Healthy holiday food swaps

It’s normal to eat more food during the holiday season. But if you want to stay healthy and prevent weight gain, these healthy holiday food swap ideas will help.  



Swap meat for vegetarian stuffing

Swap white flour for wholewheat flour

Swap candied sweet potatoes for roasted 

Swap ghee or butter for unsaturated oils

Swap white rice for brown rice

Swap high-fat lamb for leaner chicken

Swap traditional desserts for low-sugar options

Key takeaways



Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Easter Sunday, Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah or Christmas, we all celebrate something during the year. Food plays a big part of the celebrations and it's tempting to overeat. 

Enjoying everything in moderation is one way to ensure you’re eating a healthy, balanced diet (and still treating yourself every now and then). Even so, there are some simple changes you can make to keep your healthy eating habits on track.

Try some of these holiday food swaps ...

## Swap meat for vegetarian stuffing

Christmas stuffing made with sausage meat and a packet mix is usually high in salt. You can reduce your salt intake by trying a vegetarian version made from tasty chestnuts, onion, fresh herbs and rice instead.


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## Swap white flour for wholewheat flour

No Hanukkah celebration is complete without sweet and eggy Challah bread. Using wholewheat flour instead of white flour in your recipe will still allow you to enjoy its light, soft texture, whilst also boosting your intake of healthy fibre.

![Challah bread](//images.ctfassets.net/iqo3fk8od6t9/2WB2yq2Y6Ilo4zUt7cad5t/8547cf9e783a335b0ff6d4f596c170bc/Challah_bread.jpg)


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## Swap candied sweet potatoes for roasted 

Sweet potatoes are high in nutrients, but the Thanksgiving tradition of baking them with butter, sugar and marshmallows adds a lot of processed sugar to the dish. Try keeping the sweet potatoes simple by baking or roasting them in just a little olive oil. You can always add herbs like rosemary or some cracked black pepper for extra zing.

Or, for a change, try butternut squash as an alternative. It’s high in vitamin A and low in calories.


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## Swap ghee or butter for unsaturated oils

Lots of delicious Diwali foods like samosas and laddoos are cooked with saturated fats like ghee and butter. 

Using small amounts of unsaturated fats – like rapeseed oil, olive oil, sunflower oil or corn oil – will still create a tasty treat, and may help lower your cholesterol and reduce inflammation in the body at the same time.


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## Swap white rice for brown rice

Biryani is one of the tastiest courses when it comes to Eid celebrations. Want to make this dish a little healthier? Opt for whole grain brown rice instead of white. 

It has a nuttier flavour and provides fibre, as well as several vitamins and minerals, which may help keep you fuller for longer.

## Swap high-fat lamb for leaner chicken

Lots of people choose slow-cooked lamb as the centrepiece for their Easter Sunday lunch. 

To make things lighter, try roasting a chicken with fresh lemon slices and lots of garlic instead, which may help you eat 15g less of saturated fat. Cutting off any visible fat from your cooked meat can also help make it healthier.

![Chicken and lemon](//images.ctfassets.net/iqo3fk8od6t9/50DbaZ9KWElKVG2tj6nqhd/df93e4974d2538992c45f88ca24b7e0c/Chicken_and_lemon.jpg)

## Swap traditional desserts for low-sugar options

Pecan pie, gulab jamun, baklava, Christmas pudding, kaju katli and apple crumble are all traditional desserts when it comes to the holiday season, but they’re also high in processed sugar.

To cut back, go for something like baked fruit with warm spices and yoghurt, dried fruits and nuts, seasonal sliced fruit platters – for example sliced oranges dusted with cinnamon – or replace processed sugars in your recipes with natural honey. 

It is always worth asking friends and family for their healthier versions of holiday favourites, too.

## Key takeaways

- packet mixes for things like stuffing can be high in salt, so try making your own
- wholewheat ingredients like brown rice and wholewheat flour are higher in fibre than white versions of the same food, which can keep you fuller for longer
- try using unsaturated fats like olive oil and rapeseed oil in your cooking, which can reduce inflammation and lower cholesterol in the body, instead of saturated options like butter or ghee
- if you're choosing meat, leaner options include chicken or turkey, rather than high-fat options like beef or lamb
- using natural sweeteners like honey instead of processed sugar in your sweet treats

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References

Amelia Glean

Lynette Eyb

Dr Ann Nainan

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It’s normal to eat more food during the holiday season. But if you want to stay healthy and prevent weight gain, these healthy holiday food swap ideas will help.  


Healthy food swaps

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