Problem: Christmas Dinner
khol1
Posts: 100 Member
Hi,
Its getting up to Christmas, and I'm looking for ways to create a traditional (not so much the meat, but I love potatoes and veg) dinner...
Anyone got any ideas?!
I know we all slack a little around Christmas, but I don't want to lose track!
Help
Its getting up to Christmas, and I'm looking for ways to create a traditional (not so much the meat, but I love potatoes and veg) dinner...
Anyone got any ideas?!
I know we all slack a little around Christmas, but I don't want to lose track!
Help
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Replies
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Ideas for what exactly?0
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I don't think Christmas dinner is that unhealthy to be honest....turkey and veg! Obviously adding things like stuffing and pigs in blankets (that's sausages wrapped in bacon if you're not English) and bread sauce that add the calories, but it's once a year, so I don't see the problem.
It's things like wine, mince pies and brandy butter that really add the calories 0 -
The main course.
I always overload with meat and veg, and I don't want to use up all my calorie intake on one meal.
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DawnieB1977 wrote: »I don't think Christmas dinner is that unhealthy to be honest....turkey and veg! Obviously adding things like stuffing and pigs in blankets (that's sausages wrapped in bacon if you're not English) and bread sauce that add the calories, but it's once a year, so I don't see the problem.
It's things like wine, mince pies and brandy butter that really add the calories
Thanks - I think i'll have to stay away from stuffing, and wine really is a downfall of mine!
I really need to find a non-fatty (or low fat) meat!0 -
The only issue it sounds like you have is portion control: Meat and veg make an excellent diet with a high nutrition per calorie rating.
(yes, I made that rating up).0 -
Turkey is low fat. You could always do chicken instead.
I logged one Xmas (the year before last I think. Last year I was pregnant and ate what I liked lol) and I had 2500 calories, and that was mainly from cava and a mince pie I think.
I'm not logging on Xmas day this year though, I'm eating what I like. I expect I'll burn it off looking after my super excited kids, and I'll definitely be going for a walk with them.
If you want a bit of a treat though, you could always have an alternative dessert, like fruit salad, and maybe have a white wine spritzer with diet lemonade so you still get some wine.0 -
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I don't know, it's only one day....if people put as much focus and hand wringing into all of the other days of the year as they do a handful of holidays and special occasions then everybody would be healthy and fit.
Also, I don't really see what's so unhealthy about a traditional Christmas dinner...plenty of lean protein, veg, and some carbs...don't see anything wrong with that. There's more to nutrition than salads and celery sticks.
Maybe just learn to practice a little self control and portion control...you don't have to eat until you pop. I usually enjoy a good plate full of food and I'm done...probably clocks in similar to any other meal I eat. I'm also not a big desert guy so a little slice of pie and I'm fine. I usually go overboard on the beer, wine, and booze though...but again...one day...nobody got fat because of one day.0 -
What is a traditional Christmas dinner to you? How traditional does it need to be?
I think you can eat whatever you like as long as you keep the portions sane. Maybe cut down the number of side dishes or desserts.
We usually have something different every year at my house. It might be homemade pizza, pasta, Chinese food or a roast. This year we are having turkey legs, rice, and a spinach dish. We may have brownies for dessert.0 -
If you like cauliflower. You can steam or roast some to incorporate into mashed potatoes. Pairs good together. I like my vegetables grilled or roasted. I bought a cast iron grill pan off of amazon. It's really helpful. I can grill meats, veggies, etc. Instead of grilling or roasting with high cal oils, I use a olive oil non stick spray. It's good.
You can substitute the 2% cheese for full fat. Not much of a taste difference. Same with milk.
If you want to go light on dessert, strawberries with a little sugar and whipped cream is a tasty treat.
Non fatty meat and perfect for Christmas is pork tenderloin. Elegant and tasty....
You can do it....
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The big problem with holiday dinner stuff isn't the dinner, it's the desserts. And it's not even the "desserts" (after dinner), it's the _leftover_ desserts that end up getting pigged-on for the next week or so.
