Survive Christmas stress with some top festive recipes

CHRISTMAS is a time to relax and enjoy spending time with your family and friends.

To help you prepare for the big day—and avoid too much indulgence in festive food and drink, Canned Food UK with nutritionist and broadcaster Amanda Hamilton have devised some tips about staying healthy and stress-free during the season of goodwill.

“The carb-fest that is the average Christmas lunch is accompanied by much moaning, groaning and rubbing of Santa-bellies,” says Amanda.

“To avoid this, try to plan meals—when you are at home, fill at least half your dinner plate with vegetables to stock up on nutrients that help your body to detox and burn fat.

“The best approach is to batch cook once a week and freeze portions in advance.

“For meals that can be cooked in bulk and frozen for a quick meal later on, try Canned Food UK’s vegetable hotpot or chicken and ratatouille bake.

“As canned food is already cooked and need only be heated in minutes, vegetables such as green beans, carrots or cannellini beans can be added as a quick and easy accompaniment to a meal, and also count towards your five-a-day.

“We are likely to consume more alcohol than usual during the festive period and everyone can relate to that ‘morning after the night before’ feeling.

“All alcohol contains toxins and in fact, the whole experience of getting intoxicated is simply giving your body so many toxins that it can't process them quickly enough.”

How to combat the dreaded hangover:

Take 500mg Milk Thistle or a dose of the tincture before going out drinking, and take two more in the morning.

Most of us know that drinking plenty of water between alcohol helps, and lots before going to bed. Eating fruit is great the morning after—but to get vitamins back into your system, a smoothie is the best bet.

Canned Food UK has a range of delicious smoothie recipes using canned fruit, which will provide nutrients and make you feel 100 per cent better.

Try the banana smoothie with red berries and honey—which is great for a sore head and provides two portions of your five-a-day.

In addition, berries are a great source of folic acid, which boost serotonin, helping to keep any seasonal stress at bay.

Canned Food UK’s website has plenty of affordable and nutritional recipes that only need a few minutes’ preparation.

With recipes and video demonstrations from celebrity chef James Martin, plus top tips from nutritionist Amanda Hamilton, it’s easy to whip up some delicious meals for a memorable occasion.

For more information on canned food and for recipe ideas, visit www.cannedfood.co.uk.

Canned Food UK’s free u.can cook iPhone app is available through the iTunes App Store, and features more than 80 delicious recipes and several step-by-step recipe demonstrations by celebrity chef James Martin.

Vegetable Hotpot

Serves: 4

Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

295g can condensed vegetable soup

410g can mixed pulses, drained

3 large potatoes, very thinly sliced

1 red onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

100ml vegetable stock

1 Tbsp oil

10g melted butter

Crusty bread

Method:

Preheat oven to fan 180°C, conventional 200°C, gas 6.

Place the potato in a large pan and bring to the boil for 5-7 minutes, until just beginning to soften, drain well.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry onion until soft, add the garlic and fry for a further minute.

Stir in the soup, stock and pulses, heat through and pour into a casserole dish.

Arrange potatoes in a layer over the vegetable mixture.

Brush the butter over the potatoes, bake for 30 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through and golden brown.

Delicious served with fresh crusty bread.

Hints and Tips:

Try stirring dried or fresh herbs into the vegetable mixture and sprinkling with cheese before putting in the oven.

Freezing:

Freeze in single portions without the potato topping. Delicious served as a topping on baked potato, sprinkled with grated cheese.

Nutrition Information (Per Serving):

Calories: 374

Protein: 16.1g

Carbs: 56.3g

Sugars: 8.3g

Fat: 10.1g

Sat Fat: 2.4g

Fibre: 9.6g

Sodium: 0.7g

Chicken & Ratatouille Bake

Serves: 2

Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, skin on

560g can potatoes, drained

390g can ratatouille

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp oil

Method:

Preheat oven to fan 180°C, conventional 200°C, gas 6.

Heat oil in a large flameproof oven dish and brown chicken thighs on both sides.

Remove chicken thighs from pan and set aside.

Add potatoes to pan and fry in remaining oil for 2 minutes. Remove potatoes from oil using a slotted spoon and drain excess fat from dish.

Return chicken and potatoes to dish, pour over ratatouille, sprinkle over oregano and tumble ingredients together to combine.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked though, stir halfway during cooking.

Hints and Tips:

This recipe can be cooked on the hob for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

Freezing:

This recipe can be frozen. Defrost thoroughly in a refrigerator prior to reheating.

Nutrition Information (Per Serving):

Calories: 440

Protein: 28.3g

Carbs: 11.4g

Sugars: 6.6g

Fat: 31.3g

Sat Fat: 6.8g

Fibre: 2.0g

Sodium: 0.5g

Banana Smoothie with red berries and honey

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

410g can evaporated milk

½ x 300g can raspberries drained

½ x 300g can blackberries, drained

2 ripe bananas

100ml water

100g Greek style yoghurt

2 Tbsp honey

Method

Put the berries and bananas in a blender with 1/2 the evaporated milk and the yoghurt.

Blend until smooth, add the remaining evaporated milk and enough water to give the desired consistency.

Add honey to taste, blend and serve.

How to serve:

For a really chilled smoothie, add 4-6 ice cubes when blending. For the best results, serve immediately.

Nutritional value per serving

Calories: 255g

Protein: 12g

Carbohydrate: 39.2g

Sugars: 32.8g