S3 Episode 11: Feed the Calm, Not the Chaos: The Whole Child Christmas Survival Guide with Lucinda Miller

In this warm, practical, and laugh-because-it’s-true Christmas special, I sit down once again with the incomparable Lucinda Miller — family nutrition expert, bestselling author, founder of NatureDoc, and one of our most beloved experts inside the Whole Child Healing Course.

Together, we unravel the real reason December hits families so hard — not because we’re doing Christmas “wrong,” but because exhausted children, depleted parents, overstimulating routines, and a month-long sugar parade collide in a way no nervous system was built to handle.

This episode is a lifeline for every mother (and every dad, grandparent, and caregiver) trying to hold it all together through the longest school term of the year, the onslaught of colds, the late nights, the overstimulation, the food battles, the emotional wobbles… and still somehow “make the magic.”

Lucinda and I break down practical, doable, genuinely sanity-saving ways to support your child’s behaviour, mood, sleep, immunity — and crucially, your own wellbeing — through the most dysregulating month of the year.
Without perfection. Without pressure. Without martyrdom.

Because calm isn’t accidental — it’s created.
And when we feed the calm, the whole family shifts.

Key Takeaways Include:

• Why December is a “perfect storm” for kids
• What’s actually driving behaviour right now
• How to “feed the calm” before the chaos begins
• Simple swaps that make a big difference
• What to do when they’re already overwhelmed
• The immunology mums aren’t told about
• Sleep support that actually works
• Top tips for parents and caregivers at Christmas

Happy Christmas — and remember: even one quiet breath is a gift to your nervous system.

Resources

NatureDoc Recipes

Brain Brilliance Book

Christmas Survival Guide

Christmas Giveaway

Transcript

Lucia Silver (00:00)
So welcome to today's episode. We have called this Feed the Calm, Not the Chaos, The Whole Child Christmas Survival Guide with Lucinda Miller. Welcome back to My Mighty Quinn, a mother's conversations with world leading experts. I'm your host, Lucia Silva, mother to the Mighty Quinn, founder of the Brain Health Movement and a woman who's burned more mince pies and cried into more tinsel than I care to admit.

But today's episode is an early Christmas gift and not the kind that requires batteries is going to make screaming amounts of noise or any more mess. Because if there's one thing you mothers have told me and dads too that you need at Christmas is clarity, calm and a plan that doesn't end in a sugar induced family meltdown. December.

is the perfect storm. We all know it, we all anticipate it. It's the school plays, it's the late night sugar treats everywhere, sibling civil war, dysregulated kids, burnt out mums and dads and with that we're supposed to turn up and create the magic and this is why I'm so delighted to welcome back Lucinda Miller. She is the best-selling author of three of my favourite books in the recipe world

She's a family nutrition expert. She's founder of NatureDoc and one of the most loved experts inside our very own amazing Whole Child Healing Course and Roadmap. Her last episode with us was one of the most downloaded ever because Lucinda is the queen of practical tips, realistic swaps and recipes. Even tired, overwhelmed mothers can actually pull off without losing their sanity. And today in this special Christmas episode,

Stay tuned because Lucinda and I are aiming to get through the following frosty topics.

How to feed the calm, not the chaos this Christmas. The real Christmas perfect storm. Food, late night screens, ultra processed foods, over stimulation and routine collapse. How mood, sleep, behaviour and immunity unravel in December.

and simple ways that we can protect them. What to do when your child becomes a gremlin after party food, excitement or sleep, lack of. Quick swaps that genuinely help calm behaviour without making you the Grinch. What to feed children before parties and events to avoid meltdowns. Easy time saving meals for moms running on fumes. How to support gut immunity and regulation through the most dysregulating month of the year.

how to handle this is a good one grandparents sugar pushers and they just let them have it this Christmas come on crowd and crucially and it's a point of focus for the brain health movement at the moment what mums themselves can do nutritionally and naturopathically to stay steadier and less depleted so hello Lucinda we are so thrilled to have you today

Lucinda Miller (03:10)
Hi, Lucy, it's great to be here. Happy Christmas!

Lucia Silver (03:13)
Thank you, happy Christmas to you too. So parents, whether you're listening with a cold coffee, hiding in your car, or maybe temporarily given up under a pile of elf on the shelf paraphernalia and wondering what on earth you're going to do to get through this December, this episode is here to save your Christmas and your nervous system. So Lucinda, welcome back. My audience adores you, I adore you, and we all desperately need your wisdom today. Are you all right to get started?

Lucinda Miller (03:42)
Yes, let's get cracking with some crackers!

Lucia Silver (03:46)
So starting with the Christmas perfect storm itself, Lucinda, let's just sort of set the context and why it is that it hits families so hard. Why is Christmas so challenging for children and mums? And what is it about the food, the overstimulation, the late nights and the routine collapse that makes everything harder?

Lucinda Miller (04:08)
Well, I think the kids have just come out of the longest term of the year. So they're absolutely exhausted. They're depleted. They're probably low in vitamin D because it's been dark and grey and rainy. They've probably been battered by a few colds and coughs. So they're sort of, you know, feeling on a low par. And then suddenly, you know, they finished school right just before Christmas. So there's suddenly this kind of

big change of beat where they haven't had much time to have that downtime and they go straight into a completely change of routine. But equally going from probably quite a quiet predictable house to suddenly the full family coming over or having to get into the car and drive miles to go and see other members of the family, other households, different routines.

But equally, mums and dads are super overstressed because they spent too much money. They're trying to make everything perfect. ⁓ And yeah, it's kind of super tough. also remember, food can be very different as well. know, again, there are expectations to eat mince pies or, you know, roast turkey. And sometimes actually that's not the food that the child likes. So, you know, there's a lot of these aspects to think about. I think it's because it's a change of routine.

They're exhausted anyway. And you kind of go straight into Christmas as a child because you've just come out of school.

Lucia Silver (05:43)
I think we underestimate the length of the school term. For some reason, no matter how many years you do with your kid, it sort of comes and surprises you and you all have the same conversations again. it's this term, it goes on and it's dark and it's long and it's wet. And it's so true. It has a huge impact on their energy levels, let alone, as you say, the changes that are coming in fast on top of that.

