Christmas dinner seems just around the corner and getting closer every second to the point where you can already smell the grub. Every time I think of Christmas dinner, I think of Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, fantasizing about the meal and summing it up quite nicely: “Oh my god; turkey. With pillowy mounds of mashed potatoes, butter drenched dressing, tiny onions, swimming in a sea of cream sauce.” At the same time, that quote also reminds me of just how unhealthy Christmas dinner is regardless of how good it tastes. The important thing to decide every Christmas is whether to indulge or withhold your cravings. Remember, no matter how much weight is gained during the holidays, it can be lost again with steady exercise and eating right.

Low-Fat Focus

The choice everyone has to make when planning their Christmas meal is whether to indulge fully and gain all five pounds or to indulge smartly and gain much less than that. The key is to focus on ways to sidestep the cholesterol-heavy ingredients in your meal and to basically focus on low-fat products. With so many different ways to cut down on fat, you can eat happily. Skimping on fat doesn’t always mean skimping on flavour, and by cutting some corners on traditional Christmas recipes, you can have your pie and actually eat it too. Of course, there will be sacrifices, namely cutting down on things such as red meat, salt intake, fat and excess sugar.

Turkey

Traditional roast turkey recipes usually call for bacon, legions of butter and a salt brine before the roasting process begins. By avoiding those steps and substituting those ingredients for lots of fresh herbs and heart-healthy oils such as olive oil instead of butter, the turkey you eat will be leaner, just as tasty and much less likely to help clog arteries. And don’t even talk to me about deep-fried turkey.

Stuffing

Keeping the stuffing separate from the turkey’s hollowed out rear orifice will ensure that fatty juices from the turkey will stay out of the stuffing. Be sure to use less salt, leaner sausage or ham, and skip the butter entirely. You can choose whole-grain bread instead of regular bread.

Ham/Pork

This should be a no-brainer; cut the fat from the pork. If you have a butcher who can help you cut away the fat, or can find leaner cuts of ham or pork at the supermarket, then so much the better. Pork may be less tender without the extra fat to add flavour to the meat, but that can be fixed with seasonings and simple herbs. If cranberries are included in the recipe, try using fresh cranberries instead of canned.

Potatoes

Those fluffy mounds of mashed potatoes are one of my personal Christmas favourites. Fortunately there are endless ways to cut out the excess butter and cream that mashed potato recipes are known for. Instead of using any butter at all, use fat-free milk and cream as a substitute. Fewer garlic cloves couldn’t hurt either; roasting them beforehand and mashing them up with the potatoes gives them a subtle, satisfying flavour that will endure even with fewer cloves.

Biscuits/Rolls

Soft, flaky biscuits and rolls are a must at the table and using less butter, shortening and eggs (use egg whites only) will not change the taste much, but will help to increase the nutritional value of your rolls. Using whole grain flour will add to the taste dimensions of the rolls and biscuits as well.

Eggnog

Eggnog really wouldn’t be eggnog without all the eggs, right? Wrong. With half as many eggs as most recipes call for, and using egg whites instead, eggnog can still taste quite good. Using fat-free milk and cream also helps, and if you think your eggnog needs extra punch you could always add more spices. A little bit more cinnamon or nutmeg can go a long way.

Vegetables

Pile on the veggies and make sure there are heaps of them. Vegetables should make up a large portion of your Christmas dinner diet anyhow, but be sure to steam them in order to preserve their nutrients. And skip the butter. I never did understand why vegetables needed to be drenched in butter to enhance the taste, when they already have a naturally delicious flavour.

Dessert

It should be another no-brainer to include less sugar, shortening and butter in all those decadent desserts. Try not using or at least cutting back on milk chocolate in your recipes; the extra creaminess in milk chocolate usually means more fat. Instead, include more fruit in desserts and try to avoid desserts that are overly rich and savoury. Low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbets can be just as tasty, if not more so.

________________________________
heart-healthy christmas

Constantly suggesting cutting back on butter may sound repetitive, but it really isn’t hard to use less of it. Trying to avoid adding more fat to your Christmas meal is a positive step in making your meal more nutritious. It can set your heart at ease and encourage you to eat that Christmas dinner with gusto!