Bowls are the new plates

Tags

afraid, balancing, banana, basil, bean, bean and mackerel, blender, blending grains, blueberries and raspberries, bowl, Bowl meals, breakfast, Broccoli, celebr, celebrity, cereal, cherry tomato, chopped, combinations, Courgette, cucumber, dinner, eat, eggs, enjoy, fantastic flavours, fast, feta cheese, Granola, Grilled chicken, halloumi, halved, hard boiled, kale, ketchup, Lime wedges, lunch, mayo, mix the ingredients, natural yogurt, nuggets and chips, organic baby spinach, pan fried, parsley, peeled and sliced, quinoa, red onion, red pepper., rice, ripe cherry tomatoes, rye bread, salmon, shredded, small can of sweetcorn, smooth, snack, sofa, squeeze of fresh lemon juice, sunflower and sesame seeds, superfood, Sweet and green smoothie bowl, toasted sesame seeds, trays, tuna, unfussy, veggies, washed, work

Every now and again, a food trend comes along from nowhere and takes us by storm.

This year is no different, but it isn’t a super food or celebrity chef, it’s the mere kitchen bowl.

From breakfast and lunch through to dinner with a snack along the way, if you are going to eat, then do it from a bowl.

We aren’t talking nuggets and chips being tipped into a cereal bowl and squirted with extra ketchup, but more about blending grains, veggies and proteins to balance portion control and goodness.

Bowl meals are fast, unfussy and full of fantastic flavours. They can be prepared the night before and be eaten while working or enjoyed at home, tucked up on the sofa with no trays and balancing needed.

We have put together our favourite combinations, so you can have a try.

Don’t be afraid; all you need to do is mix the ingredients together and then decide which bowl you are going to enjoy them from.

Cucumber, cherry tomato, rye bread and halloumi
1 handful of ripe cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
40g of halloumi, cut into slices and stir fried
Cucumber, chopped into chunks
1 slice of rye bread, toasted and cut into strips
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
A drizzle of olive oil
Fresh basil to decorate
Salt and pepper to season

Courgette, bean and mackerel
1 courgette, shaved
1 handful of olives (black or green), pitted and halved
4 tablespoons of kidney beans, washed and drained
1 smoked mackerel fillet, skin off and shredded
A drizzle of olive oil
Fresh parsley to top

Tuna, bean and rice
1 red onion, finely chopped
½ can of tuna
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 small can of sweetcorn
4 tablespoons of red kidney beans, washed and drained
300g cooked brown rice with added quinoa
50g kale, washed and chopped
Lime wedges and natural yogurt, to serve

Salmon and broccoli
½ head broccoli, cooked and cut into florets
100g fresh salmon fillet, skinned, deboned and pan-fried
½ cup of peas, cooked and cooled
2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
1 tablespoons of mayo

Grilled chicken and red pepper
1 chicken breast, cooked
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
1 cup of organic baby spinach, steamed
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon of roasted sunflower and sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Sweet and green smoothie bowl
75 ml organic apple juice
1 banana, peeled and sliced
2 Juice of ½ a lime
1 large handful spinach
1/2 avocado, peeled and stoned
100g pineapple chunks
Granola, blueberries and raspberries to serve

To make this sweet bowl, put the banana, lime juice, spinach, avocado and pineapple in a blender and whizz until smooth. Pour into a bowl and then add the granola and blueberries and enjoy.

Each suggestion on this list makes one bowl and ingredients can be varied to suit tastes.

Got a bowl meal you love? Let us know about it so we can give it a try.

Team Pure Beauty

Bake a cake and be happy

Tags

baking, beauties, butter, cakes, caster sugar, chocolate, cloth, cocoa powder, cool, creations, crisp, cup cake, decorate, drizzle, dusted, eggs, even, fab, firm, free range eggs, golden brown, granulated sugar, grated orange, greased, icing, juice, kid, lemon curd, lemon drizzle, marzipan, minutes, mix, mixed, muffins, pale, paper cases, paste, pennies, pink, recipe, risen, roll out, sandwich, satisfying, self-raising flour, share, sift, slices of lemon, smooth, Special, sticky, Sunday afternoon, supermarket, topping, traditional, unsalted butter, wire rack, yellow Battenberg, zest

There is something relaxing about switching off, putting on your apron and baking a cake.

Yes, we know you can buy them for pennies in the shops, but making a batch of muffins or baking the perfect sponge is one of the most satisfying ways of spending Sunday afternoon and eating your creations is pretty special too.

We are big bakers here at Pure Beauty and today we are sharing a couple of our favourite tea time treats with you.

We have taken the traditional pink and yellow Battenberg and put a twist on it. This chocolate and orange version looks complicated but it is simply two flavoured sponge cakes cut into strips and wrapped in glorious marzipan.

Ingredients:
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
225g caster sugar
225g butter, softened
4 large free range eggs, beaten
2 tsp finely grated orange peel
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp cocoa powder mixed into a paste with 1 tbsp hot water
4 tbsp apricot jam, warmed
450g good quality marzipan

To start, pre-heat your oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl then add the sugar, butter and eggs and beat until the mixture is pale, smooth and creamy. Divide the mixture into two bowls then fold the orange rind and juice into one and the blended cocoa powder into the other.