Why do some children then, especially children with neurological and related health challenges seem to unravel faster in December? Why does it hit perhaps this group harder than others?

Lucinda Miller (06:19)
Well, I see two main aspects, both really related to the immune system. I think, you know, going back to that vitamin D sort of piece is we store vitamin D in our systems for about three months. So if we've had a good summer, which we did this year, hooray, first time for three years, we actually, unless someone has literally slapped on the sun cream or stayed inside, we will have got some measurable amount of vitamin D.

But September was pretty rainy, then there's October and November. So by December, any of those vitamin D stores will have been depleted even in the healthiest people. So unless you're going on some gorgeous holiday to the Maldives or whatever, there's going to be low vitamin D status. Now vitamin D is really important for the mood. It can stabilize ADHD. It's really important for the immune system.

So it's kind of a really pivotal kind of nutrient to have. so I would want to ensure, especially if your children do get sad around this time of the year, December, January, February, but equally, you if their immune system's on the low end, definitely if they've got the darker skin, they will need vitamin D. So I would say vitamin D is a really big aspect. The other thing is that,

our lovely neuro spicy kids tend to be very sensitive to lots of things, whether it's noise, light, different flavours, different tastes, etc. But equally very sensitive to infections. And there is a slice not every child, of course, but there's a very large slice of neurodivergent children who don't have immune systems that are wired the same as neurotypical kids.

So this means that when they do get a bug, whether it's a virus, bacterial infection, et cetera, A, they could take ages to get over it. So they're kind of their immune systems, take just longer to be able to recover. So that cough is bringing them down or sniffly nose or congested sinuses or whatever it might be. But also there are these children where actually they don't seem to get very ill.

They're kind of like, actually that's not my child. But when other people in the household or their mates from school or home-schooling groups or whatever it might be, gets ill, it could be sore throat, could be tonsillitis, could be scarlet fever or COVID or whatever. Very often these children then develop much more dysregulated behaviour. Now at extremis, this is known as Pan's Pandas.

which is where a streptococcus infection or other infections actually hit the basal ganglia at the back of the brain driving autoimmunity. And that's a topic that we can talk about at length in another podcast. But what we're seeing in the clinic is much lighter versions of this. So it's where the child is

you know, as I said, their sibling, their mom, whoever it might be is getting a nasty virus and they seem to be okay in terms of not getting a fever or the sore throat, but they do become much more dysregulated afterwards. And sometimes it can be mimicked because you can think, ⁓ they were nervous about being in the school play or, you know, ⁓ grandpa's come to stay and, know, they've always struggled whenever grandpa's come to stay or whatever it might be. So you can easily kind of think it's something exterior, but actually it's something going on. And it's this very mild.

inflammation going on in the body that is disrupting their mood. So sometimes what we need to think about is what's been going on with their immune system and could that be dysregulated too. Now, it was about three years ago, there was a very, very big surge of streptococcus cases and there was some very serious and very sadly some deaths from it. But ⁓ that hopefully was a one off.

But what I'm saying is strep is very invasive, but it also tends to come around in December. So it's a big thing that can happen. And it's just something that we see quite a lot. It's not for every child. As I said, this can be, it's a slice of neurodivergence. It's not everyone.

Lucia Silver (10:52)
it's great to hear you hearing about it and I selfishly like to have the light shone on Pan Pandas because that is something that our listeners will know that Quinn has and I can absolutely testify to you know at the cold face what you've described Lucinda is exactly what happens with a child with Pan's Pandas. Quinn and I both of us actually will go through the whole of winter without a cold we don't actually express that way. I'm not aware of having any condition myself but Quinn certainly

Lucinda Miller (10:58)
Mm-hmm.

Lucia Silver (11:22)
certain behaviours can look like his body is stressed, it just doesn't manifest as sweating or a cold or any of the stuff that all the kids are not going to school for, they're off school for a week and Quinn forges on. But that is precisely when I look really closely at behavioural changes, because I know he has this condition running underneath. So as you say, a lot of our children are at different levels along that spectrum. But the point is, the stressors increase.

at this time of year, whether they are the bugs, the viruses, the fatigue. And I wanted you to speak a little bit, if you would, sort of the fancy word, kind of mitochondrial, know, energetic sort of just fatigue, what is happening with our, our kiddies in this respect, where they are just absolutely wiped out. ⁓ Can you speak a little bit to the energy that is a particular challenge to them?

Lucinda Miller (11:55)
Mm.

So yeah, it's very challenging with children because the majority of children, when they get very tired, they don't sleep that much more, which is very frustrating. They find it actually very difficult to sleep. They're almost tired and wired. So you'd have thought that, you know, a child that was exhausted by a term of school would crash out for the first few days at home, you know, wake up at 11.

Lucia Silver (12:29)
Hmm.

Lucinda Miller (12:47)
watch a bit of the box in the afternoon, you go to bed early and catch up. No, they don't do that. They go to bed on time. They wake up at 5.30 or 6 in the morning, but they're just not functioning as well as they should. And you're desperate for them to get some sleep. ⁓ And again, neurodivergent children are more likely to be like this, they're tired and wired, rather than being able to rest and relax and repair.

So that's where sometimes you do need to pull on nutrients to help to create this ATP in the cells to help regenerate things. So ATP is essentially cell energy made by the batteries in your cell called mitochondria. And the two nutrients that I always look at to begin with, which basically help to feed the glucose and the carbohydrate into the cells to then kickstart this energy are magnesium,

and vitamin B1. And essentially these two are brilliant at essentially getting that excess glucose out of the blood because you know, can often test the blood and think, ⁓ they're not diabetic, but they're heading in that direction. You know, their glucose is pretty high, but they just act as if they're always hangry and low and depleted and lack of B1 and magnesium can mean that that

that wonderful glucose that we want to feed the cells with is not going across into the cell. So that those two are vital. And you can think with magnesium things like Epsom salt baths, you know, it can be a supplement. Of course, it could be a supplement. It can be foods as well. So magnesium rich foods and things like dark chocolate, yay, green veggies, nuts and seeds. But we know that there are often, you know, highly selective eating when it comes to neurodiversity. So I'm not saying that's going to be for everybody. But if your child does like those foods, go for it.

