This document provides tips and strategies for enjoying healthy eating during the holidays without sacrificing taste or tradition. It suggests making simple substitutions in recipes, such as using fruit purees instead of oils, egg whites instead of whole eggs, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Specific recipe revisions are outlined, like reducing fat in sweet potato casserole and brownies by using lighter ingredients. Healthy snack ideas like fruit kabobs and vegetable plates are presented. Low-calorie cooking methods and motivational thoughts about progress over perfection are also shared.

1. Holiday Lites
Kathy G. Wise, RDN, LD, LWC, CWP

2. Holiday Challenges
• Holidays can be challenging
• Objective:
– Enjoy the holidays without
sacrificing health goals

3. Taste and Health
• Does eating healthy mean
sacrificing taste?

4. Holiday Success
• The goal is to satisfy the taste
buds while reducing your risk for:
– Heart Disease
– Stroke
– Elevated Blood Pressure
– Elevated Blood Glucose Levels
– Obesity and others

5. Taste Good
• Healthy Eating is all about
blending good nutrition with taste

6. Finding the Right
Combination
• Find the right combination
– Involve all the senses for the full
experience
– adjust recipes yet still capture the
flavor

7. Love it or Leave it
• Taste involves many senses:
– Sight
– Smell
– Texture/Mouth Feel
– Flavor

8. Family Favorites
• Most families tend to prepare the
same 12 recipes 80 percent of the
time
• Making healthier versions of your
favorites is the key to eating healthy

9. First Impressions
• Presentation

10. Color is King
• Use a colorful mixture of vibrant
greens, reds and orange
• The richer the color, the higher
the nutrient content

11. Texture adds to Taste
• Select crisp fresh vegetables
– Crunch
– Fiber
– Low in fat
– Flavor !!!!

12. Fresh for Flavor
• Choose the freshest possible foods for the
best taste and flavor
• In some vegetables, flavors intensify as the
plant matures
• Baby artichokes, turnips, squashes, and
carrots are more flavorful and less bitter
• Younger vegetables are more tender and
cook faster
– Set a timer, don’t overcook

13. Favorite Recipes
• Special recipes and dessert items
may be part of your heritage or a
family tradition.
• How can you have the foods you
love and not gain weight or
sacrifice your health?

14. Simple Substitutions
• Foods don’t have to be high
in fat, sugar or calories if you
follow a few simple rules.

15. Revising a Recipe
• Start by changing one ingredient or
reducing the amount by 1/3rd
• Cooking time will vary with
reduction of fat
• Cooking temperature may change
• Moisture may need to be increased
by adding fruit or liquid

16. Tips for Revisions
• Fruit puree
Substitute an equal amount of fruit puree, such as
applesauce, for oil in cake, brownies, bread, or
muffin mixes.
– The fruit adds flavor, moisture, and tenderness to baked
goods when the oil is omitted.
• Egg whites or egg substitutes
Replace some of the whole eggs in a recipe with
egg whites or a commercial egg substitute.
– One egg is equal to two egg whites or ¼ cup of egg
substitute.

17. Tips for Revisions
• Cocoa powder
Use 2 tablespoons (Tbsp) of cocoa powder plus 1
Tbsp regular or diet margarine in place of every 1
ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate.
• Fat-free milk, yogurt, sour cream, or cream
cheese
Use these in place of the whole-fat products. A
dollop of vanilla fat-free Greek yogurt makes a nice
substitute for whipped cream on some desserts.

18. Tips for Revisions
Lite or diet margarines
• Be careful using lite or diet margarines to replace
regular margarine or butter.
• Higher water content and can change the texture
of your baked goods.
• Experiment
• May need to reduce some of the liquid in your
recipe when you use lite or diet margarine.

