Giving up great food isn't an option—eating is our job and passion—so over the years we've developed strategies to make sure our waistlines don't grow along with the festive season. Read on for our editors' top tips on how to enjoy parties and celebratory meals like Thanksgiving dinner without gaining weight (or having to chain yourself to an elliptical trainer and subsist on air-popped popcorn).
Healthy-Eating Tips for Holiday Parties & Dinners:
- Go for the Passed Hors d'Oeuvres
"Partygoers tend to eat more food from the buffet than from the passed trays, so hosts often serve their fancier, more expensive items as passed hors d'oeuvres," explains Associate Editor Lauren Salkeld, who is in charge of Epicurious's Entertaining section. "If you limit yourself to the passed hors d'oeuvres, or at least start with those, you're likely to get a more interesting and satisfying meal, which can help you eat less. Plus, if you have to wait for the trays to come out, it can slow down your eating, which will help you realize you're full."
- Choose Low-Calorie and Healthy Festive Foods
While baked Brie and creamy dips are festive calorie bombs, plenty of other party foods are naturally low in calories and seem equally merry. Go for crudité, lean deli meats, chicken kebabs, salsa (instead of using chips, spoon up thicker salsa straight from your plate or on a piece of chicken), steamed asparagus (one large spear has only four calories, according to Nutrition Data), boiled shrimp (22 calories for four large shrimp), and grapes (two calories apiece). At the cheese tray, go for lower-calorie cheeses such as soft goat cheese and Feta, and consider this trick from Editorial Assistant Carolina Santos-Neves: Don't use a cracker with hard cheeses.
- Bring the Healthy Food to Parties and Potlucks
"When I am asked to bring food to a party or a potluck, I tend to make healthy dishes like salads, black-bean dip, or a big batch of roasted root vegetables," says Senior Editor Megan O. Steintrager. "Of course I still love to try the rich foods other people made, but at least I know there's one healthy thing on the menu. And I've found that other people appreciate having a dish or two that doesn't have butter, cheese, or a lot of meat."
- Act Like an Accountant
Instead of saying "There's always room for dessert," actually leave room for it. "I love dessert and hate to miss out on the opportunity to enjoy the cake, cookies, or chocolates at a party or restaurant, so I make a point to not just leave room but also leave a calorie allowance for dessert," says Lauren. "If you know you're going to want dessert, rather than denying yourself, simply cut back on the hors d'oeuvres or dinner—this can be as simple as not having bread or cutting back on the pasta and having mostly salad or veggies. As with dessert, if you know you want to have the calorie-heavy specialty cocktail, find ways to cut back in other parts of the meal."
- Don't Hover Around the Buffet Table
When you're at a party buffet table, choose three or four items you really want to eat, then step away from the table so you're not tempted to graze. "I'm less likely to keep mindlessly refilling my plate if I'm in the middle of an interesting conversation and I'm standing on the other side of the room from the food," says Megan. As enticements to move away from the buffet, Carolina suggests trying to meet at least one new person and/or checking out the art in the home.
- Use a Napkin
"At a cocktail party, put food on a small plate (not a big one) or, even better, on a napkin, to bring down portion size," suggests Executive Editor James Oliver Cury. "You can't fit as much on a napkin, so you won't eat as much."
- Hit the Veggie Tray
Filling up on fibrous and low-cal raw vegetables, salad, or broth-based (not creamy) soups is a strategy for many Epicurious editors. "Just as I recommend in my Real Food for Healthy Kids family cookbook, starting a meal with raw veggies fills the tummy with fiber-rich foods that provide a feeling of fullness," says Editor-in-Chief Tanya Wenman Steel. "Eating raw veggies also slows down the eating process, giving your stomach the 20 minutes it needs to signal the brain that it's getting full."
- Use a Serving Spoon to Sample, Not Shovel
"At the Thanksgiving buffet table, go ahead and take a big plate and fill it up once, taking one spoonful (not multiples) of each dish—no going back for seconds," advises Assistant Editor Esther Sung.
- Follow the Three-Bite Rule
Tanya says that when she's out at a restaurant she generally only has a few bites of a dish unless she truly loves it. "Studies have shown that after the third bite, your taste buds don't register the flavors as sharply, so unless it's amazing, it's not worth the calories," she explains. "Take the leftovers home.
- Allow Yourself to Throw Food Away
"Often when I'm handed a giant slice of cake at a party, I take it, have a few bites, and then try to find someone who will eat the rest—if nobody bites, I sneakily (I hope) throw the rest away," says Megan. "Usually by the time dessert comes out I'm already full, and all I really want is a tiny taste."
- Make Friends with Water
"Before I eat, I drink at least eight ounces of water, tea, or coffee so that my thirst is quenched and my stomach already feels a little full," says Tanya. Drinking water before having an alcoholic beverage (and between alcoholic drinks) is also a good idea: You will be less likely to chug the alcoholic drink to quench your thirst.
- Keep Liquid Calories in Check
Eggnog—the famously fatty beverage of the holidays—has a whopping 343 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat per cup, according to Nutrition Data's analysis. Get the flavor of the season with a shot-glass-size serving of nog, then stick to water, drinks made with seltzer, and wine. A five-ounce glass of red wine has only 125 calories. "Every now and then I measure out five ounces of wine in a measuring cup, then pour it into my wineglass, just to remind myself how much a 'serving' is and make sure I'm not pouring two glasses' worth of wine and calling it one," says Megan.
Esther adds: "Limit yourself to one or two drinks for the evening, and in order to keep to it, tell a friend who can make sure you adhere to the limit. Or at least alternate between water and alcohol—not only to hydrate but to fill you up (and also so you don't get drunk in front of your boss)." Carolina says, "If you're planning to drink at a party, don't drink at dinner beforehand."
