Wilson - I Quit Sugar Christmas Cookbook

Its lovely to see you here, giving the Silly Season a good crack without the toxic white stuff.

In years past, Christmas was an overly indulgent affair for me. In the lead-up, Id eat and drink more than usual. Id get addicted to the stimulants and to the hedonistic vibe. I have quite an addictive personality and Id give in to the domino-like descent into mince tarts, martinis and Cadbury Roses. What the heck Its Christmas! Ill get back on track next year!

By Christmas day as the 29,347 relatives descended and tensions crept in - things would spiral to a point where my liver actually hurt. Boxing Day leftovers were the final nail in the gluttonous coffin. And every year it would take several weeks to recalibrate for the New Year.

But there is another way. Christmas can be sustaining, nourishing, whole and yes joyous.

But you know this. Thats why youve bought this little I Quit Sugar Christmas Cookbook .

Im not going to make your lives complicated here. In fact, my aim is to make this the smoothest Christmas ever, for all of us.

Choose a menu to work with (you can, of course, take dishes from other menu plans if you like).

Check out the advance planning instructions at the top.

Use this little device to make any conversions you need (metric to imperial, cups to litres).

Click on this little device to add each dish to your shopping list. At the end, it will add up the exact ingredients you will need, ready to take to the shops. Remember: servings are mostly for 8, so adjust as you need to!

If youre Paleo, this will point you to recipes that are grain/gluten free. Please note, our take on the Paleo approach includes nuts and eggs.

If youre Vegan, this will point to recipes that are dairy, egg and meat free.

Leftover Ideas: This will lead you to ideas for leftovers. At IQS HQ everyone is encouraged to use up leftovers; even more so during the festive season. Australians waste $8 billion worth of food annually from households alone. These menu plans are designed to minimise this senseless cost and mindless waste as much as possible.

You can choose a plan and follow it strictly. Or mix and match recipes:

Lets Do Christmas Brunch: a fresh morning buffet menu.

The Summer Barbeque: a fun, outdoorsy menu geared at warmer climates.

Traditional with a Twist: the roast n pudding affair, but with less fuss and much, much kinder on your waistline.

The Thanksgiving Banquet: all the traditional favourites with an I Quit Sugar twist.

A Very Veggie Christmas: a festive vegetarian meal plan to serve six.

Kid-friendly Feeds: fun meals to keep the kids entertained and well fed.

Leftover Ideas: a quick guide of genius ways to use leftovers for Boxing Day and beyond. These tips and recipes are also designed to be as clean and as green as possible to counterbalance the previous days excess!

Homemade sugar-free gifts: healthy and clever gift ideas to impress friends and family.

A shopping list for each menu: an easy tool to help you collate all your ingredients into a list before heading to the supermarket. Choose one meal plan or mix and match recipes.

Conversion charts: metric to imperial and back again.

Extra foodie recipes: some fun ideas from Masterchefs Matt Preston, and Nourished Kitchen blog, and some clever recipes courtesy of a bunch of lovely people whove done the I Quit Sugar Program.

Heres a few important things to note before you get started:

Cheat Dishes: Well be taking shortcuts and providing you with cheat tricks for making things look fancier than they actually are.

Fermented Dishes: Weve included a few recipes for making fermented foods. Why? They can provide the kick in some traditional Christmas recipes that sugar is often used for. But also, fermented foods are fantastic to eat when youre indulging in rich food. They provide extra enzymes for breaking things down in the gut.

Table of 8: All dishes are designed to feed eight people (plus leftovers in some cases), except where the dish is clearly an adult-only dish (in which case we specify servings).

Note: the Vegetarian meal plan serves six but is easily adapted to cater for fewer or more guests.

Christmas Eve Cooking: Well be minimizing fuss on the actual day as much as possible. Well spell out as many steps as possible that you can do in advance (the day before or so).

Greens Bulking: If you are worried whether you might not have enough food, or youd simply like more greenery, please feel free to add a salad or some steamed greens to your menu. Heres a few combinations you might like to try: