Healthy Hollywood: Giada De Laurentiis’ Stress-Free Holiday Preps!

Giada De Laurentiis in the November/December issue of Natural Health magazine (Natural Health)

It’s hard to believe, but the holiday season is just around the corner. That means lots of gatherings with family and friends! For some of us, that means cooking up a festive mouth-watering feast. Just the thought of being in charge of the holiday meal can amp up our stress level.

So, who better to share tips for stress-free hosting than Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis. The cooking sensation revealed in the November/December issue of Natural Health how she stays even-keeled outside the kitchen, noting, “I do a lot of yoga; the kind that allows you to relax and breathe, not just power yoga. If I don’t have time for that, I take a morning walk on the beach or just some deep breaths, even if it’s for 10 minutes. I’ll even go into the bathroom and listen to music, Coldplay or Fleetwood Mac, something soothing.”

In Giada’s family, she tells Natural Health, she’s in charge of the Thanksgiving meal. Giada organizes a potluck to cut down on her time in the kitchen. “I’m in charge of the turkey, and my husband [fashion designer Todd Thompson] likes to make his family’s mashed potatoes, which are very basic – just milk and butter.”

On having her guests bring the other dishes, Giada adds, “It engages everybody and empowers them to feel good about their ability to create something. That’s what’s so great about cooking and eating and sharing meals – it’s communal. It’s connecting with other human beings, which we lack in this day and age because we’re always on our phones.”
The celebrity chef also shares tips for lessening the stress of entertaining, revealing, “I put Post-it notes in different parts of the kitchen to remind me of what I have to do and the timing of it all. I wash platters and put labels on everything, so I can remember, ‘I said the stuffing is going in this dish, and the cake goes here, and the sides go over there.’ You don’t have to make everything from scratch: if you make a beautiful salad and there’s a store-bought dressing that you really like, use it.”

For Giada’s holiday recipes, check out the November/December issue of Natural Health magazine.

Giada De Laurentiis in the November/December issue of Natural Health magazine (Natural Health)

— Terri MacLeod