Liz Earle’s Skin-Saving Salads & Dressing Recipes for Summer Picnics

Liz Earle on sensational salads and skin friendly dressings

The perfect choice for Bank Holiday picnics

liz earle, summer salads, beauty tips, beauty, tips, advice, recipes

Heading out for a family picnic? Look no further for some healthy pack-and-go recipes from Liz Earle, creator of the award-winning Liz Earle Beauty Co., mother of five and organic farmer. When time is tight but you still want something tasty everyone will enjoy, try these simple summer salad suggestions packed with skin-saving goodness to help nourish sun-kissed skins.

 

SENSTAIONAL SALADS

Chopped salads are a simple way of combining local, fresh and seasonal skin-friendly foods in one healthy picnic dish. Each of the recipes here is designed to be prepared in advance and put into plastic boxes, perfect to keep fresh when travelling. They make great office lunch-boxes too. Here are Liz’s personal favourites:

 

Sunshine Salad
Serves 6
For the dressing:

150ml (1/2 pint) cold pressed olive oil or rape seed oil
25ml (1fl oz) fresh lime juice
2tsps French mustard
freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

4 large carrots, scrubbed and grated
225g (8oz) mixed salad leaves, such as spinach, radicchio, frisḗ
e, oakleaf and Batavia leaves, endive and lamb’s lettuce
50g (2oz) sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
50g (2oz) hazelnuts, almonds or pecans, finely chopped

Combine the salad ingredients together in a large bowl and mix thoroughly before transferring to a picnic box. Next, mix together the dressing ingredients and store in an airtight container or jam jar, ready to shake and drizzle over the salad just before eating. Sun-dried tomatoes keep well for picnics but you can also replace with twice the amount of cherry tomatoes, which also travel well. Both kinds of tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, an important antioxidant that may help prevent sunburn, reddening of the skin in the sun and even some kinds of skin cancers.

 

Herb Salad
This tasty all-leaf salad makes a great accompaniment to a cold pasta or rice salad. Don’t be tempted to make a more complicated dressing – let the herb flavours speak for themselves.

Serves 4

300g (11oz) mixed salad leaves such as; spinach, radicchio, frisee, chicory, rocket (argula)
50g (2oz) mixed fresh herbs such as; chevrl, basil, parsley, coriander
2tbsps (30ml) olive oil, rape seed or walnut oil
1tsp (5ml) lemon juice

Mix the salad leaves and place into a picnic container, or put into a bag ready to tip into a salad serving bowl. Mix the remainder of the ingredients in a travel container or jam jar. Shake well to mix before drizzling over the salad before serving. Green leafy salads, such as baby spinach, rocket and lambs lettuce, are an especially useful source of skin-friendly beta-carotene, an important antioxidant that helps prevent the free-radical cell damage that leads to premature skin ageing. Each of the plant oils suggested here is a good source of the skin-plumping essentially fatty acids that help keep skin soft and smooth.

 

DELICIOUS DRESSINGS

Dressings are the fastest way to liven up raw vegetables and salad combinations, making summer salads tastier whilst adding more skin-saving nutrients. The thicker dressings are based on yoghurt and can also be used as dips for raw veggie crudités. For the thickest dips, use a Greek-style yoghurt. Quick and easy to prepare in advance, simply store in a plastic sealable pot or jam jar to pack with your summer picnic.

 

Fine French Dressing
If stored tightly sealed in the fridge, this dressing will also keep for up to a week.
Makes 300ml (1/2 pint)

175ml (6fl oz) unrefined sunflower or safflower oil
120ml (4fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
1/2tsp mustard, Dijon or whole grain can be used
1/2tsp freshly grated root ginger
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Put all the ingredients in a screw-top jar, replace the lid and shake vigorously to mix well. This twist on the traditional classic has added fresh ginger for a unique zingy freshness. Works especially well when combined with skin-cleansing salads based on cucumber, chicory and fennel.

