Happy Healthy Holidays

Author: Shannon Miller

The holidays are here!

One event that most people look forward to during the holiday season is the one that takes place around the dinner table – eating!  Not surprisingly, one event that most people dread at the end of the holiday season is reading the scale.

Food is meant to be enjoyed, especially holiday foods that we don’t enjoy all year around. Can we keep our taste buds happy and our mind at ease?  Absolutely!

You can put a healthy spin on some of our traditional holiday dishes with these suggestions: 1

  • It’s all gravy. Refrigerate the gravy in order to harden the fat and then skim the fat off.  Doing this will allow you to save 56 gm of fat per cup.
  • A naked bird. You and your family can feast on a roasted, skinless this year.  In doing this, you can save 11 grams of saturated fats per 3 oz. serving.
  • Dress up in fruits and veggies. Add more vegetables (i.e. celery) and fruits (i.e. cranberries and apples) to this year’s dressing.  Additionally, you could moisten and flavor the dressing by using vegetable broth and applesauce.
  • Quick and healthy egg nog. Blend the following items until they have a smooth consistency: 4 bananas, 1.5 cups of skim or soymilk, 1.5 cups of plain non-fat yogurt, .25 teaspoon of rum extract.  Top with ground nutmeg.
  • Crustless pies and fruity cakes. Make pies, such as the holiday favorite pumpkin pie, without the crust.  Top cakes with fresh fruit or fruit sauce, rather than frosting.

Don’t let your fear of after-holiday weight gain put a damper on your holiday season.

Remember, you are in control.  Just making a few of your dishes a bit healthier this year is sure to make you feel good about yourself!

TIP:  For more ways to eat great and lose weight all year round check out my article “Ditch The Diet”.
1 Macaire, Greta, R.D“Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating.”  California Pacific Medical Center, 20 Nov 2010.
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