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Fruits and vegetables are a healthy alternative to sugary holiday treats. Pictured above is a step-by-step for how to create an edible vegetable and fruit Christmas tree.
Kelly Rulison
staff writer
The holidays are a sweet time filled with parties and gatherings, however, weight watching is still on many people’s conscience. Healthy treats to curb our lust for sweets are a realistic option.
An important factor to eating healthy during the holiday season is knowing what diet to cater to.
Avoiding as much sugar as possible, while also focusing on calorie intake is something to watch for when snacking.
One tactic to use is buying and using low-fat or fat-free, low-sugar or no sugar added products.
“Avoid store bought sweets and find healthier alternatives to make at home,” Christie Rich, Lewis and Clark Nursing student said.
A simple treat to start out with is an edible Christmas tree made of fruit: featuring grapes, strawberries, banana, kiwi and pineapple.
Cut an apple in half so that it may still stand upright by itself. Cut a hole in the middle of the apple for a carrot and use toothpicks to attach all the additional fruit bites.
Another healthy holiday idea would be chocolate coated strawberries organized into a design.
If chocolate is an issue for a family member, fruit and yogurt parfaits are easy to make for everyone. It is a mixture of a flavored yogurt, different fruits, and granola.
“Using a non-fat Greek yogurt in place of the more high calorie sour cream. Fresh veggie trays are a popular choice, and making the dip more low-calorie can be very helpful. Using canola oil or olive oil is a healthier option when cooking and baking,” L&C Dean of Health Sciences, Donna Meyer said.
A study done by the American Institution of Baking showed that women between ages 16-24 eat chocolate to satisfy their cravings 60 percent of the time.
Men 16-24 years old eat chocolate to satisfy their craving 35 percent of the time.
The end of the year season’s bring along many tempting treat yearnings, but they can be overcome.
“Portion control is probably the best way to avoid gaining those extra pounds (around the holidays),” Meyer said.
Noting, those who have diabetes may find this time of year difficult to manage. However, there numerous recipes that are sugarless or low-sugar that help cater to people with high blood sugar.
The ‘No Sugar Apple Pie’ is a better alternative than a regular homemade apple pie which contains upwards of 18 grams of sugar.
Calorie conscious dessert-eaters can feel less guilt with this substitution. The ‘No Sugar Apple Pie’ recipe also shaves approximately 72 calories off of tradition homemade apple pies.
To all those chocolate lovers who have diabetes there is an adapted sugar-free chocolate almond torte recipe from easy-sugar-free-recipes.com. It is also dairy-free, peanut-free, and soy-free.
The key factor in becoming healthy and staying healthy is finding replacements for the unhealthy food that have become craving favorites. Eatingwell.com offers a long list of possible healthy snack options to tryout over the holidays.