 

Cucumber Dressing
A delicious, refreshing dressing that also works well on sliced avocados, one of the richest sources of the skin-saving antioxidant vitamin E.
Serves 2-4

150g (5oz) cucumber
150g (5oz) natural low-fat, plain live (bio) yoghurt
1tsbp cider vinegar
1 sprig of dill
½ tsp dried sill seeds

Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor (or hand-held whisk) until the dressing is smooth and creamy. The bio yoghurt is packed with healthy acidophilus, the beneficial intestinal bacteria that can also help to keep skin clear.

 

Yoghurt and Chive Dressing
Serves 2-4

150ml (1/2 pint) natural low-fat, plain live (bio) yoghurt
1tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp Dijon mustard
2tbsp chopped chives
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, adding black pepper to season, and stir vigorously. Alternatively, place ingredients in a large, screw-top jar, replace the lid and shake well. Yoghurt and chives are a tasty, skin-friendly combo containing calcium and vitamin C.

 

Orange and Tamari Dressing
Tamari sauce is made from soya beans and is similar to soy sauce. This tangy recipe works very well with raw baby spinach or dark green salad leaves. It is also a useful dressing for those who dislike vinegar.
Serves 2-4

150ml (1/2 pint) freshly squeezed orange juice
1tsp grated orange peel
2tbsps tamari sauce
1tsp finely chopped fresh root ginger
3tsbsps cold-pressed olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together and stir well before using. Alternatively, put the ingredients into a large, screw-top jar, replace the lid and shake well. Use organically grown oranges where possible, alternatively, scrub the skins in mildly water to remove fungicide residues and rinsing well before grating. A cleansing and refreshing dressing, rich in the skin-saving antioxidant vitamins A (in the form of beta-carotene from the oranges), vitamin C (also from the orange juice) and Vitamin E (from the olive oil). Orange peel also contains skin-friendly bioflavonoid nutrients and fresh ginger is a traditional intestinal cleanser.

 

Follow @LizEarleMe on Twitter for more tips on wellbeing.

 

Liz Earle is backing this year’s Sunlight Campaign run by the National Osteoporosis Society to show people how to safely embrace the sun to protect their health. For more information head to: http://www.nos.org.uk/page.aspx?pid=535

Diane Kruger Beauty Tips

Diane KrugerThe incredibly stylish Diane Kruger has revealed her secret for beautiful hair at music festivals, “My hair is fine, so I use a spritz of Klorane dry shampoo for body,”

The gorgeous 36-year-old also said sleep is her secret weapon. ‘I try to get nine hours of sleep a night. It’s really that simple. Of course, it’s hard to do sometimes, especially when I am working, but I feel and look better when I sleep well. I also noticed a great improvement in my skin when I gave up smoking. There are no secret potions, though.’

Klorane dry shampoo should be sprayed on the roots and then massaged in. It gives a great body boost and I am a fan myself. Don’t spray to close to the hair or it will make your hair white. It costs £7.50 from John Lewis.

Mum Knows Best For Beauty

Cheryl Cole and Duchess of Cambridge topped the poll of Brits with best skin – both women are famously close to their mums

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MUM KNOWS BEST FOR BEAUTY

– a third of women admit to just copying their mum when it comes to beauty products –

 

While the beauty industry spends millions each year advertising its products, new research proves that when it comes to beauty, British women believe mum knows best.

 

New Superdrug research shows a third of women admit to just using the same beauty products that their mums use, even though this means they may be using the wrong products for their skin.

 

The research of 2,000 women, was commissioned to celebrate the launch of beauty brand B. which aims to help women discover premium beauty, made easy.

 

The new study shows daughters start to borrow their mum’s beauty products at the tender age of just 13 years old.

 

And 40 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds continue to use the same products as their mum, and as a result are wearing products that may be too heavy and rich for them, with ingredients that may not be effective on their younger skin.

 

Products for older women contain higher concentrations of key ingredients addressing anti-ageing, skin elasticity and skin cell turnover which are not required for younger women whose skin needs ingredients focused on skin radiance and smoothness.

 

Over half (52 per cent) said they would take the advice of their mum and best friend above everyone else when it comes to beauty, when everyone will have different skincare needs.