19. Instead of…
Use…
And SAVE on Calories and Fat
Calories
Saved
Whole milk
Whole milk
Sweetened
condensed
milk
Fat
Serving Size
Saved (g)
Skim milk
1% milk
Fat free sweetened
condensed skim
milk
60
45
200
8
5.5
27
1 C (8 fl oz)
1 C (8 fl oz)
14-fl-oz can
Evaporated skim
milk in the same
amount plus ¾ C of
sugar substitute
Evaporated milk Evaporated skim
milk
Heavy cream
Evaporated skim
milk
Whipped topping Whipped topping
(fat free)
(regular)
782
27
1 cup (8 fl oz)
191
24
12-fl-oz can
600
80
1 C (8 fl oz)
10
1.5
2 Tbsp
Sweetened
condensed milk

20. Instead of…
Use…
And SAVE on Calories and Fat
Calories
Saved
50
Fat
Saved
(g)
5
Per
Serving
Size
1 Tbsp
Fat-free butter
spread
Shortening or lard
Soft-tub lite
margarine
Mayonnaise (regular) Lite mayonnaise
95
10
1 Tbsp
70
9
1 Tbsp
90
11
1 Tbsp
Mayonnaise (regular) Fat-free mayonnaise
50
6
1 Tbsp
Sour cream (regular)
Fat-free sour cream
35
6
2 Tbsp
Sour cream (regular)
Lite sour cream or
lite nonfat yogurt
20
3
2 Tbsp
Butter or margarine
Lite butter or
margarine
Butter or margarine

21. Instead of…
Use…
And SAVE on Calories and Fat
Calories
Saved
70
Fat
Saved (g)
10
Serving
Size
1 oz
Cream cheese
(regular)
Fat-free cream
cheese
Cream cheese
(regular)
Lite cream cheese
40
5.5
1 oz
Cheese, American
Cheese, American
(regular, single slice) (fat-free, single
slice)
Cheese, American
Cheese, American
(regular, single slice) (2% milk, single
slice)
1 egg
2 egg whites
40
5
1 slice
20
2.5
1 slice
42
6
-
1 egg
50
6
-
¼ cup egg
substitute

22. Instead of…
Use…
And SAVE on Calories and
Fat
Calories
Saved
Fat
Saved (g)
Serving
Size
Ground beef (regular)
Ground turkey (93% lean)
180
22
4 oz
Ground beef (regular)
Ground beef
(80% lean, 20% fat)
70
9
4 oz
Ground beef (regular)
Ground beef
(92% lean, 8% fat)
180
22
4 oz
Hot dog (regular)
Hot dog (fat free)
140
16
1 link
Hot dog (regular)
Hot dog (turkey)
80
8
1 link
Sausage (regular pork)
Sausage (turkey)
130
17
3.5 oz
Bacon
Bacon (turkey)
250
20.5
3 oz

23. Instead of… Use…
And SAVE on Calories and Fat
Calories
Saved
Fat
Saved (g)
Serving
Size
Sugar (2 C)
1 C sugar and 24 packets of
Equal® or Sweet’N Low® OR
1 C sugar and 1 C Splenda®
770
-
2C
Oil in baked
goods
Unsweetened applesauce
750
160
½C
Oil in baked
goods
Baby pureed prunes
110
13.5
1 Tbsp

24. Sugar Substitutes for
Baking
• Substitutes for sugar
– Molasses
– Agave
– Maple syrup
– Fruit like bananas, applesauce or
dates
– Stevia
– Monk Fruit

25. Monk Fruit
• Monk fruit extract is gaining popularity as a zero-calorie
sweetener.
• Sold on its own as a sugar replacement under the name
Nectresse.
• The name comes from the fact that monks initially
harvested it 800 years ago.
• Monk fruit Contains a unique type of antioxidant called
mogroside that provides a level of sweetness
– 200 to 500 times greater than table sugar.
– Researchers are looking into high doses of mogrosides in the
treatment of cancer and diabetes.

