Christmas Day

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AnneC77
AnneC77 Posts: 284
in Chit-Chat
Christmas Day, the time for giving and filling your face! So what do you plan to do for Christmas dinner this year? Are you going to have a day off from healthy living and stick to the traditional roast and all the trimmings with a big fat christmas pud or are you going to find healthier alternatives? I am really interested to know as this will be my first Christmas on my new lifestyle and I am pondering this question myself. Will one day off really hurt or are you so serious that Christmas will be no different to any other day?
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  • xoleanne
    xoleanne Posts: 38 Member
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    i'm going to eat the lot! :)
  • Purple_Night
    Purple_Night Posts: 16 Member
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    I will be having a day off - i just could not face having a healthy meal when everyone else will be digging in! And the chocolates that get passed around all day - nope i could not resist :) One day surely will not hurt.
  • KeithChanning
    KeithChanning Posts: 214 Member
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    Funnily enough, we have just been talking about that. Best suggestions so far are a picnic locally in the camper or drive down to Spain where we might get some better weather.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I'm not going to go overboard, but I'll make sure there's plenty of healthy chocies around. My husband isn't a big turky fan, so we usually do something else, like a venison casserole. I dont like Christmas pudding, so last year I did a variation of a Provence dessert called Les Treize, which is basicially little morsels of fruit and nuts.
  • blynn2708
    blynn2708 Posts: 275 Member
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    I eat what I want in moderation. I am not a fan of chocolate or any other sweets, so it's not that bad of a day:bigsmile:
  • Kathrynha77
    Kathrynha77 Posts: 103 Member
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    I'll eat what I want on the day, but it will be just the one day, it won't spread into a month long food fest like it so easily can do.
    Also in the past sometimes I have eaten till I have been too full. Determined I will only eat till I'm full, and therefore avoid the bloated sick feeling afterwards
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
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    This Christmas will be the first one where it's just myself and my son so we'll probably do a roast dinner with some (not all) trimmings or maybe even do a Turk dish as neither of us are big roast eaters.

    I can easily resist chocolates, it's the savoury nibbles that I'll be treating myself to but as it will only be the two of us I won't have to have bowls of every crisp/snack/sweet/nut under the sun dotted all around the house as I normally would when there's more of us.

    I didn't have a mince pie or bit of pudding last Christmas so that's no biggy for me.

    Last Christmas I gained 2.25lb during 24/12 - 28/12 but this was gone again by NYE and I never gained again, this was with having family staying over for the whole period and indulging much more than I can see myself doing this year so I'm not going to stress about it.

    As long as my son is happy and having a good time that's about all I need, the calories aren't an issue for me, lol!
  • mcmcmcshane
    mcmcmcshane Posts: 32 Member
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    This will be the second Christmas of my new lifestyle & last year I tried to alter some dishes & introduce new ones. This time i think I will stick with to the altered dishes (little things, like greek yogurt instead of sour cream in a casserole, etc) & then instead of eating EVERYTHING AT THE TABLE ..it's Christmas, you know what's going to be served.. I'll figure out which dishes I really like (vs. which ones I used to eat just because they're there) & I will budget room for the things I want to enjoy.
    The holiday focus should be on family & friends, not food. And if I need to focus on presents for a year or two to help not focus on the food than so be it :) Presents are fun & they're zero calories!
  • PJ_73
    PJ_73 Posts: 331 Member
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    Just seeing the title of this thread got me excited and it was nothing to do with my stocking being stuffed!

    I LOVE a full Christmas dinner, it has to be my absolute favourite!

    So for me:

    Roast duck with port and cherry sauce
    Braised venison with bacon, chestnuts, wild mushrooms in a madeira sauce
    Roasted potatoes (in goose fat)
    Carrots with thyme, cumin and orange butter
    Maple roast parsnips
    Brussel sprouts with pancetta

    God knows how many calories and who cares?! It's Christmas!
  • pamperedlinny
    pamperedlinny Posts: 1,588 Member
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    My hubby's family makes Christmas tacos (or taco salads in our house).
    They tell me that since the lettuce is green & tomatoes are red it's Christmas colors. And you can let the meat simmer in the crock pot all day so people can help themselves while watching Christmas movies, opening gifts and when visiting friends/family come by then can nibble some too.

