A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Yes, really.  Since coming off the Cambridge Diet last October, I’ve put a bit back on… or a lot back on, depending on how kind I’m feeling about myself when I think about it.  In total, I lost just over 4st (but didn’t reach goal before quitting) and have since put 1.5st back on and it’s still creeping.  I don’t want it to creep, it would be so easy to let myself slide back up the scales.  The fact is, I love food.  I love food and I don’t care too much for exercise.  True, I have a hormone imbalance which means that I’m slightly more susceptible to piling on the pounds just by looking at an unrefined carb BUT, that’s not to take away from the fact that essentially, I’m a greedy guts.

In the past month, I’ve yo-yoed from famine to feast – knowing that this isn’t how I *should* be losing weight and it’s been (as I’m sure you can imagine) a rollercoaster of highs and lows as a result.  It also means that whenever I treat myself to a couple of days off the famine, I’ve piled about 7lbs back on in 48hrs as my body retains both water and energy stores in an attempt to get me through the ensuing ‘famine’.

This week, I’m making a few changes.

I love my meal replacements, though I know that many will frown – and I will be replacing my breakfast and lunch with protein-based shakes.  Because of my hormone imbalance, my sugar levels soar with porridge and cereals, and through personal choice (i.e. I can’t stop at one slice), bread is out.  This leaves things like fruit and yoghurt and well, I don’t know about you – but I’d need to eat a LOT of fruit and yoghurt to sustain my appetite throughout the morning.

As most meal replacement programs suggest, I will be limiting my evening meal to 600kcal – but I want to make those calories work as hard as possible.  This week, I’ve been creating my evening meals based around a particular vegetable.  It forces me to get imaginative and will hopefully expand upon the range of veggies that I eat in the future.  Now, lectures about how to eat healthily aside (please), I thought I’d share with you the evening meals that I’ve been enjoying this week and the veggies that have taken pride of place each day!

Day 1: Broccoli

Broccoli and King Prawn Stir Fry – 400kcal

100g Ready-To-Eat Jumbo King Prawns
200g Broccoli Florets
100g Mushrooms
1/2 Red Pepper
1 clove sliced Garlic

15ml (1tbsp) Amoy Light Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Red Cayenne Pepper
15ml (1tbsp) Balsamic Vinegar

25g Easy Cook Brown Rice (uncooked weight, cooked in microwave)
10g Pine Nuts

The quantities and kcal listed above are for a single portion.  I used that 1cal oil spray stuff for cooking… generally seem to end up with about 30 sprays of the stuff though (all factored in to my kcal counting though *polishes halo*)

Spray a non-stick pan with oil and stir-fry the broccoli and red pepper over a medium heat until the broccoli begins to soften a little (about 7 minutes).  If you feel that your pan is getting too dry, add a little water, about a tbsp at a time.  Meanwhile, cook the brown rice – I always cook mine in the microwave, remember that brown rice will take longer to cook than basmati!  Add the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and cayenne pepper – giving the pan a swirl to coat the vegetables.  Let cook for a further 5 minutes.  Throw in the mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook until everything has softened to a firmness you like.  Add the prawns, rice and pine nuts and loosely cover the frying pan with a lid to contain the heat for a maximum of two minutes.  Serve!

Day 2: Cauliflower

Cauliflower and King Prawn Curry – 510kcal

100g Ready-To-Eat Jumbo King Prawns
200g Cauliflower Florets (cut the large florets in half to allow them to cook through)
1 diced Green Pepper
2 Large Mushrooms
3 cloves of Garlic minced (don’t judge me)
25g Easy Cook Brown Rice

1tbsp Cooking Oil
Water

1/2tsp Ground Cumin
1/2tsp Ground Ginger (fresh if you have it!)
1/2tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Ground Turmeric
1tsp Garam Masala
10g Chilli Paste (I used a sachet)
1tsp Peanut Butter

10g Shelled Sunflower Seeds
1tbsp Plain Yoghurt or Soured Cream to serve

Not the most colourful dish in the world, but the fantastic flavour makes up for its mono-shade.  Add the oil, cumin, ginger, garlic, chilli paste and coriander to the pan before throwing in the cauliflower.  Add about 1/4 cup of water and allow it to cook gently for 5 minutes.  Pour on a little more water before adding the uncooked rice, green pepper and turmeric.  Gently simmer while the rice absorbs the water and the cauliflower begins to soften.  You’ll need to keep adding water during this process as the pan dries out, just test the rice every so often and prod the cauliflower to judge readiness.  While the rice is still a little toothsome, add the mushrooms, peanut butter, garam masala and sunflower seeds.  Cook for a further 5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the rice is cooked.  Add the prawns and cover with a large pan lid for 2 minutes to ensure everything is piping hot.  Serve with a spoonful of plain yoghurt or soured cream.

