Salad, but not as you know it

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apricots, Asparagus, Balsamic vinegar, BBQ, beef tomato, cherry tomatoes, cold water, crushed, dinner, Extra virgin olive oil, free range chicken breasts, friends, garlic, grated, Hot Tuna and Sweetcorn Salad, ingredients, lemon juice, lemon zest, lunch, luscious green salad, olive oil, organic butter, pan, pan of salted water, peppery leaves, picnic, pitta, plates, red chilli, red onion, Red wine, roasting, rocket, salt and pepper, serve, slivers, soft, steaks, Summer chicken salad, tasty, trimmed, tuna, Vegan, very finely sliced, Watercress, Watercress and apricot pitta bread

How many times do you buy luscious green salad, only to find it limp and sad at the back of the fridge because you don’t know what to do with it?

Full of flavour, the peppery leaves of watercress and rocket contain essential vitamins and can be a great addition to any diet.

Whether you are having friends for dinner, planning an end of term BBQ or packing a picnic for the park, we are here to share some ideas of how to get the most out of your salad leaves.

Watercress and apricot pitta bread
This vegan option takes around 10 minutes to get ready and serves two, making it a quick, easy lunch that is light but tasty.

Ingredients
1 bag of watercress and rocket (washed)
4 ripe apricots
½ a head of fresh fennel
Extra virgin olive oil
Wholemeal pitta breads
For the dressing:
75ml of extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
½ teaspoon of lemon zest
Fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

To start, halve the apricots, cut them into slices, brush them with oil and place in a hot, dry pan and cook for a minute or so, turning so they are soft.

To make the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper, adding more lemon juice if required.

Toast and break open the pitta bread, add the salad and apricot slices, and enjoy.

Summer chicken salad
This is perfect for a mid-week treat or a lighter alternative to a full roast with all the trimmings.

Ingredients
2 free range chicken breasts
1 x bag of watercress and rocket
1 beef tomato, sliced
60ml olive oil
Large bunch of fresh asparagus, trimmed and washed
Salt and pepper to season

For the dressing
1 red onion, very finely sliced
1 red chilli, grated
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of cold water
Salt and pepper to season

Method
Start by making the dressing as giving it time to settle before eating makes it taste best. Ensure that the onion is finely sliced into slivers and the garlic is well crushed. Put all the ingredients into a glass bowl and beat with a fork until you have a smooth mixture. Pour into a jar and put in the fridge.

We would suggest either putting the chicken on the BBQ or roasting for around 25 minutes, using any left-over garlic plus salt and pepper to season.

Cook your asparagus for two minutes in boiling salted water, then drain and set aside.
Wash the watercress and place onto each plate, then add the chicken and asparagus before drizzling on your dressing – and enjoy.

Hot Tuna and Sweetcorn Salad

Ingredients
1 bag of watercress and rocket
2 fresh tuna steaks
Cherry tomatoes
2 fresh corn on the cob
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar to drizzle
A large knob of organic salted butter
Salt and vinegar

Method
Firstly, boil your corn on the cob in a pan of salted water, chop the tomatoes and wash them, together with the watercress and place on plates.

Next, cook the tuna steaks but do note, this doesn’t take long and burning can happen easily, so don’t walk away mid-cook! Brush the tuna lightly with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the fish in a heated frying pan over a high heat and cook for just a couple of minutes, depending on how thick the steaks are. Then, turn the tuna over and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar to the salad, place the tuna on the leaves, drain and butter the corn and enjoy with seasoning as required.

Team Pure Beauty

Pack a lunch you will love

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apple chunks, berries, brains, bulk, carrot sticks, cheese, cleaning, cucumber, cutlery, fibre, filled roll, five a day, flapjacks, flasks, freeze, fruit, humous, hydrated, Juices, leftover food, lettuce, lunchbox, mayo, microwave, midday meal, muffins, National Pack Your Lunch Day, organised, pitta bread, pots, quiches, Rolls, salsa, sandwiches, simple hacks, sliced grapes, slices, soggy sandwich, soups, spoons, sports drinks, squashes, stews, tangerine segments, tomato, tummies, tuna, veggie sticks, waste, water, water bottles, wholegrain sandwich, wrap

With 10 March marking ‘National Pack Your Lunch Day’ we have been looking at some simple hacks that will make your midday meal tasty, nutritious and keep you going all afternoon.

Wash up
There’s nothing worse than opening a lunch box when you get up in the morning to find leftover food sticking to the sides. Get into the habit of cleaning out lunch boxes each evening, so that they are ready to roll the next day. The same goes for water bottles, flasks and spoons.

Be prepared
Not everyone likes to make sandwiches the night before, but you can put together pieces of fruit, cut carrot sticks and put them in pots, wrap up flapjacks and get cutlery ready in boxes, so you are organised.

Freeze it
Rolls, muffins and quiches make great lunch times you will really enjoy. If you make them in bulk and freeze in individual servings, you can take them out in the evening and they will be ready by lunchtime.

Fill up with fibre
A wholegrain sandwich, pitta bread, wrap or filled roll should not be disregarded. Packed with fibre, these are a great way to stay full for the afternoon and if you go for a good filling such as tuna, cheese or humous you have a serving of protein too. If you don’t want to eat a soggy sandwich, spread mayo between slices of cheese or ham rather than putting it straight onto the bread, and pat dry cucumber and tomato slices as well as lettuce leaves with a paper towel.

Think of five a day
Sliced fruit, veggie sticks and even green leaf leftovers are easy lunchbox fillers that go perfectly with a side serving of dip. Carrot, celery and cucumber with humous is a popular choice, or salsa if you are looking for something with more a kick. Create fruit salads with sliced grapes, berries, apple chunks and tangerine segments and you are on the way to five a day.

Be water wise
Juices, sports drinks and squashes are full of sugars, so instead why not add fresh fruit pieces into water bottles for a burst of flavour and to keep hydrated.

Use a flask
If you like soups and stews, why not get a flask and take that with you each day? Many modern-day models will keep things warm for up to six hours and this will also save you from having to use the work microwave – which can only be a good thing?

Team effort
Why not work together as a couple or family and plan lunches so that you are all are opening you lunchbox and finding something you really want to eat. If you do this, tummies will be full, brains will be ready to work and waste is kept to a minimum.

Team Pure Beauty

Bowls are the new plates

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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