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

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Make yours a healthy breakfast

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We all know breakfast is an important meal of the day, so getting it right is important.

Rather than opting for white toast loaded with margarine or a bowl of sugar-coated cereal that will have your mood drop before you get the bus, instead choose a meal packed with protein, vitamins and minerals that will keep you full until lunchtime, or at least your 11am banana break.

Poached Eggs With Mushrooms and Tomatoes
Beef tomatoes and golden brown mushrooms served with a perfect poached eggs is a breakfast winner. To help the egg whites set, add a splash of vinegar to your water and add a little olive oil to the toast. If you want to make this into a hearty dinner, add extra mushrooms, smoked salmon and a serving of iron rich spinach.

Avocado & Strawberry Smoothie
This creamy breakfast blend is high in calcium and low in calories and a great way to start your day, especially if you are on the run. You will need:

• ½ a ripe avocado stoned, peeled and cut into chunks
• 150g of strawberries
• 150g of blueberries
• 4 tbsp. of natural yogurt
• 200ml of almond or oat milk
• Lemon or lime juice, to taste
• Honey if needed
• Ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a little water then either enjoy at home, or put in a bottle and take to work.

Nut Butter, Banana & Chia Seed Toast

This is a superfood twist on classic peanut butter on toast. It is packed with vitamins and minerals and for one tasty serving you will need:

• Half a large banana (sliced)
• A teaspoon of chia seeds (soaked for 15 minutes)
• 1 slice of dark rye break, toasted
• 1 tablespoon of nut butter (we like almond)
• 4 strawberries

Toast the bread then spread the nut butter on top. Place slices of banana on the nut butter and top with chia seeds and serve with the strawberries for an extra vitamin boost and enjoy before making a second round!

Avocado on Toast
There’s a real benefit to starting your day with creamy avocado on toast, a dish that is popular with our team. The fruit is loaded with fibre and fab cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fats. Plus, the whole meal is ready in just three simple steps so you have to time to make it every day of the week. Mash the avocado onto toasted rye bread, drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle with black pepper and enjoy. If you are extra hungry, added a serving of hot scrambled eggs.

Blueberry Muffins
Made with plump blueberries, whole-wheat flour, oats and Greek yogurt, these healthy muffins keep you full during those long Monday morning meetings. For 12 muffins you will need:

• ¼ of a cup of wholewheat flour
• 1 cup of large organic oats
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• ½ a cup of light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest, plus two tablespoons of pure orange juice
• 2 medium free range eggs
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

To start with heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and line a muffin tin with muffin size paper liners.

Place the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine powder. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, butter, orange zest and juice, egg, and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and mix together before adding in the blueberries. Make sure all ingredients are folded together well. Divide the mix into the muffin cases then bake for 20 minutes until they have raised and golden. Eat them at home or take to work and share.

Happy breakfast eating.

Team Pure Beauty

The good news about chocolate

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The Easter bunny might be long gone, but it could be that you still have some chocolate eggs hanging around waiting to be eaten. Or not!

If you have and you are feeling guilty about finishing it off, we are here to tell you not to.

We have it from the powers that be, that chocolate is good for you.

Now, we aren’t talking about cramming down a family bag of mini eggs followed by a KitKat chaser, but as with most things, eating it in moderation doesn’t hurt.

It would seem that good quality, dark chocolate with a cocoa percentage of around 70% or more, can be good for the heart, circulation and brain, and could be beneficial for managing conditions such as obesity and diabetes.

Dark chocolate is full of health boosting minerals including potassium, zinc and selenium, and a 100g bar of the really good stuff provides 67 per cent of the RDA of iron – great for anyone looking to boost their iron intake!

Blood sugar levels are tricky to control but eating a square or two of dark chocolate can help maintain healthy levels of insulin sensitivity and turn this helps to lower blood-glucose levels. Win, win.

Research published in the British Medical Journal has suggested that eating a little dark chocolate could help lower the risk of developing heart disease by one-third, and that’s got to be worth considering?

Eating an entire chocolate cake with a side of Mars Bar isn’t going to help your waistline but, a little can help control your weight. The scientist, Dr. Will Clower, believes a small square of good chocolate melted on the tongue 20 minutes before eating a main meal triggers the hormones in the brain that says you are full. so you eat less. Think about it and finishing a meal with the treat and trigger could reduce subsequent snacking.

Apparently one mug of cocoa (using pure cocoa powder) has double the antioxidants of green tea and we think it tastes way better too. It is also worth noting that two mugs of cocoa may help keep the brain healthy and prevent memory decline, thanks to better blood flow. That’s according to scientists at Harvard Medical School, so it must be true.

Dark chocolate is jam-packed with the helpful flavonols that help to protect your skin against sun damage. You still need to layer on the sun cream but good to know that evening snack is helping your beauty routine.

Forget happy pills, if you want to feel good a little chocolate will boost your levels of dopamine, a natural painkiller, and serotonin, which produces feelings of pleasure. Eat up and feel the love.

