Christmas Celebration
Christmas is a time of celebration, but it also
tends to be a time of high-fat, high-calorie food. Make healthy entertaining
and eating a big part of the family’s Christmas and year-end celebrations.
Offer guests with healthy and nutritious food choices by planning
the Christmas party menu and dishes carefully as well as buying and using
fresh quality ingredients.
Healthy Christmas party tips
- Plan healthy Christmas party
menu.
- Bring a nutritious dish to the
festivities. Offer beforehand to provide
a salad or vegetable side dish so you can be assured that
there will be at least one healthy item at the meal.
- Fruit salads or platters –
These are the healthiest desserts. Cut up water melon, rock melon, mango, strawberries, oranges, apples or any other fruits and mix them in a salad bowl
or serve them on a plate.
- Serve lighter appetizers- Change
your favorite recipes by substituting lower fat ingredients such as
low-fat or fat-free yogurt and sour cream. Use fruits and vegetables with dips and spreads,
instead of chips or crackers.
- Dippers – Savor the homemade,
healthy dips using water crackers, organic corn chips and raw vegetable
sticks such as celery, cucumber and carrot sticks.
- Low calorie: Eggnog, a notorious
calorie culprit, packs about 343 calories into just a one-cup,
alcohol-free serving. Substituting mostly egg whites or an egg substitute instead of whole eggs and fat-free milk
instead of half-and-half can bring the festive drink back down to
reasonable levels.
- Raw veggies – Crisp slices
of jicama, combined with broccoli and cauliflower florets make a refreshing
appetizer choice any time of year.
- Start well hydrated – drink plenty
of water during the day and before the party to make sure you’re not
thirsty when downing your first alcoholic drink. Try starting the party
with a non-alcoholic drink such as water, mineral water, a diet soft drink
or lime and soda to curb your thirst and slow down your alcohol intake.
- Offer non-alcoholic, low calorie
drinks such as iced water, lime and diet soft drinks etc. Don’t start
serving alcoholic drinks too early in the day. The earlier you start the
more you will consume.
- As with your favorite foods, a
little taste of the traditional Christmas beverages won't completely
weaken a healthy diet. Balance these drinks with plenty of water.
- Don’t miss your usual exercise
regime for a Christmas party ideas. This only doubles the impact – more calories consumed
and fewer calories burnt.
- At the dinner table, eat more
steamed vegetables and leaner cuts of meat, such as pork or beef tenderloin, instead of ham. In case
of turkey, avoid the skin and choose white meat, which is leaner
than dark meat.
- Turkey is by far the best choice
for a healthy Christmas dinner, since goose and duck are much fattier. Roast your turkey on a rack so
that it doesn't bathe in fat as it cooks.
- Make a gift basket creative. You
can gift low calorie, low fat homemade cookies and other snacks, a lovely
plant and garden tools.
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