For many, Christmas Dinner is their favourite meal of the year! Christmas is the main time of year where temptation is at its highest to cheat on your diet, so we have put together our top tips for a healthier Christmas Dinner, for you and all of the family to enjoy.
Meat
There are many variations of which meat to use at Christmas, some households cook several! Turkey contains more protein and much less fat than other poultry such as goose or duck, however we recommend trying to avoid eating the skin because this is usually high in fat. If you are making ‘pigs in blankets’ try using lower fat sausages and trim off all visible fat on the bacon.
Stuffing
Stuffing has become the traditional Christmas dish for many vegetarians. Avoid adding sausage meat into stuffing as this increases the Calorie content dramatically. For a festive twist, try adding fresh or dried cranberries or chestnuts for extra texture and flavour.
Roast Potatoes
Roast potatoes are seen as a vital part of the traditional Christmas lunch. Potatoes are a starchy food, which are high in carbohydrates, and are therefore not allowable on the Celebrity Slim programme. However, as this is a big meal of the year we know it will be hard to resist temptation! Rather than depriving the whole family of potatoes because you are trying to avoid them, make them available for others but serve other allowable veggies that you can eat instead.
Veggies
Remember to fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables such as carrots and turnip, cabbage and sprouts. Steaming vegetables retains the vitamins and minerals, which they contain rather than boiling them. A great idea to add to your Christmas lunch is the broccoli and cauliflower bake, mentioned earlier in the newsletter.
Gravy
Many people use dripping off their meat to produce their Christmas gravy, which is extremely high in saturated fat. If you do boil your vegetables, you can use the cooking water to make healthier gravy. Avoid smothering your food in gravy – a small amount is allowable.