5 Easy Ways To Eat Healthier This Christmas

With the festive season soon to be in full swing, one thing we can be certain of is food and lots of it. Here are my 5 easy ways to eat healthier this Christmas.

Tip 1: Add variety to your cooking techniques

My favourite cooking techniques include – grilling, barbequing, poaching, steaming, sauteing, broiling and braising. Investing in some quality non-stick pans or alternatively spraying your pans with a non-stick spray will further reduce the amount of fat added to your meals. One of my favourite cooking techniques is using an air-fryer, not only because it is a healthier way of cooking, but it is also virtually mess-free.  It’s a win-win in my eyes.

Tip 2: Reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt added to your cooking

For baked goods, use half the butter, shortening or oil and replace the other half with unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana. Alternatively, you can also use commercially prepared fruit-based fat replacers found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.

You can easily reduce the amount of sugar added by one-third to one-half by adding spices such as cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and clove and flavourings such as vanilla or almond extract.

For most main dishes you can easily reduce the amount of added salt by half or even eliminate it. Use salt sparingly during the cooking process and then make use of herbs such as rosemary, parsley, basil and mint to flavour your cooking.

Tip 3: Make a healthy substitute

Healthy substitutions not only reduce the amount of fat and salt in recipes but can boost the nutritional content.

Here are my easy swaps:

Use whole-wheat pasta instead of enriched pasta. You’ll almost triple the fibre. (4.5g vs 1.8g )

Prepare a dessert with fat-free milk instead of whole milk to save more than 7 grams of fat per cup.

When making casseroles, scale back on meat, poultry or fish and increase the number of vegetables. You’ll gain more vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Tip 4: Be savvy about toppings

When it comes to decorating your meals, being choosy with your toppings can make all the difference.

Here are my tips:

Swap whipped cream for a lite/reduced-fat variety and use half of what you would normally add.

Make use of condiments such as cucumbers, low salt soy sauce,  cherry tomatoes and non-fat or reduced-fat spreads. Use condiments such as butter, mayonnaise, mustard and syrups sparingly. For salads, dress with olive oil and a pinch of salt rather than creamy salad dressings. For desserts try fresh berries or thin slices of apples, peaches or pears rather than commercially made syrups or jellies.

Tip 5: Portions do matter

No matter how much you reduce, switch or omit ingredients, some dishes may still be high in sugar, fat or salt. You can still enjoy them — in small amounts.

My tips are:

If you are heading to a Christmas party, be sure to fill up on a protein rich snack before hand such as a handful of trail mix, carrot sticks and hummus dip or Greek yogurt.

Learn what an actual serving of food looks like. If you aren’t sure you can save a copy of my easy guide here.

If you are eating out, swap out side dishes such as fries for a baked potato. You can always ask for an entree sized serve of your favourite meals too.