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Christmas is a time for sharing, gifts, laughter and of course, copious amounts of yummy food. However, it’s no surprise that things like food waste and over-eating is common this time of year when there is SO MUCH food going around. Especially when you’re hosting Christmas, it’s easy to think you need more than you actually do.
Depending on your budget for food and if you’re saving money for Christmas, it’s definitely worth considering switching from quantity to quality food this time of year – and there are many positive reasons for doing so!
This year, we’re going to be using meat from Swaledale Online Butchers for our Christmas dinner. I was sent one of their boxes which contains a Swaledale Topside of Beef, Pigs in Blankets and a Dry-Cured Ham Rump, which will comfortably feed four people for Christmas.
All Swaledale meat is grass-fed and native-bred, suitable for home-freezing and delivered fresh to your door. This artisan butchery is a strictly whole-carcass, nose-to-tail butchers based in Yorkshire. Their passion, expertise and dedication is in supplying the native, livestock breeds of Britain to homes and businesses throughout the UK.
There are of course plenty of yummy Vegetarian Christmas Roast recipes available but for a large majority, meat is typically on the menu at Christmas. And this is where quality will always conquer over quantity. I’d rather eat two small slices of beautiful high-quality meat than 12 slices of cheap meat!
Here are 4 additional reasons why you should choose quality over quantity this Christmas:
Prevents food waste
The larger quantity of food you cook at Christmas, the more likely there will be excess food waste at the end of it. We often over-cook what we actually need, so this year, give extra thought as to how many people you’ll be cooking for and what you actually need to feed those people.
The UK produces 9.5 million Tonnes of food waste a year, despite the fact that 8.4 million people are living in poverty and can’t afford to eat – so we all need to do our bit to change that. Quality meat, vegetables and food are likely to come in smaller portions, but in the long run, will avoid extra waste.
You’re giving the best to the people you love
It’s Christmas and you want to make it special for your loved ones and give them the best there is to offer and whilst you might not be able to afford to gift them cartier watches – offering them high quality food is a wonderful act of love and kindness.
People often comment that Swaledale meat tastes old-fashioned or like it used to when they were growing up, and they consider this huge compliment. A generation ago in Britain, we farmed traditional livestock perfectly adapted to our climate and terrain. Traditional breeds are slower to mature and favour a grass and hay-based diet.
It’ll stop you over-eating
Now, PSA, I’m NOT one to indulge in diets or diet culture. I absolutely HATE diet culture and the narrative that is shoved upon us year after year about losing Christmas weight in the New Year. Christmas IS a time to indulge. It IS a time to perhaps eat more than usual and that’s absolutely okay.
But we ALL over-eat for the sake of over-eating when we don’t really need nor want to and switching from quantity to quality food is another great way to prevent that. The higher quality food will also be better for your body too!
Better farming conditions
Higher quality products typically mean better conditions – and not just for meat and livestock. Vegetables and fruit as well and not to mention working conditions for those that grow and produce these products as well. You’re paying more for these products for a reason, so consider the benefits not just for you but for the wider circle!
I’m super excited for my Christmas dinner this year. The food we received from Swaledale Butchers looks incredible and this will definitely be some of the best quality meat that we will be cooking ourselves. I’m particularly excited for the pigs in blankets – it’s not Christmas without them!
[…] on ensuring Christmas is a wonderful time for our family and friends. Buying the perfect gifts, cooking quality food and arranging fun things to do that everyone will […]
This is a great topic and Christmas tends to be eating holiday rather than celebrating time off with family and friends.
Last few years I have cooked and everything leftover will end up next days dinner. For some reason in Estonia we have holiday dinner from 23-26.12 🤣 Luckily, in the middle is my sis birthday so we can have birthday foods then 🤣
Blimey that’s a lot of cooking and Christmas food!!
Cooking for a larger group is a challenge. The idea of not having enough can cause anxiety, that’s why people tend to have more than less. We always froze our food and then had a second christmas dinner. But we used finished it all or at least all that we could.
But I agree that we should be more mindful with our food and how much we waste. If we use more quality food, then we give our loved ones the best we can and they will feel our love for them. Sometimes they just have to make due with what there is.
Great post, it’s a topic we need to think more about and realize that we can make big differences with small changes.
Yes true. There are lots of ways to avoid food waste if you do cook too much though!
This looks amazing! You touched on some great points for choosing quality over quantity. Good farming conditions and preventing food waste is so important!
Totally agree! Thank you 🙂
Oh wow that meat looks amazing. I love good quality products like that, thanks for sharing!
Doesn’t it! We can’t wait for it!
It’s always better to buy the best quality meat at Christmas, I like buying meat from the butchers at Christmas because it never disappoints! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Oh absolutely! Alwaysssss better than a supermarket!
The meat does sound like it is high quality. I agree it is better to have quality food over quantity for Christmas because you won’t make an excessive amount of food.
I don’t eat meat, but for Christmas it’s common to eat duck as the main dish.
Oh really? We’ve never had duck as a main dish at Christmas but I assume it’s a cultural thing? I like duck so I wouldn’t mind that!
It is a cultural thing! In the US pretty much everyone has a whole turkey for Christmas, but turkey isn’t a popular meat here and you can only buy turkey breast at the supermarkets.
We have beef, chicken and pork for Christmas dinner, but smaller, quality amounts of each. I’m with you on diet culture. It’s ridiculous!
Sounds nice to have a few different options!
This is the most thoughtful Christmas post i have read so far. Great ideas, great post. 👍
Thank you 🙂
Looks like you have a good plan for Christmas. I wish you a good celebration with family and loved ones. Take care, Jenny.
Thank you x
Fantastic post Jenny! I eat meat occasionally, and whenever I do, I always try to buy the best quality. It’s not the cheapest, but I do it for all of the reasons you’ve mentioned here. Thank you so much for sharing this important message x
But the taste doesn’t compare does it!
Absolutely!
As I’ve gotten older and started to appreciate the nice things in life, I am ALL for a good quality butchers. My local one is incredible, they do the most amazing pies and I can’t wait to get treats for Christmas. It’s all about shopping and supporting local small businesses too. Love this post making me feel soo festive
Rosie
Yes totally agree!