As we all know, Christmas is a time of cheer, laughter and comfort food. Unfortunately for many of us it can also be a time of battling the scale to keep those unwanted extra pounds from packing on. Luckily, for us health-conscious Christmas food lovers there are many ways to alter your favorite tradtional Christmas dishes to make them healthy and delicious.
Stuffing:
Stuffing is one of those foods you just can’t miss during the holiday season. Unfortunately this overly-buttered, bread-filled dish is full of carbs and calories. One easy way to make this dish more health-friendly is to use homemade or store bought whole grain bread rather than it’s carby counterpart. Homemade chicken stock can easily be used to help control excess salt and fat found when using the store bought variety. Make sure to use a butter substitute and load it with fresh veggies for the ultimate healthy and tasty stuffing.
Sweet Potato Casserole:
What is better than a sweet, smooth and creamy sweet potato casserole for the holidays? Nothing quite compares to this sweet and savory dish. Fortunately, there are also ways to make it healthy and sweet potatoes are an excellent source of fiber which will help fill you up and keep you from overindulging. Using honey to substitute the sugar in this dish and whole wheat flour and butter substitute for the topping will create much healthier alternative.
Baked Apples:
Apples are not only healthy and nutritious, but they are also sweet and festive. A simple recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth at your holiday get together includes baking cored apples stuffed with a mixture of brown sugar, pecans, raisins or anything else that says “festive” to you. Just a little brown sugar goes a long way and this recipe will save you from those unwanted calories and sugar found over in the holiday dessert section.