Let’s Celebrate!

Food used to be at the centre of our lives. A home-cooked meal, eaten together was a time to talk and strengthen family relationships. We would spend a good portion of our income keeping ourselves well fed. We’d spend more of our time shopping, cooking and eating. This is still the way of life in France and Italy and is the secret of the famously healthy ‘Mediterranean Diet’. Fresh simple food, cooked with love and eaten with gratitude.

If this doesn’t describe your relationship with food, perhaps you could treat yourself to a change this Christmas. Most people get some time off work so you could make some delicious meals and spend time really enjoying eating.

I made my Christmas cake in November (to my grandmother’s recipe, complete with marmalade). Mince pies were last week’s job.A recent article by a cardiologist in the British Medical Journal confirmed that saturated fat does not cause heart disease so I had no qualms about using all butter for the pastry. They melt in the mouth. No sugar on top though – I didn’t want them all sickly like bought ones.

Christmas dinner is my favourite meal of the year. It takes some making and the secret is for everyone to help. Some can chop veg, some can peel potatoes, some can lay the table, others can wash up afterwards. My grandfather liked to make the starter (right up to the age of 94). Even children can do something.

I know there are some famous retailers offering to make your Christmas easier in exchange for lots of your money – just come and buy the lot. They’re missing the point. When you get people involved, the whole experience can be fun rather than a chore. The food I cook at home is tastier and better for me than pre-prepared food. If you’re a good cook who doesn’t use vegetable oil or add lots of salt and sugar to everything, the same could be true for you. As I celebrate remembering the time when God came in human form to save us, I’ll also celebrate the bounty of the earth and be thankful for the privilege of being able to eat well.

Top tip: Celebrate good food this Christmas.

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year.

Christmas lights in Harrogate

Not such a sweet smell!

One of the sessions on my Eat for a Better Life course is devoted to the subject of toxins (poisons). It’s is a timely topic for this column with the surge in promotion of highly processed party foods for Christmas. You can avoid herbicides and pesticides by buying organic meat and veg. You can cut down your intake of antibiotics and steroids by buying free-range meat. You can avoid chemical additives and damaged fats by buying fresh ingredients and doing your own cooking.

The huge number of chemicals now in our lives is causing many problems. A lady I know suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and can be laid low for several days if she goes near people who wear perfume or who have used the new long-lasting fabric softeners. I accidentally bought this type of softener when my usual brand was changed (no doubt ‘improved’). The new scent was not only nauseating but clung relentlessly to my clothes, my skin and whatever the clothes had laid next to in the drawer or wardrobe. I got rid of it pronto and sought a less toxic alternative.

Perfume is a major theme in the Christmas adverts. There is great secrecy around the recipes for famous fragrances so they do not have to list the ingredients. That doesn’t mean they are harmless. Other ‘smellies’ sold in abundance at this time of year are room fresheners, scented candles and bathing products. Natural essential oils are fine but commonly the scent is created in a lab from chemicals and can be irritant to the respiratory system.

Many beauty products contain chemicals but there are some good companies around that use natural ingredients.  I like Neal’s Yard, Weleda and Burt’s Bees.  There’s also Pure Lakes, a family company in Cumbria, with a great ethos and gorgeous products.

Top tip – take care when buying presents – or do your loved ones some good with a Learn to Eat Well gift voucher.

Make these nifty little boxes out of old Christmas cards!

I wish you all a very merry chemical-free Christmas!