Wish me luck – it’s Brussel Sprout night tonight, not even kidding.  What are your favourite and most inventive ways to cook broccoli and cauliflower?

I know, I know… I should save it for next week right?  But I have a week of baking ahead of me and if I do that, I’ll have forgotten about the Apple Pie that I made this evening.  I love Apple Pie but it’s strictly off limits for me at the moment.  Poor Mr L had a particularly nasty dentist encounter on Thursday so I thought I’d cheer him up with his absolute favouritest treat in the world.

First of all, I need to tell you.  Forget about the pastry, it’s not even mine.  My Mum brought me back some ready-made French pastry rolls in the Summer and they’ve been sitting in the freezer ever since.  Yes, they were puff – I know, I’ve broken about a billion Apple Pie rules already but I don’t like waste and I couldn’t be bothered to make my own tough, not-very-nice shortcrust at gone 11pm at night.

Anyway, if you can’t be bothered either, you can buy ready rolled pastry sheets too, shortcrust or puff.  Don’t let anyone judge you.

Anyway, do you want to know the secret to making awesome pies?  It’s this.  An enamel plate.  All my pies are made on these things – apple, meat, cheese and potato… you name it, it’s been made on an enamel plate.  They cost around £2.00 and my favourite ones are made by a company called Gelert.  You need one, trust me – no more soggy bottoms.

Anyway, the Apple Pie you see in that there picture up there, goes a little something like this.

1.  Preheat your (fan) oven to 170 degrees celsius

2. Peel and core the apples before dicing them into 1/2″ square cubes.

3. Over a low heat, gently stew the apples, sugar, ginger and sultanas until the apples are just tender and you’ve created a rich, thick syrup from the sugar.  Combine well.

4. Grease and flour your pie plate to prevent sticking and lay down your first sheet of pastry into the plate, pressing gently with your knuckle to ensure there are no gaps between the plate and your pie base.

5.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apple mixture into your pie plate, you won’t want to use all the syrup.

6. Gently lay your top pastry sheet over the plate and fold the edges of the top pastry layer under the bottom layer and press gently into the plate edge to seal.  If you don’t like a thick crust, you can trim the edges before doing this.

7. Poke a few air vents into the top of the pie with a fork and sprinkle with sugar before placing in the oven and baking for around 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

There’s something so comforting about a hefty pudding.  Treacle sponges, chocolate mud cakes and bread & butter pudding all carry a certain amount of stodge with them and quite frankly, they beat the living crap out of anything light and wispy.  Except meringues, but let’s be honest… meringues are in a league of their own.

I use wholemeal bread in my Bread & Butter Pudding for no other reason than because that’s what I buy anyway.  The addition of jam and a few cherries turns this home-cooked favourite into a slightly more extravagant pud.

1. Butter the bread before spreading a layer of jam over each piece and cutting into triangles.

2. Grease your cooking dish well and build up the layers of bread, interspersing with cherries as you go.

3. Repeat until you run out of bread and cherries!

4. Combine the beaten egg and milk before pouring over the bread and allow to soak for a couple of minutes.

5. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar and pop in a preheated oven at 180c and bake until golden brown (around 30/35 minutes)

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Such a simple and inexpensive pudding with a billion possible variations.  Try spreading the bread with Nutella instead of jam or throw in a handful of raisins alongside a generous glug of rum!  Adjust the quantities of egg and milk depending on how much custard you like or change up the bread to substitute plain old loaves with Brioche, Croissants or Panetone!  The possibilities are really quite limitless.

Do you have a favourite Bread & Butter Pudding recipe?  I foresee more of these on the menu as Winter draws nearer.