 

Simon Comins, Superdrug Buying Director comments: “Buying skincare products can be confusing so it’s no surprise that some women rely on their mum for advice, but sometimes mum may not actually know best.

 

“The B. brand has a simple approach to skincare with distinct Skin Phases that make it easier than ever for women to find the products that will work for them. Simply answering a few questions on the skin diagnostic tool online or in-store will help them choose the right products.”

 

Customers can discover their skin age by using the simple self-diagnostic tool at bisforbeautiful.co.uk/skindiagnostic, or in selected stores.

 

Five per cent of those questioned said they looked to celebrities for their beauty tips.  When asked which celebrity has the best looking skin, Cheryl Cole topped the poll.

 

Cole is famously close to her mum Joan Callaghan, second on the list was the Duchess of Cambridge whose mum Carole Middleton often steals the limelight.

 

Comins continues: “Not all women are lucky enough to inherit fabulous skin from their mother. But, we believe every woman deserves fabulous skincare products which is why we launched B.”

 

Top ten tips from mums

1.     Use tissue to blot lipstick

2.     Only pluck below the eyebrow

3.     Moisturise your hands

4.     Use moisturiser every day

5.     Drink tons of water

6.     Always wash and moisturise in the morning to feel fresh

7.     Don’t squeeze spots

8.     File your nails in one direction, don’t saw at them

9.     Don’t over pluck eyebrows

10.  Blend in make-up down to the neck

Spring Clean Your Body

Christmas may be a mere memory now but some of us are still in need of a spring clean for our body. I know I certainly do. So with spring on the way I started to finally detox myself and get in the best shape of my life. Here are some of the things I kick-started the spring clean with.

Pukka Wheatgrass Juice Powder

Wheatgrass?! Yes, I know it is very LA, but not only did it make me feel energised and healthy, but I also liked the taste. Wheatgrass is one of the most nourishing foods in the world and you can tell when you are drinking it. It just makes you feel instantly better. It is health in a glass.

Wheat Grass Juice naturally supports the body’s ability to cleanse itself due to its high chlorophyll content. It is one of the most nourishing foods in the world containing an easy to digest broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins and antioxidants, but daily juicing can be a real pain – who really has time to pick and juice fresh Wheat Grass every day!?

Why not try Pukka Herb’s easy-to-use Wheat Grass Juice Powder instead? Unlike many other wheat grass products available, to ensure optimum potency, we use only concentrated fresh cold dried organic wheat grass juice, and now, for the first time, it is even available in a hand handbag friendly sachet for juicing on the go!

Pukka Herbs’ Fibre Plus

The fibre plus, like the wheatgrass, is in a handy sachet. You just add it to 250ml to water and you are good to go. It doesn’t taste as good as the wheatgrass but still leaves you feeling cleansed. It is a brilliant idea and has a lot of goodness in a condensed form.

Overindulging rich foods and alcohol can often result in indigestion. Pukka’s powerful new Fibre Plus sachets can help alleviate your digestive dramas. Containing a powerful blend of soluble and insoluble organic fibre blended to support and maintain a healthy and regular digestive system, its high fibre content lubricates the bowels, heals inflammation, and replenishes gut flora.

Clean Greens

Drinking this just gave me energy. Instantly. It made me feel healthy. I am inspired to buy these in bulk along with the wheatgrass. You can read below to find out exactly what it does, but I swear by these now. They just leaves you feeling cleansed and healthy. I have been trying to find a natural way to get more energy and I really think I have found it. They get the Frost thumbs up.

Alkalises & Oxygenates: Helps carry oxygen to the blood.

Mineralises: Minerals in these super-green foods help reduce food cravings.

Detoxifies: Removes unwanted substances causing stagnation, congestion from the body channels, organs, tissues and cells.

Reduces inflammation: Reduces inflammation throughout the digestive tract and liver.

The chlorophyll rich ingredients in Clean Greens helps carry out all of these vital functions and acts as a potent food based antioxidant that is intended to reduce premature ageing and bring you lasting vitality.

Pukka Herbs are available from Amazon UK and health stores.

