Healthy meals the slow cooker way

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Far from being old-fashioned, slow cookers are the cool kids on the block when it comes to making healthy, wholesome food, The brilliant thing about these culinary beauties is that you don’t have to slave in the kitchen for hours to make a wonderful meal for all to enjoy.

From soups and stews, to casseroles and curries, we have a feeling that if you make the move to the slow side, there will be no looking back.

Bolognaise
The days of splashing tomato sauce everywhere when you make a bolognaise are over, because the slow cooker will keep it all contained. You might want to brown off your mince and onions first, then you can add this mix to your pot, together with two tins of tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms, tomato purée and herbs. Put the lid on and let it cook for around six hours and the magic will get to work. When meal time comes around, cook up some pasta, pile onto plates, add some parmesan and enjoy.

Tofu curry
With more and more people choosing a plant-based diet, the slow cooker is a ‘must have’ for vegans. Put some diced tofu, a blend of spices, curry paste, some peppers, green beans, and diced onions together with coconut milk and a little water, into the pot and leave to slowly simmer. In just a few hours you will have a healthy, totally tasty meal that you can eat for dinner, and pack for lunch the next day. Just add rice, and you are good to go.

Spicy sweet potato and lentil stew
Lentils are a really great source of healthy protein and are also cost-effective when it comes to cooking. Mix a few tablespoons of red lentils, with diced sweet potatoes, sliced carrots, and celery as well as peeled leeks, a thumb of crushed ginger, and a small teaspoon of curry powder. Place it all in your slow cooker with a cup or so of water, put on a low heat for around six hours and you will have a delicious, nutritious meal waiting for you when hunger strikes.

Mean meatballs
You might not have thought about the slow cooker for meatballs, but this dish is perfect for exactly that. Either buy pre-made beef or turkey meatballs, or you can make them yourself, and as with bolognaise, brown the meat and onions before adding them to the pot with tinned tomatoes, tomato purée as well as frozen peas and mushrooms. Put the lid on, press go and let the flavour of the ingredients get to work as you get on with your day. This dish is perfect with rice or pasta and a side of broccoli, and the leftovers are great cold in sandwiches the next day!

Mushroom soup
Mushrooms are jam-packed with B vitamins, potassium, iron and copper, and make a brilliant slow cooker soup. Slice a good-sized pack of mushrooms and put them in your slow cooker together with vegetable stock, browned onions, garlic plus salt and pepper, and cook on high for about three hours. If you want the soup to be thick and full, add some cream, then serve with crusty bread and a cheese board.

Lasagne
You heard it right here, you can totally make a delicious lasagne in a slow cooker. Once the meat and onions have been browned, mix with a couple of cans of tomatoes, tomato purée and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, then layer this with your pasta sheets and cheese sauce. Put the lid on and cook for around six hours on low. Once piping hot, serve with a green salad and garlic bread and we think you will be pleasantly surprised at how good it tastes.

Lentil soup
There is nothing boring about lentil soup if you add in chickpeas, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper as well as any veg you have kicking around in the fridge. Cook on slow for a few hours and you will have a filling lunch or late supper waiting for you when you are feeling peckish.

If you have got a recipe you think we would like, drop us a line as we would love to know what it is.

Team Pure Beauty

Stock up on strawberries this summer

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Go into any supermarket at the moment or drive through local villages and strawberries are the star of the show.

As well as tasting amazing, the humble strawberry is packed with packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and they are sodium, cholesterol and fat free.

You can of course eat straight them from the box with cream and add to packed lunches, but you can also create a strawberry treat that will have your taste buds tingling.

Strawberry Smoothie

This smoothie is a great ‘on the go breakfast’ or as healthy afternoon treat that will keep you away from the chocolate.

For two large glasses, you will need:

1 ripe, sliced banana
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of blueberries
1 red apple, peeled and cored
1/2 a cup of coconut water
3/4 of a cup of organic Greek yogurt
1/2 a teaspoon of honey (optional)
4 ice cubes

Place the banana, strawberries, blueberries, apple, and ice cubes into a blender and whizz for 30 seconds. Next pour in the coconut water, yogurt, and honey, puree until smooth then enjoy.

Strawberry Crumble

Bear with us on this because we know it sounds a bit odd but it tastes great. For one family sizes crumble, you will need:

350g of clean, halved strawberries
3 sticks of rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
85g of plain flour
50g caster sugar
25g ground almonds
50g unsalted butter, chopped into small cubes
¾ of a cup of pecans and hazelnuts, chopped
Grated zest of one small orange
Ground cinnamon

To make:
Heat your oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Cook the strawberry and rhubarb mixture over medium for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chunky mixture is syrupy and place in a pie dish.

Mix the flour, sugar and ground almonds together then add the butter and rub together until you have rough crumbs. Stir in the orange zest which will offset the taste of the strawberries and rhubarb wonderfully.