Spoon the mixture into two separate square cake tins and level the surface, make sure they are greased and we go for an 18cm tin.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are risen and firm to the touch.

Cool for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack and leave to totally cool.

Trim the edges from each cake then cut each cake into four even-sized strips. Use a little of the jam to sandwich two of the chocolate strips of cake with two of the orange strips and this will create one chequered effect cake – it looks pretty fab!

Roll out half the marzipan on an icing sugar dusted surface and create an 18 x 30cm rectangle. Brush the top of the cake with jam and press this gently onto the marzipan. Brush the other sides of the cake with jam and wrap marzipan around all of the cake and crimp along the top edges of the cake with your fingertips – have a clean cloth ready for sticky fingers.

Repeat to make a second cake and serve with tea.

If you are more of a cup cake kind of kid, then how about these lemon drizzle beauties? For a dozen you will need:

175g unsalted butter, softened and at room temperature
175g golden caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3 large free range eggs
2 tablespoons of lemon curd
If you want to add the topping, you will need:
100g granulated sugar
The juice and grated zest of one, organic lemon – they taste the most zingy – and slices of lemon to decorate

To make you will need to preheat your oven to 180C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases.

Put the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs in a bowl and whisk until pale and creamy then gently fold in the lemon curd.

Put the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cakes have risen and are golden brown.

Whilst the cakes are baking, mix the granulated sugar and lemon juice and zest together and drizzle a little on each cake a couple of minutes after they have come out of the oven, put a slice of lemon on each one, then leave to cool so the topping goes crisp and enjoy at any time of the day.

Got a recipe you love? Send it our way and we might share with everyone else.

Team Pure Beauty

Chicken soup, the soul lifter

Tags

anti-biotics, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral properties, betacarotene, blender, bones, bowl, brown rice, bug busting, butternut squash, chicken, chicken soup, chillies, cold viruses, fresh ginger, garlic, ginger, gut-friendly bacteria, hydrate, immune system boosters, ingredients, live yogurt, mix, mushrooms, nasal membranes, natural decongestant, nose, onion, pan, potent, powerful, quinoa, sauté, Shiitake mushrooms, shred, smooth, sniff, spoonful, spoonful of live yoghurt, stir, stock, stuffy nose, super-nourishing, zinc

Old wives tale or not, there is something magical about chicken soup.

Clear broths for poorly tums, spicy chicken noodle soup for a stuffy nose and there is nothing like a lovely bowl of hot, creamy soup to cheer you up when you are feeling below par.

You can of course get it in a can, but if you want something super-nourishing that will warm you up and make you feel better and brighter, we have the perfect recipe for you.

For our winning bug buster you will need:

5 chicken thighs (ideally organic)
1 small butternut squash, deseeded
1 small pack of Shiitake mushrooms, washed
4 cloves of garlic
1 red onion
2 green chillies
1 piece of fresh ginger (a 5cm square should work)
1 litre of fresh chicken stock
To make a perfect pan soup, you will need to:

Chop the chillies, garlic, onion and sauté them together until the onion softens and goes slightly brown.

Next, chop the butternut squash into manageable cubes, slice the mushrooms and add to the pan together with the chicken. Stir all of this together and then add enough stock to cover the ingredients.

Turn down the heat and simmer the mix until the squash is soft and the chicken is cooked.

This is the bit many people don’t do, and makes all the difference. Carefully remove the chicken from the soup and put on plate, put the other ingredients in a blender and mix until you have a smooth soup base.

Loosen the chicken from the bones, shred and then put back into the now smooth soup and serve.

Individually these ingredients are powerful, together they are potent, and this is why.

Let’s start with the chicken. We all know chicken is a source of protein which is vital for your immune systems but it also packed with zinc, which is believed to reduce the severity and length of colds.

The chicken stock is added because that extra bit of liquid will not only help hydrate you but also clear blocked noses.

Green chillies are a brilliant natural decongestant that stimulates nasal membranes and helps clear nasty mucus.

Garlic contains the compound allicin, which is full of antibacterial and antiviral properties, which help mop up cold viruses and get rid of them a little bit faster.

We suggest using red, rather than white onions, because they contain antibacterial properties and offer and added blast of goodness.

Butternut squash isn’t always used in soup but we like it because it is full of betacarotene, which an anti-inflammatory that will also helping clear up a stuff nose. Bet you didn’t know that?

Ginger is an all round natural bug busting wonder product. It fires up you circulation so those white blood cells can deal with any infection fast, it warms up if you are feeling cold and because it has anti-inflammatory properties it can clear bunged up noses and heavy heads.

We love this soup served piping hot with a slice of garlic bread and large glass of water with lemon, but there are other ways to enjoy it.

If bread isn’t for you, but you need a little more energy, why not add a handful of brown rice or quinoa.

If you have been on antibiotics, adding a spoonful of live yoghurt will give you a much-needed serving of gut-friendly bacteria.

If you are a vegetarian, don’t despair. Swapping the chicken thighs for a handful of almonds will give you a healthy serving of essential amino acids that are brilliant immune system boosters.

