Thanksgiving and Christmas are basically the time of the year to indulge ourselves in holiday food. However, if you have been following a healthy lifestyle all year long, you should be careful not to ruin it. We understand that holiday food is the best, especially when shared with family and friends. That’s why, we have made you this list of 5 foods to leave out this holiday season. So, you can still enjoy your favorite foods while watching out for yourself.
Stuffed Potatoes
This typical meal is never missing on a holiday dinner table. In fact, potatoes are the base of many thanksgiving’s delicious meals. However, potatoes are one of the few vegetables that are not always healthy. Especially, when we choose to bombard it with high-calories ingredients. For example, you can enjoy baked potatoes, but leave out the sour cream, the cheese and bacon. This will save you about 310 calories and 8 grams of saturated fat per potato. Furthermore, you can try to replace potato pancakes with zucchini ones, as they are both equally tasty.
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce is wonderful and all, but when bought from the store, it’s loaded with sugar and carbs. Research shows that one cup of cranberry sauce contains over 400 calories. That’s almost the same amount of calories found in an entire pumpkin pie. However, if you can’t live without cranberry sauce these holiday, try to make it yourself at home, and lower the sugar intake.
Eggnog
Eggs are filled with protein and make a great post-workout food. However, stay away from eggnog this year! This special holiday drink contains 300-350 calories and 20 grams of sugar. In addition, it has 50% of the recommended daily cholesterol value. If you are trying to stay fit, and above all healthy, try to replace it with a healthier hot drink like an apple cider.
Trifles
Cutting out on the desert is much harder this time of year. Trifles, although they do include fruit, scream trouble. They are made up of layers containing pudding, cake, heavy cream, condensed milk…etc. If you are trying to watch out for your weight, just leave out trifles from your holiday desert plan.
Processed Food
Last but not least, leaving out boxed food is a must this year. Especially that stores will make them available and probably on sale during the holidays. Boxed mashed potatoes and stuffing are loaded with sugar and unhealthy fats. Instead, opt for whole foods, and try to make as much food at home to pick up on the habit of knowing what to cook, and foods to leave out.
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