How to Prepare for Christmas Mindfully

By Lee Holmes

This post was originally published on this site

All you little Christmas elves, welcome aboard my sleigh! Today we’re going to explore the best way to prepare and budget for Christmas, how to enjoy it mindfully, the most delicious things to cook and what to do with all those darn left-overs!

Preparing for Christmas

• Be organised Start buying things that you need now so you’re not panicking when you’ve only got a few days left to figure everything out
• Plan your menu and figure out what everyone’s bringing to the table
• You may want to make a dessert you can freeze and use on the day
• Figure out your budget properly – factor in food, cutlery, presents, decorations and everything else you may need
• Set the table a few days before the big day so it’s one less thing to worry about

Budgeting – time and money

• Cooking for Christmas on a budget may seem like an impossible feat, but it’s totally possible. Be a scrooge online
• Buy things in bulk from bulk food stores, online shops or get fresh produce delivered to you if you don’t have time!
• Plan what you’re making before you go Christmas grocery shopping go with a purpose don’t spend unnecessarily. Make a list and check it twice
• Use herbs and spices to pack a flavour punch to dishes – buying spices doesn’t need to be expensive but adds a whole other element to your dishes
• Personalise your wrapping- kitchen or brown paper and twine and rosemary from the garden

A mindful Christmas

• Don’t buy for the sake of buying – look around your house and see if you have any leftover decorations or even try going DIY, it can be much more fun and less wasteful that way . Christmas tree branches or real tree. Upcycle.
• Use Christmas as a time to disconnect from your phone and re-connect with special people. Maybe consider a social media switch-off
• Give to those less fortunate

How to avoid a Santa Belly

• Eating mindfully is a great way to refrain from overeating and overindulging in this period
• Really pay attention to the flavours and textures of what you’re eating. Instead of mindlessly gorging on food, try to slow down and enjoy every bite of every meal.
• Don’t deprive yourself – enjoy treats in moderation

What to cook!

• Balance is key
• Roasted lamb is delicious
• Chicken cooked in rosemary and lots of spices like garlic and turmeric
• Can’t go wrong with roasted vegetables – roasted root vegetables, Brussel sprouts and more scream Christmas! You can even stuff them with nuts, seeds, rice or anything else you please.
• Lots of delicious salads
• Healthy desserts – I have a delicious healthy Supercharged Christmas Fruit Cake on my blog or a great Studded Pumpkin Pie recipe

Dealing with leftovers

• If you’ve made a roasted lamb for dinner, you can enjoy it in a salad, curry or soup over the next few days
• You can use roasted vegetables in a quiche, an omelette or a salad
• Leftover healthy desserts make for delicious snacks
• You can freeze some items for up to 3 months and use them for those nights where you can’t stand the thought of cooking

This Christmas I’ve created three new recipes – a main of spiced leg of lamb roast and two sides, a tray of roasted root vegetables and pan-fried toasted greens which you can start salivating over here.

These dishes look delightfully festive and taste super scrumptious… even Scrooge wouldn’t be able to help but smile! I like to marinate a leg of lamb overnight so it really soaks up all the flavours of herbs and spices. But also, so the only thing I have to do on Christmas day is just pop it in the oven #sneaky. I do the same thing with the veggies too. Wash, chop and prepare everything the previous day or night, then just place it under meat when ready.

That’s it! If you guys have any Supercharged Christmas tips, be sure to leave them below!

Happy holidays everyone 🙂

Lee xo