After looking after your insides it is time to give your skin some attention.

 

As Jameela Jamil lands her dream job presenting the Radio One chart show, she also reveals the secret to her glowing skin and guess what?… It doesn’t cost a bomb!

Jameela credits the Dr Organic Manuka Honey Skincare range to her glowing skin and when asked what her top beauty tip is, she describes how “I throw on my Dr Organic Manuka Honey Rescue Cream, and go about my day”. She also loves the Dr Organic Manuka Honey Skin Lotion stating: “It smells so delicious I could eat my face!”

Dr Organic’s Manuka Honey Rescue Cream provides deep nourishment to skin leaving it feeling protected and intensely hydrated. Apply a small amount to the face, gently work into the skin and enjoy the gorgeous scent of Manuka Honey that will leave your skin silky and soft. Available from Holland & Barrett.

White Tea

Super healthy white tea is best brew for 2013 detox

Health-conscious shoppers have began searching for healthier alternatives to the morning caffeine hit or post-work pint.

This ‘detox January’ trend has driven brands like Tetley to launch green tea ranges, plugging the health benefits that the lower-caffeine and antioxidant-rich alternative to black tea is known to possess.

But east London tea entrepreneur Joe Kinch is backing a different, whiter horse – he knows that white tea is the perfect way to kick-start a healthy 2013.

Packed with antioxidants that boost the immune system, improve brain function, and can help prevent diseases like cancer and heart disease, and with very little caffeine, white tea is green tea’s healthier younger brother.

Both white and green teas come from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis, but white tealeaves are harvested at a younger age than green tea leaves.

Because white and green teas are treated gently and not overly processed, they retain most of their beneficial antioxidants. White tea is the least processed of the two, as it isn’t fermented at all, but is simply steamed and dried. Since white tea is less processed, it retains a higher amount of antioxidants.

The antioxidants found in white tea have many health promoting properties from boosting cardiovascular health, helping to lower cholesterol, and enhancing weight loss.

In fact, a 2009 study by Kingston University and Neal’s Yard Remedies, found that white tea not only boosts health but can also combat age-associated wrinkles and other signs of ageing.

While green tea contains around 20g of caffeine, white has around 15g, making it perfect for people trying to avoid the less pleasant side effects of too much caffeinated stimulation.

White tea is considered rare and is usually more expensive than green, as it can only be hand picked during a few days of early spring and has to be handled with such care. But Joe’s Tea Co’s is set be the first tea company to make the health benefits of white tea available to the average Joe. Health-conscious shoppers can get a box of ‘Whiter than White’ online or in Harvey Nichols’ stores across the UK for less than a fiver.

Joe Kinch, owner of Joe’s Tea Co, said:

“I’ve been drinking white tea this January as I returned to work after a few days of over-indulgence – I hope people embrace it for its great flavour and super health benefits!”

Pharmacy-assured bespoke vitamins at the click of a mouse

A new way of taking vitamins has been launched which will change the way millions of people can access this important part of the health market, using innovative new daily vitamin pouches.

thrivevitamins.co.uk tailors the supply of vitamins to the user’s own lifestyle and brings pharmacy assured service to the online marketplace.

The service, established by retail expert Alan Beesley and pharmacist Brian Duggan, with support from Peter Batty, the chief executive of one of the North of England’s largest pharmacy groups, provides a personalised 28 day supply of vitamins unique to the customer’s own lifestyle and health and wellbeing needs.

The daily pouches instil a regimented approach to taking vitamins, which is both convenient and portable.

Using state of the art robotics, alongside the company’s professional experience in pharmacy and e-commerce, the vitamins are sealed in convenient teabag sized daily pouches, each printed with the customer’s name and the contents.

Brian Duggan said: “Prior to the launch of Thrive Vitamins, the marketplace could not cope with the requirements for individualised vitamin programmes, but we have developed a system which learns about the customer and recommends vitamin plans to suit their lifestyle.

“Rather than a bottle of one specific supplement, such as Zinc, the bespoke packs contain the mix of vitamins needed at regular intervals, meaning the service is efficient, removing the over-selling of products, which are in excess of the customer’s needs.”

