10 Tips for a Healthier Holiday Meal

The holiday season is the time of year to open your heart and home to friends, family and most importantly -- lots of good food! And since there is so much focus on eating during the holiday period, a person's waist line could grow faster than you can say "pass the cheesecake."

1. Grains are Good
Go for whole grains. Choose whole wheat breading, rolls, and bread for sandwiches; choose wild rice instead of using the old standby, white rice. Any type of white bread is high in refined sugar (which means more calories); if you still crave it, choose a "lite" or diet version. Choosing wheat instead of white may even help you feel fuller longer, because white bread actually digests faster than whole grain breads, which leads you to feeling hungry earlier.

2. Getting Steamy
Serve steamed vegetables instead of heavy casseroles. Use herbs and spices as seasonings instead of loading them with butter, oil or cheese. Reduce the amount of oil you use if you sauté them. Serve raw veggies and low-fat dip as appetizers instead of meat and cheese crackers or finger sandwiches.

3. Fruit is Fab Fare
Instead of a cornucopia of pies and cakes lining your dessert table, offer fruit-based finishers like fondue, fruit cocktail, yogurt parfaits, and fresh fruit. Not only will this reduce the fat and calorie content of your meal's finale, guests will also find fruit more refreshing than sweets. After all, usually by dessert, you're eating out of sheer habit anyway, not from hunger, so why "waist" the calories?

4. Trim Up that Turkey
If you're the one preparing the turkey, why not cook the stuffing separate from the turkey? You will reduce its fat content by preventing the fat from the turkey soaking into the dressing. Use less butter or margarine when you're preparing the stuffing. Don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy with a gravy separator or by refrigerating it. After you've tucked that napkin into your shirt collar, be sure to trim the skin off your turkey and you'll spare yourself some fat. Let your uncles fight over that drumstick; choose light meat rather than dark meat and you'll save quite a few calories.

5. Powder Your ... Dessert?
Got milk? Trade it in for the powdered variety and save yourself lots of fats and calories in your baking. A site visitor once wrote in to suggest that using evaporated skim milk in her favorite recipes instead of cream or milk has been one of the changes that has led her to an 80 pound weight loss! Add equal parts water to replace milk or use it straight from the can as a substitute in recipes calling for heavy cream.

6. Ease Up on Imbibing
Take it easy on the adult beverages. You don't have to swear off alcohol entirely, but moderation is definitely key. Not only are alcoholic drinks calorie-heavy, they also increase your appetite. Plus, as anyone whose had a few too many can attest to, they lower your self-control. Even if you were completely focused on not overeating when you arrived, after you've downed a few cocktails, there may be no stopping you! So, if you're going to imbibe, make it a one-off. To save calories, choose a wine spritzer or a light beer.

7. Super Smart Sundaes
When making sundaes as desserts or treats for the kids, choose sugar free ice cream or reduced- or non-fat frozen yogurt. Non-fat, reduced-calorie whipped topping is almost identical in flavor and texture to its higher-calorie counterpart. Try topping sundaes with all fruit spread rather than chocolate or caramel syrup. If portions tend to get out of control, serve less ice cream in smaller dishes.

8. Be a "Veggie" Temp
Go "veggie" for a little while. If you're still hungry after the main course, go for seconds, but choose side dishes, rather than meat- or bread-based dishes. Select those dishes comprised of mainly vegetables. Try to choose healthier options like steamed or boiled veggies instead of casseroles or those topped off with butter or cheese. By stocking up on healthier dishes when you go for your second round instead of the entrée, you'll take in fewer extra calories and fat and you'll be adding more fiber. Another alternative is to get up and get your mind off eating. By doing so, you may find you're not still hungry after all, and forgo seconds entirely.

9. Make Smart Substitutions
Put to use some fat-fighting baking substitutions: use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in desserts; crushed graham crackers are a healthier alternative to pie crusts; replace 1 egg with 2 egg whites or ¼ cup of egg substitute; replace half of the oil in dessert recipes with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce; use reduced- or non-fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream on pies.

10. Focus on Your Family
Holidays are really about getting together with family and enjoying your time with them, right? Don't rush your meal. Savor the flavor and texture of each dish and take small bites. Don't worry about measuring portion sizes down to the ounce today. Allow yourself to relax and enjoy the day. Plus, it takes 20 minutes for your brain to realize that you're full, so taking it slow will help prevent you from overeating. Eat slowly and enjoy the company.