‘I’m giving my body a break from Christmas food this year’

Gluttony has become part of the festivities but it’s a hard no from me

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a foodie but it is my absolute dream to plan dinner parties and brunches - as much for the food as the presentation. When I was 18 I used to serve rice the way I’d seen in restaurants, neatly packed into a small bowl, topped with a flat plate and then carefully turned upside down to deliver perfectly formed domes of grain. My friend says when I host, I like to give the whole sensory experience, which is I think, a polite way of saying I act as though I’m inviting people to a 5* hotel with a michelin star restaurant instead of my one bedroom apartment with tiny galley kitchen. All that just to say that I am not a scrooge about Christmas or Christmas food. I love any kind of celebration and even though my family didn’t celebrate Christmas when I was younger, I have grown to love the necessary parts of this time of year and especially what goes on the table. 

I actually don’t eat pork but my first experience of pigs in blankets on my now ex mother-in-law’s table was a delight in my mouth. The salty-sweet rich flavours were unlike anything I had ever experienced and I quickly became hooked, disappointed that they only came out once a year. (Although fans will be pleased to know that several supermarkets now have them all year round.) It was at this same table that I was introduced to brandy butter, and the taste of this blew my mind. I’d always much prefer spirits over wine and this beautiful mix of smoky, earthy and sweet was just incredible. And atop of the buttery flaky goodness of mince pies created the most divine pairing. I also, along with plenty of other people, get sucked into the hype that is Baileys at Christmas and the brand’s dedication to bringing out a new flavour every year is almost as hotly anticipated as the John Lewis Christmas advert. Mint, chocolate, salted caramel and apple pie flavours have all appeared in the last few years and while the original is still best, it doesn’t stop people (and by people, I mean me) rushing out to get the limited editions. (And for this year’s click here)

So far, so Christmassy. Everyone knows what they’re getting on Christmas Day - a full tummy and a sugar headache. But it’s fine because it’s Christmas! One of my friends is usually on a strict gluten and dairy free diet for health reasons but every Christmas she throws caution to the wind because ‘it’s Christmas!’ and going overboard is the norm and she doesn’t want to miss out. Every January, she ends up very very sick. Her body has been battling with the food it simply cannot process and her immune system is under attack as she struggles, sometimes quite seriously, for her life. For me personally, a key part of my recovery from chemotherapy has been my diet. After years of doing what my friend calls, “stuffing and starving”, a stick-based system whereby I would eat as much as I wanted on one day and then nothing the next, to “make up for it”, I realised that this has been a type of self-harm. I’ve never ever thought of myself as having an eating disorder because I don’t make myself throw up and I love food. I have a naturally slim frame and I like to keep active. (In 2020 I was walking to and from work a few times a week which was a 3-hour round trip each day andI loved it!) But this form of control which I realise I use to push down feelings is given a free pass this time of year. And like my friend, instead of sticking to my gluten-free, plant-based diet, it is very tempting to fill my body with all of the food I want, in the name of Christmas. But any serious illness is (and definitely should be) a wake up call to improve your health. The Bible tells me that my body is a temple and so I’m trying to take what I put inside as seriously as I do outside, on which I only trust very select skincare brands with particularly high price points. Why bother with that if I’m only going to stuff it with junk and processed food?

A few months ago I saw an IG post in which a natural health practitioner was celebrating his birthday. He was sitting in front of a beautiful plate of fresh fruit. The caption read that it’s too easy to default to birthday cake when we’re celebrating but if all that sugar is going to make you ill, is it really worth it? 

I know lots of you are going to hate this week’s reading, and I don’t blame you. It's been a really tough year and many of us are looking forward to letting loose for at least a few days over this Christmas period. And I get it, but is it really a treat when your body is left feeling awful afterwards? Does anyone really relish a banging hangover the next day or retching over a toilet after a meal that was just a bit too rich? It’s funny that pharmaceutical companies pile on the tube adverts for indigestion tablets around the same time Starbucks announce their Christmas flavoured coffees. New season, new way to push your body into overdrive.

Maybe it’s easier for me because with my Nigerian heritage, I was brought up on jollof rice which is a dish that is second to none and I would choose Thai over turkey any day. But even they can be detrimental eaten in abundance. So, cultural preferences aside, I hope you choose to eat well this Christmas and that eating well means your body gets to enjoy it too. Yes I know we have January to eat more soberly but doesn’t that just feel like an extended method of “stuff and starve”? Let’s not write off a whole month in penance because our “five a day” in December came from the contents of mulled wine and mince pies. Balance is key and in a world where it seems covid is king, a healthy immune system is the best way to protect yourself. Starting now, not in January.

Doll x