How to waste less this Christmas

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Let’s face it, Christmas can be a time of waste.

With all the best intentions in the world, as we give and receive gifts, eat food, drink wine and generally have a good time, there will be things that get leftover and thrown in the bin which puts the environment on a high waste alert.

We aren’t saying don’t have fun and relax, but we are going to look at how you can enjoy Christmas without adding to landfill sites and blowing your carbon emissions out of the water.

Buy pre-loved
When buying gifts, you don’t have to get something that is bright, shiny and brand new. Spending an afternoon at antique markets and visiting charity shops is a fun way to find some really unique gifts that will be just as good, if not better, than something going to a new home for the first time. Books, soft toys, vintage clothes and china are all out there for the taking and you never know, you could spark nostalgia with the gifts you give this year and make someone feel really loved.

Think about gifts that keep giving
You don’t have to buy physical products. How about a pass to the local petting farm? A gym membership? A cookery course or an art class? These could really help someone out and they will know you have thought about them with your choice of gift, and of course an experience means no waste.

It’s all in the wrapping
Once you have a present, think about how you wrap it. If your sister is fashion mad, wrap that vintage scarf in the pages of an old copy of Grazia, for kids, use comics, and for your TV bonkers dad, the Radio Times covering his box of chocolates will be perfect. This means you recycle and cut down on glitter and ribbon that isn’t good for anything at all.

Be a smart shopper
We have all been there – the night before Christmas and the supermarket is carnage and not a lot of fun as people buy as much food as they can. Make a list of what you need, don’t go for the BOGOF offers and keep to a budget.

Don’t waste food
If you do over do it on the dinner front, don’t just put the remains in the bin. Veg and meat can be put in the fridge and eaten the next day, soups and curries can be cooked and frozen and if you have more than you need, make up parcels and give them to a local soup kitchen or shelter – someone will be very grateful you don’t bin what is probably great food.

Save power
We all love Christmas lights, but they don’t need to be on 24/7 for the whole of December and January. Put them on in the evening and turn them off when you go to bed. Use LED lights and go easy on outside decorations, as they can eat electricity and ramp up your bills as well as your emissions.

Recycle
The tree, decorations, wreaths, cans, foil, bottles, plastic and food are all recyclable. It might seem like a pain, but if we all do this it does make a difference. Also, if you have gifts that aren’t for you, why not give to someone who would like them, take them to a local hospital or donate to a charity shop or library. You might not want it, and you might not want to offend the recipient by asking for a receipt, so do something for someone else and you will be glad you did.

Got a create less waste tip? Send it our way, we are all ears.

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

Christmas cooking the fun way

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are easy to make, bake, baking powder, baking trays, caster sugar, cheese, cheese stars, cherry tomatoes, Christmas tree cookies, Christmas tree cuter, cling film, cook, cookies, cream, cucumber, decorate, dough, drinks, eat, eggs, escaping, family and friends, festive fun, fridge, friends, goodness, grated cheese, herbs, homemade biscuits and snacks, icing sugar, jolly, look good, love, messy, mild cheddar, milk, mix, mozzarella, mug, parchment, pens, plain flour, pre-made puff pastry, pretty boxes, recipes, salt, school party, scrubbing, sift, silver balls, silver foil platter, star cutter, stars, super healthy, table salt, tissue paper, tree, tree trunk, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, veggie, winning treats, wrap, yellow pepper

This year, why not impress family and friends with homemade biscuits and snacks, and as well as saving yourself some money, you can have festive fun too? We have several tried and tested recipes we love, and hope you will too!

Christmas tree cookies
These cute cookies look good, taste great, are easy to make and even the youngest members of the family can get involved and help you to decorate them!

For these winning treats, you will need:

470g of plain flour
1 level teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of table salt
225g of unsalted butter
300g of caster sugar
Two medium eggs
Two teaspoons of vanilla extract
A Christmas tree cuter
Colouring icing sugar pens
Silver balls

Sift together the baking powder, flour and salt. Cream together the butter and sugar until you have a light and fluffy mix, then beat in the eggs (one at a time) and finally stir in the vanilla. At this point you can then slowly add the flour mix, and when you have a ball of dough, wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for around an hour.

When you get the dough from the fridge, pre-heat your oven to 200 C / gas mark 6 /180C fan and line two baking trays with parchment paper – this means the cookies will slide off once cool and you won’t have any nasty pan scrubbing to do.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut out your cookies.

Bake for about eight minutes or until the edges are just turning light brown, and transfer from the baking trays to cooling racks.

