Enjoy positive treat food this Christmas

It's so nearly Christmas, and the shopping is almost finished, maybe just a few last panic buys!  I wanted to share a few thoughts about enjoying the best of Christmas food, knowing that treat food needn't be unhealthy! Here are my 10 top tips on real nourishment this Christmas, at a time of year we need it most!

You don't need me to tell you, it's very obvious that supermarkets make even more money at this time of year, having spent many months preparing new highly processed Christmas food products. Shops are flooded with unhealthy foods, carefully engineered to hit the bliss point with each instant mouthful, and keep us going back for more. Learning to love real food that protects the body when the kids are young, really does equip them to choose foods well throughout the rest of their life. This is where you as family can make a real difference .. and it's in your gift this Christmas!  A special time of year, when food memories of delicious and traditional family foods are made!  Bringing cheer and full bellies to the darkest period of the year. With the sunlight at its lowest point, this is traditionally a time to eat warming, comforting foods ... and rest. However, our collective ancestral memory will remember winters as a time of food scarcity. Could these two factors combine to make us feel even more like over-indulging?

Below I'm sharing 10 positive ways to really nourish yourself and your family this Christmas. Taking care to protect the immune system as well as mental wellbeing, entering the New Year feeling properly rested and well, and keeping the January flu spike and low mood in check.  As always, my focus is on real food, real nourishment - at a time of year when we need it most.

1. Consider what foods you will enjoy for treats, select with care and enjoy them to the full. Try to avoid the melt in the mouth from highly processed foods with unhealthy chemicals like emulsifiers, which give foods this feel. Eating these foods undermines the gut barrier integrity, which activates gut inflammation and fires up the immune system.
2. Plan your Christmas food spend to help you keep within budget  ... minimising food waste and keeping your waistband (mostly) in check.
3. Create lasting delicious food memories with your family, by preparing an old family favourite recipe. Kids love being involved -  there's more enjoyment in sharing memories, creating new ones and getting little hands busy in the kitchen.
4. For special treat foods, the healthier way to enjoy those delicious baked treats is by baking at home, with real ingredients. Swap out highly processed shop-bought cakes for home-made versions, planning for that extra bit of time that’s needed …
5. Try alternatives to sweetened drinks, and know that sweetener is not a healthy option. Sweeteners like aspartame disrupt blood sugar, and have negative effects on gut microbes, again reducing the gut barrier integrity. Try fermented drinks like kombucha, water kefir, sparkling water with fruits, herbs or botanicals added at home ... getting the kids involved with making these feel-special drinks.
6. Make more of the foods that protect you and your family against illness. Colourful and fibre-rich vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds, legumes and lentils, wholegrains, herbs, spices & cocoa. Fill your plate two-thirds with these foods.
7. While the oven is on, roast some nuts or root veggies for a richer flavour and texture. Add nuts into veggies, on top of trifles, in your stuffing; roasted veggies in omelettes for a quick nutritious meal ... satisfying, protein and fibre rich, and packed full of nutrients and healthy fats
8. Eating more of these protective foods provides real nourishment with a range of fibres, vitamins, minerals and polyphenols. Those nutrients protect cells from damage, boost the immune system and feed the right kind of gut microbes which strengthen the integrity of the gut barrier, and keep that gut brain connection feeling good.
9. Mix colours, textures, chop or prepare vegetables in new and different ways, asking children to help with Christmas food preparation in whatever way is do-able. Spiralizing, ribbon strips or diagon-ally cuts, makes vegetables look more fun and interesting, changes the mouthfeel; it can even change the flavour!
10. Stay active, but also prioritise quality rest, asking all family members to help in the kitchen, at the table and clearing up! Finding any and all suitable jobs for the little ones, and those with more kitchen sense!

Enjoy this time, and enter January ready for the New Year, a season of starting again and the gradually returning light. January can be a difficult month, and setting healthy and enjoyable food, wellbeing and rest intentions for the year ahead adds a positive frame ...  in a natural way.

Feasting Greetings of Wellbeing and Love to you all  x