Surviving Holiday Eating

1. Surviving Holiday Eating Samantha Hauswirth and Melissa Wolynec Dietetic Interns

2. Average Holiday Weight Gain • Average person gains 1-2 pounds between Halloween and New Years. • Typically, this weight is not lost after the holiday season. • Can result in a 10-20 pound weight gain over a 10-year period. • Everything you put in your mouth counts as calories! • Including “tastes”!

3. Average Caloric Intake of Holiday Foods Christmas dinner can contain up to 3500 calories – that’s one pound! To eat all this, you would need to walk 20.5 miles to burn it all off!

4. Tips for Eating at Holiday Parties • Don’t go to a party hungry! • Eat a small meal before you go. • Eat healthy throughout the day. • Stay away from the buffet. • Stick to veggie and fruit options. • Sample in moderation! • Bring a low calorie dish and choose this first. • Dance the night away!

5. Alcohol • Overconsumption of alcohol leads to undesirable food choices. • Alcohol has a lot of empty calories. • Alternate between alcohol and water.

6. Drink This….Not That • Tips for lowering the caloric content of drinks: • Make drinks with real fruit instead of fruit juice • Choose seltzer or diet tonic water instead of soda • Use diet soda instead of regular • Use 1% or skim milk instead of cream or half and half • Use egg whites instead of yolks for egg nog • Limit alcohol to 1 drink/day for women and 2 drink/day for men

7. Trimming the Fat • Serve lean cuts of meat • Pork or beef tenderloin • Trim fat off Ham • Remove skin off turkey, choose white meat • Steam, braise or roast vegetables • Glaze with small amount of butter • Glaze with pineapple and/or orange juice with cornstarch • Make mashed potatoes with chicken broth, skim milk and reduced fat sour cream • Use light cream cheese for cheesecake

8. Healthy Holiday Substitutions • Use unsweetened applesauce in cake and pie recipes as a healthier alternative to butter, margarine, or oil. • In ice cream desserts, use low-fat frozen yogurt. • Save the fat by using cocoa powder instead of chocolate. • Substitute three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for each ounce of unsweetened chocolate in baked goods such as cakes or cookies. • Use nonfat yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.

9. More Substitutions • Use egg whites instead of yolks. • Two egg whites can be substituted for each whole egg in many baked recipes. • Since much of the fat in cake comes from the frosting, try topping cakes with fresh fruit, fruit sauce, or a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar. • Reduce the amount of chocolate chips or nuts in a recipe by one-fourth. No one will even notice!

10. More Healthy Ideas • Use flavored vinegars or lemon juice to enhance the flavor of a salad without adding fat. • Choose baked over fried every time. • Nuts are a heart-healthy snack choice. • Almonds , Walnuts, Pecans, Pistachios • Don’t bury good foods under fat and sugar.  • Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet and don’t need extra sugar. Bake them, slice and sprinkle with cinnamon instead.  • Serve gravies and other sauces on the side so guests can choose how much they would like. • When you’re making gravy, skim off the fat with a gravy-separating cup or let the drippings cool in the refrigerator first and remove the hardened fat before making the gravy. 

11. Staying Active Through the Holidays • Take a family walk after a large meal. • Schedule exercise into your daily schedule. • When Christmas shopping: • Use stairs instead of escalator or elevator • Park far away and walk • Get off the bus a stop ahead and walk • At home workout videos/On Demand. • Clean your house.

12. Holiday Hints • There will be leftovers! • No need to gorge at the dinner table. • Eat slowly, chew thoroughly • Plan ahead • Visually map out your plate ahead of time with healthy options • Make half of your plate green • Enjoy your holiday favorites, within moderation • Get the entire family involved in your healthy plan