Alan Beesley, who created the Thrive Vitamins brand, said: “We wanted to provide a more convenient, personalised service to compliment a customers lifestyle. So, we created an easy way to ensure customers receive the supplements they need, when they need them and in handy daily dose pouches.

“Our team includes pharmacists, retailers and even has a former member of the Royal Logistics Corps, whose organisation skills were utilised for 13 years ensuring the British Army had the equipment it needs. All together, we have developed an unique, professional and simple system which we believe will be popular with individuals and families alike.”

 

Liz Earle’s Spring Detox Tips

Liz Earle’s Detox Tips

When I was first told that fasting on a fruit only diet would give me more energy, or that giving up some of my favourite foods and cups of coffee would leave my skin glowing, I was skeptical. But the principals of detoxification are based on traditional “cures” practiced by European naturopaths for centuries. Giving up certain foods, or existing on fruit alone for twenty-four hours, is not hard, especially when the benefits are so great. I now give my system a regular detox boost, even if it is only over the weekend. A short detox programme is a great way to feel more energised and refreshed. It is the perfect way to revitalise the body, renew energy levels and restore glowing skin and when you have finished you will feel far fitter and healthier and motivated not to return to bad habits.

 

Better Breakfasts

 

Starting with a healthy breakfast is not only the best way to boost energy levels for the day ahead, but is an easy, positive and delicious daily start to a new you. Refined sugars, found in most breakfast cereals, are the first thing I give up if I’m embarking on a health spring-clean and cutting them out gives me far more sustained energy throughout the day. On cold winter mornings, I switch to a bowl of porridge made with water and sweetened with honey, complete with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds. Or if I’m craving for something fresh, I opt for chopped fruit and berries with a dollop of natural yoghurt. You also can’t beat a protein-packed organic boiled egg that also contains useful vitamins A, B-complex and E, as well as minerals such as zinc, served up with toasted wholemeal soldiers and a glass of orange juice (vitamin C will help increase your uptake of iron from the egg yolk).

 

 

Midday Meals

 

Not only is eating soup (of any kind) a good way to get various vitamins and vegetable fibre in a simple, healthy way, it’s also been proven to help shed a few pounds. This is because when food and water are finely mixed to make soup, they enter the stomach together and stay held in a homogenised state as they pass through our intestines. The increased volume of water and semi-solid food then stays in our system for longer than if we were eating food and drinking liquid separately, so we feel fuller for longer. According to researchers at Nottingham University, this means we are much less likely to over-eat. This is especially true of whizzed-up blended soups which reduce hunger-pangs the most due to this homogenisation effect. Never more useful than at this time of year, I’m swapping lunchtime sandwiches for a simple home-made soup and even pop mine into a thermos if I’m out and about, so I don’t miss out on the health and beauty benefits.

 

 

 

Winding Down

 

If a little overindulgence has left you feeling a little ‘liverish’, you might like to try a ‘liver wrap’  – a simple but highly effective way to stimulate the detoxification process in the liver. You will need: A hot water bottle, a flannel and a small fluffy towel. Wearing just a dressing gown, gather everything together and lie down somewhere comfortable. Start by applying the cold damp flannel to the right-hand side of your body just beneath the ribcage to cover the liver area. The coldness felt by the skin briefly lowers the temperature of the tissues beneath and your body’s reflexes respond by increasing circulation in that area. Next, place a really warm hot water bottle on top of the damp flannel to retain moisture and stimulate the autonomic nervous system. This in turn boosts blood flow to the liver and supports its detoxification activity. Cover the hot water bottle with a soft towel and rest on a sofa or go to bed. This is a useful therapeutic treatment to carry out at bedtime and you can even fall asleep with the hot water bottle in place. Otherwise, simply put your feet up and rest for 30 minutes (the longer the better).  Three things to love about the liver wrap – it’s inexpensive, simple and it works.

 

Follow @LizEarleMe on Twitter for more tips on wellbeing. You can buy Liz Earle products at Boots.