- Bring Mints or Gum to Parties
Once you've had your fill of the food at a party, pop a piece of gum or a mint in your mouth, suggests James. "Your breath will be fresher than anyone else's, and you won't be as tempted to nosh."
Healthy-Eating Rules to Follow Every Day During Holiday Season:
- Budget for Treats on Party Days
"My last name may be Steel, but I am no Superwoman when it comes to resisting brownies, chocolate layer cake, and chocolate–peanut butter ice cream," says Tanya. "So, I allow myself those treats occasionally, and when I do, I try and be good for the rest of the day to balance out the calorie intake." If you know you're going to a party after work that's going to have amazing treats, pass up the so-so ones at your work meeting.
Carolina says, "If I know I am going to have a 'sinful' day full of holiday goodies, then I might take out an ingredient from my breakfast—for example, I love Greek yogurt with peanut or almond butter for breakfast, but I'll omit the nut butter or reduce the amount." Esther adds that she tries to eat healthily for several days before and after a big food event.
- Bakers, Beware
"If you bake during the holidays, try not to keep too many of your creations around the house," advises Food Editor Sarah Kagan. "This is what always gets me: I make cookies to give as gifts, but always have extras and end up eating them every day for a week. My new strategy is to keep one day's worth of treats and give everything else away—either bring it in to work, give it to neighbors or family, or send it to your spouse's office.
- Re-Gift Food Presents
"If you get a food gift, share it with others so you can't eat it by yourself," suggests Esther.
- Say No to Junk Food
"Don't blow your calories on low-quality sweets," says Sarah. "There are so many good homemade treats around this time of year there's no reason to buy a crappy candy bar or take something from the candy jar at work just because you're having a craving. Try to save your snack 'allowance' for good desserts that will make you feel really satisfied."
- Consider Setting a Few Ground Rules
While most of us around Epicurious are opposed to the concept of "forbidden foods," we do have a few general guidelines we try to follow. For example, at parties Carolina avoids anything fried, uses vegetables instead of crackers for dips, and dips only every other vegetable instead of every one. Megan has a (somewhat flexible) no-dessert-before-dinner policy.
- Make Your Goals Realistic
"I recently heard about a friend of a friend who skipped a wedding because he was dieting and thought there would be too many tempting foods," says Megan. "That seems downright depressing and not so healthy to me." Instead of trying to overhaul your diet and lose weight during the holidays, try to maintain your current weight.
"Don't try to completely deny yourself 'fun' foods," says Sarah. "This time of year is about festivity, and food is an intrinsic part of that. I try to be really healthy during non-holiday-related meals so I can still feel indulgent at the holiday meals."
- Don't Turn Shopping Sprees into Eating Sprees
"The holiday season is incredibly busy, and I always seem to be on the go," says Lauren. "When I'm shopping or out and about running holiday errands, I try to set aside time to eat and plan what and where to eat." Her advice: "Instead of resorting to fatty pizza or other fast food, seek out a healthier restaurant near the shops you're going to or eat before you go. Maybe bring a bag of almonds, an energy bar, or dried fruit to tide you over if hunger strikes."
- Eat Three Square Meals Every Day
Sure it might make sense on paper to slash calories by skipping meals during the day when you know you're going to have a big feast later, but this strategy often backfires and leads to overeating, low energy, and generally feeling bad. "With all the treats around during the holidays, it's really easy if I'm busy to just skip breakfast and grab a couple of cookies or something," says Sarah. "But if I do that, it's all downhill from there—I end up starving by 11, pig out at lunch, then crave more sweets in the afternoon, and next thing I know, I'm way over my appropriate number of calories for the day. So, I really try to take the time to have a decent-sized breakfast that includes plenty of protein, complex carbs, and some dairy, all of which help me feel full and keep my energy up."
The same advice goes for lunch and preparty snacks or dinners, too. If you are going to a party where you can't count on a meal being served, "Don't count on munching on chips to be dinner," warns James. "Before going to a party, I eat a healthy, satisfying dinner with plenty of protein," says Sarah. "However, I make the meal a little bit smaller than usual, since I know I won't totally be able to resist the party snacks. That way, I can justify a blondie or two as my 'dessert'."
- Add Exercise Whenever and Wherever You Can
"If I eat a lot at a party or dinner, then I try to go running or work out harder than usual the next morning," says Carolina. "During the holidays, I try to move my body more. So perhaps you could walk to the cocktail party, or park your car a little farther away." Sarah agrees: "It's hard when things get so busy, as they always do during the holidays, but even if you can just fit one or two short sessions a week into your schedule, exercise will give you a little leeway to indulge while still keeping your weight stable. Plus it'll help you handle the stress of the busy season better." Check out the Self calculator to see how many calories are burned by different activities such as running, using a stationary bike, or snowboarding.
HEALTHY PARTY FOOD
- Tuscan Kale Chips
- Whole Wheat Pita Chips with Garbanzo Bean-Cumin Dip
- Creamy White Bean Dip
- Roasted Chestnuts
- Scandinavian Ceviche
- Bloody Mary Soup Shots with Shrimp and Pickled Vegetables
- Bruschetta with Fava Beans, Greens, and Blood Oranges
- Roasted Carrots
- Chocolate and Pecan Tartlets
- Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
See More Epicurious Healthy Recipes and Tips:
- 12 Ways to Cut Calories
- Portion Control Products
- Dr. Nicholas Perricone's Top Ten Beauty Foods
- Browse Our Top-Rated Healthy Recipes and Menus
- Sort Recipes by Dietary Consideration: Low-Cal, Low Carb, Low-Cholesterol, Low-Fat, Low-Sugar, High-Fiber, and Low-Sodium
Edited by Megan O. Steintrager
