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Like Thanksgiving, Christmas is a major food holiday. I’ll spare you the “how to cut calories” talk because :

1.) That information would have been more helpful yesterday, and

2.) Everybody and their mother-in-law has already posted a healthy holiday eating guide telling you to swap in Greek yogurt, apple sauce, and pureed veggies for more fattening and caloric ingredients. And yes, we all know we should alternate each alcoholic beverage with water but, well…

It’s f***ing Christmas. Enjoy what you want to enjoy in the quantity in which you want to enjoy it and know that tomorrow is another day and that you can and should feel empowered to take care of yourself by making choices that will benefit your body in the long run.

That said, you should eat breakfast on Christmas morning. If you’re cooking, you’re going to need the energy. Regardless, trying to “save” calories and showing up for the cocktail hour ravenous will only make it harder for you to stay in tune with your hunger cues. Oh, wow—who ate all the caviar? Or, if you’re like me and feel a glass of wine halfway in, drinking on an empty stomach will only make you drunker that much faster, which never helps, well, anything.

3 Forty omeletHere are a few of my go-to “food holiday” breakfasts:

  • Greek yogurt with chia seeds and fruit
  • Egg white omelet with lots of veggies and a side of whole wheat toast—or an egg white scramble if the idea of an omelet is too f***ing labor intense on a major cooking day—totally been there
  • Oatmeal with ground flax and chopped apple cooked in, topped with some PB or almond butter. Or this.
  • Savory oatmeal: with spinach, scallions, garlic, and a poached egg on top (like so)
  • Skim  or 1% latte and a piece of fruit

A lot of food blogs and magazines have also been posting some great recipes for Christmas brunch dishes if you’re spending the holiday with friends and family and have a lot of people to feed. For example, I saw this Breakfast Slab Pie recipe on Smitten Kitchen yesterday and almost wished I had a house to fill with people (whose people, I don’t know) just so I had a reason to make a casserole dish of spinach-potato-cheese-and-egg goodness. Maybe in another life.