Mother’s Day Tips
For Mum with Love from Liz Earle
Liz Earle, co-founder of the award-winning Liz Earle Beauty Company, is passionate about beauty, natural health and wellbeing. She juggles her professional life with bringing up a family of five children, with her husband Patrick, living on a thriving organic farm in the West Country.
Here, Liz shares her top tips to make your mum feel extra special this Mothers Day, ensuring she is taken care of from the inside and out.
Liz Earle’s Mothers Day Tips
Treat your mum to some simple, pampering beauty treats with these deliciously good-for-you snacks, the best pick-me-up tonics and a little bit of bathtime bliss. Mix and match the ideas here – or create the perfect health and beauty hamper by adding all together for the ultimate wellbeing treat. I would love my children to give me this!
Beauty-Boost Truffles
These choc-free truffles are the packed with omega-goodness from nuts and seeds as well as healthy oils to help make skin strong and clear. Best of all, they are very easy to make and taste delicious!
You will need:
50g each of dates, dried apricots and sunflower seeds
100g raisins
100g porridge oats
50g wheatgerm or oatmeal
20g linseeds
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed or sunflower oil
Simply whizz all of the ingredients in a food processor until they form a firm dough ball. Roll into individual truffle-sized balls and put into the fridge to ‘set’. Place in cellophane bags tied with ribbon or pretty tissue-lined boxes for the perfect Mother’s Day treat. Keep cool and they’ll stay fresh for several weeks.
Pick-me-up Tonics
Putting together a small basket of pick-me-up vitamins, teas and tonics is a thoughtful way of reviving a busy mum with lasting benefits. B-Complex vitamins are some of the best stress-busters as they support the central nervous system and can help reduce tension and irritability. Choose a formula that contains all the B’s, including B1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 12.
Floradix tonic is one of my all-time favourites as it is rich in absorbable organic iron to reduce tiredness. It’s ideal deal for anyone feeling run-down or in need of an
energy boost. Choose the yeast and gluten-free version and keep in the fridge once opened.
Ginseng tea is a traditional energy tonic and recommended by herbalists to increase alertness and mental agility. Some studies suggest it may also boost the immune system and improve digestion. Red (Panax) ginseng is thought to have more health benefits than the white variety.
Message in a bottle
Tiny bottles of pure essential oil are very versatile beautifiers that improve mood and wellbeing. Look for the words “pure essential oil” on the label as some aromatherapy blends are cheaper dilutions of the real thing. Treat your mum to my all-time top three essential oils and print out this handy guide on how to use them for year-long benefits.
Lavender – the classic fragrant mood-restorer to relax and de-stress. Proven to help ‘switch-off’ a busy mind and calm the senses. Has a mildly sedative effect.
Neroli – a gorgeously delicate scent from orange blossom flowers, its beautifully fragrant aroma is guaranteed to uplift and cheer.
Rose-scented geranium – a fabulously feminine oil extracted from scented pelargonium leaves. So-called as it smells of real roses – without the hefty price tag.
Top Tips:
Sprinkle a few drops of pure lavender oil onto a pillow to encourage a good night’s sleep.
Add a drop each of neroli and rose-scented geranium to a basin of water to scent the hands after washing.
Make a reviving massage oil blend by mixing 10 drops lavender, 6 drops neroli and 4 drops rose-scented geranium to 50ml cold-pressed grapeseed or almond oil.
Add 3 drops of each to a pre-run warm bath (don’t sprinkle under the hot tap as this destroys the scents), lie back and soak all stresses away.
All the above ingredients and products are available from good chemists and health food shops or on-line suppliers such as Revital and Victoria Health.
Follow @LizEarleMe on Twitter for more tips on wellbeing