Lucia Silver (14:28)
Yay!

Lucinda Miller (14:40)
And the Epsom salt baths are essentially magnesium flakes, which you put in the bath. And most, I find that at this time of year, when it's chilly and kids are tired, actually they really crave water because it's very comforting. And so if you can put some magnesium in there, that's going to help them sleep really much more deeply. And it's going to really, really help with their whole demeanour and help them get into that sort of restful stage overnight so that they do recover more quickly.

And then the B1, B1 is thiamine. comes in, you you get thiamine in most grains and things like that. But so often the food that we're eating these days is refined. They've taken, you know, they've stripped out that whole grain part of wheat, et cetera, in bread, pasta. And then you've just got this sort of, you know, great sticky stuff that makes fantastic bread and fantastic pasta, but it's lacking the B1.

So that's why in baby foods, you when it's got rice in it, they add B1, they have to, it's a legal requirement because otherwise, because if you don't have enough B1, there are lots of energy dips and neurological changes. So it's really important. But as I said, think of it as the transporter of energy from the bloodstream into the cell to feed that mitochondria.

So those are the first two things I would do. It's a mitochondrial health really complicated and it's Christmas, so let's not get into that.

Lucia Silver (15:59)
Thank you.

Yeah, but good to just understand and monitor kiddies energy levels because I think it's a good ⁓ indicator for meltdowns to come and other things and we want to keep them happy as Larry during Christmas. what's one thing Lucinda, parents do misunderstand about the Christmas food and behaviour before we move on to some specifics? Where do you see some real kind of clunkers there where you're like, ⁓ if only I'd known, you know, what might those be?

Lucinda Miller (16:34)
So we can't control, and I know we're going to talk about this a bit more, but we can't control what granny is going to give them, what school's going to give them, what their best friend's going to give them. It's pretty hard to do that if they've got any kind of meaningful independence. Obviously we look after a lot of autistic kids that are non-speaking and very much are super glue beside mums, you know.

side and therefore, you know, probably won't be exposed to these things. But we're talking about the kids that are, you know, going to be, you know, doing more of a social thing over Christmas. So what I recommend that people do is to prioritize protein and healthy fats when they are feeding their child. So what I would try and do, especially in the holidays is, you know, do the bacon and eggs for breakfast. It could be a healthier version of that. You know, it could be smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, you

Christmas people have got treat food in the fridge. But even it could be a cheese sandwich, peanut butter and raspberries or something like that, just to try and get some protein and healthy fats in. could be Greek yogurt, for instance, trying to get as much in as possible when, because breakfast is usually in your control. The parties and everything tend to be later on in the day rather than in the morning. So if you can fuel their bodies and brains early on in the day,

then their ⁓ bodies and brains are going to be more satiated. So when they are exposed to these things, they might have one or two or three sweets, but not three packets, just because they're not craving any kind of extra nutrients. Whether it's Christmas or other celebrations, I've always did with my children. I always fed them a good meal before we went out.

And as I said, it didn't need to be fancy. It could be, you know, good quality sandwich or, you know, something like that. does, or, you know, like pasta and pesto and chicken leftover, whatever it might be, you know, just something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Just something. that, that, so A, I think that really regulates them so that when they arrive at said party or said, you know, family event,

Lucia Silver (18:39)
Sometimes even porridge I give Quinn, sometimes with some good things in it if it's a cold day.

Lucinda Miller (18:56)
They're not hungry, they're not hangry, they're not, you know what I mean? They've actually got some fuel in their brain and body to be able to cope with that social input and change. But B, you know, if there are a gazillion mince pies whizzing around, then they might have one rather than five. And it's just, I'm not, I'm definitely not in the anti-sugar brigade. I understand.

Lucia Silver (19:05)
Yep. Yep.

Lucinda Miller (19:24)
that sugar plays a role. can really help to make turn a food from cardboard into something tasty. It doesn't need to be white sugar. It can be coconut sugar. It can be honey. It can be maple syrup, but a little bit can make a massive difference to the pleasure. And it's really important to enjoy food. ⁓ And so, but the trouble is what I find is so often with family events is, I mean,

go back a few years, I would say if you turned up to a family party, you'd probably have someone who'd slaved away for a couple of days making cheese straws and little nibbles and things like that. really, you know, even made the mince pies. But nowadays, I do see a lot of packaged foods, at, you know, people who often used to make big efforts. And I think it's because they are convenient. It's a bit cheaper. People are a bit rushed.

Lucia Silver (20:14)
Yeah.

Lucinda Miller (20:20)
But unfortunately, you know, they are most of those are ultra processed. They're not that nutritious. So what I think is another nice idea is to offer to take something to the party or to the event, because sometimes it's a nice to take a safe food that you know, your child will eat and will get pleasure out of, but also benefit from, you know, you just know, it's going to lift them and keep them stable. ⁓

Lucia Silver (20:32)
Yeah.

Lucinda Miller (20:49)
And, you know, B, the host is usually super grateful. I mean, sometimes the host has the ego and they want to do it all. But generally these days, I think they go, yeah, please just bring anything, you know. Yeah, exactly. And so then you can bring some lovely stuff. Check, obviously check for other allergens and things like that. you know, and ⁓ because I think a lot of people put snacks in their bag, but actually to bring something that is for the whole event.

Lucia Silver (20:58)
Yeah, bring a bird, absolutely bring something.

Mmm.

Lucinda Miller (21:13)
then people sort of share the love. They go, these are delicious. What have you put in them? It's a great conversation. And then the other children there will enjoy them too. And actually then suddenly you're making it not seem as if it's odd. It's become actually normal. Whereas, if you've got

Lucia Silver (21:26)
Yes, I can't tell

how

many friends I've made through your recipe, the rocky road. I bang on about it. I've actually taken rocky road that I've made. I know you know I'm an addict and we have it at home all the time, but I have taken it to someone else's house. And exactly, exactly that has happened. Everyone said how incredibly delicious it is. It's dark chocolate with all the nuts and raisins. We put yummy fruits in it.

