Aussie Christmas. What a great time of year to celebrate with your friends and family over delicious festive food. But let’s face it, no one wants to be slaving away in front of a hot fan forced oven on a 30+ degree day. With this in mind we’ve put the following simple tips together to help you with your Christmas meal planning:

• Plan plan plan – know what you’re going to create ahead of time and be prepared with all the ingredients you need.
• Avoid the oven if you can – on said 30+ degree day, fresh Australian seafood might be more enjoyable. But if the oven is a must, try and do the cooking early to avoid the hottest part of the day.
• Buy fresh food with lower food miles – you’ll know where your food has come from and you’re also assisting our farmers and producers.
• Buy only what you need – don’t cater for the masses unless you have, well, masses.
• Stick to a budget – check your cupboards for the basics first, but don’t skimp on quality where it counts, for example on your meats and seafood.
• Balance your flavours – have something for the sweet and savoury lovers.
• Add your own personal touches – even if you buy your own Christmas cake, you can decorate it yourself!

Image credit: Instagram, @thefoodmarshall