26. Stevia
• Zero-calorie sweetener derived from the leaves
of its namesake plant, stevia
• May have a beneficial effect on blood sugar.
• Very popular due to the fact that it is considered
all-natural and is calorie-free
• The Food and Drug Administration didn’t approve
stevia to be used as a sweetener until 2008.
• Overseas, the European Union banned the use of
stevia as a sweetener until the end of 2011 due
to concerns about it being pro-carcinogenic.
• Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar

27. Agave
• Most agave sweeteners are produced from the
blue agave plant
• Agave has about 60 calories per tablespoon,
compared to 40 calories for the same amount of
table sugar.
• Has a low glycemic index because it is 90 percent
fructose
• About 1 1/2 times sweeter than sugar, you can
use less of it
– you can achieve the same sweetness for about the same
number of calories.

28. Maple Syrup
• Real Maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
gives your baked goods a wonderful maple
syrup flavoring.
• Calories very similar to sugar
• The cons though are that maple syrup is
pretty costly.
• If you're looking to save cash you can
always cut your maple syrup with agave.

29. Fruit-based
Sugar Substitutes
• Applesauce
– Gives baked goods overall moisture and
it does not have a distinct flavoring to it.
• Bananas and dates
– give your baked goods an overall
constituency and they also lock in
moisture.
– The cons - they do have distinct
flavorings,

30. Original
Sweet Potato Recipe
• 1 – 40 oz can sweet potatoes (drain off half the
juice)
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. cinnamon
• ½ cup brown sugar
• Topping:
–
–
–
–
–
½ stick of butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 T. flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes ( I usually go 40
minutes)

31. Revised
Sweet Potato Recipe
• Fresh sweet potatoes
• Switched butter for light margarine
• Egg substitute instead of eggs
• Added skim milk for additional moisture
Topping changes
• Substituted light margarine for butter and
reduced fat by ½
• Reduced walnuts by ½

32. Original
Brownie Recipe
½ cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
Frosting
• 3 Tbsp. butter softened
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar




33. Revised
Brownie Recipe
• Substituted margarine for butter
• Used egg substitute instead of
eggs
• Omitted frosting

34. Healthy Holiday Snacks
• Fruit Kabobs - These are colorful and great tasting. Try
using pineapple, grapes, strawberries and melon for a
healthy treat.
• Low Fat Fruit Dip – Try mixing some low fat yogurt with
some light or fat free whipped topping for a light fruit dip.
• Vegetable plates - These are always a hit so get creative
and crinkle cut carrots and make radish roses. The key to a
great vegetable plate is to have plenty of fresh, crisp
vegetables with lots of different colors.
• Low Fat Vegetable Dip - For dip you can buy or make a
low fat version by using reduced fat or fat free sour cream
in place of the regular high fat version.

35. Holiday Party Ideas
•
Marinated Chicken or Beef Kabobs - These are easy and
delicious, just cut boneless chicken breasts or lean round steak into
strips. Weave on a skew, marinate in your favorite marinade and
bake until done. You can serve these hot or cold.
•
Shrimp Cocktail - Shrimp is always a favorite and did you know it
contains almost no fat and a great source of protein. True they are
high in cholesterol, but because they are so low in total fat and
saturated fat, they are a good choice.
•
Mini Meatballs - Start off with white meat ground turkey or at
least 90% lean ground meat. Add your favorite seasonings and
flavored bread crumbs. Bake them in the oven instead of frying.
Then pop them in your favorite spaghetti sauce and let them
simmer for a couple hours.
•
•
Finger Sandwiches - Start off with whole wheat, rye or
pumpernickel bread. Then make up a spread using tuna packed in
water (drained) and add reduced fat or fat free mayonnaise. Toss
with diced apples, grapes, celery and a few chopped walnuts for a
healthy version of an old favorite.

36. Low fat Cooking
• Low fat cooking techniques:
– Steaming
– Poaching
– Stir-frying
– Broiling
– Grilling
– Baking and Roasting

37. Motivational Thought
• As you make your favorite recipes
into healthier versions, remember
that it’s progress, not perfection
that counts.
• Even making only one change to a
recipe is a step in the right
direction.
• And small steps add up!

38. Questions?