Everyone’s ideal Christmas dinner will look a little different. While some prefer a simple collection of turkey, roast potatoes and stuffing, others will opt for a personalised collection of goodies: honey-roasted parsnips, maple-glazed brussels sprouts and a warming nut roast.

There’s something so fascinating about getting to see what other people’s Christmas Day meals look like – so in a bid to satisfy your seasonal curiosity, we asked five nutrition experts to share exactly what they’ll be piling on their plates come 25 December.

This isn’t the time of year to worry about how nutritionally balanced your plate is, but their answers provide a great insight into how to put together a Christmas ensemble that is both satisfying and delicious. Keep reading to check out what they had to say.  

“I go for a traditional turkey with all the trimmings, but always ensure I load my plate up with lots of colourful veggies for antioxidants such as braised red cabbage, steamed greens, carrots and swede.

“I make my own cranberry sauce using orange juice, orange zest, spices and honey (instead of sugar). Cranberries are great because they’re rich in vitamin C, which is key to support the immune system this time of year!”

“I like to enjoy myself over Christmas, but it’s very easy to still have a balanced plate for your Christmas dinner. My meal usually consists of turkey, crispy roasties, roasted carrots and parsnips, stuffing, bacon brussels and, of course, the gravy!”

“I also love to use my delicious cranberry sauce recipe using xylitol instead of sugar to add sweetness to the plate without the increased sugar intake, as we all know we’ll be getting plenty of sugar elsewhere over the festive period (I for one have a massive sweet tooth and love a salted caramel chocolate yule log for pudding).

“I’m passionate about balance and regularly follow the 80/20 rule. Christmas is certainly in the 20% bracket where we are allowed to enjoy less ‘nutrient dense’ foods.”

“Christmas dinner is one of my favourite meals of the whole year: it can be an extremely nutrient-dense and nourishing meal packed with protein, fibre and an abundance of antioxidants from different veggies. I am a big eater and absolutely love my food, so my Christmas dinner features all of my favourites and more. I like to use different herbs in my cooking as these can really help to increase the nutrient factor and the flavours too.

“I start with the star of the show: turkey roasted with sage and thyme. Next I have my veggies, which are a big part of my meal – I love maple roasted parsnips and carrots with rosemary, pan-fried brussels sprouts cooked in garlic and olive oil, swede and carrot mash with cinnamon and nutmeg and a side of steamed broccoli for extra fibre. Next up I have crispy roasted potatoes cooked in olive oil with garlic powder, rosemary and lots of black pepper, and I finish everything off with a serving of cranberry sauce, a whole lot of gravy and of course a glass or two of champagne. Heaven.” 

“My Christmas meal includes lots of organic turkey (an excellent source of protein and tryptophan), home-made cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and maple-roasted brussels sprouts. I also have carrots, broccoli, peas, red cabbage with apples, wilted spinach with nutmeg and garlic, hasselback parsnips in honey, organic chipolatas and plenty of homemade gravy.”

“For Christmas, I’ll either be having the lentil loaf or a nut roast made by my dad, who has been vegetarian since the 1970s. Along with this we will be having all the usual trimmings – roast potatoes, red cabbage, brussels sprouts and carrots. I will also be making a vegan mushroom gravy.

“For pudding, we will be having a shop-bought gluten-free and vegan Christmas pudding served with coconut cream. Hopefully my sister will also bringing along her speciality – homemade Christmas pudding-flavoured vegan ice cream. She makes it with vegan condensed milk, coconut cream, and a jar of Christmas mincemeat.

“We will be catering not only for a vegan diet, but also gluten-free for my mum, egg and soya-free for my niece and dairy-free for my sister, due to all the allergies we have in my family. We prefer to make food that everyone can enjoy together rather than separate dishes.” 

Images: Getty; contributors’ own