So the best tactic: get one pie or cake, or enough for everybody to have some. Not pie and cake and three different kinds of each plus five types of cookies and few quarts of ice cream. And give away whatever's left to visitors. Prepare the right amount for one meal, no more, which is a good guideline for food prep. anyways.
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concordancia wrote: »The only issue it sounds like you have is portion control: Meat and veg make an excellent diet with a high nutrition per calorie rating.
(yes, I made that rating up).
Word.
Christmas Dinner is never a problem. Ever. The very idea is heresy.
The problem, if there is one, is the expectation that you must over indulge and have massive portions of everything in sight. You don't have to do that. Have a bit of everything you like and enjoy.
Get back to your usually scheduled programming thereafter.0 -
feisty_bucket wrote: »The big problem with holiday dinner stuff isn't the dinner, it's the desserts. And it's not even the "desserts" (after dinner), it's the _leftover_ desserts that end up getting pigged-on for the next week or so.
So the best tactic: get one pie or cake, or enough for everybody to have some. Not pie and cake and three different kinds of each plus five types of cookies and few quarts of ice cream. And give away whatever's left to visitors. Prepare the right amount for one meal, no more, which is a good guideline for food prep. anyways.
Hahaha exactly.
I'm not sure we're having dinner here or not, but if we are, the plan is ham, mashed potatoes (I just use a bit of butter and lowfat milk and it's frankly just fine), maybe roasted veggies on the side. All that isn't many calories at all if you're smart about your portions. For dessert though I'm making a chestnut cream Yule log, and that's probably going to be deadly, but heck. Just one dessert.. that's the most important thing.
Then yeah there's cookies and chocolates. But But heck, I ate 4500 calories at Thanksgiving, 80% of those from desserts, (and 3000 the day before) and I made up for it with a bigger deficit for 2 weeks (the one before and the one after). It's really not a huge deal.0 -
Pinterest.com0
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feisty_bucket wrote: »The big problem with holiday dinner stuff isn't the dinner, it's the desserts. And it's not even the "desserts" (after dinner), it's the _leftover_ desserts that end up getting pigged-on for the next week or so.
So the best tactic: get one pie or cake, or enough for everybody to have some. Not pie and cake and three different kinds of each plus five types of cookies and few quarts of ice cream. And give away whatever's left to visitors. Prepare the right amount for one meal, no more, which is a good guideline for food prep. anyways.
Oh heavens yes. That's me. I'm 10000% on board with the concept that "no one got fat in one day (or even 10 days) per year" and that we shouldn't stress so much about holidays and birthdays and such. However, my desire to meet my MFP goals butts up HARD against my desire to not waste food. Sure, I (and everyone else) can work nearly anything into a day, but when you've got wonderfully calorie-dense holiday leftovers to use up it makes hitting those goals while actually having a satisfying day a lot more difficult/interesting. Plus, then you get the "well, I'm going to be eating a lot on Christmas, so I might as well not log again til New Year's, etc etc etc"-sies and then it all goes up in smoke.
ANYWAY. I also vote that you eat whatever you like on Christmas. Try to listen to your body a little and use a little common sense (don't stuff yourself beyond comfortable, etc), log or don't log, whatever. If you're REALLY worried, try to get in an extra workout or save a couple hundred extra calories through the week leading up to it. Just try to keep it to one day (or two, if you're Christmas Eve celebrators as well), then get back on the train and move on with it. That's what would work for me, anyway, if I could manage it.
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DawnieB1977 wrote: »I don't think Christmas dinner is that unhealthy to be honest....turkey and veg! Obviously adding things like stuffing and pigs in blankets (that's sausages wrapped in bacon if you're not English) and bread sauce that add the calories, but it's once a year, so I don't see the problem.
It's things like wine, mince pies and brandy butter that really add the calories
Thanks - I think i'll have to stay away from stuffing, and wine really is a downfall of mine!
I really need to find a non-fatty (or low fat) meat!