Decorate with the icing pens when the cookies are completely cool and put on the little silver balls for an added touch, then either eat them (fast) or put them in pretty boxes with tissue paper and give them out as presents!

Cheese Stars

For the school party, or drinks with friends, these easy to make cheese stars are winners.

You will need:

A pack of pre-made puff pastry
One mug of grated cheese – a mild cheddar / mozzarella mix works well
Flour for dusting
2 table spoons of whole milk
A star cutter

It is best to make these on the day of eating, so when you are ready, preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them with a little butter.

Next roll out the sheet of pastry and put your grated cheese on half of it, fold it over and then on a floured surface, gently roll to around double the size. At this point just make sure no cheese is escaping from the sides as this can get messy in the oven! Next, cut out star shapes from the folded sheet and place on the baking sheets, brush with milk and cook for around ten minutes. You can add some herbs or salt to the tops of the stars if you like! They will last for a couple of days in a tin, but we don’t think they will be around that long!

Veggie Tree

For something super healthy for the party table, you can’t go wrong with savoury festive tree made with goodness and love.

For this you will need:

Lots of cherry tomatoes – cut in half
Green grapes – cut in half
A yellow pepper with a piece of the flesh cut into a star shape
Half a cucumber
Salsa
A large silver foil platter

Chop a 5cm piece of cucumber and place it at the bottom of the foil platter to make the tree trunk. Then you need to make a row of tomatoes and grapes to make the first part of the tree, and then add more layers, each one shorter than the last so you end up with a cute Christmas tree shape. At the top you can add your yellow pepper star, then serve with the salsa and the rest of the cucumber cut into sticks! This looks fun and jolly and also help to keep up your five a day!

Got a recipe you love, let us know about!

Team Pure Beauty

Quick and easy BBQ ideas

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10 minutes, apple, baby potatoes, banana, BBQ, boiling water, bold tastes, bread, brown sugar, butter, carrots, cheated, Cinnamon, cook, corn on the cob, creamy coleslaw, culinary experience, drizzle, fiol, fresh cuts, grated, healthy options, lemon juice, marinades, mayonnaise, mixed salad, mushrooms, mustard, olive oil, Organic meats, peeled and grated, pesto, pitta, raisins, saucepan, sauces, spices, teaspoon, white cabbage, wrap

In an age when we are far more aware of what we eat and drink, the days of fatty burgers in cheap white rolls on the BBQ are fading fast.

But don’t worry because it is really easy to create healthy BBQ classics full of bold tastes, so you don’t feel cheated out of an amazing culinary experience.

Organic meats, fresh cuts, spices, sauces and marinades can all be used to make your BBQ food taste great.

Today, as promised, we have so healthy options that will impress your guests, and your taste buds.

Mushroom burgers

2 large mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of parsley
35g room temperature butter
Burger buns or pitta
Mustard
Pesto
A mixed salad

Peel and crush the garlic then mix with parsley leaves and the softened butter.
Clean the mushrooms and fill them with the butter mixture.
Wrap the parcels in tin foil and bake place on the BBQ until soft.
Place the cooked mushrooms in the bread and server with lemon juice, pesto and a mixed salad.

BBQ baby potatoes

750g of organic baby potatoes
A generous drizzle of olive oil
Mini corn on the cobs

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil, then cook until tender (usually around five minutes). Drain and transfer to a large sheet of foil, then coat in oil and season well. Wrap the potatoes in the foil and create into parcels. Cook the parcels on the BBQ for 10 minutes and enjoy the potatoes with butter and corn on the cob.

Creamy coleslaw

You just can’t have a BBQ without coleslaw. This creamy delicious recipe is easy to make and goes with burgers, fish, kebabs and chicken. For this dish, you will need:

½ a white cabbage, trimmed and shredded
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 organic carrots, peeled and grated
A handful of raisins
A grated apple
4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon of mustard
Salt and black pepper

Put the mayonnaise, lemon juice and mustard in a mixing bowl, season and mix well. Add the cabbage, onion, apple, raisins and carrots, and stir well. Put in the fridge for two hours before serving and stir again to ensure all the mix is coated in the dressing.

BBQ bananas

The great thing about BBQs is that they aren’t just for creating savory dishes. To finish your BBQ on a high, how about smoky bananas with ice cream? For this you will need:

1 banana per person
Lemon juice
Dark brown soft sugar
Ground cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream to serve

Halve the bananas lengthwise, then widthwise and then sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon then roll the banana in the mixture until completely coated. Wrap the bananas in foil, place in the coals and cook for around ten minutes. Serve with ice cream and watch the sun go down.

Have a very happy BBQ season and let us know your favourite recipes.

Team Pure-Beauty