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If you only have to worry about holiday meals in a family setting, you've got a lucky break. But then comes the Christmas outing with colleagues at work and friends who invite you out, and before you know it, it has definitely turned into too much of a good thing. So here are a few alternatives... no, not diets.. that may be useful in giving our overworked stomachs a break during� the eat, drink and be merry routine that lies ahead.

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A cold soup made from either sweet or bitter almonds would be a wise choice for a starter to the main meal on Christmas day. Not on account of the calories, you understand, but for tradition's sake. You might also care to look up recipes for some old favorites in the category of stewed vegetable dishes, pur�es and soups made from marrows or tomatoes Add a dollop of farmer's cheese to give them texture - or a heaping dish of wild mushrooms, the way that I�aki Camba does it over at his restaurant, Arce. This is a good way of settling one's stomach (it's light) unless we cannot resist perking it up with bits of salt pork, chorizo sausage or other lard-laden by-products of the pig. Just the thing to get us in action now that the sun of summer is gone and arctic winds are� nipping at our heels.

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The holiday season is likewise the ideal moment to take a look at the fresh vegetables in the market stalls, and think about how they might be freely combined into stews, or ratatouille-style preparations, or pistos or whatever you want to call them. To turn them into a main dish, all� that is needed is a bit of rabbit or leftover lamb from the Christmas� roast. And if instead we add a little desalted codfish to the mixture we have a dish that would be more of a match for Easter eating but tastes equally good if consumed for Christmas.

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It�s the season to be jolly and to eat avocados, artichokes, and even some other vegetable that usually doesn't put in an appearance until spring� -- at least in these latitudes. But we still may come across some white asparagus that has spent its youthful days in the Southern hemisphere or under a sheet of greenhouse plastic. Its mildness would make a welcome contrast with the heavy, greasy� fare eaten in the holidays. It's not all that a weighty (or even an overweighty) matter. It just means going� easy on your stomach and giving it the break it deserves.

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What you should do is make sure that before you start in on the heavy stuff, the roast lamb, goose or turkey, you go easy and eat things like wild mushrooms, saut�ed vegetables, carapaccios or anything that is likewise light in weight and consequences, be it a new favorite or an old standby.���