I hope you're still enjoying lots of memory making downtime.

 I love the way this time of year forces us all to take a pause and BE STILL.

Or at least be more mindful of doing that even if the tasks start to take over. It's tough to find this perfect balance between trying to meet the expectations that come this time of year and that deep urge to just stay in your oneZ all day long with a warm mug, Hallmark movies and knitting needles {anyone with me on that?}

This was the first year it was just our little family of 4 for Christmas. I love just being at home with these guys without a list of to-dos and letting it unfold. 

Well - that's not totally truthful -  I did have a list for food prep so I found a great way to keep the girls busy while I got busy in the kitch.

132 decorated gingerbread cookies later....

This

gingerbread cookie

totally rocked!  

A fun change this year was using my doterra essential oils in the recipes {#upleveling}

Just one drop made such a flavour difference - I haven't used them too much this year in recipes but will be doing a lot more experimenting with them now!

I would also like to note that I didn't begin any prep until 130pm on Christmas Day and had everything in steamers, crockpots and the oven by 230p. The kids started cutting their cookies, baked + decorated the whole time I was prepping. And then we were able to get back to relaxo mode by 230pm. It's also great to do some of the sides the day before {I did this for desserts and set the the table} - but I just utilized my little appliances to multitask the day of.

Here's what I made this year - everything turned out great!

H O L : F I T's   H E A L T H Y   H O L I D A Y   R E C I P E S:

Berry Banana Oat + Quinoa Bake {Christmas morning}

Cranberry Lime Spritzer

Broccoli, Cranberry + Almond Salad

Gingered Green Beans

Slow Roasted Whole Chicken {with leftovers for soup + sandwiches next few days}

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes

Savoury Gravy

Coconut Peppermint Patties

Gingerbread cupcakes with coconut icing

I actually love a meal like this on Sunday nights and as you know - I'm a big cheerleader for you taking Sunday afternoons as your meal prep day. Give these recipes a try next weekend - they don't take a lot of time and can be cooking while you wash + chop healthy produce for the week. 

Let me know if you try them!

Peace + Love,