12 least healthy holiday foods: Which festive foods to avoid for your health
Read on for some of the foods to skip as you build your holiday plate this year.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle.
When the holiday season comes around, you know there's bound to be food galore.
While many holiday foods are both nutritious and satisfying, some won’t do you any favours when it comes to your health.
Read on for some of the foods to skip as you build your holiday plate this year.
Cranberry sauce
Cranberries on their own are healthy, but one serving of canned cranberry sauce has about 6 teaspoons of sugar, which adds an extra 100 calories.
Try making your own cranberry sauce to eliminate some of the sugar and to reap the powerful antioxidant benefits of cranberries.
Eggnog
Eggnog, with or without alcohol, is one of the most popular festive drinks around the holidays.
Before you ladle out a glass, keep in mind that one serving without alcohol has nearly 400 calories and 18 grams of fat — this is due to the cream and whole milk ingredients.
Add alcohol and the calories only increase.
Fruitcake
Although it has the word fruit in it, fruitcake is anything but healthy.
Most fruitcakes contain dried fruit, which is higher in sugar (by volume) than fresh fruit. On top of that, this cake has additional added sugar along with fattening ingredients like butter and syrup. Together, this makes for a dessert that’s high in both calories and fat.
If you want to make a healthier version of fruitcake for the holidays, swap out butter for Greek yogurt to lower the fat and add protein.
Mulled wine
While red wine has several health benefits, none of them apply to mulled wine.
Mulled wine gets its unique taste from a blend of spices and quite a bit of added sugar. While a normal glass of red wine has just 1 gram, the same serving of mulled wine has a whopping 14 grams of sugar.
If you’re going to have that much sugar, you might as well have dessert!
Sweet potato casserole
Sweet potatoes are a very healthy choice since they’re loaded with vitamins, minerals and complex carbs.
However, many sweet potato casserole recipes call for sugar, butter and marshmallows, which eliminate any nutritional value from the vegetables themselves.
If you like sweet potatoes, try a healthier recipe that skips the marshmallows and added sugar.
Pecan pie
Like sweet potatoes, pecans can have several health benefits.
The problem with pecan pie is that the filling is loaded with corn syrup and brown sugar, and the crust contains butter and sugar.
One piece usually has around 500 calories, not including whipped cream or ice cream on top. Instead, go for pumpkin pie, which is about 300 calories per slice and has less sugar.
Creamy soups
Creamy soups are delicious and comforting in the winter.
Unfortunately, creamy soups often have a lot of cream, which is high in both fat and calories. This saturated fat isn’t good for heart health, which knocks creamy soups down another point.
When choosing a soup for the holidays, go for something broth-based that has some veggies in it.
Spinach and artichoke dip
This dip is a classic holiday appetizer, but the calories quickly add up as the traditional recipe calls for cream cheese, sour cream and mayo.
As spinach and artichokes have several health benefits, lighten up your recipe with Greek yogurt or reduced-fat cream cheese.
Better yet, serve hummus as a tasty dip instead.
Prime rib
Prime rib is often at the centre of the holiday table since it’s tender, juicy and elegant. Even so, it comes from the fattiest part of the cow so it’s high in fat and calories.
An 85-gram serving has nearly 300 calories and 24 grams of fat, and many people eat portions larger than this. If you like beef, go for a leaner cut.
Green bean casserole
Green bean casserole can be deceiving since it’s full of healthy green beans (and sometimes mushrooms).
However, the canned soup, fried onions and cheese wipe away any of the benefits of the veggies. One serving usually has 7 grams of fat or more, depending on the recipe.
There are ways to lighten up your recipe or you can opt for green beans almondine instead.
Sausage stuffing
Stuffing is a holiday staple. One popular variety is sausage stuffing, a savoury recipe that has meat and veggies tossed in.
Since pork sausage is high in fat, a serving of sausage stuffing can have upwards of 30 grams of fat depending on the recipe.
Use turkey or chicken sausage or skip the meat entirely to lower the calories and fat.
Frosted sugar cookies
With sugar in the name, you already know these sweet treats aren’t going to be the healthiest option.
While the cookie itself might not be that bad, the layer of icing and sprinkles that adorn the cookies add more sugar to the mix. A single cookie can have 16 grams of sugar or more.
Healthier options might be gingerbread cookies or meringues.
The bottom line
Food is an important part of the holidays, especially when you enjoy it in good company.
Now that you know some of the worst foods, you can pick and choose what to eat if you’re looking out for your health.
And with a few tweaks, many of these recipes can be altered to cut out some of the calories and fat.
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