Bare All with Confidence - Make Muesli

Producing 4 to 5 at home or on the go healthy, balanced, tasty and filling breakfasts that will keep you energised and on the ball all morning with minimum fuss. Enjoy it plain and simple or top with some more fresh fruit, a scattering of mixed nuts and seeds and a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg.

 

Sling 12 tablespoons oats, 280ml coconut water, 4 tablespoons toasted, flaked almonds, 1 tablespoon Manuka honey, 2 tablespoons of 0% fat Greek yoghurt, 4 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice, 1 peeled, cored and grated apple and 8 finely chopped fresh mint leaves into a bowl, give the whole lot a really good mix, cover and place in the fridge overnight.

 

View all my Bare All This Summer Top Tips here.

Bare All with Confidence - healthy hair

Give Your Scalp an MOT

Healthy and luscious locks only stay that way when your scalp is healthy and nourished. So, in addition to using good quality, natural hair products for protection against the sun and any environmental pollution you may be exposed to, give your scalp a good feed once a week.

Manuka Honey is Amazing Stuff!

It contains anti-bacterial enzymes, protective antioxidants and a whole host of minerals that nourish hair follicles and the scalp and when you mix it with coconut oil which is not only rich in essential fatty acids which keep skin cells moisturised and flexible but also prevents the loss of valuable proteins, your scalp will say a big thank you!

It’s a little messy but worth the effort. Put 1 tablespoon 100% raw manuka honey (UMF 15+ or greater) and 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a pan and heat through very gently until just melted. Leave to cool until hand-hot then massage thoroughly into the scalp before finally combing it through your hair with your fingers.

Put a shower cap on and leave for 20-30 minutes before thoroughly rinsing off and shampooing and conditioning with your usual products.

 

View all my Bare All This Summer Top Tips here.

 

Bare All with Confidence - smart snacking

best ever snacks for fat loss!

If snack attacks are your elephant in the room and you find you can’t get through the morning, the afternoon or that very dangerous early-evening-before-dinner slot without a snack, here are a few humdingers that curb sugar cravings, balance blood sugar levels in record time and encourage a bit of fat burning!

I know it has been said before - repeatedly by me and others - but fat really is your friend for fat loss, particularly when it comes to snacks. Why? Because healthy fats fill you up fast and you don’t need much to take the edge off an all-consuming bout of hunger or beat a sugar craving - and if you are trying to lose weight, this is crucial!

try some of these...

Nut butters (particularly almond and cashew) and seed butters (particularly pumpkin seed and sesame seed - tahini) are the serial snacker's saviour. The added bonus here is that nut and seed butters have a rather lovely habit of sticking to your teeth for a while so the snack lasts much longer than you might imagine! Slather them onto a couple of mini oatcakes or rye crackers or dip celery sticks or sliced apple into the jar.

Hummus is hard to beat when you need a snack, again because of its richness in health-enhancing and filling fats and is great with a bunch of crunchy raw vegetable sticks - but ring the changes from time to time and use it to top some chunky cucumber, tomato and/or raw courgette slices, sprinkle some smoked paprika powder over the lot and you have some rather sophisticated-looking and tasty canapés! Another great snack involving chickpeas is 2 or 3 falafel balls dipped into natural yoghurt - tasty, herby, filling and fast.

Breads made with vegetables and fruits also make a great, filling and largely-devoid-of-sugar snack (the vegetables and fruits provide most of the sweetness). I worked on my Apple, Carrot and Courgette Bread for some time before I was happy with the result but I have to say that a couple of slices (toasted in particular) with a cup of tea or milky coffee make for a really filling and splendidly-nourishing snack mid morning or mid afternoon.  

Avocados are bursting with fats but not fattening! One fairly extensive survey found that "eating half a medium-sized avocado on a daily basis was highly correlated with improved overall diet quality and a 50 percent reduced risk of metabolic syndrome…not only did the avocado eaters report a lower body mass index and smaller waist circumference, they also consumed significantly more fruits and vegetables, and fiber and vitamin K - nutrients associated with weight loss". Avocado, egg and prawns make particularly good bedfellows so for a super-quick and super-nourishing snack, fill one stoned half of this magic fruit with a mix of chopped boiled egg, fresh prawns, natural yoghurt and give the whole lot a good few grindings of black pepper or just throw a few leaves into a small bowl, top with teaspoon scoops of avocado flesh, a dash of lemon juice and a decent glug of avocado oil, season well and devour.

Mackerel, river or lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and wild alaskan salmon top the charts for their richness in Omega 3 fatty acids. These fats are now legend for their health-enhancing and disease-defying properties - but - if you don’t like oily fish, flaxseeds or walnuts, I would strongly recommend you take a daily supplement providing 1000mg. However, if you do like oily fish, the ready-cooked varieties of these swimmers make for a splendidly-satisfying and flavoursome snack, particularly when mashed onto a rye crisp bread and topped with a few crunchy, toasted walnuts. Try some of my other Crisp Bread Toppings - all are nutritionally great and seriously take the edge off hunger.

Fruit, cheese and nuts are possibly the quickest snack you can throw together. Sheep’s milk is generally richer than cow's in medium chain fatty acids (MCTs) which can benefit weight control by promoting fullness (so a little goes a long way), breaking down fat deposits, increasing energy expenditure and being more easily metabolised so head for varieties such as manchego, ossau-iraty and pecorino and either shave them, cube them or graze on a decent-sized chunk along with a juicy, fresh piece of fruit and a handful of toasted nuts.

 

View all my Bare All This Summer Top Tips here.

Bare All with Confidence - healthy nails

Eat Avocado for Great Nails

In addition to being crazy-rich in heart, nerve and brain-friendly fats, avocados are an excellent source of biotin, one of the B vitamins which is really important for both attaining and maintaining healthy nails.

Studies indicate that this was first discovered when biotin was given to horses to repair brittle and cracked hooves and showed excellent results (supplemental biotin was used in this case as I don’t think horses are too keen on avocados!)

Aim to have half an avocado per day and fill it with crab meat, tuna or cottage cheese, add it to salads, mash it on rye crisp breads, add it to smoothies, make guacamole - the options are endless!

OR… and I have tried this… get yourself a bottle of extra virgin avocado oil and as well as cooking with it and using it for salad dressings, soak your nails (toenails as well if you have time) in a bowl of the oil, lightly warmed through, for 5-10 minutes once a week. Result? Super soft and healthy cuticles and great-looking, strong nails!