Your healthier countdown to Christmas

A HEALTHIER countdown to Christmas doesn’t have to be joyless with these Advent calendars . . .

MOO FREE DAIRY FREE

£3, tesco.com; moofreechocolates.com CHOCOLATES in this range are free from soya, dairy, lactose, gluten and wheat — they are made with rice flour and suitable for vegans. In ‘milk’ or white chocolate varieties.

TEAPIGS

£22.99, selfridges.com BEHIND each door is a different teabag for a hot or iced drink, including limitededition blends such as Spiced Winter Red (made with rooibos, orange peel, orange blossom and ginseng root). There are ten ‘golden tickets’ in selected calendars, with the chance to win a gift.

HOTEL CHOCOLAT DARK

£13, hotelchocolat.com FILLED with festive figures made with 70 per cent dark chocolate — rich in antioxidants linked to lower blood pressure.

BAREBELLS PROTEIN BARS

£54.90, barebells.co.uk EACH door reveals a different flavoured protein bar — with no added sugar, providing about 20g of protein, used by the body to help build muscle.

VEGAN POPCORN

£30, joeandsephs.co.uk DAIRY and gluten-free daily treats: a mini bag of eight types of flavoured popcorn including dark chocolate and toffee apple & cinnamon.

PIP&NUT NUT BUTTER CUPS

£19.80, ocado.com EACH day you can receive a dark chocolate cup filled with peanut butter or almond butter. Vegan and free from gluten and palm oil.

LIQUORICE

£50, lakridsbybulow.co.uk EACH window has a piece of flavoured liquorice, which contains compounds thought to be anti-inflammatory.

MATCHA GREEN TEA £52, birdandblendtea.com

THIS contains 24 mini tins filled with different flavours of matcha green tea, including mince pie and gingerbread chai. Matcha contains EGCG, a compound with antiinflammatory properties.