Healthy Swaps For Favorite Christmas Treats

Well it’s that time of year again. Christmas is almost upon us – less than a week to go now. It’s also the time of year where we tend to gain extra weight (8 pounds on average). With all the holiday treats around, it’s easy to indulge. Here are a few swaps you can make that won’t break your calorie bank – or cause you to pack on the pounds.

Regular potatoes – swap for sweet potatoes. Not necessarily Grandma’s sweet potato casserole (which is loaded with sugar) but cooked sweet potatoes with a little butter are a good alternative. They won’t spike your insulin as much, they’re less caloric, and they contain more fiber.

Cranberry sauce – swap for sugar-free Jello with fruit. We always have a Jello dish during the holidays, which I eat instead of the cranberry sauce (chock full of sugar and extra calories). My favorite is the raspberry flavor with real raspberries inside. You can put the fruit in before you put it in the fridge to set.

Eggnog – swap for hot chocolate made with Splenda. All the alcohol, sugar and fat in eggnog won’t be kind to your waistline. If you make the hot chocolate with skim milk, it’ll be around 90 calories per cup.

Got any more swap ideas? Post them in the comments!

Claire