The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
BEETROOT fermented for ten days. A bottle of sparkling kombucha – rather than champagne – on the table at lunch.
Potatoes roasted in chickpea flour, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil.
And what about a vegan Wellington centrepiece made with four different species of exotic mushrooms and more than 30 different types of plant?
Welcome to a very healthy Christmas Day with some of the nation’s leading diet gurus.
Whether it’s swapping Christmas pudding with brandy cream for a yoghurt and seed cake with a kefir sauce, or simply avoiding the swathe of tempting festive snacks packed with ultra-processed ingredients in the supermarket aisles, they prove it is possible to enjoy the season without over-indulging.
But some of their responses might surprise you. Not every expert is planning to maintain their wholesome approach on December 25.
In fact, one notorious critic of ultra-processed foods admitted that Christmas was ‘a big UPF day for me’ with everything bought from the supermarket and cooked from frozen. And another big advocate for healthy eating said, unapologetically, that if ever there was a time to ‘let it all hang out’, it was Christmas.
A turkey with all the trimmings is the only option many wil choose at Christmas
Studies consistently show that the average Brit consumes about 6,000 calories across Christmas Day itself and that many gain between one and two pounds over the festive period. Those pounds can prove stubborn to shift and, if they persist, can lead to longer-term weight gain.
So which of our experts will you be emulating this Christmas – and will your celebration have a health halo, or prove to be a health hazard?
No choccies for me… I feast the Italian way
DR FEDERICA AMATI, head nutritionist at diet brand ZOE, lives in London with her husband Paul Sculfor, 54, a model and the chief executive of addiction charity Stride Foundation, and their two daughters.
She says: ‘I really don’t buy into the whole pigs in blankets, Christmas chocolates, Christmas pastries thing. So much food is created specifically to get you to buy it for Christmas and I’m really anti that. What we have is still very much a feast – but it’s joyful and delicious and won’t leave you feeling like c***.
‘Our Christmas blends both Italian and English festive traditions [I’m Italian and my husband, Paul, is English]. Christmas Eve is a big deal for us Italians and we’ll have smoked salmon or a spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with clams) and a panettone made with Italian sourdough and studded with sultanas, candied orange and almonds.
