Top Tips for Healthy Eating and Catering Over Christmas ?😊

On average Australians gain 0.8-1.5kg over the Christmas period and it is rarely lost. Why not make this year the year that you don’t have to ask for a larger belt in your Christmas stocking? Try the tips below to help you avoid gaining too much weight over the holiday season and how to keep healthy.

Tips to avoid weight gain over the holiday season

• Avoid going hungry to parties. Eat something light before the party to reduce your chances of snacking on high calorie party food. Some healthy snacks include a 200g tub of reduced fat yoghurt, a bowl of cereal or a cheese and tomato sandwich

• Don’t try to lose weight over the Christmas season. Instead, aim to maintain your current weight.

• Watch your portion sizes. If your will power is weak and you know you will want to finish everything in front of you, use an entrée plate instead of a dinner plate. That way you are sure to eat less.

• Fill up with foods from inside the circle from the Healthy Eating plate. These foods include vegetables, legumes, fruit and grains foods.

Foods to Limit

•  High fat creamy dips

• Pies, sausage rolls, spinach triangles

• Chips, corn chips

• Lollies, candy canes, chocolates

• Cakes and slices with cream

Party Foods to Enjoy

•      Vegetable sticks, pretzels, rice crackers

•      Hummus, beetroot, tzatziki, avocado dip or any low fat yoghurt or Philadelphia cream cheese dip

•         Sushi, mini salmon pancakes

•       Sandwiches, quiches

•     Fruit salad with yoghurt

Alcohol

•     Drinking alcohol (1 or 2 standard drinks a day) may add to the enjoyment of your festive events, but over-consuming alcohol can lead to weight gain.

• For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks in any day reduces your risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury over a lifetime. Drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

• If you choose to drink:

• Watch your serving size.

•  Be careful with top-ups. Topping up your glass can lead to you losing count of the amount you have been drinking. Finish one glass before accepting a top-up.

• Alternate your drinks. Alternate one alcoholic drink with one non-alcoholic drink such as water.

Exercise

• Ask for a gym membership as a Christmas present. That way you can stay fit all year round.

• Set yourself an exercise challenge for the New Year. Fun runs are great events to get involved in.

• Play with your children. They enjoy when you watch their games, but they LOVE when you play with them. Try outdoor cricket, throwing a Frisbee, bike riding or swimming.

• If you’re on a vacation, walking is the best way to become familiar with your holiday location. It’s amazing what you can discover when you are on foot.

• Use the facilities at camping grounds, motels or resorts. For example, hiring a tennis court is an inexpensive way to stay entertained for hours.

Healthy Catering Tips

Below are some simple changes that can have a big impact on how healthy the foods and drinks provided through catering services are.

Sandwiches, rolls and wraps

• Use mostly wholemeal or wholegrain bread.

• Include vegetable or salad items in all sandwiches, rolls and wraps.

• Use fish canned in spring water instead of brine or oil.

• Avoid meats such as salami, pastrami, corned beef, etc. 

• Use small amounts of margarine only, and avoid butter.

• Use reduced fat versions of mayonnaise, cheese and other dairy products.

• Offer mini rolls, half wraps and mini bagels.

Cakes, muffins and slices

• When baking, replace half of the flour with wholemeal flour.

• Add bran, oats or other grains to standard recipes when possible.

• Add a fruit or vegetable to cakes and muffins.

• Reduce the amount of fat used in baking, including butter, margarine and oil.

• Serve cakes/muffins/slices in mini serves or half sizes. 

• Cheese, dips and fruit platters

Include fresh or dried fruits, or vegetable sticks on cheese platters.

• Provide wholegrain crackers, and avoid flavored cracker varieties (e.g. barbecue, salt and vinegar and cheese flavors) as these are generally high in salt.

• Offer reduced fat varieties of cheese where available.

• ·  Offer reduced fat dips, which are vegetable or yoghurt based, such as tzatziki, beetroot, hummus etc.

• ·  Provide reduced salt versions of sauces and condiments.

• ·  Oven-bake hot foods instead of deep frying (e.g. samosas, dim sims, spring rolls)

• ·  Look for mini or ‘party-sized’ versions of hot finger foods (e.g. pies, sausage rolls).

For more Information, don’t hesitate to book an appointment with our Dietitians at Ward Nutrition . Click here We can help you with understanding how to eat healthy, take the focus off dieting and focus more on your overall health. Weight loss happens naturally, once you get all the other aspects of your health sorted!