The Worst & Best Holiday Foods

The holidays always feel like a good time to splurge on food and drink since we are in good company and have much to be thankful for. We celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year with delightful foods and beverages back-to-back, and during the fall season of celebration we tend to pack on the pounds.

Ho, ho, hold up…..

It’s time to get control of yourself over the holidays. Start by understanding what the worst and best holiday foods are, and then practice some portion control!

The Naughty List: Worst Foods

Sweet Potato Casserole

• I’m going to be the first to say that my mom makes THE BEST sweet potato casserole. It’s the southern staple of holiday foods. However, it’s loaded with brown sugar, white sugar, and drenched in butter! Mom only makes it twice per year, and one taste makes me only want to eat the whole dish myself even though I know I’m destroying my figure. There are no Marshmallows on top, but I don’t think that would make a much larger impact. This year, I think I will consider my one serving my dessert because it packs a whopping 300 calories per cup, 10 grams of fat, 49 g of carbs, and 31 grams of sugar. Holy holiday overload!!

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Cranberry Sauce

• The crimson color of cranberry sauce pulls us in. It’s delicious – because of the mad amounts of sugar that it gels in. Stop spreading this over your meals!!! If your granny makes it homemade like mine always did, it could have significantly more calories, sugar, and carbohydrates per serving than the canned variety that packs a 22 gram of sugar punch. Pass on the sauce so that you can enjoy one serving of your favorite dessert.

Stuffing

• It seems that all the foods that really make the holiday meals are the worst ones for our health. Stuffing, for example, is one of the hallmark dishes that is the worst for you. It’s extremely high in calories, fat and carbohydrates. Go easy on your serving size!

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Eggnog

• Bring on the belly fat! If your goal is to look like Santa, then drink up. Otherwise, leave the eggnog at the grocery store. Eggnog is made of milk, sugar, cream, and eggs. BAD combo! One cup, measured with a measuring cup not at the rim of you drinking mugs, yields 223 calories, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fat, and 20 grams of sugar. YIKES! By having a serving, you are drinking in tons of empty calories. Avoid this drink at all cost.

Pecan Pie

• “Aww…it’s healthy. It has pecans in it.” BRRRT…wrong. There is a sprinkling of pecans, but they come nowhere close to being one of the main ingredients despite the name of the pie. Instead, maybe we should call it sugar pie with pecan sprinkles. Pecan pie is tasty, but it will widen the waistline.

The Nice List: Best Holiday Foods

Turkey

• Fill your belly with the traditional festivity meat, turkey. It’s even better if you like the white meat. It’s has the leanest cut and won’t kill your diet. It’s hard to pass up the ham, but think of your waist line first! Three ounces of white-meat turkey, without skin, has less than 1 gram of fat, 26g of protein, and only 85 calories. It could actually help with your muscle gains!

Green Beans     

• My family serves green beans and green bean casserole. Choosing the steamed green beans is always the healthier choice. What makes the choice easier is that my husband makes the green beans, and he makes them into tasty garlic green beans. He does use some butter to sauté the garlic and pours it over the steamed pods, but it’s not overkill. The green beans taste delightful.  One way to ensure you have a healthy option it to volunteer to make and bring a healthy dish. You might be surprised to find others are thankful that you did!

Pumpkin Pie

• If you are going to choose a dessert, I hope that pumpkin pie is among your favorites. Compared to many of its dessert competitors on the table, pumpkin pie is the smartest choice. At least it has some nutritional value unlike some of the other choices. Pumpkin is the base ingredient which is loaded in vitamin A and also contains vitamin C, potassium, and iron. Pick pumpkin! To make it just a bit healthier, cut off the crust. The crust holds the majority of the processed carbohydrates that you want to avoid.

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Red Wine

• When toasting to everyone’s health, pick up a glass of red wine. Red wine is heart-healthy, has antioxidants, and only delivers about 100-125 calories for a 5 ounce serving. If you drink the whole bottle, the calories will add up, so just remember to keep all things in moderation.

Portion Control

I understand that during the holiday season we all want to indulge a little. That is okay. However, you should already have planned portion control on your mind. It may seem weird, but have a talk with yourself about your goals. Don’t do it out loud or people will actually think you are crazy.

Look at all the foods that are available and then be selective about what you put onto your plate. The biggest portions should be from the “nice list” foods.

Then think in terms of food swaps. What foods can you can do without? Sure everyone wants your opinion about the delightful dish they brought this year, but sometimes you have to make choices. For example, I can pass on cranberry sauce and eggnog knowing that I am going to get a a serving of Mom’s sweet potato casserole.

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Don’t deprive yourself. Just be smart about selection.

Conclusion

Most likely, you are going to go to several feasts. Just because you are at the all-day, open buffets of the finest foods doesn’t mean you have to stay stuffed all day. You will get the same foods each year, so control your portions and control your will power. Then you won’t start the new year wearing extra pounds. Your body will thank you.

Also, don’t forget to go hard in the gym and resort back to your clean eating habits as soon as the feasts are over.