I'm partial to prime rib, but turkey is both pretty traditional (it's what Scrooge buys at the end of Christmas Carol!) and low fat.0 -
Turkey is the lowest fat meat there is. Especially the white meat. I don't know how it could be any better. Even fish is the same calorie count - except maybe for salmon, which is higher.
The worst dinner I ever had was when they didn't include any real veggies (I don't count potatoes as a veggie).
Mostly, I just spend my time talking rather than eating.0 -
feisty_bucket wrote: »The big problem with holiday dinner stuff isn't the dinner, it's the desserts. And it's not even the "desserts" (after dinner), it's the _leftover_ desserts that end up getting pigged-on for the next week or so.
This is precisely true for me too.
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Not sure where you are from (guessing not the US) but since those in the US just went through this with Thanksgiving why don't you search "Thanksgiving" on the forums and see how many times the topic of stressing about calories on a holiday was discussed and what some of the suggestions were. I guarantee you'll find everything from "I'm going to eat a bite of everything and try to stay under my calories for the day, I've come too far to slip now" to "calories be damned, it's one day out of the year, if I don't get to at least 5,000 cals I'm going to be disappointed in myself)."
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Skip dessert? On Christmas? No way.
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redversustheblue wrote: »
Skip dessert? On Christmas? No way.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily, but it is an option. It's all about choices. I would totally skip dessert for an extra (or so) serving of stuffing on Thanksgiving
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Quest has some awesome holiday recipes if you want some ideas for healthier stuffing and pies! Also mixing cauliflower + potatoes can help too!0
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Turkey is traditional in England, usually with stuffing, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts and other veg and pigs in blankets. I can't speak for all families, but we've never really done desserts. We usually have mince pies and sometimes Christmas pudding with custard or brandy butter, but we're usually too full.
We don't have thanksgiving, so it's our one big meal of the year.0 -
redversustheblue wrote: »
Skip dessert? On Christmas? No way.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily, but it is an option. It's all about choices. I would totally skip dessert for an extra (or so) serving of stuffing on Thanksgiving
I wouldn't skip desert on Christmas, but I am going to try to skip desert on all the days surrounding Christmas. All those leftover goodies laying around for days are the real issue for me.0 -
redversustheblue wrote: »redversustheblue wrote: »
Skip dessert? On Christmas? No way.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily, but it is an option. It's all about choices. I would totally skip dessert for an extra (or so) serving of stuffing on Thanksgiving
I wouldn't skip desert on Christmas, but I am going to try to skip desert on all the days surrounding Christmas. All those leftover goodies laying around for days are the real issue for me.
Me too. For whatever reason, this year it's been hard for me to stick to moderation. Probably because there's been a million family events already. So, I'm starting to cut things out entirely until the season is over. First time in a long time it's been difficult to manage.0 -
Listen - I went 'balls out' on Thanksgiving and still lost 1.6 pounds that week so don't make yourself crazy over it. Christmas is once a year 0
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feisty_bucket wrote: »The big problem with holiday dinner stuff isn't the dinner, it's the desserts. And it's not even the "desserts" (after dinner), it's the _leftover_ desserts that end up getting pigged-on for the next week or so.
So the best tactic: get one pie or cake, or enough for everybody to have some. Not pie and cake and three different kinds of each plus five types of cookies and few quarts of ice cream. And give away whatever's left to visitors. Prepare the right amount for one meal, no more, which is a good guideline for food prep. anyways.
pie is never a problem....0 -
I have bought the works for Christmas - and I've baked mince pies, sausage rolls and god alone knows what else. Biscuits, chocolates - you name it, it will be in my house. I am going to give myself a break for a week then get straight back on it on New Year's Day. Diet at Christmas? I don't think so!0
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I'm not worrying about the Christmas foods myself. To me, it's a time for family and get togethers with celebrating. I'm going to eat the same foods as normal, just less of them. I don't think that the foods are so bad really anyway. Instead of regular mashed potatoes, try sweet potatoes? Instead of ham, maybe do a chicken and have white meat. Instead of pie, have some fruit salad.0
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