How to eat for a less stressed life

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They say you are what you eat, and this is so true when it comes to our stress levels.

Not only is stress linked to serious physical health issues like heart disease, a poor immune system and digestive problems, but it plays a significant factor when it comes to our mental wellbeing.

You might not know this, but eating a balanced, nutritious diet isn’t only good for your body but it’s key for your brain, too.

Food can also affect our hormones, so eating well will help you to keep your cool and you’ll find that the more of the right stuff you eat, the less of the bad stuff you will feel.

We have had a look at some ideas that could help you get a better balance in your life and help the world to look like a better place.

Keep your blood sugar levels steady
This step is so important and can be done if you start to swap sugary and starchy foods for complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats as these are more satisfying and keep things balanced. Sweet potato and broccoli (complex carbs) with salmon (healthy fats and protein) make a great meal for lunch or dinner and will not only fill you up but also keep things steady so your stress levels don’t though the roof. Celery sticks with hummus, a handful of nuts, and a banana with some almond butter are all great snacks that will keep stress away, and if you start your day with porridge, you are onto a winner.

Get your B vitamins
You might not know this, but B vitamins are brilliant because they help your adrenal glands deal with stress. Luckily for us, they are everywhere and in everything from wholegrains, eggs and meat to nuts and seeds. If you can try to eat more of these wholesome, nourishing foods, your stress levels will thank you.

Make time for magnesium
Magnesium is great for helping your body to deal with stress, it is thought that a magnesium deficiency can be linked to anxiety. If you want to boost your magnesium intake, it’s pretty easy – just pile your plate with broccoli, eggs, spinach and pumpkin seeds and if you are worried you aren’t getting enough, take a supplement and let the goodness calm you down.

Cut back on stimulants
We do take them on board so easily, that we forget just how much stimulants can make our stress levels worse. If you love tea and coffee because it powers you up, that’s ok, but try to have just one or two cups a day, rather than ten.

Those energy drinks, even the sugar free ones, are full of nasties that can make you feel as if your heart is racing and your stress levels are off the scale, so cut them out.
If you find yourself needing a caffeine hit, get it the natural way and go for green tea instead – it contains a compound called l-theanine which helps you feel calmer, and the warmth will soothe you but your stress levels won’t go through the roof.

Keep hydrated
One of the best things you can do for your mind and body, is to drink plenty of water. We know we say this a lot, but that’s because it’s true. Starting the day with a cup of warm water and lemon can really help to kick start your system and clear away the toxins from the night before. Carry a bottle of water with you on the go (a reusable one of course) and fill it up when you are running low, adding lemon, lime and ice for taste. As well as a glass on your desk or at your workstation, also try out herbal and fruit teas as an alternative to the skinny, double shot, extra hot flat white that will set your nerves on edge and add to your stress levels.

Managing your diet is key to helping with stress, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed and things are getting out of hand, it’s really important to speak to someone or seek professional support, you don’t have to struggle alone.

Team Pure Beauty

Soup To Nourish Your Body

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If you are looking for wholesome, nourishing food that will feed your body this winter, soups are a real winner.

Yes, you can buy tinned and fresh ones at the supermarket, but there is something really satisfying about serving up a steaming bowl of goodness you have made from scratch.

Asian Broth
If you are looking for a light lunch option, you can’t go wrong with this quick and easy recipe that serves four.

You will need:
3 cloves of garlic
One piece of ginger (around 5cm)
200 g of pak choi, choy sum and Chinese cabbage
2 spring onions
1 red chilli
2 star anise
800 ml of clear vegetable stock
1 lime
Soy sauce

To make:
Peel and crush the garlic, then peel and grate the ginger. Trim the greens and finely slice the spring onions and chilli then add to a saucepan together with the garlic, ginger and star anise.
Put the pan over a low heat, add the stock, then bring to the boil. Gently simmer for around half an hour, then finally add the vegetables and cook gently until they are slightly wilted but still give a little bit of crunch.
Serve with soy sauce and a little lime juice and enjoy the fragrant flavours.

Winter Vegetable Soup with Red Lentils
This is a great warming soup to enjoy with family and friends after a country walk but also makes a hearty dinner when served with pitta bread and humus.

