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

 

Other nutrients

• All-purpose flour – Whole-wheat flour for half of the called-for all-purpose flour
• Dry breadcrumbs – Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal
• Enriched pasta – Whole-wheat pasta
• Iceberg lettuce – Arugula, chicory, collard greens, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach or watercress
• Meat as the main ingredient – Three times as many vegetables as the meat on pizzas or in casseroles, soups and stews
• White bread – Whole-wheat bread
• White rice – Brown rice, wild rice, bulgur or pearl barley

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]

See you in 2015!

Happy Holidays:)