Is a healthier & happier & merrier Christmas possible!?

I'm sick of feeling bleurgh

Hi Friends, on this gloomy morning. I’m finishing this letter in bed as I check for typos with a coffee. I’m hoping (in an already overwhelming month) that I’m not overwhelming you with newsletters but I gather from what you tell me, is that despite wanting to desperately clear your inboxes, you also like receiving helpful emails too.

So here I am, hopefully being helpful and with a word of warning too because I’ll be saying hello again on Boxing Day with my best leftover recipes and I’ll be saying an excited hello yet again in a week’s time, probably on 28th December with a very special visualisation to listen to and some journal prompts that I do each year. Can’t wait to hear what you think of that one. Some years I do it alone, other years I video call a few friends and we chat through our year reflections and have a cry and a laugh together.

I just can’t get enough of Shirley Hughes illustrations and stories. She passed away in 2022. I’d love to wallpaper Summer’s future bedroom in her words and pictures.

Normal newsletter service of once a month hellos for free subscribers and 3 exclusive posts for paid will resume come January! I hope you don’t mind these gifts of bonus newsletters. I imagine ‘less is more’ when it comes to a newsletter ‘strategy’ but sorry I’m a ‘more is more’ person! (My publishing editors over the last 12 years have told me, every time I hand in a book, there’s about 3 books worth in each one).

What can I say, I don’t want to be stingy :)

This today is TLC (tender loving care letter) an extension of my last which was titled *VERY Tired Person’s Soothing Self care Guide to Christmas* as many of you messaged saying you needed more of “this kind of stuff”! I was asked recently if it’s possible to have a healthier, happier Christmas? Hmmm… well, last Christmas, I was certainly happy in many ways ( with a much longed for 6 month old baby) but my health was suffering and not just due to the postpartum experience. And when I think of Christmases past, it’s the same pattern. I just feel I can’t keep up with the pace and pressure and everything being THE priority these days. This Christmas, like many of you, I’m already exhausted by bugs, commitments, incessant ‘ haven’t done this, haven’t done that’. I’m a bit exhausted of myself to be honest.

In response to my last newsletter, one lovely reader wrote:

Here’s a list - you know I love a list - of Tender Things that I think will help me, and hopefully you, have a bit more of a healthier and happier and merrier Christmas time.

1. Be more squirrel - we know that nuts and seeds are good for us. Keep things ‘moving’ over the festive period (especially if you’re staying at someone else’s house) by making a jar or little baggy of hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds all that good stuff and then you can sprinkle it onto soups, yoghurt or porridge or add to smoothies you know that you’re getting loads of great nutrients plus they count towards the 30 plant points a week you might have heard of which we will definitely be talking about more in 2025.

2. Kick start your day - make time for breakfast - Especially when you’re the main Christmas chef and you’ll be on your feet a lot. You might end up skipping meals which speaking from previous experience means a very irritable and flustered Chef and it’s your Christmas too so it’s really important to take care of you. Aim for some protein at breakfast. I like to do a shakshuka style egg dish to feed a crowd on Christmas morning or New Year’s Day morning and also a Mexican inspired one using black beans fried up in a spicy paprika oregano tomato sauce - crack the eggs in to cook them and then top the finished dish with guacamole and jalapenos. I also love miso mushrooms on toast, smothered in Parmesan cheese which is a recipe from my book, Real Healthy.

3. Reduce present pressure - Over the next few days, I will - gently - make a start on making some edible presents - MYO (make your own, it’s the new BYO) - you could try whipping up some EASY edible gifts, cut back on ultra processed food and embrace more real food and give presents that people actually want. I recommend happiness balls which are made up of 5 ingredients and are super simple to make and they last for a few weeks in the fridge. Also Bakewell Tart vibes Cherry Almond granola (recipe in Real Healthy).

4. Refresh your tastebuds - I love a big squeeze of grapefruit or lemon juice or a dash of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water for a hydrating reset. Also brewing up a pot of ginger tea every day or every other day over the festive period. Drink it hot or room temp. Fresh ginger great, ground ginger works too. Add some dried ground turmeric, lemon juice and raw honey and it’s fantastic for digestion. It’s immune supporting and it’s great for nipping those all day cravings in the bud.

