You probably won’t be surprised to hear that Christmas is our favourite time of year – It’s kind of all I’ve been talking about for the last few weeks! :p

You may have also heard us mention that what really makes it special for us, is the food… so much so that last week, we released an entire ebook, A Very Healthy Christmas, out to the world, with over 40 of our best Chrissy recipes, all free from gluten, dairy, refined sugar & grains.

It was a bit of last minute decision to put this book out there – only giving ourselves about a month to put it altogether – but we were determined & made it happen.

For almost an entire month we dedicated ourselves 100% to this book. We put everything into it, & once it was done, we then shifted our focus to sharing it with as many people possible.

Then we realised that, SOMEHOW… it was December 21st & the tree wasn’t even fully up yet, we hadn’t done any Christmas shopping, & we hadn’t even really thought about the fact that we were just 5 days out from Christmas! Plus Christmas dinner is out our place of course!

Stressed much? Yep.

Which made me realise that for a lot of people, Christmas can be a stressful time every year…

All the prepping & organising (even if they’re not writing a book) can be incredibly overwhelming, which makes it easier to fall into the trap of using the holidays as an excuse to be a little looser with their food choices…or number of drinks.. which then by the end of it all, you feel even more exhausted than you did to begin with.

Well, I’m happy to let you know that, with a few pointers, it absolutely doesn’t need to be that way! In fact, just by doing a few simple things, you can feel awesome this Christmas.

You can still enjoy incredible food while being kind to your body, you can have a glass of wine & still feel amazing afterwards, you can feel calm & ENJOY yourself throughout the day!

Okay – Let’s get on with it shall we? Here are our 6 top tips for you to feel amazing this Christmas!

1. Drink more water

This might sound obvious, but it is SO easy to overlook. You need to make sure you’re getting enough water.

To work out how much water you need, just multiply your body weight in kg by 33 to get the amount in mls. E.g. 73 (my weight in kg) x 33 = 2409 so I need around 2.4L per day.

Now it’s important to note that’s the minimum amount you need, so if you’re drinking alcohol, you need to increase your water intake to compensate.

One more note – try to make sure you aren’t drinking water 15 mins before & after you eat so you don’t interfere with digestion.

2. Glutathione

There are several supplements I think everyone should take, but while we’re on the subject of alcohol, there’s 1 in particular that will assist your liver in detoxing & reduce the damage of the alcohol in case you do decide to get a little jolly.

Glutatione is also referred to as the master antioxidant, it’s important for liver & immune function & it gets totally wiped out by alcohol.

Take high quality L-Glutathione if you’re going to enjoy a few drinks this Christmas. You can also add B vitamins & activated charcoal to the list for an extra dose of goodness.

3. Create your Christmas feast with Wholefoods

Back in the day, our Christmas feast was loaded with sugar & gluten, packed with preservatives, cooked in rancid oils & processed to the point where they contain zero nutritional value, unfortunately, this can be true for many other people as well.

The great thing is that it’s totally possible to create amazing Christmas recipes that are made of 100% wholefoods.

If you don’t believe me, check out A Very Healthy Christmas. I’m talking Salted Caramel & Choc Brownie Trifle, tarts, lasagne, puddings…. ALL made out of wholefoods, free from gluten, dairy, refined sugars & grains.

4. Don’t forget your greens

While we’re on the subject of wholefoods, it’s important not to forget your greens!!

Leafy greens contain phytonutrients – compounds that play a critical role in supporting the detox process & helping you to adapt better to stress.

I know what you’re thinking. Anth it’s Christmas!! I’m not having a plate of boring leaves!!!

The good news is that you can dress them up or include them in your main dishes! There’s an awesome recipe for Creamed Silverbeet in A Very Healthy Christmas which every man & his reindeer will smash down – so no excuses! :p

5. Sleep

This cannot be overstated, you need your sleep. Really try to prioritise this. Sleep is when our body balances our hormones & repairs the damage caused by a stressful day. Try your best to stay organised so you’re not stuck up until 2am preparing the Christmas puddings & aim to be in bed by 10pm to wake up at 6am. A magnesium supplement & lemon balm tea can help if you struggle to get to sleep.

6. Enjoy yourself (+ an awesome calming exercise!)

Presents, family, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, there’s a lot happening on the 1 day (or if you’re like us, the few days) of Christmas, I get it! But the whole point of it all is that you actually enjoy it! Try not to look at it as this big stress or wait until the last guest has walked out the door before you stop holding your breath! Be excited for presents, the amazing food & for the people you’ll be spending your time with. And if you really feel things piling on, try this simple, yet incredibly effective breathing exercise:

Take a deep, diaphragmatic breath in through your nose for 5 seconds, hold it for 5 seconds, then release it for 5 seconds. Repeat this 5 times & you’ll have brought yourself back from fight or flight & back into rest & digest mode, that’s the place you want to be in when you sit down to that gorgeous Christmas feast!

And that’s a wrap.

All of these things are so simple to do, & I promise you, you will feel soooooo much better throughout the silly season – even if you can only action one of them!!

I hope you have an incredible Christmas, & if you have any questions – drop me a line!

Anth x