Lucinda Miller (21:33)
Ha ha ha ha ha!

Mm.

Lucia Silver (21:53)
and then everyone else wants to make it and get the recipe. So that's also a benefit because some mums are like, I just don't know how to make the delicious yummy stuff healthy. I don't know how to do it. Well, there you go. There's an example.

Lucinda Miller (21:56)
Mmm.

Well, I just think that's been my mantra the whole way along. It's healthy food your children will actually eat and you will love too. So it's family food. ⁓ And it's just, at the end of the day, I think our family, luckily we're on the neurodiversity side where we love food and we seek out different food. We enjoy the challenges and exciting.

excitement of trying new foods, especially abroad or in markets or whatever. Now I know that's not everybody. ⁓ But equally, there's so much pleasure in food and there's so many stories about food. And I think in Britain's particularly, we have slightly lost the love of the stories behind food, the history behind food. ⁓ And things have become more plastic fantastic, rip open the packet, bung it in the microwave or munch it down.

rather than thinking about granny's secret recipe. know, those lovely feelings that, know, and I just think it's, need to get more of that back because I think we need to hold on to these wonderful traditions. And Christmas is a time of traditions and we have certain recipes. The kids every year will say, please, can we have, and my kids have pretty much grown up now, you know, but they still want these certain puddings or certain cakes.

Lucia Silver (23:18)
Yes.

Lucinda Miller (23:32)
⁓ And it's lovely to be able to have created that for them. And hopefully they'll do it for their families eventually too.

Lucia Silver (23:38)
Yeah,

these are associated memories and making love and joy associated with food around the table because I think you're quite right, sometimes it can just get a bit naggy. Eat your greens and how can we make it all fun, family and also getting kids cooking I think is a big part of it, don't you Lucinda? Getting them involved with the cooking experience.

Lucinda Miller (24:00)
I agree 100%. I was just going to bring that in actually. Often children are a little bit nervous or worried or anxious about going, as I said, to join the whole family for Christmas or going to a party because they won't know everybody or it's noisy or whatever. And I think it's so lovely to be able to cook together beforehand because you can be talking through without it feeling sort of like pressurized.

through the different nuances of how the party's going to be and you're to go, okay, so we're going to make these amazing mince pies or you know, this amazing biscuits or whatever it is or muffins or whatever you feel like. And you're going to be doing that together and you're going to be talking through why they're so delicious and why they're you know, you know, and who's going to enjoy them? Oh, do you think grandpa will like these ones or Oh, no, I think it'll be uncle, Uncle Tommy who will like them instead.

And suddenly they get rather excited about the party and about taking the food to Christmas and sharing it. So it's also, I know we're all really, really rushed and so forth, but if there is that moment in the day, especially if it's lashing down with rain and it's difficult to get out, it's a really good time to spend time with them because a lot of the time, especially if you're home-schooled, it's very different. You've spent a lot of time with your children.

It's a school situation. You know, they've missed you a lot over the school time, school term and we've all, everything's rushed. You know, it just is, you know, going from one thing to another, to another. Suddenly in the holidays you think, actually, we're going to spend an hour or so making some cookies. And so they spent time with you and it's, they're usually really good at cooking too. These neurodivergent kids, they're great. They really get into it. So yeah.

Lucia Silver (25:48)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we talk

a lot Lucinda about co-regulation and the nervous system as a very important piece in helping our kiddies thrive and when they do come back exhausted and or overstimulated, wired as you say, or they're anxious about a party, this is time to discuss it, unpack it, lean into your nervous system to help, you know, once you're calm, to help them find their way back and feel safe as well.

Lucinda Miller (25:56)
Mm.

Lucia Silver (26:18)
There's a big piece of this is the over stimulation at Christmas and just to get a little bit more granular with with how food can help and how some of your your guidance can help with over stimulation or helping the kiddies stay calmer. You've talked about feeding, you know, proteins beforehand and the right foods and filling them up and taking food to parties to ensure that they've got something to have there. But what if a child's already overwhelmed or wired? Is there anything sort of

almost like an intervention. lot of mums will ask me, well, what do I do when they're already in that state? And I will talk to them about co-regulation in terms of, you know, helping find that safe space and bring them back. But what might help in terms of foods, literally, if they have come in from school and you're heading off to a Christmas party and they are in that already overwhelmed, wired state? Is there anything specific with food and supplements at that moment?

Lucinda Miller (27:16)
So I think food wise really often they're dysregulated because they're essentially hangry, their blood sugar's really, really low. So often kids don't eat a particularly good lunch at school for whatever reason. There are a gazillion reasons why they, you know, it's too light, too bright, too noisy, you know, they don't like the food, it's too rushed, whatever it might be. So that's a big thing that we find. So very often dysregulation is actually low blood sugar. So just feeding them, just feed them.

I don't mind what it is, but obviously something protein and healthy fats would be really good. But then I do think it's important to lean into supplements. I see supplements as scaffolding for these moments and some kick in really quickly. So my favourite two, which work very fast are theanine. So theanine is normally the thing in tea.

especially green tea, not the caffeine bit, but the carmy bit. you if you have a shock and some of them and you're bit shaky and someone says, have a cup of tea love and after the cup of tea, you're much calmer. Well, that's the theanine that's done it. So it works really quickly. You can get theanine gummies, you can get them combined with magnesium as well, which is really lovely. So those can kick in within 15, 20 minutes, even sooner sometimes, and they can taste really nice.

