Christmas foods to avoid if you’re dieting this year!
Christmas food is all about indulgence, but as with every menu, some things are going to be worse for you than others.
If you're watching your waistline this Christmas season, here are a few festive foods to avoid. Of course, it's hard to say no to our favourites at this time of year, but try to stick to smaller portions of these foods where possible.
On the dinner table
Dark turkey meat with skin
Turkey is generally a low-fat and high-protein meat, but stick to skinless white meat as it contains three times less fat than dark meat with the skin. They both contain equal amounts of protein too so you won't be missing out there!
Cranberry sauce
This essential turkey accompaniment can be relatively healthy if homemade, but canned and pre-made versions can be extremely high in sugar. Make your own by bringing 100ml of orange juice and 100g of light muscovado sugar to a gentle boil in a saucepan and adding 250g cranberries. Stir and allow to simmer until the cranberries are tender and the sauce has thickened (between 5 and 10 minutes depending on whether the berries are frozen or fresh).
Stuffing
Who can resist a generous helping of stuffing with their turkey and ham? Well, if you're dieting, try to have a not-so-indulgent helping this year. Depending on the recipe, stuffing can be packed with sausage meat and butter – not exactly a dieter's dream.
Creamy mashed potato
Mashing your potatoes isn't going to make them instantly higher in fat, but if you're adding mounds of butter or cream then they're definitely something to eat in moderation. A splash of milk, a tiny bit of butter and some salt and pepper is more than enough for delicious mash.
For dessert
Fruit cake
Given the high fruit content this may seem like a better option than other desserts, but fruit cake is extremely dense and is packed with butter and sugar.
Cheesecake
Any cake made with cream cheese is going to have alarm bells, but stick to fruitier, lighter versions rather than chocolate ones for less of a calorific impact.
Yule log
A slice of this can pack in almost half your day's allowance of calories – we're talking heavy cream, chocolate, butter and sugar all in one go. One to avoid, perhaps!
