Healthy Holiday Substitutes

The holidays make controlling weight complicated because they are a time when it’s easy to fall into a cycle of eating and drinking more than usual. Indulge in high calorie foods day after day is a bad habit to begin, however, you can make it through the holiday meal without losing track of your healthy lifestyle by following our easy food substitution tips.

Simple Modifications with Preparation

Try switching from:

• Evaporated milk (whole) to evaporated milk (skim) – Save 191 calories and 24 grams (g) of fat for 12 fluid ounces (fl oz)
• Heavy cream to evaporated skim milk – Save 600 calories and 80 g fat for every cup
• Butter or margarine to fat-free butter spread – Save 95 calories and 10 g fat/tablespoon
• Regular cream cheese to lite or fat-free – Save between 40-70 calories and 5-10 g of fat per 1 oz
• Regular ground beef to 96% lean ground turkey – Save 180 calories and 22 g fat/4 oz
• Sugar 1 cup to Splenda 1 cup – Save 675 calories

Healthy Dips for Fresh Fruit & Vegetables before the holiday feast:

• Plain nonfat yogurt mixed with horseradish mustard and dill
• Lowfat vanilla yogurt mixed with cinnamon
• Plain nonfat yogurt mixed with instant onion soup mix. Stir in chives.

Want more great holiday tips? Check out our post on a holiday meal Survival Guide.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.