Managing Holiday Temptations

The holidays are a time for celebrating with family and friends, which usually means enjoying home-cooked meals and delicious sweet treats. But along with that holiday cheer can come a few unwanted extra pounds. Although the average holiday weight gain is 1 to 5 pounds, which may not seem like a lot, it can add up over the years. But instead of depriving yourself of your favorite holiday sweets, try a few recipe substitutions and healthy eating strategies that can help you enjoy holiday dishes without all of the guilt.

For healthy holiday eating strategies: Prepare, Be Aware and Share:

Prepare
- Plan a smaller breakfast and lunch to allow for a few extra indulgences at the holiday party. Don’t skip these meals altogether, just plan for less.
- Bring a healthy dish to the party so you know you’ll have something to fall back on.

Be Aware
- Don’t pick – grab a plate and sit down to enjoy your meal. It’s easy to overeat when you are grazing at the buffet line. Practice portion control – sample small amounts of your favorite foods and try not to eat until you are overstuffed.
- Fill up on good-for-you foods first like cut fruit, crudités, and shrimp cocktail. .
- Focus on friends, not the food. Enjoy fun times with friends and try not to stand near or focus too much on the buffet.

Share
- There may be lots of delicious desserts at the party, but choose your favorite one to enjoy instead of picking at all of them.
- Or, simply share a portion of dessert with a friend to cut down on calories.
- Prepare a healthier dessert idea and bring it to the party.

If you plan on making a dish for your next holiday party, try the recipe modifications below.2

Instead of this - Try this:

Whole milk - Evaporated fat-free (skim) milk, fat-free half-and-half
Whipped Cream - Whip chilled evaporated skim milk or use low-fat whipped topping
Sour Cream - Fat-free sour cream, low-fat yogurt
Mayonnaise - Low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, fat-free plain yogurt
Cream Cheese - Reduced fat or fat-free versions (do not use fat-free for baking)
Ricotta Cheese - 1% cottage cheese, part-skim or non-fat ricotta
Butter or shortening - Butter: light soft-tub margarine or use a combination of ½ butter and ½ unsweetened applesauce. Shortening: regular soft tub margarine.
Stick margarine - Reduced-fat soft tub, squeeze or whipped margarine (Whipped margarine can not be used in baking. Reduced-fat and fat-free margarine can not be used in baking or frying.)
Oil (in baking) - Equal amount of applesauce or double the amount of plain yogurt
Sugar - Reduce sugar by ¼ and increase cinnamon, nutmeg and/or vanilla. Use sugar substitutes according to package directions.

1. Mayo Clinic Holiday Recipes: www.mayoclinic.com/health/holidayrecipes/NU00645. A prospective study of holiday weight gain.
2. MOVE! Weight Management Program: http://www.move.va.gov/download/NewHandouts/Nutrition/N24_RecipeSmartStandIns.pdf . Recipe Smart Stand Ins For Heart Healthy Cooking