So many good things to eat at Christmas - the problem is what to choose!

Here's the menu we've chosen:

Seafood Christmas lunch

Better still it's made more sustainable by Melbourne chef Oliver Edwards, with marine researcher John Ford.

Their suggestions for Christmas lunch are:

Prawns: Spencer Gulf and North Queensland banana prawns are MSC certified, but where you can get fresh local lake or river prawns then go for them

Oysters and mussels: both great sustainable and delicious choices

For the BBQ: Try something different on the BBQ this year. Mix up the old favourites like snapper and salmon with whole bream or mullet, cutlets of Australian salmon or fillets of Australian whiting.

 (Pics: Queensland Prawns)

And just in time to help plan the Christmas lunch menu, these two experts have teamed up to produce a sustainable seafood website. The aim of the website ‘GoodFishBadFish’ is to make consumer choice easier by collating and interpreting the varied and often conflicting information about sustainable seafood, providing a unique resource for shopping and recipe ideas. It provides sustainable alternatives for species with limited supply, or where fishing techniques endanger other species or habitats.

The website provides a simple list of species that are considered sustainable by all sources, as well as a table comparing and explaining conflicting assessments for consumers to make their own decisions and also has seasonal recipes and seafood preparation tips from Chef Edwards and guest chefs, as well as a ‘Seafood Converter’ which provides sustainable seafood alternatives for recipes.

A recipe for a successful finish

The Austrians are known for their love of sugar and all things sweet, so why not take advice from an expert and watch this video, then make your own (super-easy) vanilla crescents (kipferln).

Here is all you do:

Take 180g of butter, 70g of shelled and ground almonds, 50g of sugar, 2 egg yolks and 210g of plain flour. Quickly mix all the ingredients to a short-crust dough and leave it in a cool place for one hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1cm before cutting into small pieces measuring about 2 centimeters and forming crescent-shaped cookies. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking tray and bake at a moderate temperature (200°C) for around ten minutes or until they turn a light brown color. Mix icing sugar and vanilla sugar together, then toss the hot cookies in the mix. Store the cookies in a sealed tin for several days for them to become crumbly.

But make sure they’re well hidden so nobody gets at them in advance.

A cheese platter

With hundreds of cheeses to choose from - which should you offer your family and guests?

McIntosh and Bowman are cheese experts and their Gift Vouchers to Cheese Masterclasses are the PERFECT solution for last minute gifting! The website has answers to many questions too: 

How do I cut cheese? Time and time again it's a 'cheese etiquette' question from both camps; the disgruntled host or the nervous guest "how best to cut cheeses of various shapes and sizes?". 

Can I eat the rind? This is another common cheese question that features at Q. 35 on the FAQ section of their cheese app 'Ask The Cheesemonger'. You can read the extended answer on rind appreciation on the blog.

McIntosh & Bowman Cheesemongers say they are determined to break down the myths, misconceptions and pretence that exists in people's minds regarding the wonderful, rustic world of cheese!

And of course, the pudding!

Oh dear! have you left it to late to mix and steam a trad Christmas pudding? Don't worry, this no-bake one comes from The Right Balance with an extra feature. It is also gluten free.

It’s hardly Christmas without a slice of good old Christmas pudding. But whether you are ahead of the game or need to whip up one in a flash, look no further than Teresa Cutter's (The Healthy Chef) gluten free Christmas pudding which only take 5 minutes to make!

Additional perk: No baking required and it won’t bloat you out like traditional versions! The dried fruit adds sweetness and moisture, so you don’t need to add extra cane sugar or added fats (i.e. butter) like most traditional puddings.
 
Ingredients

225g fresh pitted dates – approx 10 – 15 dates depending on their size

zest from 1 orange

250g organic dried apricots, chopped

150 g (1 ½ cups) almond meal / ground almonds

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground ginger

80 g white chocolate, melted for decoration – optional

Method

Combine dates, orange zest, apricots, vanilla, ground almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a food processor. Process until mixture is combined and looks like fine crumbs. Spoon mixture into a large bowl and add 1 – 2 tablespoons orange juice then mix again. Your pudding mix should come together in the hands when lightly squeezed. Divide puddings into 6 small puddings. The best way to do this is to line the base of your desired mould with glad wrap and press the pudding mixture into it firmly. Invert the pudding and remove the glad wrap. Repeat until all the puddings are formed. Melt white chocolate in a small bowl that is set over a simmering pot of water. Spoon a little white chocolate over the tops of the puddings if using and garnish. You can use goji berries, fresh cherries or anything you fancy. Alternatively omit the topping if you wish. Arrange onto a serving plate and set aside until needed. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 

For more information, visit The Healthy Chef

 Have Yourself a Mindful Christmas

Hand ups if you get overwhelmed and even irritated by all the articles telling you how to survive the silly season. Most people do. This year, try a different approach.

Mindfulness is the key, suggests Kathleen Alleaume (MSc) from The Right Balance.
 

The idea behind mindfulness is to fix one's attention more on the "present moment" without judgment. When it comes to eating, mindfulness is about experiencing food more intensely — especially the pleasure of it.

It involves learning to eat consciously: to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied, rather than using other common eating cues such as the size of the plate, how much the people around you are eating, or what’s in the fridge.

All these things can shape our food choices, and often lend itself to eating more than you need to.
 
Bonus: Mindful eating is not a diet, or about giving up your favourite foods. So it's not about avoiding the Christmas pudding, egg-nog or lashings of gravy because we all know it’s not realistic to aim for an indulgence-free Christmas!

But if you find yourself wishing you could avoid some of the excesses, then perhaps consider having yourself a Mindful Merry Christmas.

Here's how:

When you eat, just eat. It’s tempting to eat while you work, talk on the phone or answer an e-mail. Simply turn off the phone, TV, computer screen or Xbox. For now, at least, and focus on the food.
 
Chew patiently. It’s not easy, but try to slow down, aiming for 25 to 30 chews for each mouthful. Don’t let yourself go for another bite until your mouth is completely empty of the current one. Trust me on this one - you may find that you don't need to eat everything on your plate.
 

Pace Yourself. Sometimes eating is such a routine behaviour that you can eat an entire plate of food and not taste one bite. If you notoriously wolf down your food in record time, try eating with your non-dominant hand. Better still, use chopsticks (wherever possible)
 
Choose quality over quantity. Less is more, even when it comes to food, and especially if you buy prime products.

Save the best till last. Can’t wait to sink your teeth into that pudding? It’s best you save this for the last bite. Research shows that we tend to get more enjoyment and be less tempted to eat more later if we eat our favourite food last.
 
Extract from my book What’s Eating You?

Stay tuned... 

We're down to the toe of the Christmas stocking. Come back soon and see how we can really get the Spirit of Christmas!