⁓ equally there's ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is a lovely, ⁓ herb, helps with very high cortisol state, so high fight or flight state. ⁓ and again, ⁓ why it hasn't been a sort of normal thing for kids in the past is because it is slightly bitter as a herb on its own. But again, now gummies are available. ⁓ we do stock these at naturedoc.shop just to be completely transparent, but, ⁓ it's just,

They're just great things that you could have a few in your wallet, in a little pot, in your bag, or just by your kettle, just in case. And I think it's really nice to think if your child is really prone to meltdowns, emotional dysregulation, you've got a little tool that you can, because they're sweet and nice and chewy, and they will associate them with being sort of nice and comforting and calming.

then they'll probably like them and want them and actually almost ask for them. So those are really good things to have kind of, as I said, in your back pocket as such, just in case. Obviously, if you have the opportunity to put on some nice, calming classical music, maybe a storybook, I think it's always better to listen rather than to have eyes in front of a screen just because

That can be overstimulating. But my children always, as soon as I put music on, just, it was almost like they went out, they just clicked straight out. It was amazing. It was just a wonderful thing. The other thing is somehow to stimulate laughter. Some way of cracking a joke, making something funny, whether it's putting a silly hat on, blowing a party, a blower, whatever it might be, just something.

because laughter really does bring down that high cortisol fight or flight state. It's one of the best things that you can do to calm a child is to somehow, and I know it's almost impossible sometimes, we know that neurodivergence once they're in the downward spiral, they're down in the downward spiral, but if there's something that you can get them to laugh, that's great too. They have Epsom salt of baths, as I said, pop them in the bath. That's a really nice idea. Put some lavender or something that they love in there.

and that can be very calming. Some people lean into these heavy kind of comforting blankets to wrap around the child. ⁓ But I think it's being warm, cosy, whether it's a nice diffuser. There are lots of things that you can do. You will know what your child responds to most. So have that to the ready, at the ready.

Lucia Silver (31:28)
I

that. I love that package as well. And also it's a very clear transition from the overstimulation from school to help them transition back to home perhaps before you then go out and hit more party stimulation with the Christmas season. So come in maybe lavender incense burners, some classical music. There's so many compounding things that we can do almost as the anti-stressors of the bright lights and the noise and the mould and the damp and the shouting and all that at school.

Lucinda Miller (31:57)
Yeah.

Lucia Silver (31:57)
they come in and you sort of, what's my little antidote for each of those little things? And then, yes, I work really hard at making Quinn laugh. I really do. We spend a lot of time laughing. Fortunately, we both find that very easy. We're big gigglers. So I can absolutely vouch for that. That turns his frame of mind quickly. If I get it right, if he finds me unfunny, well, you know, I'll certainly hear about it.

Lucinda Miller (32:22)
Hahaha, yeah.

Lucia Silver (32:26)
So that's really helpful. Thank you, Lucinda. And let's move on now. So that's a little bit about the overstimulation. How about the, let's do the sleep and the immunity piece specifically. So we talked a little bit about why kids get sick in December, but let's look at some of the things that we can do with foods and routine supports that help with sickness at this time.

Lucinda Miller (32:34)
Mmm.

So the vital things for immunity, especially in December, I've talked about vitamin D, just like, you know, if the NHS says you need vitamin D, you really, really need vitamin D, okay? It's not something that NatureDoc and Lucia are telling you to do. It's what everyone is. But the key ones I love, I think zinc is vital. So many neurodivergent kids are low in zinc for whatever reason. And zinc is vital for immunity.

Lucia Silver (32:59)
Yeah.

Lucinda Miller (33:16)
It also helps to repair cells. It also helps to prevent viruses damaging cells. It also helps with sense of smell, taste, also texture perception in the mouth. And we often really like to see that the kids have a food regression after being ill or during worse, they're ill. And that's really heart breaking because you think, they used to be able to, you know, they used to love broccoli or whatever it is, and now they won't.

it's always it's happened since they had that tonsillitis or whatever it might be. So zinc is really important for getting that back. Vitamin C vitamin C repairs cells. There is proof that ⁓ it can reduce the severity and duration of a cold. If you look at scientific papers, there's something called elderberry, which I absolutely love. It tastes a bit like that well-known paracetamol children's thing that

some kids take. So it's actually quite an easy win. also tastes a bit like Ribena. So it's kind of easy because it's berry flavour. And that again, a bit like the zinc works at preventing the virus from really taking over.

Lucia Silver (34:25)
those droplets Lucinda, elderberry droplets that go into something.

Lucinda Miller (34:29)
Yeah, so it's usually syrup.

So it's sweet and nice. So you can put it on a teaspoon. You can put it in a syringe. You can put it in a smoothie or some yogurt. You can get some gummies as well. So, you know, there are different options and little chewables, but and when it's a slightly older kids, know, Quinn's age, there are obviously capsules full of elderberry and zinc, vitamin C and vitamin D all together, for instance. But the most most interesting

Lucia Silver (34:56)
Yes.

Lucinda Miller (34:58)
important thing with gummies is imagine a gummy, the majority of a gummy is a kind of sugary sweet thing. So there's only going to be a small amount of lots of things or one thing in there rather than you're not going to get lots of elderberry, zinc ink, vitamin C, vitamin D in a gummy. Whereas you might need to do separate gummies with individual things in to get enough in.

Lucia Silver (35:25)
So those are some key ones to remember. What about through food? ⁓ Just give us some obvious headlines when kiddies are sick. What are a immune boosting foods, really, really wholesome, good foods for anyone coming to the diet? I genuinely did have a conversation with a mum yesterday who said to me, I listened to a lot of what you do, Lucia, but you're sort of at the advanced level with diet. I am literally someone who's been eating junk food and

sugary sweets all my life. I honestly do not know how to eat healthy. So can we just go in an entry point level a little bit there Lucinda with, know, sick kids in December. I need to address diet. Maybe I can't afford supplementation just yet. I just want to try and get home foods working a bit better. What's your advice there for some quick wins in the Christmas season?

Lucinda Miller (35:54)
Mm.

Mmm

Well, fruit is a win, okay? So think oranges, satsumas, tangerines, you're going to have lots of those around. And they can have quite a few, you know, if they'll eat them, give them four, five, six over the day, you know, that's okay. Lemon juice, you know, you could squeeze lots of lemon and some honey and some ginger into a hot drink and they'll often really like that. So.

Yeah, that citrus is really important. other vitamin C rich foods, things like kiwi fruit, parsley, so you could just drop a little bit of parsley into their food. ⁓ Red peppers, raw red peppers are full of vitamin C. So I'd say that those are the key ones. Zinc rich foods are things like nuts and seeds. So it could be nut butters if you've got those. So they're great. then, so those are the sort of basics. I mean, we keep a lot of

frozen berries in the freezer. So I buy them, you know, either my online shop or in the supermarket. And then you've always got some because I do find that especially at this time of year, December, you've got, you know, a lot of the fruits being brought from overseas ⁓ and therefore, you know, it's not such good quality or it goes mouldy quite quickly, et cetera. So if you've got frozen fruit, you can just bung them into a smoothie. You can turn them into ice lollies if they've got a really sore throat.

