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The holiday season is famous for its calorie traps. But you might just avoid having to shop for bigger jeans on Black Friday if you make these small changes to your meal.
Appetizers
EAT THIS:
Deviled Eggs
If you don’t put too much mayonaisse in your recipe, this tasty appetizer will only add 100 calories per egg. Not bad, especially for something will a decent amount of protein.
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Dumplings
Since dumplings are basically fried dough, it’s no surprise that eating just one will put you back 210 calories. However, there are a lot of different recipes for dumplings, so there are ways to reduce calories.
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Side Dishes
EAT THIS:
Mashed Potatoes
Half a cup of most kinds of mashed potatoes is only 100 calories. If you don’t use too much salty gravy or fatty butter, this is really not a bad choice. And potatoes totally count as a vegetable!
NOT THAT:
Stuffing
This side has everything against it: it’s usually breaded, salty and buttery. Half a cup of stuffing will generally come out 410 calories, which takes up a huge portion of your daily calories. Stuffing yourself on stuffing will also leave you extra bloated after dinner.
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Main Dish:
EAT THIS:
Roasted Turkey
The Thanksgiving classic is lean and offers many health benefits. If you stick to an appropriate portion (about 4 ounces), your main dish will only be about 230 calories. If you eat the lean breast meat, you can reduce that to 150 per serving.
*Bonus for vegetarians, if meat isn’t your thing you can get 5 slices of tofurkey for just 100 calories!
NOT THAT:
Roasted Goose
This alternative option is clearly the worst choice health-wise. A 1 cup serving can come put to between 350 and 450 calories depending on whether or not you eat the skin. Duck is also a higher calorie option, with about 290 calories per 1 cup serving.
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Toppings:
EAT THIS:
Cranberry Sauce
First of all, way to sneak fruit into your meal. Next, be aware that is canned and sugared. Still, most servings of cranberry sauce come out to between 60 and 85 calories. Also, most people I know eat it with salad, so if it encourages you to add some greens to your meal, go for it.
NOT THAT:
Gravy
This salty topping varies depending on how you prepare it, but in general this topping will add 100 calories per cup to anything you add to it. It may not sound like much, but it will add up when you’re pouring it over all the other yummies on your plate.
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Dessert
EAT THIS:
Pumpkin Pie
One slice of a 9” pie, or roughly one-eighth of the pie is 320 calories. I mean, and it’s vegetables right?
NOT THAT:
Pecan Pie
The same amount of pie (one-eighth of a 9” pan) comes out to around 500 calories. Pick the right pie and you save about 150 calories right off.
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Beverages:
EAT THIS:
Apple Cider
While it might be a bit sugary, most kinds of this holiday treat will only be about 120 calories per 8-ounce container. Watch out for the Starbucks version, though. They add caramel, which blows up the calorie count.
NOT THAT:
Pumpkin Spice Latte
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Speaking of Starbucks, their famous Pumpkin Spice Latte comes out to about 380 calories in the grande size. If that isn’t crazy enough, their hot chocolate option only reduces that to 370 calories. Outside the Starbucks universe, hot chocolate is about 90-120 calories per serving which may be a better choice for keeping warm.