5. Flip the plate portions - instead of meat dominating the plate, let vegetables star this Christmas. Here’s loads of veg based Christmas recipes. Over the festive period and beyond make meat go further by eating less of it and opt for better quality meat and more vegetables. It should save us money, help the planet and more veg (and a variety of veg) is a great habit to get into healthwise too. For example, if you’re making a shepherds pie, replace a third of the minced lamb with a tin of lentils and finely chopped mushrooms. Or if you’re making a huge Boxing Day Bolognese you could swap some of the mince beef for uncooked red lentils that will melt into the sauce and make it super thick and satisfying and means you need less meat or perhaps you want to make a creamy chicken leek pie, perhaps swap out a third of the chicken for some lovely butter beans. More Boxing Day recipes coming next week.

6. Lean on your freezer - to avoid nipping to the hectic shops over Christmas and potentially being seduced by the ultra processed confectionary aisles and overly relying on frozen pizzas and the less healthy ready meals, keep your home freezer well-stocked because you’re more likely to eat the good stuff and less likely to end up with food waste and wasting money. I like to keep frozen berries and bananas to whip up mid morning smoothies with some cinnamon, great for blood sugar balancing and some hemp seeds (over protein powder) for protein. I also like to keep frozen peas, sweetcorn and edamame for making a fantastic big egg fried festive rice with leftover Christmas meat and some chilli drizzle at the end.

7. Boil your bones - make broth. But don’t boil it, just a medium simmer! It’s a delicious and FREE no waste habit to get into after Sunday Roasts and Christmas alike. Once you’ve made your turkey cranberry sandwiches and then your turkey coconut curry and perhaps your turkey sesame noodles, pop your turkey carcass in a pot with any leftover veg trimmings, cover it with water and let it simmer away for a few hours so that you end up with a truly luscious turkey broth that you can use to make a stomach soothing soup with splitting up leftover carrots and coriander to make a gorgeous carrot and coriander or roasted squash soup and then crumble over some feta and add a big squeeze of lemon juice

8. Gift your gut - I don’t do ‘off limits foods’ but I do try to support my gut and general health when I know we are gearing up for a particularly rich feasting time. To reduce my chances of getting grumpy, headachey and lethargic, I make sure I keep a big flask of tea near me (this is pure laziness really so I don’t have to keep making tea when I have a dog and baby cuddling onto of me) - here's some tea recipes and I make sure the fridge is stocked up on drinks that are fizzy, fun, fermented and delicious and have some good things going on as well for your gut. These are great kombucha & kefir.

9. Get some air and get some space - get walking and avoid warring with your family. Escape your stuffy home (all those scented candles, fires/radiators, cooking, boozy breath!), endless TV and bickering and get outside in the fresh crispy winter air. We know that moving our bodies after eating is good for us rather than collapsing like a sack of potatoes, but it’s so important for our physical and mental health. And it’s free. Not much is free over christmas.

10. Enjoy seasonal british produce (and support british farmers at a really challenging time) - get some british cheese eg Stilton below and crumble onto chicory or lettuce leaves along with pomegranate seeds or olives if you like, these make a great party starter. Or grate parsnips into your carrot cakes, grate beetroot into brownies, add squash to your curries and to make people fall in love with Brussel sprouts? well I think this traybake of roasted sprouts with crispy halloumi and juicy pomegranate seeds will become the star of the festive table.

And one more Tender Tip:

In front of the TV, keep a big bowl of satsumas or clementines to balance out the traditional tin of chocolates to graze at. Or make satsuma dipped chocolate with a sprinkle of sea salt for that healthier Terry’s Chocolate orange vibes and then you get the best of both worlds of fruit and choc. You could make up a little sharing board like this one above with grapes, dates, nuts, choc and satsumas. Also medjool dates - remove stone, stuff with peanut butter or tahini (wow) and drizzle with chocolate and pop in freezer - divine -  a truly heavenly quick and healthy christmas treat.

If you enjoyed this letter, please share with a loved one who needs some tenderness.

Big love to you all.

See you on 26th for Boxing Day / leftover recipes and I’ll probably add some New Year Nibbles in there too as I’m already mulling over what I’m going to make for NYE myself! X