You will need:

85g of dried red lentils
2 medium carrots, diced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
3 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon of vegetable bouillon powder
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
Boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste

To make:
Add the lentils and vegetables to a pan together with the tomato purée, thyme, garlic, bouillon powder and coriander, then pour in one litre of boiling water and stir well. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
You can either eat this as a chunky soup, or blitz in a blender and enjoy a smoother meal.

Roast Sweet Potato Soup

This delicious soup is a packed with 2 of your 5 a day and is perfect for taking to work in a flask or eating after a gym session.

You will need:
500g of sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
300g of carrots, peeled and diced
Olive oil
2 small red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon of vegetable bouillon powder
100ml of fat-free crème fraîche, plus extra to serve
Salt and pepper
Boiling water

To make:
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7 then drizzle the carrots and sweet potatoes with olive oil plus salt and pepper and cook for around half an hour.
Heat two large tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion until it is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for several minutes then pour in the boiling water and vegetable bouillon powder and mix well and simmer for around ten minutes.
Take the roasted vegetables out of the oven and once cool, add to the pan mix and blend together until smooth and lump free.
Add the crème fraîche, reheat and enjoy.

How to Re-Grow Your Over-Plucked Eyebrows

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Here at Pure Beauty one of the ‘beauty truths’ that we wholeheartedly accept is that many things in the world of beauty and cosmetics are cyclical. This can mean that something which was fashionable for years can suddenly become the exact OPPOSITE of what’s fashionable now – and this has never been truer than it is with eyebrows! We all spent the majority of the Nineties and Noughties plucking our eyebrows into oblivion, only for 2017 to be the year of the heavy brow! Many of us have plucked our brows so much that we need a little help growing them back, so here are a few things you can try to give them a helping hand:

Step Away From the Tweezers!

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but you’re going to have to leave the tweezing alone completely for some time to allow all of your natural brows to grow back in. Once you’ve got a full set of eyebrow hairs, then you can reshape them (or even better, let a brow technician do it for you because, let’s face it, you can’t be trusted!) but until then you need to leave them alone.

Massage with Oil

Massaging the area will help in a few ways. Firstly, it will help to stimulate the hair follicles and encourage hair growth. Secondly, if you use an oil like Elemis Superfood Facial Oil it will trap moisture within the skin which your hair follicles need for healthy growth. Lastly, the nutrients within the oil, such as vitamin A and omegas, will also give your skin the vital nourishment it needs to be able to regrow the hairs.

Eat Protein

Hair and nails are made from a protein called keratin which is produced within the body, so it stands to reason that eating plenty of protein will help your body to have what it needs to some serious brow-growing. Things like meat, eggs, nuts and fish are all great sources of protein and will give you lots of hair-growing superpowers!

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an essential nutrient for hair growth so as well as eating plenty of things which contain it (avocado, sweet potato and spinach, to name but a few), using a topical product like Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Firm can really help. It’s usually intended for use around the eye and mouth area to combat wrinkles, but adding an extra layer on your brows before bed can speed up the hair growth cycles.

Be Patient!

This step is really important! Hair growth usually follows a 3-4 month cycle, which means that from the moment you stop tweezing you may have to wait 16 weeks to see how your brows have grown in. You’re potentially going to look a little bizarre with wild brows in this time, but it’s well worth it and really is the only way you’re going to see what you’ve got left to work with once you stop the hideous cycle of over-plucking.

Hair Removal – What Are Your Options?

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Hair removal – it’s one of those things that most of us do but few of us ever talk about it, but it’s a fact of life and needn’t be taboo. There are various different methods that you can use for hair removal, some more permanent than others and varying in price and effectiveness. Here’s a rundown of a few of them:

Shaving

Probably the most common type of hair removal on the planet, shaving is also one of the cheapest ways to remove hair, with some disposable razors costing a matter of pennies. It’s not a very long-lasting method because it only trims the part of the hair which sits above the skin, but it’s definitely convenient and can be done on any part of the body that you care to use it. If you plan to shave, use Elemis Energising Skin Scrub beforehand to prevent ingrown hairs and soothe the skin, post-shave, with Dermalogica Post Shave Balm.

Waxing

Waxing lasts longer than shaving and gives a smooth finish, but does have it’s downsides. You need to leave time between waxes to allow the hair to be long enough for the wax to adhere to, and there’s obviously the pain-factor. Also, unless you wax at home, you’ll need regular appointments which can be pricey. If you do wax, treat your skin with Decleor Post-Wax Double Action Gel to soothe and repair.

