which becomes available and now that the weather is starting to cool down, our thoughts are turning to comfort foods. Soups are excellent in so many ways; not only are they warming and comforting, they’re easy to make, use fresh ingredients and can help us to get several of our five-a-day in one meals. We’ve got five suggestions for seasonal super soups which contain huge amounts of nutrition for our skin and hair whilst making you feel like you’re getting a hug in your bowl!

Butternut Squash with Chilli and Crème Fraiche

Butternut squash is the perfect example of a tasty seasonal offering and epitomises autumn for us here at Pure Beauty. As well as offering an enormous amount of Vitamin A (over 200% of your RDA in just 100g!), the hint of chilli will give you a warming boost and the crème fraiche will give you a creamy touch and a calcium boost without adding millions of unwanted calories.

Tomato Soup with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is probably one of the simplest yet most popular suggestions for soup and is packed with essential vitamins and minerals. The grilled cheese may not be the lowest-calorie option but it won’t hurt to indulge every now and again and the tomatoes contain lots of vitamin C, which is important for cell growth and skin healing.

Pea and Ham Soup

This retro-tastic soup may not be such a popular option these days but you can bring it up to modern day by using split peas and a whole load of bacon! The beauty of soup is that you can add pretty much anything you want to make it to your taste and the saltiness of the extra bacon combined with the freshness of the peas will combine to make a flavour explosion.

Sweet Potato Soup

Sweet potato is another amazing ingredient to use as the base of a soup as it contains a whole load of vitamins and minerals, and gives a sweetness which can be built upon to create an amazing flavour. Experiment with flavours and textures such as avocado and kidney beans for a truly different and tasty creation.

Chicken And Wild Rice Soup

No list of soups is complete without a chicken soup on it, but we’ve gone for something a little different to the usual plain old cream of chicken soup. Chicken and Wild Rice soup has a delicious flavour, a creaminess thanks to the starchy rice and is also super filling and packed with protein. It’s really simple to make and contains at least three of your five-a-day in just one bowl!

Pancakes – How Do You Eat yours?

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bacon, batter, butter, cheese, chocolate, creme fresh, dollop, eggs, flip, ham, healthy, jam, lemon, Lent, lover, minute, pancake, prawns, savoury, Shrove Tuesday, strawberry, sugar, sweet

We don’t know how it has come around so quickly, but it is time get flipping, as Tuesday February 9 is Pancake Day.

Officially known as Shrove Tuesday, this is one day when you can be as creative as you like and concoct food combinations you might otherwise steer clear of.

Ever wondered why we celebrate Pancake Day and what it’s all about?

Well, let us explain.

Pancake Day isn’t just about stuffing ourselves silly, it is in the calendar because it marks the day before Lent, a period of fasting and prayer, before Easter.

The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday started out as a way to use up ingredients including butter, milk and eggs that would otherwise go bad during Lent. Pancakes, particularly thin and buttery crepes, were a great way to clear the cupboards in one easy and indulgent dish with no waste to throw away.

The tradition has carried on and one many people around the world look forward to and enjoy.

We have a fail safe batter recipe to share with you so you will have perfect pancakes on the big day and can carry on this tradition.

Ingredients
140g plain flour
200ml whole milk
2 eggs
25g butter (unsalted) melted, plus extra for greasing

Method
Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl. Create a well and then mix in the milk and eggs and slowly start to whisk. Add the milk and water, whisking constantly and add the flour as you do so.

Whisk the batter until it is smooth, then set aside to rest for half and hour before whisking the melted butter into the batter.

Heat the pan over a medium heat and lightly grease with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour around two tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl around the bottom so it is evenly coated.

You are aiming for a delicate, crepe like pancake so cook for just under a minute one each side and try not to drop the pancake on the floor as you flip it.

Slide the pancake out of the pan and get working on the next one as your testers try out toppings.

Talking of toppings, there are so many we don’t know where to start.

You can go simple with lemon and sugar, just sugar, strawberry jam or chocolate spread.

If you are more a savoury pancake lover how about ham and cheese, crispy bacon and maple syrup, prawns or cheese and broccoli.

If you are still on that New Year health kick, add berries, bananas, mangoes with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of crème fresh.

Enjoy and let us know how you get on.

Oh, and don’t forget to give something up for Lent!