…it’s doughnuts.  I don’t care how you spell them or what country they come from, I have no doughnut prejudice running through my veins.  The doughnut world comes in many colours and I love them all equally.  Peace.

Having said that, I quite like to keep my patisserie addiction separate from my confectionery habits.  These two things are quite, quite different and should remain so.  Jelly Tots et al don’t belong on cakes — fact.

Krispy Kreme have teamed up with Glamour Magazine for the 2nd year running to release their latest collection of fashion-inspired doughnuts.  Released in line with London Fashion Week, I’m busy trying to decide if this Krispy Kreme “capsule collection” breaks my doughnut rules by looking a bit like psychedelic polo mints.

This season’s collection features the trademark Strawberry Glaze doughnut, synonymous with the GLAMOUR Glaze line, accompanied by a new Orange Glaze doughnut.  The Orange Glaze has been created from trend predictions of the upcoming season from GLAMOUR’s fashion team, who noted the ‘70s and the bright colour influences as two key themes.

I am loving that this is giving me carte blanche to talk about doughnuts on my beauty blog.  Doughnuts doughnuts doughnuts.  You won’t see that in Glamour Vogue.

The Glamour Glaze collection* (£1.35 ea) is available on counter at all Krispy Kreme UK stores and in-store cabinets from the 29^th August until 2^nd October.

Wanna be a little less glamourous?  How about stuffing your face on 2 doughnuts for the price of 1?  Click through to KrispyKreme but don’t blame me if you can’t do up your high-waisted, colour-blocked, on-trend skirt.

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Tried these ones?  Are they bonafide doughnuts or would they fail my sweetie test?

* press sample bum

Poor cauliflower, the most misunderstood vegetable of all.  I think they’re amazing and I’m not just saying that because today’s recipe features them heavily.  I hated cauliflower when I was growing up.  My Mum used to serve it as an after-thought, anaemic and boiled to death.

It’s actually pretty versatile and makes a great base for many dishes.  As a frequent low-carber, it’s saved my backside numerous times, making a fairly convincing substitute for fried rice (grated) and pizza dough!

But in more regular, daily use, the cauliflower is at its best when combined with cheese and bacon.  Mmmm, bacon.  When I make Cauliflower Cheese, I make a big’un as it keeps very well in the fridge, you may want to half the quantities or just live off it for a week like we usually do.

1).  Break the cauliflower into florets trying to keep them reasonably large in size and place them in glass bowl with a few tbsp of water in the bottom.  Cover with a vented lid (clingfilm with holes poked through or microwave cover) and pop in the microwave for around 6 minutes until just tender (test with a fork).  You could of course boil or steam in a traditional steamer… but I’m being lazy remember.

2).  Cook the carrots with the same method and just check occasionally with a fork until they’re *just* tender.

3).  Fry the onion and bacon until crispy and set aside.

4).  Using a food processor, blitz the cheese, mustard, nutmeg and evaporated milk together.

5).  Grab a large ovenware dish (no need to grease it), and add the cauli, carrots, fried onion and bacon.

6).  Pour over the faux cheese sauce.

7).  Scatter the breadcrumbs and grated cheese before layering the sliced tomatoes ‘prettily’ on top.

8).  Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for around 25 minutes, or forget about it and remember after 35 minutes to get it a bit burnt around the edges like mine.

Personally, I slightly prefer my Cauliflower Cheese with a proper roux base.  Mr. L prefers it this way.  L doesn’t care as-long as she gets more bacon bits than anyone else.

Lazy Cauliflower Cheese without the efforts of a homemade cheese sauce.  Bliss.

I’ve seen these Graze snack boxes reviewed on a number of beauty blogs over the last year and when I saw this deal pop up last night, I took the plunge!

The deal’s valid until midnight tonight and I’ve bought it for Mr. L because I’m still on mega-diet-from-hell until I’ve shed my final couple of stone.  It’s always the last push that’s the hardest huh?

Is £5 for 4 a good deal?  I know they sometimes give one away for a £1 but I don’t think you can get more than that.

Let me know if you indulge and more importantly, tell me what your favourite Graze selections are so I don’t choose the revolting ones!

I have a smoothie-maker rapidly gathering dust in the back of my cupboard and I’ve decided to brush it off and put it into action this month!

