On the third day of Christmas… Going to a pre-Christmas lunch or BBQ? Take a goodie basket.

Boy it’s great being a food writer – especially when you belong to the NZ Guild of Food Writers. We get to go to all these neat foodie places and eat lots of delicious food. Last night I was at the newly opened Nosh food store in Mt Eden for our Christmas party. No chips and dips here!

On the second day of Christmas… make biscotti as gifts.

Today I made biscotti, or to be precise, the Provencal version called croquettes. When I hear the word ‘croquettes’ my mind conjures visions of some oblong, crumbed, deep fried nibble so I prefer to call them biscotti. They make a healthy alternative to most cakes and biscuits because the only fat comes from the almonds (and a tiny bit from the egg yolk) – and it’s ‘good’ fat. This recipe, adapted from ‘Patricia Wells At Home in Provence’ uses honey instead of sugar. I added dried cranberries for a more festive look. It makes about 50-55 biscotti.

I have to admit it: half of the great ideas for this blog come from my husband. Like this morning. I was doing calf raises on the step, hot and sweaty after a relaxing (except for the hills) bike ride. Nutritionchic was the last thing on my mind. “Why don’t you write something for the 12 days of Christmas?” he suggested. Like what, I wondered. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. So leading up to xmas I’ll be showing off some of my son’s school artwork – specifically the 12 days of Christmas! Aussie theme today and here’s my son’s 1st day drawing …

For those of you unsure what a “joey” is … it’s a baby Kangaroo!

Now it’s the afternoon, hot and sunny. I’ve just topped up the fruit bowl with new season’s apricots, peaches and strawberries. Actually I bought cherries too but I’ve eaten the whole lot without sharing even

It’s Christmas drinks. There’ll be booze and food – and plenty of it. I’m all for enjoying a glass or two of champagne or wine but it’s no good if you wake up the next morning feeling seedy and guilty. If you feel like being healthy at this year’s Christmas parties, here’s six tips to help you:

1. Have a healthy snack and a glass of water before you go.

2.  Start with sparkling water. It fills you up and quenches thirst with no kilojoules (calories). Soda water does the same but beware of tonic water – it’s just like any fizzy drink – packed with kilojoules (calories).