Spread the crumble topping over the fruit, then sprinkle with the copped nuts and cinnamon.

Bake for 25 mins until golden and bubbly and once cooled serve with ice cream or custard.

Strawberry Jam

There is something so special about strawberry jam, especially when it is homemade. This great, easy to make recipe tastes amazing with everything from freshly buttered toast to warm scones but be patient as it is a fiddly job.

You will need:

1kg of washed, hulled strawberries
750g of jam sugar
The juice of one lemon
A jam pain
A pasty brush
A preserving or digital thermometer
A selection of jars and lids, wax discs, cellophane circles and rubber bands
Labels

Prepare the strawberries by wiping them with damp kitchen paper so the fruit won’t absorb lots of water. To hull the fruit simply cut a cone shape into the strawberry and remove the stem. If you have any large berries, cut these in half.

Place the strawberries in a bowl and gently toss them in the sugar. Leave then uncovered at room temperature for 12 hours, this is often best done overnight and by doing this, hopefully the fruit won’t disintegrate too much and will keep its bright, beautiful colour.

Tip the strawberry mixture into a preserving pan along with your lemon juice. Set the pan over a low heat and cook really, really gently.

If any sugar stays on the sides of the pan, dip a pastry brush in hot water and brush it into the liquid.

When the sugar has 100% dissolved, turn the heat up so the jam starts bubbling and bring it to the boil.

Boil for around 10 mins or until the jam has reached 105C (this is why you need the preserving or digital thermometer) and then turn the heat off.

Use a spoon to skim any residue from the surface of the jam.

Leave the jam to settle for 15 mins and meanwhile, sterilise your jars.

Gently ladle the jam into the jars, filling them just below the rim. Place a wax disc on top of the jam, this prevents mildew forming, then cover with a lid or cellophane circle and elastic band.

Label the jars, adding a date, and while you can store for up to one year, but we are sure your jam will be be eaten way before that.

Team Pure-Beauty

Celebrate World Chocolate Day

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baking, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, boiling water, cake, caster sugar, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate hit, clean, cocoa, cool, cream, creative, dark chocolate, delicious cake, double cream, Double Decker, electric whisk, enjoy, enjoy life, firm, fool-proof, free range eggs, full fat milk, good stuff, grease, guilt free, healthy eating plan, hour, ice, ice cream, icing, liquid, low heat, lump free, Maltesers, Mars bar, melted, Minstrels, mixing bowl, mixture, money, pan, plain flour, pour, quality, rack, Rolos, sandwich tins, skewer, smooth liquid, squares, Thornton’s, touch, Twix, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, wash your hands, wooden spoon, World Chocolate Day

World Chocolate Day, also known as International Chocolate Day, is here once again on 7th July and it is a great reason to ditch your healthy eating plan and enjoy the good stuff, guilt free.

With so many bars and brands out there, just where do you start when it comes to chocolate?

‘I love nothing more than a Double Decker and quite like Rolos too.”
Jane

“I love dark chocolate and have a couple of squares everyday.”
Danni

“For me it’s chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce.”
Vicky

“I wish I could stop at one chocolate but no, I can eat an entire tray of Thornton’s in one go.”
Annie

Whilst you can go out and buy a Mars Bar, Twix and family bag of Maltesers to enjoy on 7th July, why not make this amazing fool-proof chocolate cake that is bang on the cocoa money.

For one delicious cake you will need:
225g of plain flour
350g of caster sugar
85g of cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of good quality vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons of baking powder and the same of bicarbonate of soda
2 large free-range eggs
125 ml of vegetable oil
250 ml of full fat milk
250 ml of boiling water
For the top of the cake you will need
200g of good quality, dark chocolate
200 ml of double cream
1 large bag of Minstrels or similar

In preparation for baking, wash your hands then preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 then grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins.

To start making your cake, put all the ingredients, except the water, into a mixing bowl and beat the mixture until smooth and lump free. You can do this using a wooden spoon or an electric whisk.
Next add the boiling water a little at a time, until you have a smooth liquid – don’t worry this is how it is meant to be.

Divide the mix in two and pour into the sandwich tins and bake for around 30 minutes, or until the top of the cakes are firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

When ready, take the cakes out of the over and allow them to cool on a rack before you add the icing.

To make the icing, you will need to put the chocolate and cream in a pan and let them melt over a very low heat. Once they have melted, take away from the heat and whisk the mixture until it is smooth and thick then cover and let it rest for around an hour.

When ready, spread the icing onto the base of one cake, add the second cake then ice the top with the reminder of the mixture.

You can then get creative and add an extra chocolate hit with the Minstrels or sweets of your choice.

Serve as it comes or with ice cream and enjoy!

Team Pure Beauty