At the end of our Thanksgiving holiday weekend, many of us may be reflecting on the joy of spending quality time with family and friends. You also may be thinking about how to best continue enjoying family, friends, food and fun during the remainder of the holiday season without ratcheting up your body weight and fat stores.
Whether you are a host or a partygoer, there are ways to enjoy those delicious holiday treats without adding on lots of holiday pounds.
AS THE HOST OR HOSTESS:
It’s mainly about the portions. When a table is full of mouth-watering goodies and a person is handed a large plate, it becomes more difficult to eat in moderation. If you provide your guests with the option to use smaller plates, it’s easier to control portion sizes. In some cases it can make sense to offer both small and larger plates to give guests the option to go light or to eat up to replenish the calories used during a morning of surfing, for example. The smaller-plate option also is likely to result in less food waste.
Provide those calorie-dense goodies in small, bite-size portions so they can be enjoyed in moderation if desired.
For example, a typical holiday cookie can contain two or three times the calories in a smaller bite-size cookie. Serving the highest-calorie treats like fudge or brownies in smaller serving dishes also can provide a hint that these are rich foods to savor and consume moderately.
Offering a large fruit salad or platter is another way to help satisfy the sweet tooth of guests without highly concentrated calories. When bite-size pieces of fruit are served with toothpicks, it also provides a frame of reference for amounts. Nuts are rich in calories. Lighten their calorie load by mixing them with things like popcorn and dried cranberries for a holiday trail mix.
The calories in beverages also can add up quickly, especially when served in those large “stadium-size” cups. Why not provide small to medium-size cups instead? Also, it might help to offer drinks like sodas and juices in large bottles, pitchers or punch bowls so people have the option to pour the amount they want into a cup rather than take a whole can or bottle.
To provide a lower-calorie beverage option, consider providing water with ice and sliced fruit in a transparent decanter. The fruits provide a festive, classy appearance and give the water a light fruit essence flavor. Other calorie-pinching options include making a punch with diet soda or sparkling water.
When serving alcoholic drinks (an often forgotten calorie source), provide wine coolers by adding sparkling water. For beer drinkers, offer diet sodas to have guests make their own shandy (a mix of beer with soda or juice). This reduces the alcohol content and might cut calories, depending on the mix.
AS THE PARTYGOER:
Plan ahead. Don’t go to a party hungry. Have a high-protein snack or light meal before the party. High-protein foods have the greatest satiety value and blunt the appetite and “sweet tooth” better than anything else. This could be something as simple as a piece of chicken, some cottage cheese or a protein drink.
Stay well hydrated throughout the day to avoid having thirst drive excessive drinking of high-calorie holiday drinks. Consider making your first drink water so that alcohol doesn’t blur your food choices.
This planning can help you to “let go” in a good way to fully enjoy family and friends along with great food and drink.
Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.
