Healthy Holiday Foods To Be Merry About

By | April 20, 2009

Happy Holiday Foods And Good Foods For Healthy Meals

Happy holidays! Holiday simply means outings, relaxing, parties and enjoying. The diet and exercise routine that you had followed for months goes topsy turvy and you come back to square one. Starting your diet and exercise all over again after your holidays can be boring. Even the few pounds that you gain during holidays are difficult to shed once you get back to your normal routine after holidays. Listed below are some of the time-honored special holidays’ dishes which you love, but can be modified in terms of calories and fat without compromising on the taste.

Holiday food: Holidays often brings along parties and parties surely brings along cocktails, creamy dips, savory finger foods and fried canapés.

Merry food: Bypass hard drinks, alcohol, fried chips and other creamy foods. Instead lay your hands on a small handful of nuts, chilled shrimps, grilled salmon, fresh fruit or reduced fat cheese. Instead of alcohol try a small glass of refreshing fresh lime soda, red wine or just a plain glass of water with a slice of lime.

Holiday food: Dark red meat or turkey meat covered with gravy and turkey sandwiches loaded with cheese and mayonnaise.

Merry food: Opt for low fat white turkey or white meat without the skin with just a drizzle of gravy made from low sodium chicken broth or defatted pan juices. Broiled or grilled seafood can also be a great option.

Holiday food: A big mountain of fried or mashed potatoes swimming in salt and butter, the essential holiday food!

Merry food: Choose baked sweet potato or baked potato with their jackets along with a dash of butter and bean gravy.

Holiday food: Pecan pie is often a holiday highlight for most people.

Merry food: The butter, corn syrup and sugar in the pecan pie can add loads of fat on your tummy and hips. Try some strawberries dipped in low-cal chocolate sauce or a small piece of pie (pumpkin filling) without the crust instead.

Holiday food: A baked turkey with corn bread stuffing loaded with a variety of vegetables, nuts, meats and butter.

Merry food: Try wild rice stuffing instead of corn bread as the latter stuffing tends to absorb loads of the liquefied fat that would otherwise drain out. Preferably bake the wild rice stuffing separately in another casserole.

Healthy Holiday Tips For Dine Out

  • Before going out for dinner or a party, snack heavily on fresh fruits or other low calorie cereals. This will ensure that you don’t binge later at the party.
  • Remember holidays also mean other outdoor activities like skating, rollerblading, swimming, playing tennis, badminton, cycling or just running. Have healthy competitions among your friends, this is an excellent recreational way to burn calories and thus compensate for the holiday foods you eat.
  • Avoid heavy desserts after meals as they tend to add additional unnecessary calories. Sip enough water or eat healthy desserts like mixed fruit bowl or even better chew a sugar free gum.
  • Learn to watch your portion size. Do not deprive yourself of your favorite foods but at the same time do not overindulge in fatty foods.