Nutritionist and Naturopath Kate Skerritt is co-founder of healthy fast food chain ‘pod’. She trained at London’s College of Natural Medicine and it is her mantra that a healthy digestive system is the key to wellbeing. She shares her tips for surviving the festive season.

Christmas is a wonderful time for family but it can also be utterly exhausting for the one who is responsible for organising the whole shebang – you. As mothers, the pressure we put on ourselves to create the best Christmas for those we love puts huge stress on our bodies, which are already fighting hard to ward off winter bugs and viruses. You might create a wonderful Christmas for those you love, but it can leave you ill.

While you might not be able to – or indeed want to – do any less at this time of year, it is important for your general health and wellbeing that you support your body through this period. To do this we first need to make sure you support your digestive system and give some focus to your sense of wellbeing – bringing both of these things into an equilibrium will boost your body’s ability to cope with frenetic pre-Christmas pace, and help your body cope with maybe a touch too much good food and wine.

Here is a little mantra – C.A.L.M. – that can help you get to Christmas day and enjoy it, too.

C is for Cleanse…
Many of us understand the role our liver plays in ridding the body of toxins but it is also vital in fighting off infection. The liver is the body’s great cleanser and, by helping your liver cleanse, you are helping your body to keep functioning effectively no matter what the run up to Christmas throws at you. Take a milk thistle supplement daily to help this process and also think about resting your digestive system by having gluten ‘rest days’. There are some amazing gluten-free recipes so you won’t have to deny yourself great tasting meals to do this. For example, Lemongrass chicken, the recipe for which is below.

A is for Awaken…
When you have a busy schedule, feeling sluggish in the morning will not help you get through your to-do list. Start your day with hot water and lemon. The liver works all night to detoxify the body so hot water first thing in the morning works to flush out these toxins whilst the lemon juice contains vitamins and nutrients beneficial to the body first thing. Try and avoid the temptation to skip breakfast, too.  You need to fuel both body and brain for the day ahead when you have a busy schedule so try super-fooding some scrambled eggs by adding pumpkin seeds, some crumbly cheese, chilli and tomatoes which will keep your body fuelled long into the day. Or try probiotic yoghurt with honey and seeds – this will aid the effective functioning of the digestive system helping your body renew and refresh and can also help combat bloating

L is for Let go…
How you finish the day is key as it will determine the quality of your night’s sleep. Start a relaxation routine an hour before going to bed by drinking warm milk and honey and sprinkling your bed with lavender essential oil to aid the mind’s wind down. Leaving your iPad downstairs and having your bedroom at a temperature of one degree below the rest of the house will also help you switch off. When you have a lot of Christmas preparation to do, staying up late is inevitable but make sure you have down-time when your body can renew its energy reserves. Aim for at least two nights a week when you get to bed on time to allow your body a full eight hours sleep (or as close to that as possible with little ones on the prowl!). This will help make sure your energy levels last the course all the way to Christmas Day.

M is for Meditation…
How you start the day is equally as important so, wherever possible, set 10 minutes aside in the morning to empty your mind before you tackle the day ahead. This will help you deal with the rest of the day’s stressful happenings. Stretching at the end of your meditation will bring you gently back into the here and now. If it ever gets too much, or – ass is highly possible – you find your meditation interrupted, take time out for a mini meditation top-up.

When we feel stressed, we can breathe shallowly which leaves us feeling anxious and even light-headed. When stress looks like it’s getting the better of you, find a quiet space – ideally where you can sit up straight and where you can take the weight of your shoulders by supporting your arms on either a table or side arms of an armchair. Close your eyes and take a slow breath in through your nose, ‘breathing in’ through your lower stomach.  Hold it for 2-3 seconds and then breathe out through your mouth. Wait a few seconds and take another breath. By concentrating on this slow breathing, your mind will take time out too. If you are out and about and there just isn’t anywhere to stop and sit, you can also create a calming effect just by breathing in deeply through your stomach whilst relaxing your shoulders and breathing out through the mouth, a great technique for when Christmas shopping looks set to tip you over the edge.

My final tip is a personal one. As mothers we can forget to enjoy Christmas, too busy making sure everyone else is having a good time. My approach to this is to close the doors, literally, and embrace my family time. Make Christmas week, your week. It will incentivise you to get all the preparation done and it will make sure that you have time to kick back with those who are the most precious to you – your family – and relax into making those precious Christmas memories.

Recipe: Lemongrass chicken

Ingredients
(For the curry paste)
4 red peppers sliced and deseeded
Quarter cup of rice flour
1 tsp of cardamom powder
Red chilli flakes to taste
Coriander seeds to taste
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of galangal puree
1 tsp of lemongrass puree
1 tsp of garlic puree
1.5 tsp of ground turmeric
Quarter cup of rapeseed oil
1 tbsp of tamari
Lemon zest of one lemon, grated
1 tsp of fish paste

(For the rest)
1 tbsp of rapeseed oil
400ml of coconut milk
2 medium onions cut into wedges
Half cup of chicken stock
4 fresh lime leaves
2 tbsp of fish sauce
Agave to taste
Salt
3 to 4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless) cut into 1 inch cubes
3 cups of cooked rice
Salad to serve
Coriander to garnish

Method
Place all curry paste ingredients (Red peppers, rice flour, cardamom powder, red chilli flakes, coriander seeds, cumin ground, galangal puree, lemongrass puree, garlic puree, turmeric, tamari, lemon zest, fish paste, oil) in a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms. Season with salt.

Heat one tbsp of rapeseed oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes or until onion softens. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add chicken, lime leaves, coconut milk and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until sauce thickens and chicken is tender. Remove from heat. Add fish sauce; stir to combine. Taste and season with agave and fish sauce.

Serve over top of cooked rice with a side salad, and decorate with coriander.