7 Worst Holiday Foods for Your Waistline
The holiday season is a wonderful time of the year! You’re probably looking forward to spending [...]
Candied yams
Yes, a holiday classic that everyone loves to pile high on their holiday plate. It's too bad candied yams contain nearly 40 grams of sugar per serving when the American Heart Association recommends we consume less than this amount in a whole day.
» Save yourself the sugar high, and dish up our slow cooker sweet mashed potatoes instead. Only 7g of sugar per half-cup serving!
prevnextSugar cookies
Sugar cookies contain the classic sugar, butter, flour mixture that make all cookies delicious. Add another layer of sugar icing on top and you can expect one medium-sized cookie to contain about 170 calories.
» Still want to "indulge" in a sweet treat? Try our skinny sugar cookies for only 168 calories for two cookies!
prevnextCream-based dips
Think you're eating healthy because you're dipping vegetables into a spinach or artichoke dip? Think again. The sour cream, cream cheese and/or mayonnaise used to make the dip offsets any nutritional values provided by the veggies. A traditional spinach dip made with cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic, onion and spinach has about 114 calories per 2-tablespoon serving!
» A healthier dip? Try our Skinny Spinach and Artichoke Dip which clocks in at 78 calories for a quarter-cup serving.
prevnextCheesecake
Think putting fruit on the top of cheesecake makes it healthier? Don't fool yourself. Holiday cheesecake is basically made using cream cheese, sugar, eggs and butter, which equals to one regular slice of cheesecake easily being a whopping 450 calories.
» Save your calories! Indulge with our Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries at only 34 calories for two stuffed berries!
prevnextMashed potatoes
Eating one cup of plain mashed potatoes is about 200 calories. Once you add lots of butter and gravy to this popular holiday food it can easily result in your consuming a total of 480 calories.
» We've got a better option! You'll love our Rosemary Garlic Potato and Parsnip Mash. At only 120 calories and 4 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per three-quarter-cup serving — it's the perfect healthy replacement.
prevnextFruit cake
Don't let the name fool you. The main ingredients in fruitcake tend to be butter and rum, making one slice about 400 calories. And no, the fruit in fruitcake does not count as a healthy holiday option. Sorry!
» Healthy swap? Try our Skinny Fruit Salad. You'll feel good about the healthy choice you've made!
Knowing which holiday foods to avoid can help you keep your waistline under control over the holiday season. Another option is to opt for a bite or two of a few of your favorites, so you still get to indulge and enjoy — but not feel the guilt of overeating.