I’m gonna feed my skin from the inside out with some beautifying smoothie recipes consisting of a whole host of revolting sounding ingredients!  Don’t laugh… check me out at the end of the month when you’re all mistaking me for err… *insert someone with really amazing skin here*.

Anyway, you get the jist.

My first Smoothie is gonna be from skincare guru himself, Dr. Murad.  I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago and listened to him talk about his theories behind the importance of ‘getting’ your water from your food as well as your drinks/general fluid intake.  He’s a fascinating man and I’m looking forward to trying out his Water Secret Smoothie.  I may have to hold my nose as I drink it though no?

He says:

The delicious smoothie you are about to enjoy is a wonderful way to give your body Internal Care by flooding your system with the building blocks of healthy strong cells.  That’s why this smoothie provides you with:

Amino Acids: the building blocks of cell-building proteins.

Lecithin: a source for a key ingredient in cell membranes called phosphatidycholine.

Antioxidants: to protect cells from free-radical damage.

Essential Fatty Acids: to help cells attract life-sustaining water.

If you wanna join me (go on, be brave!) here’s the recipe for Dr. Murad’s The Water Secret Smoothie.

• 1/2 cup blueberry juice (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or unsweetened frozen)
• 1 tablespoon lecithin granules
• 1 small banana
• 3 to 4 cubes of ice (optional)
• Stevia extract or Agave Nectar (optional) to tast

I’ve just picked up my lecithin granules from here with free delivery, blueberry juice is looking a little elusive at the moment but the rest should be simple enough to find.

Hope it’s not revolting!

You can read more about Dr. Murad’s theories on looking and feeling younger in his book, The Water Secret* (£12.99)

Do you ever make skin-beautifying smoothies?  One of those ideas you always toy with but never see through?

* press sample

Weekends were made for slovenliness – the respite before the manic new week ahead.  I use the time to treat my skin to a bit of makeup-free pampering, I also like to spoil the family with a treat or two…

Yesterday was all about the rhubarb!

Seeing as I’m still on my diet (but getting there slowly!), I had to gaze at the crumble from a distance.  Check out the whipped cream/crumble ratio… that’s how we roll around these here parts.

Not *quite* as delicious but tasty nonetheless is Lanolips Rhubarb Lip Ointment… a sheer, moisturising balm with a hint of colour and sparkle.

The more I’m getting into wearing strong lip colours, the less use I have for these sheer coloured tubes.  I apply my Lanolips 101 before bed at night anyway so don’t need the daytime moisturisation these provide.  But if you’re more of a natural lip girl, these are definitely worth checking out.

My favourites from the coloured range are: Rhubarb, Apples and Dark Honey but definitely check out Sunshine too if you like warmer colours.

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♦ 1 large tin of rhubarb (unless fresh is in season!)
♦ Brown Sugar to taste depending on how tart you like it! (I use about 2 tbsp sprinkled over the rhubarb and 1 over the top of the crumble before baking)
♦ Ready made crumble topping (what? it *is* the weekend!)
♦ 1 tsp of ground cinammon
♦ 1 1/2 tsp of mixed spice

That’s it!

Drain the rhubarb and lay in an ovenproof dish ♦ Add a sprinkle of brown sugar and the spices ♦ Cover with the crumble topping and press down to compact with your fingers (or back of a spoon if you’re a hygiene freak!) ♦ Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar ontop and lightly scratch the surface with a fork to ‘rough’ it up a bit!

Put it in a pre-heated oven (200°c) for 40-45 minutes and pray to the Gods of crispiness that yours comes out with a crunchy top!

Serve with cream or custard… I nearly always use whipping cream just ‘cos that’s how my Nan done did it!

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Lanolips Lip Ointment in Rhubarb with SPF15 is priced at £7.99 and available online from Victoria Health or instore at Boots.

I like food, I like photos… I like making you hungry.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen… or Burger World as my very good friend calls it.

I like early evening nonsense.  I’m hungry.  What’s for dinner at your house tonight?

If you’re all indignant and annoyed that you clicked and didn’t see makeup… here, have a peek at tomorrow’s mascara series post.

My lashes always look so puny in the before pictures, I think I have their mousey brown colouring to thank for that.

Have a lovely evening ladies!