MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS LUNCH HEALTHIER

According to the Royal Society for Public Health , you’d need to walk for 4½ hours to burn off the calories in a Christmas dinner. It’s famously fattening, but a few tricks can make it a little more healthy.

◆ Prioritise protein and veg. Turkey is high in protein, which is more effective in helping control appetite than carbs or fat. Opt for breast meat, which has less saturated fat than brown meat.

◆ Bread sauce, roast potatoes and parsnips are great foods to fuel your body, but you don’t need as many carbs over Christmas if you’re less active than usual. Put half your normal portion of starchy foods on your plate and double the amount of green vegetables.

◆ Forgo packet stuffing mixes, which are loaded with salt. Instead, make your own from chestnut purée, chopped onions, celery, apples and herbs. Try baking your stuffing in a separate tray instead of putting it inside the turkey – that way it won’t absorb any extra fat.

◆ Bread sauce is a festive classic, but it’s relatively high in calories. Keep servings small, omit the cream (make with milk) and add flavour with peppercorns, bay leaves and nutmeg.

◆ If you’re adding meat juices to your gravy, drain them into a jug and leave for a few minutes to allow the fat to rise to the surface, then skim off before adding the rest to the gravy.

◆ Roast your potatoes in goose fat or lard? These are high in saturated fat, so switch to light olive or rapeseed oil and flavour with rosemary.

◆ Instead of adding butter to Brussels sprouts, par-boil halved sprouts for 4 minutes, pour a little rapeseed or olive oil into a griddle pan and grill for 2-3 minutes each side. This gives them a caramelised flavour and helps them retain flavour, freshness and nutrients.

◆ Toss chunks of carrots, beetroot and sweet potato in lemon juice, smoked paprika and rapeseed oil before roasting in the oven (180°C for 30 min).