How To Make Your Holiday Dishes Healthier

Getting through the holidays without gaining weight can be tricky, but it is possible. If you make the right choices and prepare foods with alternative ingredients that save on calories.

When cooking from home, there are many healthier swaps you can make for traditional dishes. However, when you don’t have a hand in preparing dinners, portion control is going to be the best tool when attending holiday parties and gatherings.

Potatoes

Mashed potatoes can add up in calories pretty quickly after all the mix-ins even before the gravy. Save calories by making mashed cauliflower in place of real potatoes. Mashed cauliflower has the same consistency and texture as regular mashed potatoes and doesn’t taste too far off. Plus it saves a ton of carbs.

Sweet potatoes are another staple during the holidays. Candied yams or sweet potato casseroles tend to be loaded with heavy glazes. Forgo the brown sugar, marshmallow, and butter topping and instead sprinkle cinnamon and chopped pecans to save on all the fat and sugar. You can also oven roast the potatoes and drizzle light olive oil to give them a crisp and still save hundreds of calories.

Meat

Choose leaner cuts of meat for your holiday meals. Turkey, ham, pork tenderloin, and chicken are all on the lighter side of calories compared to a roast beef. Remove any excess skin or fat when preparing and use herbs and spices for flavoring instead of butter and oils. Avoid frying and save on unnecessary saturated fat and opt for baking, roasting, or broiling of the meat.

When going with turkey, choose white meat over dark and save half the fat. When comparing a piece of dark meat with skin on and a piece of white meat with skin off you’re looking at a 70 calorie difference from just 3.5 ounces!

Stuffing

What would the holidays be without stuffing? Instead of using store-bought stuffing from a box, make your own healthier version at home.

Choose nutrient-rich whole-grain breadcrumbs rather than refined white bread. Another alternative is taking out the bread entirely and instead use quinoa or couscous, a creative spin on a classic dish that will taste just as great. Use fat-free chicken broth as a binder instead of lard or butter to knock out all the extra fat.

– READ MORE: How To Avoid Overindulging During The Holidays –

Other dishes

When preparing greens beans, Brussels sprouts and other vegetables skip the bacon and other fats by sautéing them with a little extra virgin olive oil and garnish with slivered almonds as a topping.

A great alternative to pasta is using zucchini noodles or “zoodles” instead. This swap will spare you tons of carbs while still having all the same tomato and garlic flavors.

For fruit salad use fresh cut fruit rather than canned fruit with heavy syrups that add extra sugar.

Eggnog

Another classic staple during the holidays is eggnog. Unfortunately, it comes with a price of roughly 350 calories per glass. you can make your own healthier version of eggnog by using fat-free milk, a sugar substitute instead of real sugar, vanilla, and all the same spices. Alternatively, You can swap out the eggnog for hot cider and save over half the calories.

Cocktails & mixed alcoholic drinks.

Sugary mixers and heavy syrups can contain upwards of 30 grams of carbs per serving. Swap the mixers with a flavored sparkling water which contains zero carbs. You can add mint, grated ginger, and mashed fruit for extra flavor depending on the drink.

Utilize some of these food swaps in your favorite dishes and fend off unwanted weight gain, while still enjoying your holidays with loved ones!

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