What’s your favourite soup, we would love to know.

Team Pure-Beauty

How to Apply the Perfect Smoky Eye

Tags

blend, blending, brushes, crows feet, decleor, Decleor Hydra-Radiance Smoothing and Cleansing Mousse, dermalogica, Dermalogica Ultra Sensitive Tint SPF30, eye, eye liner, eye make up, eye shadow, Eyes, greys, liner, make-up, Mascara, pallette, purple, skin, smoky eye, smooth

Make up trends come and go on what seems like an almost daily basis, but if there’s one make-up look which is always in style, it’s the smoky eye. Achievable in a number of different tones with each more effective than the last, the killer smoky eye is easy to achieve providing you follow the right steps:

• Make sure your face is super clean first so that you’ve got the best canvas on which to work. Opt for an all-round cleanser such as Decleor Hydra-Radiance Smoothing and Cleansing Mousse, which is suitable for all skin types.
• Use a good eye cream which will help you to reduce the appearance of fine lines around the area. Nothing ruins a smoky eye quicker than all of your eye shadow disappearing under loose skin!
• Apply a primer to your face, which will blur imperfections and smooth out your skin, making it far easier to apply an even layer of colour.
• Use the right brushes. The applicators which are given away with most eye shadows are actually really rubbish for blending, so invest in a good set of brushes before you take the plunge.
• Choose a shade which suits you – olive and darker skins look fantastic with a bronze-based gradient, while lighter skinned women look great with greys and blacks. If you’re feeling really brave, you could even opt for other hues, such as purple or a shimmery emerald which are both huge right now.
• Use a cotton bud dipped into a little concealer to get rid of any mistakes or smudges, otherwise you’ll end up rubbing everything off and starting again!
• If you use eyeliner – a harsh line of black on your lid will stand out a mile, whereas a well-blended line of kohl will make your eyes pop.
• Use concealer (or dab some Dermalogica Ultra Sensitive Tint SPF30) under your eyes to ensure you don’t have dark bags, which could potentially ruin your whole look.
• BLEND, BLEND, BLEND! The key to a smoky eye is that the colours are seamlessly blended together to create the whole look – fail to do so and ‘smoky’ becomes ‘stripey’!

 

Flawless without Photoshop

Tags

ageing, aging, beauty, Britney Spears, celebrities, Cindy Crawford, crows feet, dark circles, decleor, Decleor Anti-Wrinkle Starter Kit, Decleor Gradual Glow Hydrating Body Milk, Decleor Sculpt Stretch Mark Restructuring Gel-Cream, dehydration, dermalogica, Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex, Dermalogica Body Hydrating Cream, Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant, drier, hyperpigmentation, Kim Cattrall, Madonna, Penelope Cruz, photos, photoshop, prematurely aging, puffiness, re-touching, skin sensitivity, smooth, smoother, smoothing, wrinkles

It’s a sad fact that we very rarely see an untouched image of celebrities these days, no matter how flawless they actually are in real life. This unrealistic standard is so hard for ‘normal’ women to live up to, especially when we don’t even know what’s real and what’s not. Today, we take a look at five “before and after” shots of some of the most famous, and beautiful, women on the planet and makes some slightly more realistic suggestions of how to take care of your skin without the need for Photoshop.

Madonna

Given the fact that Madonna is 58 years old and is a life0long smoker, we think she looks pretty amazing in the first picture, but whoever retouched the second image obviously believes that her skin has too many wrinkles. She could probably benefit from using Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex which helps with wrinkles, crows feet, puffiness, dark circles due to hyperpigmentation and skin sensitivity due to dehydration. It is suitable for drier/prematurely-aging.

Cindy Crawford

Cindy Crawford may now be 50 but she’s credited with being one of the world’s first supermodels and, in our opinion, still looks incredible. Obviously, it’s inevitable that skin will change texture, and the skin of a fifty year old will rarely be as smooth and taut as that of a 20 year old, but using Dermalogica Body Hydrating Cream daily can help to firm and re-texturise the skin, giving a more youthful appearance.

Kim Cattrall

Kim Cattrall is best-known for playing Samantha Jones in Sex and the City and is ageing better than most of us could ever hope to, which is why it baffles us that they chose to retouch her photo in the first place. We’re guessing that she already uses a good anti-wrinkle kit because her skin is so radiant and youthful, and we’d recommend Decleor Anti-Wrinkle Starter Kit if you want similar results.

Britney Spears

Proving that even younger women aren’t immune to the compulsive need to retouch images, 35-year-old Britney Spears has been given the treatment here, where they appear to have darkened her skin and sculpted her bottom. For results that don’t require a PC, try using Decleor Gradual Glow Hydrating Body Milk to give yourself a natural colour, plus Decleor Sculpt Stretch Mark Restructuring Gel-Cream for a smoother rear-end.

Penelope Cruz

We’re not quite sure why magazine editors feel the need to make celebrities appear as though their skin has the same texture as glass, but Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz was obviously considered far too human in the before shot, despite being basically flawless. If you’re worried about the texture of your skin, you can always use Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant to help you to appear slightly smoother.