How to get your five-a-day at Christmas

Tis the season of excess, but that doesn’t mean you should let your five-a-day fall

by the wayside. To ensure your holiday is as nutritious as it is delicious, we’ve rounded up heart healthy tips from Heart Research UK and delved into the HFG archive of Christmases past to find some of our healthier festive recipes.

Go nuts

Ditch the Doritos and instead serve nuts and dried fruits at your Christmas party. Nuts contain unsaturated fats that can help reduce cholesterol levels and dried fruits count towards your five-a-day – if you eat a 30g portion.

Make it: We’ve got 10 great ideas for using nuts, from spicy snacks to healthy breakfast bars.

Start right

Instead of full-fat salmon mousse on the Big Day, serve a low-fat option such as a seasonal soup or a low-fat cheese savoury.

Make it: Try our halloumi and vegetable kebabs.

Fruity fun

Give fresh fruits a festive makeover – they’ll be more appealing to the children if you get creative. Make an edible centrepiece by arranging grapes, sliced melon and kiwi in the shape of a Christmas tree and use berries and pineapple pieces to decorate.

Make it: For adults who want to skip the Christmas pudding, try our simple but sophisticated poached pear dessert that’s served with vanilla ice cream.

Sober up

Cut down on alcohol, which increases the risk of high blood pressure, and offer your guests mulled fruit punch instead, adding plenty of fruit slices. One small 150ml glass of fresh fruit juice counts as 1 of your five-a-day.

Make it: Try one of our mocktails.

You can still have your cake…

We don’t want to ruin all the fun, so if that slice of full-fat cake is calling you, go for it! Just remember to watch your portion size and add a nutrient-rich topping of fresh or dried fruit to increase the nutritional value.

Make it: We’ve got plenty of cake recipes that are easier on the waistline than the traditional version. There’s our classic Christmas cake, spiced cranberry and clementine drizzle cake, and merry berry pavlova