Tips for Cutting Calories During the Holidays
Cooking Light Magazine’s recipe for Pecan-Date Pie
There’s appetizers, eggnog, casseroles, pies and cakes. Nothing says decadence like a holiday meal. The South is known for its rich and delectable foods. And sweet and savory family recipes are what make Southern holidays what they are. But for those looking to cut a few calories before setting that New Year’s resolution to eat healthy, we’ve got you covered. Ann Pittman is executive editor of Cooking Light Magazine in Birmingham. She spoke to WBHM’s Esther Ciammachilli for our food series “Sound Bites” on some healthier holiday options.
On healthy appetizers
You don’t want to deprive yourself during the holidays. That’s why when you talk about healthier holiday eating a lot of times people kind of tune you out. But with appetizers [like dips], serve some vegetables with it as your dippers. I’m not going to say don’t serve chips or pita chips or tortilla chips with your guacamole or your spinach artichoke dip. But have lots of fresh veggies there too. The starchier dippers like the chips and bread, those are going to pack on calories really quick.
On serving salads with a holiday meal
Having a beautiful salad on the table is such a great strategy. People will love having something fresh and crunchy and light on the table. I like to make salads very pretty. Incorporate some unique things that will entice people to actually put the salad on their plate. Shave carrots into ribbons or use some watermelon radishes that are very pretty. If you yourself are looking to eat less of the heavy stuff, start by filling half your plate with the salad and then that’s going to force you – in a good way – to take smaller portions of some of those richer heavier foods.
On portion control
That’s probably the hardest thing about healthy eating is portion control. And when you’re having these foods that you probably only have maybe once or twice a year you want to kind of indulge, and maybe overindulge. But it’s so important to watch yourself. You know which foods are heavier. It’s the desserts. It’s the creamy casseroles. So don’t deprive yourself. Don’t tell yourself you can’t have them. That’s not realistic and it’s not fun and it’s not joyful. Just take smaller portions. Fill half your plate with the salad. And at the dessert buffet, take maybe really small portions of two or three things instead of one big slice of cake. You’re going to be more satisfied because you’re trying different things. But you’re just keeping the portions a little smaller.
The federal shutdown puts nutrition aid for millions of new parents at risk
Nearly seven million pregnant women and young children depend on WIC for healthy foods. Advocates say funding could run out in about two weeks, leaving states to close the gap if their budgets allow.
Pope Leo XIV says ‘inhuman treatment of immigrants’ in the U.S. isn’t ‘pro-life’
Pope Leo XIV weighed in on U.S. politics, saying that Catholic politicians must be judged on the full range of their policy positions and suggesting that the country's immigration policy is "inhuman."
A new documentary about a dastardly worm and a heroic effort by Jimmy Carter
"The President and the Dragon,' premiering today, looks at Carter's momentous decision to try and wipe out a devastating and neglected disease. We spoke to writer and co-director Waleed Eltayeb.
Activists say Israel’s navy has begun intercepting a Gaza-bound aid flotilla
The Global Sumud Flotilla, with Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela's grandson and European lawmakers aboard, includes some 50 boats and 500 activists and is carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid.
Colombia: The birthplace of cumbia
One of the most listened-to genres in the Americas, photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.
Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91
Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.