    edited to add: Thanksgiving we'll do the tradional feast though and stuff our faces.
  • LADYDEBORAH1984
    LADYDEBORAH1984 Posts: 64 Member
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    well usually i have two xmas dinners, 1 at my mother in laws then one at my mums so neither of them miss out, but my parents are going to india for christmas so will have the one xmas dinner, and scoff the lot!!! i only eat a small amount of meat and loads of veg so its fine!!
  • Nix143
    Nix143 Posts: 522 Member
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    I cook for 14 people on Christmas Day and I love it :) - my strategy will be to just do what I've always done, it's Christmas for Pete's sake :). I plan to eat and drink what I want - one Christmas is not going to sabotage my healthier lifestyle. I'm not on a diet, I'm just being a bit more healthy so why would I deny myself on Christmas Day?

    Can't wait! I love having all the people I love together :)
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
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    Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I will be having the days off :) I won't eat as much as I probably normally would on a holiday but I am definitely eating all the good food.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    Where I cook 100% fresh all the time, it will really be similar to just another day but have a menu planned already ahead of time.

    Christmas dinner is always something I throw on the grill - yes, I grill outside in the middle of winter as much as possible!!!!

    Fresh Prime Rib
    Au jus made from the prime rib

    Freshly grated horseradish for mine, but we both love a sautee of baby portabella mushrooms and onion in garlic and wine on top of the prime rib

    Spears of asparagus lightly coated with olive oil, fresh rosemary, thyme and finished with freshly squeezed lemon

    "Loaded" Mashed yukon potatoes for my husband (loaded meaning shaved parmesan, home-cured hickory bacon, sour cream and chives)

    For me a 'pasta' of zucchini, summer-squash and carrots in a wonderful herbal compound butter sauce

    I make fresh whole grain rolls for my husband to sop up the juices and he just grabs whatever compound butter I have made in the freezer.

    I always make a fresh minestrone or Pasta e Fagioli soup (this is a two-day process in the making) with a hearty rich broth, fresh vegetables and herbs and a small variety of beans.

    Dessert for him is always his favorite: "Grasshopper" brownie sundae. Homemade fudge brownies with kahlua seeped into the brownie. The brownie is split in half: one layer features Godiva White Chocolate liqeuer in the frosting, the top/outer frosting featured Dekuyper's dark creme de minthe, frozen Andes Candies broken and sprinkled on top, and a whole Oreo cookie on top - and fresh made whipped cream on top.

    For me, I prepare a low-carb Red/Black Raspberry cheesecake using crushed almonds for the base, and a recipe of cream-cheese, homemade whipped cream, berries that are mashed and mixed well, spread on top of the almond-crust and then the top is garnished with more fresh red/black raspberries... Even my husband is known to steal from my dessert as well! LOL!
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    We have family coming into town, so I'm going to put a turkey and a ham in the smoker. Honestly, I home cook my entire holiday dinner, and it takes me about 3 days, so I'll probably do that as usual. I enjoy hosting the holidays like that. It's a lot of fun, and it burns off a ton of calories doing that much food prep and running around. I'm usually totally exhausted at the end.

    I usually do deviled eggs, potato salad, roasted green beans with almonds and garlic, mashed potatoes, noodle casserole, homemade bread (usually five 2-lb loaves), pecan pie, pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie, spoonbread, and we serve home-baked (this year, we're going to smoke instead) turkey and a spiral cut honey ham.

    As far as eating goes, I'm going to enjoy a little of everything. We usually do a big holiday breakfast with fresh eggs, ham or bacon, and homemade biscuits on Christmas morning then don't eat again until late in the evening (after dark).
  • ChunkieNuts
    ChunkieNuts Posts: 135 Member
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    This will be the first christmas i dont go overboard, i will eat in moderation and log everything just to see what i actuall will get through Lol..
  • tomdVT
    tomdVT Posts: 30
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    Christmas?? I got to make it past Thanksgiving first! :bigsmile:
  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
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    I don't really struggle much with overeating on the actual DINNER ... it's the desserts and chocolates that get me.
  • SheilaN1976
    SheilaN1976 Posts: 266 Member
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    for Christmas we have never had any kind of big meal, even growing up, it was more of a snack all day thing. Thanksgiving is the hard one for me!
  • NdBuk
    NdBuk Posts: 25
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    We fancied a change so we're going to a rather nice local pub / restaurant for Christmas dinner this year. At £80 per head you'll be damn sure I'm eating every last bite along with any leftovers from ours or the surrounding tables...

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