I'm dreaming of a healthy Christmas

It’s tough to stay healthy during the holiday season. It starts at Halloween, when massive doses of refined sugar are put out on festive bowls and left there until the last victim succumbs to the last piece.

Then, at Thanksgiving, high-fat foods make their appearance in a big way in the form of stuffing made with butter and animal fat, sweet potatoes drowned in butter, and pumpkin pie heaped with whipped cream.

Don’t despair, though—there are ways to get through Christmas while remaining reasonably healthy.

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The main culprits you’ll need to watch out for are:

• Saturated fat
• Refined sugar
• Too many calories in general

It starts with information and education. What’s in those cookies that Aunt Jean brought? Ask her, and if it includes shortening, butter, or loads of sugar, you might want to take a polite bite and then leave off.

Sadly, one of the most traditional Christmas drinks —eggnog—is one of the worst offenders. A single serving contains approximately 600 calories.   Here are some tips for reducing the calorie content and the fat content:

1. Use mostly egg whites or egg substitute instead of whole eggs
2. Use fat-free half and half or evaporated fat-free milk instead of their whole milk counterparts.
3. Substitute rum extract for the alcohol if you want the taste without the effect.

If you’re baking cakes, bars or muffins, here are tips for those:

1. Use heart-healthy canola oil instead of butter, or use applesauce or mashed bananas if you want to cut the fat completely. Other fruit purees will work too. If you must use shortening, then use the new trans fat-free version that’s available.
2. Substitute egg whites for whole eggs in cakes and quick breads.
3. Use cocoa powder instead of chocolate in your baked goods to add a rich chocolate flavor without the fat, or use smaller quantities of miniature chocolate chips instead of the regular versions. Dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips add more flavor than milk chocolate ones.

If cookies are more your thing, know that the key is to cut the fat rather than eliminate it altogether. If you take the butter out completely, people won’t like the texture or the taste. (Pritikin cookies never sold well.)

Many recipes that typically call for a whole stick of butter or more can be made over with about half that quantity. Avoid using whipped butter or tub margarine: the air and water content in these makes them unsuitable for baking.

Again, consider using cocoa for a rich chocolate flavor and add smaller quantities of chocolate chips.

Nuts make good snacks, but roasting destroys many of the good Omega 3 oils. And various coatings (like honey, maple syrup, et cetera) can add fats and calories to an otherwise healthy snack.

You don’t want to appear rude, though, so if you’re offered someone’s homemade goodies, take a polite bite. Just don’t go wild.

More tips on how you can eat healthier can be found by visiting Protein Shake Recipes.

Gerry Morton, CEO of EnergyFirst, holds an MS in Nutrition and is an experienced athlete who has competed in 30+ marathons and 4 Ironman triathlons. Gerry is an excellent source of information on nutrition, supplementation and exercise. Since 1997, he has been educating and motivating others on how to attain peak performance.