What if I told you, you could have a thinner you even through the holiday feasting season?
Lots of people, including myself, use this time of year to stray from our healthy eating lifestyles. We gorge ourselves on gravy laden mashed potatoes and turkey. Stuffing our bellies on savory stuffing. Inhaling the creamy macaroni n cheese while grazing on the yeasty buttery dinner rolls. But it’s the dessert, the cherry cheesecake and pecan pies that causes us to unbutton that top button.
C’mon, you know what I’m talking about! You’ve been there…flopped out on the sofa so stuffed you can’t move. Well, if you haven’t then I’m pretty sure you know someone who does this every.single.year!
What if I told you, you could still enjoy those mouth watering cinnamon-y sweet potatoes and that yummilicious apple pie without jeopardizing your waistline?
Here are 13 simple tricks to a skinnier you in spite of the excessive holiday feasting.
Swap out calorie and fat rich ingredients for a lighter version.
- milk, preferably skim or 2% for heavy cream – there’s no difference in taste of dishes like mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. I prefer 2% milk
- eliminate milk or cream using powdered milk instead – this is very effective in baked goods as well as dishes like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. FYI-Instant Non Fat Milk Powder is cheaper and lighter on the fat content than milk.
- part butter, part olive oil for butter – this works really well in savory dishes like mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and the like.
- margarine or part vegetable oil for butter in sweet dishes like cookies, cakes or yeasty rolls.
- reduce the amount of sugar by 1/3 and substitute with a natural sugar like honey or 100% Organic Agave Nectar . Natural sugar tends to have fewer calories than refined sugar.
- Neufchatel for regular cream cheese – it tastes virtually the same for half the calories and fat. Additionally, it is just as creamy as the more fattening and calorie heavy cream cheese.
- dark chocolate for milk chocolate – it won’t save you any calories but studies have shown dark chocolate is chocked full of antioxidants which are good for us. Plus dark chocolate has a richer flavor which translates into needing a smaller portion to satisfy the sweet tooth.
- sugar substitute for real sugar – I prefer to cut back on my use of real sugar instead of using mystery sugar substitutes with odd after tastes but I understand lots of people find success with this strategy. I have not personally tried it but have heard excellent reviews of a new product called Stevia.
If you have a sensitive pallet then start your ingredient swap out at a lower ratio. Gradually increase the lower calorie lower fat ingredient over time and you will never notice the difference in flavor.
Get a bigger bang for your buck. Use high flavor, low calorie low fat ingredients.
- chicken, vegetable or beef stock – make at home or pick a low sodium store bought version to help keep the salt level in control.
- apple or pear juice offer a nutritional boost – select a low or no sugar added product to maintain control of your sugar intake.
- Spices and herbs add tons of flavor without adding any calories. Fresh herbs or dried will get the job done.
Don’t overindulge.
Use smaller plates and take smaller portions of all your favorites so you still have plenty of room for dessert without feeling sluggish. Use small spoons and forks to take more bites if you have to. Pull out every mental trick in the book so you can still eat freely but don’t cross that line of over-stuffing yourself.
Start a post dinner family activity tradition to get the blood pumping.
Start a game of basketball with the kids versus adults or something similar, to work off some of those excess calories in a fun and exciting manner. Start a series of foot or bike races. Have a walking race or plan a scavenger hunt.
While some of these tips may offer a little impact individually, combine all of these calorie saving tips to capitalize on these skinny strategies. On a feasting day like Thanksgiving or Christmas, you end up cutting lots of fat and calories from this meal without feeling like you’ve missed out on anything.
Who wants to skip the comfort food and all our favorite goodies during the holidays? NOT ME!
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