Lucia Silver (37:17)
Yes.

Lucinda Miller (37:44)
⁓ So there are all those sorts of things. I just love blueberries. mean, literally blueberries are a win for me on so many levels of really great brain food as well as an immune food. ⁓ And they defrost really quickly. know, you can pop, you know, they can, they can have those and then on a more advanced level. So those are the basics that I would do. And this is just a little story about how it works so well is I love fresh juices.

If you have the opportunity, maybe it could be an early Christmas present of investing in a juicer for your family. It is so good for the immune system. Essentially, juices, you can get as lots of different fruits and vegetables in from celery to cucumber to carrots to lemons to apples to pears, and even the slightly kind of, know, ones that are going a little bit over the top, you can bung in too. So it's a really good way of kind of

getting rid of all that sort of slightly old veg in the back of the fridge that you want to try and sort of clear. And you put it through the juicer with lots of lovely ginger and the immune boosting support of that is phenomenal. So story goes, this is a long time ago now, but there was a really nasty virus going around the school at my child's And there was a girl who actually went into a coma.

due to this infection. father also got very, very, very sick and was in hospital with it. All the children were having two weeks off school with it. was just, the school was just completely knocked by it. Anyway, I picked up my little boy ⁓ from school and he looked completely green, wiped out, pale. And I thought, uh-oh, here we go. And I got him home.

and I made him a juice and I think it was something like, carrot, apple, ginger, lemon. And I think I gave him lots of elderberry as well. He wasn't hungry, but he would drink that and put him to bed. And then the next morning he woke up saying, I'm fine, mommy, can I go to school, please? And I was like, darling, you were really sick yesterday. I must keep you at home today. And he was the most annoying child all day because he was so well and so bouncy. And he went back to school.

And it, and I didn't get anything and you just think I'm not, it may not have been that it may have been pure luck. It might've just that he was overtired and he needed good night's sleep. don't know, but this has happened too many times in with our clinic clinical experience and my Instagram followers to think it's made up. So I think it's really, really cool.

Lucia Silver (40:08)
Okay, so.

No,

I'm the number one endorser of this one. When I first came into contact with you and NatureDoc, your team got Quinn and I about a year and a half or more ago onto smoothies. We still have smoothies every morning. I use a multitude of reasons, not least it's the quickest, dirtiest, fastest return on investment of anything because everything goes in there, nothing goes to waste. I love it also because I can...

Lucinda Miller (40:42)
Wow.

Exactly.

Lucia Silver (40:54)
disguise things in it that he wouldn't eat if they were on his plate normally, I get greens in them, so I love it for that reason. And also just recently, I've given myself a wrap across the knuckles because for a long time, I stopped doing them for me and I thought, really? That makes no sense because you're making it at the same time. It's no effort, you just make twice as much and then mum gets fed too. And as I've said, the two of us are honestly, we're just beaming with health and energy and we haven't been sick. So

Lucinda Miller (40:57)
Agree, agree, Yeah.

Sure.

Lucia Silver (41:22)
we're really happy to be having smoothies and when other kids come over, that's the first thing I'll give them. So I think they're absolutely brilliant. ⁓ Thank you for those tips again. So that covers a little bit around the sort of immunity boosting tips. Let's sleep specifically as our last little section here. ⁓ Sleep routines fall apart as we've said, and our kids are often very wired, aren't they?

Lucinda Miller (41:39)
Mm-hmm.

Lucia Silver (41:48)
even when they're overtired, that sort of contradictory hyperactive state when actually they really need sleep but can't. We've touched on magnesium Epsom salts for the bath. There's even some magnesium butters that can be massaged and routines which are nice. What else can help protect sleep and help with that whole area that's getting dysregulated over Christmas, Lucinda?

Lucinda Miller (42:03)
Mm, yeah, they're

So one of the biggest challenges that neurodivergent children can have, not every child, as I said, but can have, is making sufficient amount of melatonin. Melatonin is our natural hormone, which says it's sleepy time. So at night it kicks in and tells us it's time to go to sleep. And then in the morning it disappears out of our system and says it's time to wake up. It's called your circadian rhythm is essentially how melatonin waxes and wanes over the day.

Now, neurodivergent children find it very hard to make melatonin and that is why it is the most routinely prescribed medication in the UK for neurodivergent children because they often, you you put them to bed at 7.30 or 8 and they're still wide awake at 11 or midnight and they just won't get to sleep because they're just so wired As I said, it does need to be prescribed. So, but what's amazing is that cherries, whether they're frozen fresh,

juice as part of a supplement naturally contain melatonin. So cherries are a win when it comes to creating or inducing that feeling of it's time to wind down and go to sleep. So in Brain Brilliance, there is a very popular recipe, which is a chamomile and cherry smoothie because obviously chamomile tea as well, know, as adults, we drink it. So why can't the kids too? So if you combine that with lots of other

ingredients, I'll talk about in a minute. ⁓ That can really help to put them in that sort soporific calm state. And I've had, I don't know how many hundreds of messages through Instagram saying, my child has never slept through the night and they've literally had an Epsom salt bath in your cherry smoothie and they have slept like a baby. It's been fantastic. Yeah. So that's a really nice combination. So other foods you can think about in terms of

getting them to sleep or helping with sleep is our tryptophan rich food. So tryptophan turns into melatonin. So it's the sort of precursor. That's what we call it. It's like the, you know, it's sort of the next step to making melatonin. And those are things like chicken, turkey, Christmas turkey, you see, bananas, avocados, cashew nuts. So when they come down at, you know, 9.30, having put them to bed an hour and a half earlier and they're still not for sleep.

Lucia Silver (44:40)
Yeah.

