My Life is a Journey Not a Destination: Lifestyle Blog
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss/Healthy Living
  • Contact me
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • About me
    • Colombia
  • Network and other affiliations

10 Ways to Lighten Up Your Favorite Holiday Recipes

11/20/2019

3 Comments

 
10 Ways to Lighten Up Your Favorite Holiday Recipes
It’s often cited that people gain an average of 5 pounds around the holidays. It’s no wonder with Americans consuming between 3,000 – 4,500 calories for their holiday meal. Smart & Final RD Patricia Bannan can share some really easy ideas to cut that calorie total significantly.

​1. Go Light on Appetizers
Set out a few easy and healthier appetizers like a veggie platter with hummus, roasted almonds, or whole grain crackers with swiss cheese. This cuts back on prep time, as well as not filling up too much on heavy finger foods before the meal even starts.
 
2. Start with Soup
Starting off your holiday meal with a veggie-filled soup like butternut squash, carrot, or minestrone can help fill you up more, and leave less room for the calorie-heavy dishes with the main meal. It’s also an easy way to add more veggies to your plate. Smart & Final offers First Street Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth, which can be used as a soup base making it fast and easy to feed homemade soup a crowd.
 
3. Serve with a Salad
Set out a green salad filled with colorful veggies like pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and grated carrots with your holiday spread. This makes is easy to fill half your dinner plate with filling veggies, and leave less room for the decadent stuff. This delicious and healthy recipe for Orange Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate and Tangy Turmeric Dressing looks beautiful on holiday tables.
 
4. Add More Veggies
Add extra veggies to classic dishes, such as using half cauliflower and half potatoes in mashed potatoes, adding extra carrots and celery to stuffing, or mashing in cooked carrots to sweet potato casserole. Smart & Final offers whole, riced, pearled and even mashed cauliflower options to make adapting recipes easy.
 
5. Half the Sugar
There’s nothing wrong with indulging in some holiday favorites that come only once a year, but that doesn’t mean they have to be sugar bombs either. Make your own sweet potato casserole with half the amount of brown sugar or maple syrup, and the same for homemade cranberry sauce. These dishes are just as sweet, without the need for loads of added sugars. 
 
6. Use Whole Grains
Easily up the fiber by using whole grains in your side dishes. This could be a brown rice stuffing, quinoa salad, or whole grain dinner rolls. They are just as easy to prepare, and loaded with nutrients. Sun Harvest Super Grain Blend, available at Smart & Final, is an easy way to give your recipes a boost of nutrition.
 
7. Skip the Butter
Instead of loading your veggies with butter, swap it out for a drizzle of olive oil instead. They are roughly the same amount of calories, but olive oil is much lower in saturated fat, with a higher amount of heart-healthy unsaturated fats. If you’re still a butter fan, save it for spreading on your rolls, or as a finishing touch to your plate. Smart & Final’s Sun Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a high quality and value-priced option.
 
8. Go Skinless
What’s Thanksgiving without the turkey! Opt for leaner skinless, white meat turkey for a lower calorie and saturated fat option, or at least go for half white meat half dark meat if you’re a fan of its flavor. For small gatherings, consider cooking just a turkey breast instead of an entire turkey. It can save you money, and they are easier to prepare.
 
9. Half the Crust
Go for a pie that only has a bottom crust like a pumpkin pie to easily slash calories and saturated fat. You can do the same by leaving out the bottom crust for pies that usually use both a top and bottom crust like fruit pies.
10 Ways to Lighten Up Your Favorite Holiday Recipes

​10. Include Fruit
Sometimes you still want something sweet, but not something as heavy as pie, cake, or cookies. Set out a colorful fruit salad, cut melon, or bunches of grapes with dessert to give a healthier option that still satisfies a sweet tooth.
 
Extra Tip: Shop Online
It’s easy to be tempted by all of the unhealthy goodies at the grocery store this time of year. Shopping online saves precious time and prevents you from making impulse buys your waistline might regret. At SmartandFinal.com you can even get your groceries delivered in less than two hours. 
​
3 Comments
Anabella Garcia
11/20/2019 07:24:58 am

I always gain so much weight during the holidays, so I do need to learn how to make our festivities healthier

Reply
Ramona
11/20/2019 10:57:09 am

This is so useful, it is so important to stay healthy during the holidays

Reply
RICHARD GONZALEZ link
11/21/2019 10:29:28 am

Increíble artículo! Realmente lo disfruté y me recordó porque me apasiona el marketing de afiliados... En realidad, hace tiempo me sentía perdido, pero este tipo de artículos y específicamente un webinar gratis, me ayudaron a descubrir cómo ganar dinero por Internet y vivir el estilo de vida que deseaba. Para los que también se sientan perdidos, pueden ver el entrenamiento gratuito aquí, espero que ayude a alguien >>

https://hotm.art/P3k9Mcw

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Follow Us

    Follow us Instagram
    @monicazyoung
    Picture
    Picture
    Tripadvisor Influencer

    Categories

    All
    50 Things To Do Before Turning 50
    5k Or Races
    All
    Beauty
    Bento
    Cars
    Challenges
    Christmas
    Colombia
    Crafts
    Culture
    Disney
    Dog
    Dvd
    Education
    En Espanol
    Fall
    Food
    Gift Guides
    Giveaways
    Halloween
    Health
    Hipanicize
    Hollywood Bowl
    Ketogenic Diet
    Kids
    Knott's
    Legoland
    Lego Party
    Lent
    Los Angeles Zoo
    Mamavation
    Movies
    Music
    Muylatinas
    Muy Latinas Network
    Non Profit
    Non-profit
    Organic
    Organization
    Party Ideas
    Places
    Recetas
    Recipes
    Reviews
    Salud
    San Diego Zoo
    SeaWorld
    Six Flags
    Spanish
    Spring
    Summer Activities
    Theme Parks
    The Queen Mary
    Travel
    Tv
    Universal Studios
    Valentine's Day
    Ventura County
    Video Games
    Weight
    Where To Go
    Wordless Wednesday
    Wordless Wednesday

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    December 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011

    RSS Feed

    Visit monica's profile on Pinterest.
    The Network Niche
Copyright My life is a journey
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss/Healthy Living
  • Contact me
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • About me
    • Colombia
  • Network and other affiliations