Let’s be honest—your diet probably wasn’t going to stop you from indulging in delicious food and drinks this holiday season. And that’s to be expected, but your waistline doesn’t have to be an inevitable casualty of celebration. The truth is, it’s possible to indulge chocolate, sugar, and alcohol without packing on pounds. But nutritionists agree the average person gets only 150 to 250 discretionary calories a day, so spend them wisely.

Is there a way to enjoy the holiday season’s luscious foods without the extra weight gain? Yes! Use the following tips to help you?

Here are some substitution ideas for your holiday foods:

Make the switch for healthier recipes:

Fat and Cholesterol:

Bacon – Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, smoked turkey

Butter, margarine, shortening, oil – Applesauce or prune puree for half the butter, shortening or oil

Creamed soups – Fat-free milk-based soups, mashed potato flakes or pureed carrots, potatoes, or tofu for thickening agents

Eggs – Two egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute for each whole egg

Evaporated milk – Evaporated skim milk

Full-fat cream cheese – Fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, Neufschatel or low-fat cottage cheese pureed until smooth

Full-fat sour cream – Fat-free plain yogurt, or fat-free or low-fat sour cream

Ground beef – Extra-lean or lean ground beef, chicken or turkey

Mayonnaise – Reduced-calorie mayonnaise-type salad dressing or reduced-calorie, reduced-fat mayonnaise

Oil-based marinades – Wine, balsamic vinegar, fruit juice or fat-free broth

Salad dressing – Fat-free or reduced-calorie dressing or flavored vinegars

Whole milk – Reduced-fat or fat-free milk

Sodium

Seasoning salt, such as garlic, celery or onion salt – Herb-only seasonings, such as garlic powder, celery seed or onion flakes

Soups, sauces, dressings, crackers or canned meat, fish or vegetables – Low-sodium or reduced-sodium versions

Soy sauce – Sweet and sour sauce, hot mustard sauce or low-sodium soy sauce

Sugar

Fruit canned in heavy syrup – Fruit canned in its own juices or in water, or fresh fruit

Fruit-flavored yogurt – Plain yogurt with fresh fruit slices

Syrup – Pureed fruit, such as applesauce, or low-calorie, sugar-free syrup

Fruit sweetener – frozen condensed apple or pineapple juice

I hope you were able to find a few pointers to help in your holiday success, if you have any further questions feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Happy Holidays:)