Lucinda Miller (44:40)
Mommy,

I'm hungry. What you need to do is to think, okay, what am I going to do? So it could be a banana and a handful of cashew nuts. It could be some leftover turkey that they can munch on. It could be the other foods and things like oats and yoghurt. So you could do like a granola and yogurt ⁓ or a little porridge as you said, you give Quinn sometimes. So yeah, you know, there are lots of foods that you can think and that are calming.

I'm a massive fan of herbal teas. think chamomile tea, there's something called passionflower, there's lemon balm, and these can all be sweetened with a little bit of honey. And my tip is because they often take a while to brew and also cool down is once you feel felt they've done good enough brewing is to then put a couple of ice cubes in the top and then it cools it right down. And then the children will like that. And for Diddy kids, what I suggest you do is that you

Lucia Silver (45:33)
That's good.

Lucinda Miller (45:39)
brew up some passionflower or lemon balm tea or whatever it might be and then mix it with some fruit juice and some fruit and turn them into ice lollies so that they can suck on those. And that's a really nice idea. So again, a couple of recipes on nature.com. I have a big recipe final there with three or 400 recipes that I've created over the years. And those ones are super popular. The sleepy ice lollies.

Lucia Silver (45:52)
That's nothing.

Fantastic. We'll be linking to all of those in the show notes as well on the Nature Docs site.

Lucinda Miller (46:11)
And then for, you know, in terms of, you know, supplements, leaning on those magnesium, theanine, ashwagandha, you know, gummies or supplements, whatever are fantastic. And especially if they're in a high fight or flight mode or very anxious about going to sleep, like worried about, know, spooks in the night or whatever it might be. ⁓ So those are really helpful. I also love saffron.

Saffron is a specific herb that seems to help lots of neurodivergent children. It helps again with that high adrenaline state. It helps to balance dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin and there have been really good studies looking at saffron and sleep. So it's something that you could either put some little strands of saffron in some more milk or you could think about an actual supplement.

Lucia Silver (47:06)
that and and you know I come back from Morocco all the time with saffron the real the real deal saffron I didn't even so I'm sitting on a little gold mine I know what to send you guys so thank you so much that's an absolute gold mine of information with the kiddie focus now my promise moving forwards with the brain health movement is to give much more time to supporting mum and dad chief care giver in the picture so I'm going to shift our focus if I may Lucinda over to

Lucinda Miller (47:11)
Eww.

You are. ⁓

Mm.

Lucia Silver (47:36)
to mom, ⁓ whoever is taking care of the household, mom, dad, grandma, granddad, whoever you are, you treasured being. Let's look at Christmas for you in your often overstretched state. And let's look at not another recipe that's gonna make you lose your hair and worry and run out of ingredients, but let's look, because this is what Lucinda, you are so brilliant at.

the practical pragmatic time-saving maximum return minimum effort here for mums who are already feeling, you know, utterly overstretched and exhausted. So let's look first of all at what she can do to keep calm this Christmas. ⁓ Yeah, just as a blanket question, what can mum do to stay calm? If you had to go straight in there and go these few things start here.

Lucinda Miller (48:29)
Well, first of all, you know, work out what you can delegate to other people. You know, if you're cooking for Christmas, like I am, I'm getting everyone to bring as much as possible. So yeah, we'll do the turkey, we'll do the veggies, but they're going to bring the rest because I need help, you know, and you've got to identify where you need the help. What are the pinch points?

know, if you've got a vegetarian member of the family coming and the rest aren't vegetarian, get them to bring something because actually that's something they're to love and enjoy because you you may run out of time with that, for instance. So it's thinking what you can delegate equally, you know, with the childcare, you know, ⁓ get your children into bed and then go to bed early yourself. If you know, if because actually, I think sometimes we want to stay up all night wrapping presents and things like that. But actually sometimes

you feel so much better and more revitalized the next day if you have had a decent amount of sleep. I think it's very easy to lead on the booze. And I'm, you know, I do like the odd to pull myself, but I do know that if I have a lot to get done the next day, I will avoid it like the plague because I know that I will sleep better. I will wake up more refreshed. I will be much more productive, less stressed.

less word the next day. So those are the basics. Again, we've

Lucia Silver (49:55)
Lucinda, are you

saying I can't do my one glass in the gravy and one glass for me? One glass in the Christmas putt?

Lucinda Miller (50:04)
Of course you can, of course you can. I think, you know, we've all got to enjoy Christmas, whatever that means to you, you know, but I think a lot of parents are thinking I can't touch a drop because I'm really worried about my child and the way they're going to behave and I need to be in full control just in case, you know, we do need to call an ambulance or, you know, whatever it might be, or, you know, glass breaks or whatever. So, yeah, it can be really tough. But I think, again,

I'm a big fan of instant gratification and feeling better quite quickly. And that's where I do like the supplements. And again, the same ones as your children, but take the adult doses, you know, and if it means taking four gummies rather than the two for the child, go for it because yes, of course you can invest in your own ones, but if it's sort of short term,

You know, I found things like ashwagandha and theanine just so valuable, saffron, magnesium, ⁓ just to keep that calm because I don't want to be snappy and grumpy. I want to enjoy it too.

Lucia Silver (51:08)
And that's really helpful because I've had lots of mums in our one-to-one parent support sessions ask exactly that what supplements do I need and in the first instance of course I'm I'm not qualified to to say but I've often thought well just do all the same if you're doing the exercises do that if you're having you know the simplest level if it is the D's, the C's, the theanine's, the magnesium salt baths then absolutely mum just double the quantity and get some for yourself.

Lucinda Miller (51:27)
Mmm.

Yeah

Lucia Silver (51:37)
And

there may even be some two for one deals, or you might actually find you can then buy on regular, you know, subscription as I know you can with with Nature Doctor have something regularly, you know, and that might be actually a cost saving. include yourself in the care plan. Yeah. So those are those are things that mum can do in terms of supplements. What about your go to bare minimum, the sort of quick time saving meals for this?

Lucinda Miller (51:46)
Yeah, you can.

Absolutely.

Lucia Silver (52:04)
wild and festive time. I know you've got lots of recipes that we're going to link to but I want to hear from you your really cheeky brilliant time-saving tips and ideas when it's just the kids are rushing in a hundred different directions. It's Christmas, you've got one hour between school and the evening to sort everything before you go out. You've talked about feeding them before you go out so that they don't eat too much rubbish or to make sure that there is the right. What might you be preparing that's quick

What are some time-saving ideas you can give mum?