Laser

Laser is probably the most expensive way to remove hair but it’s also the only way to remove hair permanently. Most people require between 6 and 10 sessions for complete removal and occasional touch-ups if you get a rogue hair or two growing back, but most people have great levels of success with it. Your skin will feel sensitive after a laser session, so treat your skin to some Decleor Rose D’Orient Soothing Oil Serum.

Threading

Threading is an ancient form of hair removal from Asia which involves using pieces of twisted thread to pull the hairs out. Many Asian women use threading to remove facial hair and arm hairs and the method is actually incredibly accurate, allowing you to get a really nice shape when threading eyebrows. There are many tutorials online to allow you to learn how to thread yourself, but we’d recommend going to a professional at least for a while!

Epilating

Epilating is the Marmite of hair removal – most people either love it or really hate it! It’s usually done with a handheld machine which pulls the roots out and it actually lasts quite a long time – if you can deal with the pain! Ingrown hairs are a real issue with epilation, so regularly scrubbing the areas you epilate with Elemis Body Detox Skin Brush will help minimise this.

Three ways with turkey

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The crackers have been pulled, the hats have been worn, the fizz has been drunk and the wrapping paper is in the recycling box.

What’s left of Christmas is a lot of memories, a few sore heads, some great photos and of course, turkey.

Rather than throwing your bird out with the bottles and soggy sprouts, we have put together three easy to cook, delicious recipes that will have you realising that turkey isn’t just for Christmas after all!

First of all, on Christmas day don’t let the meat sit around all day uncovered, put it in the fridge once cool and eat within two days of cooking. We would suggest putting wrapped meat on the middle shelf away from raw meat and fish. You can freeze meat and if you do so wrap it carefully, ideally in a sealed container, and date it.

Once you are feeling hungry again and are ready to cook, turkey burgers are a good place to start. You will need to mince your turkey for this recipe, but we promise that the effort is so worth it. For around ten burgers, you will need:

• 1.5kg minced turkey
• 30g breadcrumbs, we like fresh ones
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 organic egg whites, lightly beaten
• A small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• Salt and pepper to season

To serve

• Burger buns
• Sliced beef tomatoes
• Cheese
• Ketchup and relish

Mince the turkey then place into a large bow. Mix the mix with the breadcrumbs, onion, egg whites and parsley and season with the garlic, salt and pepper. Form the dough into round patties then either grill or cook over a medium in a frying pan. Once well cooked, put into buns, garnish and enjoy.

A winter winner is a casserole and turkey is perfect for this one pot wonder.

You will need:

• Your leftover turkey, chopped and diced
• A selection of root vegetables, copped and diced
• 1 large onion
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs
• 2 tablespoons of strong plain flour
• 500 ml of stock – vegetable or chicken
• A splash of Worcestershire sauce
• Dumplings – frozen, pre-made are pretty good

Fry the onion until they softens in a deep pan, then stir in the herbs, flour, Worcestershire sauce and stock. Boil the veg and then add these and the turkey and stir well so all the flour is dispersed. Cover the pot and gently simmer for around 30 minutes until the turkey is piping hot. Enjoy with sweet potatoes or jackets and a glass of white wine.

Turkey curry tastes great and can be welcome addition to any Boxing Day buffet or New Year celebration if you froze your meat.

You will need

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 large, red onion
• 1 green pepper, diced and deseeded
• 2 tablespoons of curry paste – choose the strength that is right for you and your guests
• 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• 150ml of water
• Leftover turkey, chopped
• Cooked, new potatoes, peeled and diced
• I packet of coriander, we like fresh
• Rice, naan bread and mango chutney to serve

With your ingredients prepared, heat the oil in a pan over a high heat. Cook the onion and pepper until starting they are softening and turning light brown. Slowly stir in the curry paste and garlic and cook for another five minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and the water, bring to the boil and allow to bubble for ten minutes. Next turn the heat down, stir in the turkey and potatoes and cook for another five minutes adding more seasoning as needed.

Scatter with coriander, serve and make sure you have a glass of water ready.

Of course, you could just put the meat between two thick slices of bread, add mayo and enjoy in front of a good film and the fire.

Team Pure Beauty