Christmas dinner means turkey, salads, jelly doughnuts, eggnog, alcohols and creamy pastas! It's a tradition that we prepare abundant Christmas meals from breakfast to dinner. And it's not only one day. Christmas holidays mean you are splurging on calories for number of days.
Is it really bad to gain weight on holiday? For sure a lot Americans would add extra pounds before New Year. A couple of studies have shown that adding up weight on holidays is not healthy because researchers have proven that pounds gained during the season adds up to weight all throughout the year.
"Americans probably gain only a pound during the winter holiday season -- but this extra weight accumulates through the years and may be a major contributor to obesity later in life," says one study done at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Christmas dinner is just one of the meals that tend to add huge percentage to your weight. So how can you avoid it? Turkey would always be present on Christmas dinner, so here are some modifications that you can do to help you lessen calories during the holidays.
Turkey is a good source of protein that can help you fill up and gives you nutrients including zinc that protects your immune system. But eating the whole thing would also end you adding up on calories. Remove the skin that is a high source of calories.
Turkey skin amounts to 40calories per portion so avoiding it can make your Christmas dinner healthier. Remember also that light meat has fewer amounts of calories. Go for breast instead of thigh and leg parts of Turkey.
You can save a good proportion of calories for Christmas dinner if you will choose eating roasted and skinless turkey breast (90 grams) that only has 140 calories and 1.8 grams fat. If you choose turkey leg or thigh (90 grams), it has bigger portion of calories amounting to 160 and fat of 5.9 grams.
For turkey stuffing, go for chestnuts than sausage meat. Chestnuts are good source of potassium and low in fat. 100 grams of cranberry sauce with orange and chestnuts contains 162 calories and only 0.8 gram fat. Sausage stuffing has 16 grams fat and 252 calories.
Another Christmas dinner tip don't stifle your turkey with butter, margarine, lard or oil. Use pastry brush to add olive oil. One tablespoon of oil has 135 calories and 15 grams fat.
Christmas dinner with turkey won't be complete without gravy. One practical way to get rid of fat is make low fat gravy. Scoop the fat that is settled on top of the turkey juices before making gravies. Gravy is rich in salt that can cause hypertension.
On vegetables, pile on red, greens and yellow vegetables such as cabbage, Brussels, sprouts, cauliflower and carrots that are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and has no fat. Steam rather than stir frying or buttering vegetables.
Christmas puddings have fiber, calcium, potassium, B vitamins, and iron. It is also high in carbohydrates and low in fat. But don't forget that it also has sugar so make careful portioning when you're eating Christmas pudding.
Christmas dinner need not to be extravagant in calories. All you need to do is eat sensibly. Follow these healthy Christmas dinner tips and for sure, you won't add pounds like you did in previous years.