We believe researchers in Finland found that chocolate reduced stress in expectant mothers, and that the babies of those mothers smiled more often than the offspring of non-chocolate-eating parents. Watch out for those new baby photos on Facebook to see who is snacking on chocolate.

The bad news! Yes, you know you couldn’t have it all. Sorry. However much goodness is packed onto a bar of chocolate, it is still pretty high in calories, fat and sugar – so make sure you eat in moderation if you want the good to outweigh the bad.

Team Pure Beauty

Keep your sweet tooth at bay

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December is a time when we sit back, enjoy life and over indulge. Sugar is on pretty served on tap over the festive period and now many of us are looking to make some sensible, healthy swaps.

This said, you don’t have to live on water and dry crackers to get healthy but we have to tell you, the only way to kick a sugar habit is to cut right back.

This won’t be easy but over time your body will crave sugar less and you will feel so much better.

We have had a look at some delicious alternatives to sugary snacks and drinks that will keep your cravings for the white stuff at bay.

Porridge with sliced fruit isn’t just a brain boosting breakfast but can also be a filling snack. Keep a stash at work and you won’t be tempted to reach for that chocolate cake.

If you want a healthy snack with a naughty edge, go for rice cakes with peanut butter and chopped banana.

Popcorn can be a great, healthy treat. We aren’t talking about the mega buckets at the cinema but instead fresh popcorn made at home with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Give it a go; we think you will like it, a lot.

Organic oatcakes with hummus and slices of cucumber make a protein packed snack that will keep hunger locked up until lunchtime.

Bananas are great on cereal and smoothies but peel and chop ripe ones into bite-sized chunks and you have crunchy treats that are full of Vitamins B6 and C, potassium, and a serving of fibre too. Frozen grapes are pretty good too.

For an on the run snack that is as easy to make as it to eat, go for homemade trail mix. Throw together coconut flakes, dried fruit, goji berries, raw ruts and seeds and you have an instant, delicious snack that will keep you away from the vending machine. Just watch portion sizes.

Keep a stock of frozen berries in the freezer and add them to low-fat Greek yoghurt for an evening treat. This tastes great but it’s low in sugar and high in protein so will keep you fuller, for longer.

Chunks of melon, strawberries and grapes make tasty fruit kebabs and top up that all-important five a day quota.

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds with a handful of nuts are a cracking combination.

For a real taste bud tingle go for an ice-cold smoothie packed with mango, banana, kiwi, cucumber, spinach, a splash of coconut milk and a little lemongrass. Delicious and refreshing.

Low fat milk with a little honey can give you the sweet hit you need without blowing the plan out of the water.

For a sugar free savory winner, how about sliced apple and pear with a layer of low fat cream cheese?

If you are having a bad day and only chocolate will do, we will let you have a square or two of good quality dark chocolate, but don’t eat it all.

Got a winning combination? Let us know what healthy snacks work for you.

Team Pure-Beauty

What Happens to Your Body When you Give Up Sugar?

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acne, bloating, cortisol, energised, energy, insulin, low energy, quit, quitting, sluggish, sugar

December is almost over which means that most of us are ready to switch out of ‘over-indulgence’ mode and into a far more virtuous mind-set. With Christmas goodies all around, it’s so easy to eat more sugar than during the whole rest of the year and January is a great time to think about seriously reducing your sugar intake, or even giving it up altogether. Today, we’re taking a look at what happens to your body when you quit sugar, to give you an idea of how it might benefit you.

Acne

When you suffer with acne, there are often one or a number of triggers which are personal to you, which can include hormones or any other number of things. However, most people who suffer with acne report a marked improvement when they cut all sugar out of their diet, so if you’re a sufferer it could be well worth a try to improve your outbreak frequency.

Anxiety

It’s been largely proven that the whole “sugar makes kids hyper” thing is a myth, but many adults report that high levels of sugar can really aggravate feelings of stress and anxiety and that cutting it out can improve anxiety levels overall. Reducing stress is important for your heart and overall health, so this could have a knock-on effect in other areas, too.

Weight Loss

In the past, we were taught that fat was the thing to cut down on if we wanted to lose weight, but the most up-to-date research shows that it’s actually sugar which needs to be cut out in order for our bodies to effectively shed weight. Quitting sugar and other simple carbs is the best way to lose weight, feel healthier and even possibly reverse type 2 diabetes.

Bloating

Eating a lot of sugar can encourage the body to hang on to excess fluid, leaving you feeling bloated and over-full. The good news is that as soon as you cut down, your body will release the excess fluid and help you to feel slimmer and less bloated almost immediately.

Energy

Eating large volumes of sugar floods your body, needing a high level of insulin to process it, which then causes your body to crash and feel super low. Sugar also interferes with cortisol production, which can affect your sleep cycle, leaving you feeling incredibly low on energy for the whole day. Quitting sugar and eating a high protein diet will help to keep you feeling energised.