A bite-size guide to a nutritionally balanced diet this party season

Christmas is not the time to be abstemious. When someone proffers a canapé, you seize the tray; when invited for seconds, you confess that you’re already on thirds. Tis the season to be greedy.

Though, periodically, fleetingly, you crave a vegetable with more might than the half-sprout in your Christmas sandwich, or protein instead of another pillowy refined carbohydrate.

In other words, you seek guidance on how to negotiate party season while still getting the requisite portions of fruit, vegetables and vitamins. Moreover, if you’re hosting, you suspect it might be generous to offer a healthy(ish) alternative to the usual trimmings — just for a bit of variety.

This is a bite-size guide to a nutritionally balanced party season.

All at sea

While vacuuming up a bag of Hula Hoops on the Night Tube hits the spot, 10 minutes later you are unsatisfied. Protein-based canapés will keep you fuller — and therefore in party mode — for far longer. “Incorporating fish where I can is a great little skin hack that works for me,” agrees Karen O’Donoghue of gluten-free food-subscription service Happy Tummy. “Canapés usually involve one or two fishy options.”

Alice Liveing, aka Clean Eating Alice, says: “I am a huge fan of a smoked salmon blini. It’s a favourite of my mum’s at Christmas, and every year she puts a slightly different twist on them.” For a DIY option, Stephanie Johnson and Kristina Komlosiova, founders of healthy superbrand Pollen + Grace, recommend smearing flax-seed crackers with cashew cheese, smoked salmon and a sprinkle of chives.

Go veggie

It doesn't have to be a permanent switch but doing a meat-free day at one or two parties a week resets the balance after over-indulgence. Pollen + Grace, which does Christmas catering, reports that its Christmas crudité platters have been one of the most popular dishes, for example: “Just simple, seasonal veg such as roasted parsnips served with spiced carrot hummus.” Liveing suggests making vegetable soups with any Christmas leftovers — her favourite is parsnip.

And Ursel Barnes from High Mood Food, which has just opened its first store in Marylebone serving platters of natural fermented food, tries to keep her Christmas canapés veg-centric. “Use root vegetables as a base so you don’t need to use white bread.” She adds that you should also look for superfood beetroot whenever someone comes around with a tray as it packs antioxidants.

Ella Woodward, behind healthy superbrand Deliciously Ella, says jackfruit will be the talking point of 2018. “I keep seeing it everywhere — it’s really interesting to cook with as it has a very similar consistency to pulled pork.” Pollen + Grace serves up buckwheat blinis with beetroot and horseradish cashew cream and gives the thumbs up to raisins, figs and cranberries: squint and your Christmas pud is almost a health food.

Spice up your life

Party season is depleting: give mind and body a kick-start by choosing anything with a bit of spice. “I love making golden milk, a classic Ayurvedic hot drink which inspired the ‘turmeric latte’, all year round,” says Jasmine Hemsley, the celestial chef behind Ayurvedic cookbook East by West. “But especially in the festive season, when your body really appreciates the medicinal properties of all the herbs and spices, like ginger, turmeric, black pepper and cinnamon, that go into it.”

She has also been on the Christmas catering circuit this year and reports that her most popular canapé is her ginger anise chew (“great for digestion”) and dokhlas — “Think squares of freshly steamed fragrant chickpea sponge served with a green coriander, lime, honey and chilli chutney.”

“I’m loving whole roasted cauliflowers with a turmeric, cumin and cayenne crust,” says Woodward, who also recommends spicy sweet potato cakes. Pollen + Grace adds cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves liberally to its dishes, and Barnes recommends making a spiced sauerkraut to serve at Christmas dinner.

Swap shop

Unless you’re cooking, you can’t pick the menu, but if you’re out for a festive dinner, you can be on the prowl for healthier versions of favourites — or if you’ve got a compliant waiter, asking the kitchen if they could do a swapsie.

For example, O’Donoghue suggests keeping your eyes peeled for kefir instead of yoghurt. “I’ll also use it instead of cream to pour over my mince pies and pudding.” Barnes is also a kefir fan and recommends requesting sourdough in the pre-meal bread basket instead of refined carbs: the kamut grain is good for keeping your gut healthy. Feast well this festive season.