Lucinda Miller (52:36)
So first of all, just for the big day, if you've got a big enough freezer, you can pre-cook sausages, potatoes, parsnips. You can do masses beforehand. If you can buy those foods in the supermarket frozen, you can do it yourself at home too. So I would have as much as you can in the freezer beforehand, whether it's...

the other meals, I think it's the other meals wrapping around the Christmas day. think the actual turkey is kind of most people can do, but it's all the other bits and pieces. So whether it's some fish pies, shepherd's pies, Bolognese's, homemade burgers, just have lots in the freezer. As I said, lots of frozen fruit. You can easily turn that into a crumble or whatever. I often do masses of crumble topping and then I keep them.

lots in the freezer. So then I literally just bring out the fruit and the crumble and put it on top and you've got a pudding. ⁓ And, you know, just stock up on large quantities of things that you know you'll get through quite rapidly as well. ⁓ But I, know, and don't worry about having frozen vegetables as well. They can be peas, carrots, whatever. Again, go with frozen if you need to. ⁓

What else? I would do lots and lots of tomato sauces and then those can go into Bolognese's or Chili's or as a pasta sauce or pizza topping. So again, you know, trying to cook once and then get lots of different batches so that you can then use them for multiple things.

Lucia Silver (54:18)
Yeah, batch cooking. I've read a lot of that in your, particularly in your recipes, you sort of highlight when, when this is a goodie for doing a batch cook for the week, which is, which is brilliant. I'm so pleased with myself when I kind of wake up to the beginning of week and I've done that in at the weekend, and suddenly it's all laid out for the week and I don't have to get to the supermarket because it was done for the week ahead. I mean, it's just dreamy when you can get that organized. It's brilliant. ⁓

So we've gone through sleep, we've gone through nutrition, we've gone through colds and immunology, we've gone through overstimulation, we've covered quite a lot of different areas and we've focused a little bit on mum with trying to identify some of these sanity saving tips for December. ⁓ What might be one thing Lucinda, there may be more than one thing.

that and you have I love that right the list of the things that would help you I forget to do that before the event if people are coming over. What are your pain points? What are your sort of that's going to totally tip the barrel I can't manage that. Identify it for yourself and then ask for help accordingly. I love that that's that it sometimes Ministry of the Bleed and obvious but somebody needs to say it you go yeah, that's a that's a really good idea. I need to do that. Is there anything else or one you know, something that

Lucinda Miller (55:28)
Hmm.

Lucia Silver (55:40)
you want every mother listening to let go of this Christmas.

Lucinda Miller (55:45)
You don't need to be perfect. It doesn't need to be 100 % gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, fun free. know, obviously if your child has celiac disease or an allergy, you will have to avoid that. But generally, you know, I think if you can wrap around the sweet stuff with the nutritious stuff, you won't get so many highs and lows. And, you know, if your child is a bit of a raider, then, you know, make sure that that

and a biscuit tin or whatever is on a high shelf so that they can't get to it that easily. ⁓ But basically, yeah, just enjoy Christmas. I think so often we get really wound up about it, ⁓ but actually what, and there's usually one thing that keeps on going around in our minds, loops around our mind. What if my child has a meltdown and won't eat, know, granny's Christmas lunch? What will I do? And think, well, actually, you know what?

Does it matter if, know, actually I do bring them chicken nuggets and quickly sneak them into the oven so they heat up or does it matter? Or shall I just bring some theanine with me or magnesium or whatever it might be just to keep them in a calm state or will I feed them a really good meal? Even in the car on the way, you know, it's something, it's just trying to predict what might really help to ease that pinch point, that pain moment.

Lucia Silver (57:12)
Thank you, that's incredibly, incredibly valuable. Think ahead and forget about perfection. Just have a lot of fun at Christmas because anxiety is often the most toxic thing we have, isn't it? And worry. So just put on the Christmas carols, have a glass of wine, let them have some sugar and all will be merry. Yes, relax. I need to listen to this myself. Relax, relax, relax.

Lucinda Miller (57:20)
Yeah

Hahaha!

Lucia Silver (57:38)
Lucinda, as always, your wisdom is pure gold and I know every mother listening now is breathing a little easier. So thank you so much for joining us again today.

What I love most about Lucinda's work is that it's practical, compassionate and realistic. Lucinda never shames mothers for trying to survive December and Christmas on fumes. She gives them tools and swaps and strategies. I say that they can actually do that I do day in, day out. It is my Bible by my cooker. Brain brilliant food is absolutely ⁓ my fave. I absolutely love it.

And it reminds us that we don't earn our worth by running ourselves into the ground. So I'm very grateful to Lucinda for joining us today. As we like to say again and again at BHM HQ and in our one-to-one parent support sessions, our children don't regulate faster because we suffer harder. And when we regulate, we repair. And that means that when we restore our own energy, we create the safety and environment that our children need to truly.

thrive. So everything that you've heard today that Lucinda has talked about for our kids, please take that on board for yourself as well. Mums, dads and chief caregivers. Everything we talked about today, the food, the mood, the behaviour, the sleep, the immune system is at the heart and foundation of the whole child approach that we teach inside our courses through our podcasts, through all our free resources. ⁓ And we will link everything today in the show notes.

so that you can follow up on Lucinda's fantastic NatureDoc clinic, her books, resources, we've got a Christmas giveaway and of course our free downloadable guide. That's our gift to you this Christmas with this podcast and it's called Feed the Calm Not the Chaos, the Whole Child Christmas Survival Guide and inside this are some of Lucinda's best and most unmissable yummy, healthful, totally doable Christmas recipes. So until next time,

Please take a moment for yourself today, even one quiet breath, because this Christmas we want you to remember that you matter just as much as the kids you're fighting for. If today's conversation spoke to you, it would mean the world to us if you'd follow, subscribe and leave a review. This not only means you never miss an episode, but every single follow, subscribe, review will help another overwhelmed mum find her way to this podcast and to a whole child approach that finally makes sense and helps our children.

Happy Christmas to you all!