Swap High-Calorie Foods for Healthy Food Alternatives
Appreciating the foods to avoid while losing weight is the most effective way to reach your ultimate goal. Let’s also remember that these very same healthy food habits can then be embraced throughout the year. We will therefore begin by highlighting a handful of the most fattening foods before moving on to discuss some tasty low calorie meal ideas.
The holiday season is a time for family, friends, and tons of good food! Oftentimes, people will take a break from their weight loss routine to enjoy the wonderful tastes and smells of the holidays, especially as they prepare to start their New Year’s resolutions. However, while the holiday cheer may be sending your taste buds to a world of their own, your stomach won’t be thanking you anytime soon.
Some of the most fattening foods and ingredients
Most of us tend to indulge throughout the holiday season. This is why it is best to appreciate how certain meals are known for their excessive number of calories. Let’s highlight a few popular dishes below. It will then be much easier to understand the main differences between healthy food and unhealthy food.
Let’s dive right in to the 7 foods you’ll want to avoid this holiday season in order to stick to your weight loss solution:
Eggnog
Everybody loves their creamy cup of eggnog during the holiday season, but nobody seems to worry about the whole milk and cream that gets added to this season special. While it may taste like heaven, there is tons of fat in your store bought eggnog. Try making homemade eggnog this year with low fat milk, rice milk, or soy milk; your stomach will thank you later!
Latkes
Best known for their association with Chanukah, these potato pancakes make a fantastic addition to any holiday meal! But, before you get your frying pan ready, these yummy treats can contain tons of calories and fat. Instead of making your latkes deep-fried this year, try only using a touch of oil and bake them instead – you’ll be amazed with the result!
Mashed Potatoes
Everybody loves mashed potatoes, not just during the holiday season. However, by adding butter, whole mile, or cream to create this delicious creamy masterpiece, the calorie and fat content rises drastically. Also, by removing the skin of the potato, you are getting rid of all the nutritional value! This year, try leaving the skin on your potatoes to add nutrients like Vitamin C, Iron, and Potassium, and transition to low-fat butter or skim milk to keep your fat content as low as possible!
Gravy
While we all want to pour this delicious holiday treat all over our plate, everybody knows that gravy has poor nutritional value. Gravy is made straight from the fat found in meat, whole milk, and butter, making its nutritional content almost scary. This holiday season, try looking out for low fat gravy in the store, or attempt to make your own healthy option using chicken or beef broth!
Pie
Even with the healthiest filling you can find, it’s hard to avoid the unhealthy part of a pie… the crust. Because it is made largely of processed white flour, your pie crust will contain most of the calories and fat found in this delicious dessert, and none of the nutritional value!
Let’s look at an example of this. While there is no doubt that pecan pie is extremely tasty, this sumptuous dessert is certainly not the healthiest option. Did you know that an average slice is packed with no fewer than 580 calories? In terms of fattening foods, pecan pie should definitely be included within your list.
This holiday season, try substituting this fat filled dessert with something a bit healthier, like a chocolate soufflé or mousse!
A Leg of Turkey
Ironically enough, turkey breast is an extremely healthy food. It is therefore unfortunate that the same cannot be said for dark meat. When we then consider that a leg of turkey is normally smothered in gravy, it becomes clear to see why a single serving can contain up to 350 calories.
Christmas Cider
A common Christmas beverage should likewise be mentioned before moving on. A pint of typical Christmas cider contains between 230 and 280 calories. It may therefore be better to opt for water or a low-calorie alcohol-free alternative.
Healthy holiday meal ideas
Now that we have highlighted some foods to avoid when trying to lose weight, what tasty alternatives can you enjoy? You might very well be surprised to learn about the low calorie meal ideas outlined below.
Healthy Christmas Lunch Food
There is no reason why a typical Christmas lunch needs to contain hundreds of calories and high levels of saturated fat. So, why not instead choose a plate of stuffing balls which contain nuts and dried apricots? Not only will the flavor bring you back for seconds, but the caloric content of this lunch is much lower than traditional plates.
Healthy Christmas Dinner Ideas
What about Christmas dinner? As most dinners contain more than one course, it can be easy to overindulge if given the chance. This is why planning in advance is crucial. One interesting option is to replace a holiday roast with a roast turkey crown. Roasting the breast of a turkey will remove much of the saturated fat that the meat contains without losing any of its flavor.
A side dish of baked potatoes topped with fresh paprika provides plenty of starch; helping you to avoid any feelings of lethargy that might otherwise occur after digesting a larger dinner.
Healthy Holiday Desserts
Once again, it is best to avoid foods laden with sugar when choosing a Christmas dessert (these tend to be high in calories). Instead, prepare a plate choice of mixed fruits (such as melon balls, slices of cinnamon-topped apples or a bowl of blueberries). If you are in the mood for vegetables, sliced celery topped with no-fat cottage cheese will not disappoint. Some people opt to make low-fat Christmas cookies, but these options are also very tasty.
The same holds true in terms of beverages. Avoid sugary drinks and stick to low-calorie options such as naturally flavoured seltzer water, sugar-free juice or even a glass of ginger tea (ginger is an excellent digestive aid).
Happy Holidays and get healthy eating habits with Spatz!
We can now see that it is easy to maintain a sensible diet over the holiday season by following the few suggestions outlined above. Not only will you look and feel much better, but these healthy food habits can then transform themselves into a daily routine. Of course, appreciating what foods to avoid while losing weight is also the best way to make the most out of your new Spatz3 adjustable gastric balloon. This represents a win-win scenario from every perspective.
From us at Spatz, we wish you a wonderful holiday season filled with love from your friends and family. Over the course of this untraditional year, we have continued our pledge to help each and every one of our customers reach their weight loss goals, helping them become stronger and more confident along the way.
By truly committing to a healthier lifestyle, which can start by using your willpower to avoid these fatty foods during the holidays, we believe you can be on your way to living your best life. Need a little push? We’re here to help. Happy Holidays!
