How to stay nourished during party season

Here are our 7 top tips on how to eat well, and stay nourished, during the festive season:

1. Have a nourishing and filling lunch.

If you are heading to a party in the evening, we suggest consuming as many nutrients as possible in your lunch to keep your body feeling nourished and full of energy, and to help recovery if you are planning on having some drinks. It is important to make sure that half the plate is vegetables, and we would suggest opting for recipes that only include whole foods. Include a generous portion of complex carbohydrates, such as brown or wild rice, sweet potato or quinoa, to ensure that you feel full and satiated as this will help to absorb any toxins but also steer you away from turning towards too many canapés to fill you up later. This recipe for our root veg galette is not only super-nourishing and delicious, but a great winter warmer on a crisp day. Alternatively, we would suggest this warming cauliflower salad, packed with nutrients and flavour.

2. Line the stomach with a light dinner.

Though not everyone thinks to have a quick bite before they go out, we would really recommend planning ahead and leaving time to line the stomach with a light, healthy soup or aubergine and squash lasagna. This way, you won’t feel full and sluggish going to the party, and it will help you from getting snacky later or craving that late-night greasy takeaway. You could also leave a small portion for when you get back if that helps you avoid the latter. However, it would help to digest all your food earlier on in the evening to improve your quality of sleep.

3. Don’t over-do it.

We hear you, it’s so easy to get carried away. Though there is little wrong with a couple of tipples, any more can have a heavier impact on your body and mind the next day. Not only can the hangover be a motivation-killer, it is likely to induce stress on your body, slowing down recovery, which is not good news for the microbiome. To help you pace yourself, we would suggest drinking a glass of water (or infused or sparkling water to make you feel like you are having a drink) between each drink. This way you will probably leave the night only two or three drinks down.

4. The “morning-after broth”.

There is nothing more cleansing and awakening than a broth. The fluids in the broth help to hydrate your body as quickly as possible. Our favourites are our mushroom broth and ginger broth. The latter has magic healing properties thanks to the generous portion of ginger. It is also easy to pack as many vegetables into a broth as possible to ingest all those vitamins and minerals that your body might be lacking in.

5. Be a prep-queen.

We would recommend starting the week strong and making a big batch of our healthy and comforting black dal or mac and cheese, which you can portion out and keep in the fridge or freezer to ensure that you always have a nourishing meal to turn to. It is always tempting to go for that takeaway again, but amongst all the indulgence, it is much better having something healthy sitting in the fridge, so you can get as much variety in your diet as possible for maximum nourishment.

6. Get your fibre fix.

Fibre will help provide the necessary nutrients for the healthiest probiotic bacteria in our guts. Increasing our fibre intake will encourage getting rid of waste and help detoxify the body! Say hello to our favourite fibre-filled grilled aubergine salad.

7. Vitamin D: your saving grace.

Make sure you are getting enough of this key vitamin during the party season. Taking a vitamin D supplement is always recommended, but you can also look to oily fish, eggs, mushrooms, and fortified soy and almond milk to boost that vitamin D supply as much as possible! This risotto is a great go-to, championing mushrooms, which are a great plant based source of vitamin D.

And I think it goes without saying - or having its own segmented paragraph - but your water bottle is (and always should be) your best friend. Keep as hydrated as possible, both during and in between parties and your body, energy levels and skin will thank you later.

The healthier host:

If you are the host of a fabulous festive-do, here are some of our favourite recipes to serve alongside drinks. All of these include healthy swaps, that ensure you are making healthier choices without compromising on taste or flavour. If anything, they are even more delicious than your standard cocktail sausages or blinis, which let’s be honest, everyone is getting tired of now...

1. Brussel sprout salad rolls.
2. Broad bean dip from this recipe on little sourdough or rye crostini.
3. Miniature beetroot and lentil burgers.

If you don't have the time or energy to do the cooking yourself, you can always book yourself in for one of our Fridge Fills or meal plans: an easy way to ensure that you always have a healthy meal to hand. Or how about a post-party 3-Day Reset?