Being Gentle with Ourselves This Holiday Season - December 2025 News from Gut Healthy
Published 5 months ago • 3 min read
December 2025
December Isn’t Always Easy
December is often painted as a season of joy, twinkling lights, full tables of food, cheerful music, and togetherness. But for many of us, it can be one of the heaviest months of the year.
This time of year can stir up grief, loss, and longing. We may miss people who are no longer with us, feel the regret of relationships that have changed, or carry the weight of a difficult year coming to a close. Darker and shorter days, colder weather, and disrupted routines don’t help either. If December feels tender, exhausting, or emotionally complicated for you, you’re not alone.
When emotions run low, it’s natural to reach for comfort and food is often part of that. Many of us have been taught that “treats” are the quickest route to feeling better. Sugar, baked goods, rich party foods, they promise comfort, nostalgia, and a momentary lift. And sometimes, there is a place for pleasure and celebration.
But what if the foods we’ve been told will make us happiest are actually working against us?
I recently read an article that explores this exact idea and it offers some fascinating insights into how what we eat can influence our mood and risk of depression over time: “What Foods Make You Happiest? It’s Not What You Think”.
The growing field of nutritional psychiatry is showing us something powerful: what we eat doesn’t just affect our bodies, it shapes our mood, mental health, and resilience. Highly processed foods and refined sugars may offer short-term comfort, but over time they’ve been linked to low mood, irritability, and a higher risk of depression.
On the flip side, diets rich in whole, minimally processed foods, especially fibre-rich foods that support gut health, are associated with more stable moods and a reduced risk of depression. This isn’t about cutting out joy or striving for perfection. It’s about choosing foods that quietly support us, especially during emotionally demanding seasons.
As we move through December, this might look like leaning into grounding, home-cooked meals when possible, adding more whole grains, beans, and lentils to our plates, and eating in a way that feels flexible, realistic, and kind.
Food can’t fix grief, and it won’t erase hard feelings. But it can be one piece of how we care for ourselves, gently, and consistently, as we navigate this season together.
Wishing you a gentle close to the year, with nourishing meals, quiet pauses, and compassion for yourself along the way.
Be well,
Peggy
Research is helpful, but what does this actually look like on our plates during the holidays?
Supporting your mood doesn’t mean skipping festive foods. It means choosing ones that feel grounding, satisfying, and nourishing at the same time. With that in mind, I’m sharing two holiday-ready recipes below that bring together joy, flavour, and gut-supportive ingredients.
Dark Chocolate Turtles
Dark Chocolate Turtles: A rich, satisfying holiday treat that leans on fibre-rich dates and dark chocolate for sweetness, without the sugar crash.
Pomegranate, Orange & Quinoa Salad
Pomegranate, Orange & Quinoa Salad: Bright, festive, and grounding all at once. Quinoa provides mood-supportive complex carbohydrates, while citrus and pomegranate add freshness and colour to the holiday table.
In-Home Cooking Class: Saturday, January 10th, 5:00-8:00 pm
We'll be doing a Korean-themed main course including soy curl bulgogi and quickie kimchi salad. For dessert, we'll make a WFPB carrot cake with cashew frosting.
Cost is $95 per person, and each session is limited to 4 participants.
Soup’s On! Warming Plant-Based Recipes for Winter, Tuesday, January 20
Taco Night! Plant-Based Flavour Fiesta, Tuesday, February 17
Taste of India: Spice & Savour, Tuesday, March 10
Bits, Bites & Sweet Treats, Tuesday, April 14.
Book Review: Food Intelligence by Julia Belluz & Kevin Hall
This is a book for readers who enjoy digging beneath nutrition myths and media and marketing noise, and who don’t mind moving slowly through well-researched, thoughtful material. It’s not a quick read but it’s a knowledge-building one.
And just a gentle reminder that if, as the new year approaches, you find yourself wanting to take a closer look at your relationship with food or your overall nutrition, I do offer individualized nutrition consulting, no pressure to overhaul anything, just space to explore what’s working, what isn’t, and what might feel more supportive going forward.
Warm wishes for the remainder of the year and a kind, calming, nourishing, gentle beginning to 2026.
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