We are celebrating the Orthodox Easter this week. It comes right after 1st of May which is the international labour day and controversially as it is - is a non-working day down here. And the last day of the Easter holidays coincides with another national holiday - St George's Day. So lots of holidays, traveling, family gatherings, lunches, dinners, parties and many, many food temptations. Food is always a major part of the holidays because in our culture the food-laden table is the center of most festive gatherings. The family gathers round the table, friends invite you to lunch or dinner, parties offer party buffet, supermarkets display a colourful range of tempting goodies especially packed for the holidays. Looks like it is all about food. But is it? Obviously, society, culture and business interests has successfully managed to shift the true essence of the holidays towards the food cult. Holidays have turned into a convenient excuse to forget about moderate, never mind healthy eating, and to overeat. But the true essence of holidays has nothing to do with food. The word "holidays" itself stemming from the word "holy" shows that there is something sacred in these days. They are set aside from the normal days giving us time and reason to break our normal activities and to celebrate. Celebration might include visiting family and relatives, seeing friends, reconnecting, taking time for yourself, indulging in some leisure activities, traveling, enjoying living, celebrating the mere fact that you are alive! And food may play a part in all that (nothing wrong!) but should not be the center of the celebration. Overindulging in sugary foods, feeling bloated, making promises never to overeat again - sounds familiar? That was my general holiday state before I turn to healthy eating. As they say, I've been there, 've done that, got a T-shirt. Changing your everyday food habits also means changing your holiday food habits. With my new knowledge and desire to feel well and stay healthy, I developed my own healthy-eating-holiday-practices in 5 steps. And it was only when I shifted my focus form the food to the people, that I started to fully enjoy the holidays. This doesn't mean that I do not let myself have any special holiday food. I do but I only do it once or twice in a holiday break, and never in the same day. This allows me to fully enjoy holiday food without stressing my organism and without feeling guilty for having it. Ah, and by holiday food I mean all these goodies that are delicious but not particularly health-boosting like pizzas, breads, ice-cream, chocolate-cakes, etc. My 5 simple steps for healthy holidays include:

• Shopping-I don't overbuy food - shops will reopen, the world keeps going on after the holidays
• Special dishes- I don't prepare more than one special holiday dish and stick to my regular food during other meals, having them at regular times as well
• Simple dishes- I prepare some simple snacks or desserts, packed with nutritious stuff, so that I enjoy something delicious without getting into the holiday's special sugary goodies trap; these strawberry muffins are my this year's favourite
• Saying "no"-whoever you visit for the holidays offers you a glass of wine, a box of chocolate, a piece of home-baked cake; I learnt how to say "no" politely but firmly: "Thank you, I had enough food/wine/sugar for today but I'll enjoy the treat of seeing you."
• Exercise- holidays are no excuse to quit exercising; I used to either go to the gym when at home or make long walks outside when traveling for the holidays; these days I am practicing a new sport - taking my baby daughter outside to the park, folding and unfolding a baby trolley, pushing it down the alleys for hours - those of you who have babies know how energy consuming this could be

The strawberry muffins that I've been enjoying in the last few weeks are simple, not overly sweet, gluten and dairy-free, crunchy from the almonds with velvet-soft spots from the strawberries. I bake a batch of them and keep them in the fridge - they can last about a week and are perfect for breakfast or a midday snack. When I know that I will spend a full afternoon in the park with Dari I take a couple of muffins and a bottle of water with me and enjoy a healthy snack that gives me energy and keeps me full. Loving to experiment with any basic recipe I once added 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the batter of the muffins and another time - a handful of whole hazelnuts. Both variations turned out delicious. Next time I plan to try adding fresh mint leaves - strawberries and mint sound like a curious combination, doesn't it? Before sharing the recipe, I want to wish happy and healthy Easter holidays to the Orthodox world and to everybody who is reading this I wish you to rediscover the meaning of holidays. The next time you celebrate - put some extra joy on your heart and extra smiles on your face instead of extra weight on your body.

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients for 6 to 8 muffins:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs honey
• 2 tbs coconut oil, softened
• 1/4 cup nut milk
• 3/4 cup strawberries

Preparation: Place the almonds in the food-processor and process them into a meal - if you prefer the texture of the muffins more crunchy, don't over-process the almonds and stop after the first few seconds. In a bowl mix together ant almond meal, the corn meal, the baking powder and the salt. In a separate bowl slightly beat the eggs and mix with the milk, coconut oil and the honey. Pour the wet mixture to the dry one and fold in the strawberries. Spoon the batter in muffin cups and bake at 180 C for 20 min. Leave to cool for a few minutes before taking out of the cups.